Repo men may be an endangered species!
Miss a payment and your car may die

Imagine getting in your car and it won't start. The situation would be aggravating for most, but for hundreds of thousands of Americans it could simply mean their car payment is overdue. A growing number of car dealers are using starter stoppers technology to ensure you don't get lax on your loan.

Macy Pearson loves the used car she just bought, but it will only start if she's made her car payment. Nestled under her dash is a device called a starter interrupt system. If Macy doesn't pay, the device is set to disable her car so she can't drive.

Macy's salesman insisted she have it, since she has no credit history. Once Macy sends in her payment, she's given a code number to input into a remote that connects to a device underneath the dash. "I stick it right in here. You punch in your code, you hear another little chirp and you're done," explains Macy, as she easily connects the device that will allow her car to run for another week.

Mike Simon's company, Payment Protection Systems, made the device in Macy's car and some 60,000 others bought at corner used car lots and dealerships alike. He says the device protects dealers from credit risks. "The people know that they have to make their payment and they really do perform in making their payments on time," says Simon. "Our delinquency rate was probably up around ten to twenty percent without the device. And since then, it's dropped down below two percent," says car dealer Steve Matthews about using the device with costumers.

Seems to me there might be problems with this.

Not everyone's sold on the idea of no cash no dash. Jack Gillis of the Consumer Federation of America has written a book about buying a car. He says the devices could put customers at risk. "You might be in a situation where you are in an unsafe position, and you need to get out of there quickly, and you can't do it," says Gillis about the pitfalls of such a device.

But device makers say cars won't stop while in motion they just won't start once they're turned off.

Hold that thought for when the first shyster files a lawsuit.