Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have always refused this service and it has been going on since 1986 when I was first approached in the parking lot of the Skyview Shopping Center in N. Riverdale. Since then it has happened a few times, including on the roof of the Target store in Marble Hill and just today in an R&S Strauss Auto parts store just over the line in Yonkers
One guy tells me he'll do it for $80, another one tells me he'll do it for $60 after i refuse the first guy. They were so persistent "because we really need the money" and i started my car and drove off prematurely before i could even put on the new steering wheel cover i had purchased. they yelled "what a lousy man you are!". Well, I suppose it'e better than being called 4 letter words
So I wonder, has anyone had experience with people offering this "service?".
I posted this in the NY City forum but no one responded. I realize many here won't recognize the areas I mentioned but that's OK(tho I think John Frisco might know!!!).
Just wondering if anyone here has had this experience in tennesee, etc
It seems to be a universal thing in some areas as I have experienced the solicitation myself in CA, DC, and NY, but it was for scratch removal all three times. A couple of times it was for rental cars where the damage was already noted at the outset of the rental, and one guy was actually a little too pushy, such that I was ready to call the police if necessary.
Ironically, it once happened to me in Yonkers, too, at the Auto Zone on South Broadway, but on the street, not in their parking lot, since then it could be a trespass issue. A law enforcement source told me that it's technically not illegal since the people are performing some type of repair, but they can be violating ordinances about repairing cars on the street, or on private property. I would let the Target management know that you were solicited in their parking lot, and that you do not wish to be subject to similar situations in the future.
Many times, the repairs need to be fixed again by a competent body shop. I would guess that with a dent removal, they were going to use a suction cup to pull part of it out, or just fill with bondo as ferretknona pointed out. Pulling it can be a disaster if the dent is located on certain parts of the car, as I was told by a Paintless rep, who declined to fix one of our cars because it was too near a crease. And, a body shop with no connection to him got the business, so it wasn't to sell a higher priced repair. Like anything else that's sold unsolicited on the streets, or in a parking lot, I would walk away because there's no way they can perform a competent repair and match the color of the car on a city street when they didn't even know that my particular brand of car, color, and year, would be there in need of a scratch repair.
__________________
All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
~William Shakespeare (As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)
on S B'way in Yonkers? News to me. I was at R&S Strauss yesterday off B'way when this happened. it's funny these guys called out to me from the street while i was in the parking lot, but they did come over to my car, but i didn't feel safe at all
on S B'way in Yonkers? News to me. I was at R&S Strauss yesterday off B'way when this happened. it's funny these guys called out to me from the street while i was in the parking lot, but they did come over to my car, but i didn't feel safe at all
Yep, Auto Zone is just up the block from the McLean Avenue intersection on the right, actually very close to R&S Strauss. Interesting that the guys used a similar m.o., calling from the street. I was not parked too far in off the sidewalk, and I think that they may have scouted the car while I was in the store, but they didn't solicit directly on Auto Zone's property.
__________________
All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
~William Shakespeare (As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)
I think this is just classic NYC pushiness/mercantilism. Probably the level of quality of the repairs is all over the place.
You can get good paintless dent removal work done. It's harder and more time consuming to do a good job on surface rust, it can be done "on the street" in good weather, provided the spot is small enough. That and you are not super-picky about the results, which won't be invisible, at least not to a trained eye, but will look better than a rusty scratch.
Rust coming from the back side of a panel and bubbling through is a different story. It can be fixed and fixed right, but this is real body work and isn't a "while you wait" type operation.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
there is an Auto Zone
