"They know they're behind. They know one night or one day there's gonna come a knock at the door," says Jay Justice, a repo agent.

That knock on the door is the reason why 20-year old Christopher Moore is taking the bus in Waco. "I walked from the kitchen to living room and a man kind of forcefully told me that he was gonna take my car," says Moore. It only took about 30 seconds for Moore's car to be repossessed right in front of him. "It was like someone had stolen it from me."

Like many people in his shoes, Moore has been fighting an uphill battle ever since.

"I've lost a lot since I lost my car cause I couldn't get to work so I lost my job," he says.

"When you pull up to somebody's house and it's a single mom and 3 kids and you're taking their only mode of transportation away it can come to hit ya in the heart," says Justice.

Auto repossession had steadily been on the rise since the economy went south, keeping Texas agents busy. They say business is up nearly 50 percent from 2007.

"A lot of people think that you're kinda praying on a bad situation but all we're doing is providing a service," says Rodney Lucko, another repo agent.

These guys are hitting the streets days and night, sometimes in the face of danger. Some of them have even had guns pulled on them.

Texas law requires repo agents to back off if a vehicle owner shows any resistance, but fighting back isn't recommended.

"You don't know the person you're facing. You don't know what they're likely to do or not. You can hope they will follow the rules and by just interposing yourself they will back off and say alright I'm just gonna try and find your vehicle at a time when you're not there to stop me," says Evan Simpson, a bankruptcy attorney.

Repo agents will find you, even if it means driving around for hours to figure out your schedule.

"A lot of times see if they're in military or not with military it's best after 5 or usually after 1 in the morning after they're back from the clubs," says Tim Gamble.

No matter what, repossession agents are not allowed to tow your car with you or your children inside. However, they can come onto your property as long as they follow the rules. They can't break into anything, including your garage.

"It gets kinda boring when driving around looking for them but once you actually find one, you know, adrenaline pumps up,"says Gamble.

It's a tough business on both ends but for people like Christopher Moore, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

"i guess it just gets better everyday I think about it as in you know I mean I got this gone right now what can I do to get it back."

Others aren't so optimistic in a struggling economy and they know someone is always waiting.

If you find yourself in a bind with a car payment, attorneys suggest reading over your contract and calling your lender right away.

Most of the time lenders want the money, not the car, so they might be willing to work something out if you come to them up front.