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'Car dent repair', got scammed.

Hi all,

So, I was at a gas station today, just minding my own business, and a mexican looking guy comes over to me and says, I will fix the dent on the front bumper for 100 bucks. I said, no thanks. he started to bargain with me and kept on reducing the price. Once the price reached 40 bucks, I thought it may be a good idea to get it fixed. so, I said, yes.

He started to work on it, popped the dent out in less than a minute, started to spray some black paint like stuff. once he sprayed around the dent area, he says, you just need to get a car wash to get this black thing off, so give me the money now.

I can't believe how stupid of me to fall for that, which I did. so, I gave him 40 bucks and then he says that it is 340 bucks. I started arguing with him. Then his boss (apparently) comes over to us. Me being a small skinny guy and his boss being a really big guy, I gotta admit, I was a little scared. I argued and argued and finally paid them another $40 to settle the whole thing.

Then I went in for the car wash and came out, got down from my car, only to look at the repaired area in utter disbelief. That ugly looking black paint is still there in that area, and it just won't go off. and the people who took my money are nowhere to be seen.

The reason for my heartburn is not that I paid 80 bucks, but my car looks even more ugly now. I would really appreciate any help on how to get rid of that black paint, without repainting the whole car. can we buy spray paint of the same color as that of the car and just spray on it or is it gonna take full car re-paint ?

Thanks.

Reply to
kiran.mothe
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" snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@i3g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:

Go to the hardware store and get some methylated spirits (methyl alcohol). It's very cheap. That black stuff should come off in no time.

Reply to
TeGGeR®

I got took by one of those dent weasels one time... But this one was going house to house looking for business. Well, I had a monte carlo that had two dents on the side. Decided, what the heck, them dents are ugly... So I let him do it.. Well, first he needs some money for bondo, etc, etc.. So I gave a enough for that.. He did come back the first time, pulled the dents with a puller, and slapped some bondo around.. Then he says he needs to go somewhere else, and that he would come back to finish it. Well, the next time he comes back, he says he needs a little more money to get more stuff... So I gave it to him... The sorry bastard never came back. The dents were slightly better than when he started, but still looked pretty ugly. Luckily I didn't give him too much money... I'll never do that again, unless I really know the guy and his work. If I ever see the guy again, I'll be tempted to gouge a dent in one of his eyeballs with a phillips screwdriver. We'll see if he can bondo that up... MK

Reply to
nm5k

Elliot Richmond Itinerant astronomy teacher

Reply to
Elliot Richmond

snipped-for-privacy@wt.net wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@h48g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:

That describes the door-door "driveway resealers" (the ones with "a little bit of sealer left over from another job"),unsolicited roofers,and a number of other scammers.

Reply to
Jim Yanik

Next time call "Dent Wizard", a national company who has never done me wrong!

G-Man

Reply to
G-Man

I have a 2002 Civic and it just seems like these cars dent so easy compared to my previous BMW that i had over 10 years. I think the BMW just had much thicker sheet metal compared to the Civic's.

Reply to
Rob

"Rob" wrote in news:ebcrha$r38$ snipped-for-privacy@news04.infoave.net:

One reason why BMWs weigh a lot more than Hondas.

Reply to
Jim Yanik

Are you ever stupid LOL!

Reply to
Fred Fartalot

It's easy to say that when not there. Professional con men are very good at what they do.

Mike

Reply to
Michael Pardee

Yes, do a google search for "travelers" and stay away from these people.

Eric

Reply to
Eric

For a minute there I thought you were gonna say to make a "cocktail" with that stuff and throw it through the gas station's window :)

Reply to
Headknocker via CarKB.com

"Headknocker via CarKB.com" wrote in news:649dc5f8596d8@uwe:

You could use some of the methyl hydrate for cleaning the car, and some of it for a cocktail. Kill two birds with one stone, so to speak..

Reply to
TeGGeR®

Right. Because, after all, good auto body repair guys are well known for walking up to random people and offering to fix their dents for a few bucks. Especially the ones toting around cans of black spray paint.

(*rolls eyes*)

The absolute stupidity of some people never fails to amaze me.

- Rich

Reply to
user

But the "some people" probably includes us. It's easy to sit back and say, "I'd never do that" - probably just about everybody says that - but when it is happening real-time the pros can con most people. That's how they make their money.

A few months ago in the Yahoo Prius forum somebody noticed the silver restrictor was missing from the neck of their fuel tank. Somebody else posted there never was a restrictor. Others swore there was, but they checked and theirs had fallen into the tank, too! It was several days before it became clear there was never a restrictor... in fact, there was no place for the restrictor to be anchored. But we believe we know what's going on, and we act on that without giving it much thought the vast majority of the time.

"Oh, goody; a scam! We'll do it." - Vera Baker (Whoopi Goldberg) in 'Rat Race'

Mike

Reply to
Michael Pardee

No, the pros make their money by scoping out the potential victim, evaluating whether or not they appear distracted, vulnerable, or just plain stupid, and work from there. The vast majority of the time, they don't bother with anyone who looks or acts like they have their heads screwed on straight. But sometimes they screw up. :-)

It's rather like this guy who came up to me on the street way back when I was in college, in the dark ages. He told a sob story about how his car had broken down, and was down the street at a garage. He just needed $25 to "get the fuel filter replaced.", and then he'd be able to drive to his job, "Or else I'm going to get fired."

So I told him, "Hell, I doubt you even have a driver's license!". He whips out his wallet, and shows it to me.

My next step was to walk to the payphone in front of the library next door, and call the police with his name, address, and description, while he ran like a bat out of hell. I wonder what Jim is doing, these days? :-)

That only illustrates that there are a lot of stupid people on the Yahoo Prius forum, apparently. :-)

- Rich

Reply to
user

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