'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 <totally
shocked> 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.

 

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.

 

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

 

Elliot Richmond
Itinerant astronomy teacher

 

wrote in

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.

 

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

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.

 

One reason why BMWs weigh a lot more than Hondas.

 

Are you ever stupid LOL!

 

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

Mike

 

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

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

 

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..

 

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

 

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

 

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