The American Repossessor

When the gray Chevrolet 3500 pulls out of a Beckman Road driveway, the driver is on a mission: He plans to return with another vehicle in tow.

In all likelihood, he’ll arrive at an address, effortlessly lower the towing equipment on the back of his truck and drive off within a minute or two.

The driver is a vehicle repossessor working for Lodi-based Accurate Adjustments. He often works at night, using the darkness to his advantage so he can avoid the vehicle’s owner.

There are plenty of vehicles to be repossessed, with the economy likely contributing to skyrocketing statistics: Five years ago, 453 vehicles were taken back from their owners in the fiscal 2003-04 year, according to Lodi police. In the fiscal year ending in June, 814 owners lost their vehicles.

Unlike in television shows, those vehicle owners are rarely the drug-crazed deadbeats who trigger brawls lit by flashing police lights.

What’s much more likely is that the car’s owners will simply watch the repossession process, resigned to the fact that auto payments got to be too much. Sometimes they cry, asking for one more chance to come up with the money, or to at least get their personal belongings out of the car.

That’s the real job of a repossessor, according to Shane Freitas, who owns Accurate Adjustments. The sole goal is to retrieve a vehicle safely.

“I try to train my guys not to judge people. They have to have eyes in the back of their head, but they shouldn’t judge,” he said. “I like to think people thought they could afford the car.”

Freitas, who owned his business for 13 years and previously spent a number of years in the industry, sees his profession as a service. Repossession is a way to recover property while avoiding more costly methods such as the court system.

“It saves the consumer money and it keeps the interest rates lower,” Freitas said. “If they don’t get their collateral back, they’ll raise rates for (consumers).”

Freitas, 39, has been around the repo business for much of his life.

Born in Hawaii, Freitas lived there until he was 9, after his mother met a man in the military who settled in Arkansas. Then they moved to California to be closer to family. Freitas’ dad became an auto mechanic, and his shop was next door to a repo business.

Freitas got to know the owner, named Nick, who gave him some part-time jobs accompanied by a warning: “He told me, whatever you do, make sure you don’t get involved in this business.”

That advice didn’t stick.