We’ve heard from multiple people who say they’ve been ripped off in recent weeks by “mechanics” who tell them they’ve got a problem with their car, and then ask for cash to fix it. A reader who we’ll call M. sent in the account below.
“On Memorial Weekend Sunday I was driving north on Broadway from W 88th. As I was turning left to go to Gotham Liquor a pedestrian said that I had smoke coming from under my car and I should pull over.
I pulled over a block away and closer to the store and another man standing near the subway stairs said the same thing. I replied that I didn’t see any smoke and he (wearing a “mechanics shirt”) told me to pop the hood. When I got out I could see antifreeze fluid on the engine and on the ground. He said it looked like I had “popped the pins” probably after hitting a pothole.
I had never heard of such a thing but I couldn’t see how this guy had set it up blocks away so I chalked it up to not knowing a lot about cars. He sent me away to get cash and when I returned everything looked dry – and despite my doubts I paid him.
I later called my regular mechanic who said there is no such thing as popping pins and that 10 of his clients have been scammed for as much as $1000! The guy carries a little bottle of the fluid in his sleeve or something and while you are “popping the hood” pours it over your engine. They do it on holiday weekends when you can’t call your mechanic to check the story. I wish I had known about this before I gave up a hefty $280 for 5 minutes of ‘work!'”
The Times also printed a Metropolitan Diary on the subject last year.
Clip art by jonata.
i’m astonished that such a scam would have any legs at all ! imagine sitting around a bar and saying to your friends, “let’s try a scam like this”. it would be laughable.
‘M’, your gullibility rating is too high. it, not your car, needs some adjustment.
It is hard to imagine falling for this, but when it happens to you I am sure it is difficult to process in the heat of the moment, with a potentially damaged car and/or a menacing-looking guy asking for $400.
WSR it might be useful to have a description of the guys doing this in our neighborhood?
Victims say one of the guys is very large and intimidating.
Who the heck pops their car’s hood on a city street for a stranger to examine?
Who leaves their car in the hands of a stranger while they got get cash?
A fool and his money…as the saying goes
OK, so you’ve capably kicked them while they’re down. Let’s now thank them for sharing this instead of keeping it to themselves. The information can only help others.
Neighborly, I might add.
Well said, Kev.
Thanks for posting, a good warning for all!
You are very kind to recognize someone trying to be helpful to his neighbors.
Happened to me a couple of months ago, starting when I stopped for a red light on 95th and Broadway and a guy came over to my car claiming there was smoke coming out of it from under the hood. I thanked him and drove on, made a turn to Riverside Drive on 83rd Street where, when I stopped again for a light, another guy approached me with the same story. He said if I pulled over to the curb he’d take a look at it and after I did he got down under the front of the car and announced I had “pins popping” from the engine and it was causing the smoke he claimed was coming out of it. I pointed out I didn’t see any smoke but asked if he thought he could fix it. No problem, but he had to call his boss in Queens to find out how much he should charge me. When he said it would be about $250.00 and I said I didn’t have that much cash on me he asked me for a credit card which he could give his boss to post the charge. I felt this was a scam from the get go and told him to get lost. After some heated words — a few of which I can’t use here — he walked away and I drove away. The truck I saw later that he was apparently driving indicated he was with a car repair service from Queens but I couldn’t make out the name on it. I had seen this same truck parked near the gas station where I had purchased gas on 96th Street west of WEA earlier and figured the guy who stopped me at 95th Street and the guy who caught up with me on RSD on 84th must have been following me all along. Kind of an elaborate scam but a scam nevertheless. Description of the perp reporting the original story resembles the guy who caught up with me on RSD but the first guy who approached me appeared to be Asian. The NYPD might want to look for a truck from Queens roaming the neighborhood and hanging out on 96th Street near the gas station there.
Believe me my mind was trying to decide if it was a scam the whole time. I couldn’t figure out how they “planted” the obviously visible fluid I saw. The guy was tall and imposing but not threatening from my perspective. Also I have also experienced real kindness from strangers so it wasn’t a simple decision (not to speak that I wanted to get out of town!) So I learned another lesson! Just wanted people to know so they don’t have to do the same! And my mechanic says they’re making good money this way!
Thank you for such a decent and helpful warning.
Another driver signalled to me to roll down my window. Thinking he needed directions, I complied. He then told me he worked at a reapir shop, and he could do the body work on my car for a reduced price. I rolled the window back up and continued my search for a parking spot.
I don’t think the body and fender guys are the same type of scammers.
The street B&F guys do third rate work with a very limited set of tools for a very cheap price and probably are of some value to some people.
I remember an episode of 60 Minutes from WAAAY back with the same scheme as these pin popping guys – antifreeze up the sleeve. So it must be an old time scam.
They tried this on me. I was driving up Amsterdam near Columbia when some guy said my engine was smoking. I got out, checked, and everything looked fine so I kept going. I turned left on 125th and someone else there said my engine was smoking. I drove past him and right down the block was a guy dressed like a mechanic trying to flag me down at a bus stop. I went my him and called my mechanic from the Fairway parking lot and he said he’s heard it before and it’s a scam. Meanwhile the car is fine.