‘Had a random guy fix my tire for a chicken sandwich.’
A woman regretted allowing a stranger to fix her Nissan Altima in the parking lot of her workplace.
TikTok user Elise (@jerniganelise) posted a viral video of an elderly-looking fellow sitting on the ground beside her ride, seemingly feeling around a dent on the front passenger wheel well. Elise records him tapping a hammer against the car, and a text overlay on the clip denotes that she wasn’t satisfied with the end result of his labor.
“When a random man starts working on your car while you’re sitting at work. It’s important you tell him no,” she wrote.
Following this, Elise’s video cuts to her inspecting his handiwork. A portion of her vehicle’s exterior body seems to have been covered with a grey bonding compound material, which one user on the app speculated was JB Weld. While the portion of the vehicle is clearly fixed in place on her car, the TikToker didn’t seem too happy with the way it turned out.
“Still can’t believe this happened to me,” she penned.
Folks who replied to her video had varied opinions, with some sharing their own parking-lot auto-repair anecdotes.
One woman wrote, “My husband had someone change his brakes for $50 outside an Autozone once I was like why?”
However, some people replied that these types of auto fixes aren’t necessarily a bad thing.
“My dad does mechanic work outside autozone, don’t knock the hustle,” one wrote.
Someone else said that in many instances, folks who approach individuals who have damaged vehicles are often full-time mechanics or auto body workers. “This is normal … they are real mechanics who hustle on the side. Most of them work at dealerships or name brand shops so they know what they’re doing,” they remarked.
Another TikTok user said that they, too, had their car fixed by a “random dude.” They stated that the man approached them outside a Walgreens. “Came up to me saying he can fix my dent for free … he came back with a blow torch, a plunger, and a spray … I let him do his thing and it worked! He fixed it … left the spot where it happened with tiny bubbles but worth it … you couldn’t see it unless you were up close,” she mentioned.
There have been a slew of media outlets that have reported on instances similar to Elise’s experience. However, not every parking lot mechanic keeps their promise. Washington news outlet NBC4 posted a segment that indicated local authorities were warning car owners “of scammers offering dent repair.” The media agency called the act a “mobile dent repair scheme targeting people in public parking lots and outside of their homes.”
The Trust Dale Blog also warned against accepting these types of parking lot car restoration offers. One of the core principles of these scams, the outlet states, is to create “a sense of urgency” around their offer. I.e., that this is an opportunity the driver should take advantage of right then and there.
Additionally, scammers often throw around numerous car brand names to foster a sense of trust and to suggest they know what they’re talking about.
“Many drivers… are tempted by the idea of a quick and affordable repair,” Trust Dale stated.
Moreover, the website said that “real professionals don’t approach people in parking lots.” The piece went on to say that consumers should visit a reputable shop so the work can be done in “a controlled environment.”
This kind of con job has been going on for some time. CBS Chicago aired its own piece on this phenomenon in 2017, echoing the concerns expressed by others about such auto repair offers.
The Better Business Bureau also categorized parking lot car fix solutions as a “scam.” Furthermore, the nonprofit shared another tactic bad actors use in their pitches to potential clients: claiming they work at a local auto body shop.
“They promise to charge much less than what a shop would, and they can make the repairs on the spot while you are shopping.” Like others, the BBB cautioned against accepting this work, saying that you will “more than likely… end up with a ruined car exterior.”
In the same piece covering this practice, the agency spoke with someone who accepted this type of work. Their vehicle was significantly damaged in the process.
“He was ‘fixing’ my car while I was in the store shopping. When I came out, he had drilled a bunch of holes into the body of my car. He told me it was standard procedure to drill holes in order to pull out the dent. Then, he put a black putty thing all over the holes and told me not to take off the putty until 24 hours later. When I tried to take off the putty, it looked worse than before,” they stated.
Motor1 has reached out to Elise via TikTok direct message for further comment. We will update this story if she responds.
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