Salary
Average Salary: $32,480
Expected Lifetime Earnings: $1,356,000
You certainly have the potential to make a good deal of loot in this game. Now, repo agents can repossess anything a person took out a loan for, but the most common items to repossess are cars and boats.
While some repo companies pay their agents a weekly salary, the industry average, per car, ranges between $150 and $400. Most repo men are repossessing about four to five vehicles per week, and a trustworthy repo agent who's at the top of his game can easily clear about $4,000-$6,500 a month. That's $50,000-$80,000 a year, which isn't exactly chump change. And you get to set your own hours, more or less (source).
How much money you make per car depends on whether you're conducting a voluntary or involuntary repossession. As you can imagine, an involuntary repo is more risky than a voluntary one. Involuntary repos involve going after debtors who have skipped several payments. They don't want to give up their vehicle, and they're certainly not going to be happy to see you.
Voluntary repos usually are much easier, because, in this situation, a debtor will call a lender and say, "Sorry, but I can't afford to make the payments on my ride anymore. Come get it." So, the repo agent will drive to the debtor's place, and drive away swimmingly, usually with no problems.
Now, even if you're only working part-time, you can easily still make around $30,000 a year repossessing cars—not bad moolah for a job where you don't need any formal schooling or a degree of any sort (source).
Some companies offer bonuses and commissions as well; again, it all depends on the state, the company and the type of repossession taking place. The more dicey or elaborate the situation, the more money you can make.
Like any other job, however, these salaries are before expenses and taxes. Remember, you'll still need to set aside money for taxes if you're working as an independent contractor. And if you choose to work independently, you'll also need to deduct money for gas; car, health, and life insurance, which can run upwards of thousands of dollars per year. Oh—and don't forget about payments on the aforementioned tow truck. Still, all in all, many people can live a pretty comfortable lifestyle on $50,000 a year.