KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The next time you go to buy a car, don't be surprised if it comes with an electronic "repo man."

With four kids under the age of 5 --- two with Cystic Fibrosis -- it's no surprise that Nena Nix sometimes finds it difficult to keep up with everything.

"We have T-ball, baseball, school and activities," said Nix.

She said it's easy to lose track of time and money.

"We have four children. Things happen -- hundreds of dollars of things happen and it can all be in one week," said Nix.

Over the years, Nix and her husband have taken some hits on their credit report. Their credit score makes it nearly impossible to find a car dealership willing to take a chance on them, Nix said.

That is, until they agreed to a payment protection device that Drive Now in the Northland installs on all of their used cars.

"We've had an overwhelmingly good response," said general manager Mike Schneider. "It's this box right here. It's blinking green right now because we're good."

The palm-sized device is permanently mounted under the dash. If you are one day late on your payment, a 'one' flashes and beeps sporadically . On day two, there is a little more flashing and a little more beeping. It continues ramping up the flashes and beeps.

"It's really, really bright, so it's not like you can forget about it," said Schneider. "On day four, it definitely gets more obnoxious."

If your payment is not made by midnight of day four, the steering wheel locks.

"The vehicle will not start -- ultimately reminding the customer that they need to come in and get current on their payments," said Schneider.

Once payment is made, the customer gets a 6-digit code that is logged into the car disabler box to reset the internal clock for the next payment deadline.

Schneider said it's a win-win situation. The car lot wins, because they can offer a better product to people who need a second chance. The customer wins by getting a car and having a reminder that doesn't get lost in the regular mail shuffle.

"We do pay a lot of things late," Nix said. "It's not that we don't have the money, but we just don't have time."

Now, Nix never misses a car payment and is hopeful that this will help her on the road to financial recovery.

Some consumer advocacy groups are opposed to the device, saying it's a form of intimidation and it has the potential of stranding drivers if the car shuts down at a bad time or place.

Schneider said it won't shut off while the motor is running. He said it's really no different than a cell phone company turning off your phone service if you don't pay your bill.