Beware the Tow Truck: Repo Lots Overflow With Cars

Now, it's cars and trucks, often in affluent neighborhoods.

"A lot of the vehicles we're getting are high-dollar pickups" whose owners got caught in the construction downturn, Altes says.

The repo surge has boosted business for locksmith Amy Palmer. She makes new keys for seized vehicles at Manheim's auction lot in Ocoee, Fla., one of Manheim's 144 locations in 14 countries.

"It's phenomenal," she says. "If you're not paying for your house, who is paying for the car?"