[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear all - modern cars are extremely reliable. They don't "spark"! Please don't fall for such tricks. These things are common since many years. Read on and ENJOY!

In parked Maruti 800 cars, removing the petrol pipe just in front of the rear left wheel and in parked Premier Padmini cars, removing it from just behind the front left wheel (and putting a pencil stub in its place) or breaking the ignition coil to distributor low tension wire was very common. All these 3 things have happened to me, multiple times. The area outside our Parsi wedding hall Cama Baug in Grant Road is famous for this, if it did not happen there, I would be surprised. Oh how I have enjoyed every time, because my case is different. Each of my cars is a "chalta-firta" garage, having everything that I need in it. It was worth it, just to see the totally zonked look on their faces as they saw "transparent-wallah" petrol pipes, "14-number kaa finolex kaa" wires, "notre-kaa" tape bundles and "taparia-kaa" pliers coming out of the car. Then, I would make it a point to whisper in their ear very calmly "bhidu, kabhi kabhi main bhi mil jaata hoon. Doosri baar "rapchik ghiraek" dhoondhnaa. Tera gaadi bandh padaa hai kya? Mein chalu karke deta hoon naa, cutting chai pila dena, garib aadmi hoon"! . This used to have the effect worse than a slap, but then they will never improve, because they have nothing to lose! These are "tapori" boys working in roadside garages, trying to make a fast buck. Not at my expense, sorry!

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[prateekvidya]

They tried the same thing in Powai today, around 5:30 in the evening. The same routine : a couple of guys pointed out sparks, then after 100m, 2 more guys pointed sparks. Then a good pretext samaritan came up pretending to be an Ola driver or something, gave me the you are lucky bullshit, and mentioned a Hyundai dealer just 200 m away. Out came the mechanics, the parts and fixed up a new alternator and some fuses, and asked me for money (INR 13,000).

I asked them to show where the office of this Hyundai service center was, and at this point, they vanished. I am not sure what damage they would have done to the car, but I will get that checked at an authorized shop tomorrow.

This was in Hiranandai, guess they are getting brave !

[SDP]

Originally Posted by prateekvidya

...
This was in Hiranandai, guess they are getting brave !

I have encountered these thugs in Hiranandani Powai once. I was driving a Alto, when they tried to pull this trick. Gave a stern look, mouthed a few words and moved ahead.

[Tanveer_2558]

I had encountered such people as well, As well as those who said, "Tyre puncture hai", These people work in groups and select their target and communicate accordingly, We bhpians are good enough to know our own cars well! We know the very next second if there is something is wrong, Even if we might not be able to detect a problem at the earliest its always a good idea to never stop anywhere where someone is wanting you to stop! Please don't get carried away or all worked up only if some stranger is pointing towards your car and saying there is something wrong, The way most of us take care of our rides it would be a very rare incident where something like this was actually happen, Be alert guys! There are people waiting to take your advantage out there!

Another advice, If ever you stop to check, PLEASE LOCK YOUR CAR, There have been instances where people got their wallets/Laptops/ Cellphones stolen, So the way it also works is, Couple of people pointing towards the car, You stop the car and get down to check and most of the time you being in a hurry you won't lock the car, And thats when other people waiting around your car strike! Has happened to a close friend who lost his Mac in such a situation.

[tanwaramit]

Mumbai police acts on complaint and arrest two people fooling with "Engine main spark hota hai"

http://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai...c6lDp2lRL.html

"On the Western Express Highway (WEH), you need to think twice if a biker pulls up beside you and says that smoke is coming out of your car exhaust or there is some other defect. Be even more wary if an auto rickshaw pulls up too and its driver offers help.

Recently, a 35-year-old man was allegedly cheated of Rs10,200 by two men after they conned him into thinking something was wrong with his car and then appearing to fix the problem. Similarly, the gang cheated a bank official of the same amount. The Vakola police have arrested two people and are on the lookout for three more.

According to the police, on October 13, Rizwan Ayub Khan was travelling in his Maruti car on the WEH with his family when 41-year-old Rehman Azamat Ali Shaikh, who was on a bike, said there was a lot of smoke coming out of the exhaust. Rizwan stopped near Vakola junction.

As soon as Rizwan got off his car, 27-year-old Mohammed Zahir Noor Mohammed Shaikh, who was in an autorickshaw, stopped and asked Rizwan what had happened. Mohammed said he was a mechanic and offered Rizwan help, according to the police. “The accused pulled out a wire from the bonnet, said there were sparks coming from inside the engine and that it would be dangerous to drive,” said a senior inspector from Vakola police, which have arrested both Rehman and Mohammed, both residents of Shivaji Nagar, Govandi.

According to the police, after convincing Rizwan that he could fix the car, Mohammed took Rs10,200 from him. Mohammed then joined the wire he had pulled out and said he had fixed the problem. Rizwan even thanked Mohammed for his timely help, only to later realise that no part had been repaired.

Similarly,the gang cheated a senior bank official of the same amount while he was travelling on the WEH near Agripada junction in Santacruz (East). The victim then approached the Vakola police and a case was registered on October 14.

According to the police, the two arrested men confessed said they had cheated a person in Kalina too. Police said the gang was likely to have cheated several people. “Three more are wanted. I advise people who are travelling with their family or alone in an expensive car on the WEH to be careful,” said Baba Sadhunke, police inspector."

[thrust]

These tak-tak robbery gangs are also very active in Navi Mumbai area mainly around Vashi, CBD Belapur, Nerul and Kharghar. I have encountered these gangs thrice in the last year. Most recently in February, I had encountered the Car-Spark gang in Vashi, Navi Mumbai. Related Thread:https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...et-fooled.html

Thankfully, I had read a lot about these gangs in the news and I knew their modus-operandi before hand due to which I was alert and foiled their plans. These gangs usually consist of two to three gang members who are on the lookout for really gullible easy prey, mostly when you are driving alone.

I have always made it a point to click pictures of these fraud con-men and straight away file a FIR with the nearest police station in the hope that these robbers will get their punishment soon. These unscruplous robbers may even damage your car doors / windows when they find out that the doors are locked and you don't pay heed to them. In any case, it's best to keep your car doors locked and never ever open your car windows down completely to interact with these fraud men. Infact, the moment these robbers see you clicking a picture of them with your camera, they will run to save their lives.

From my personal experience, the worst part about the 'car-spark' gang is how they fool unsuspecting people who in good faith believe that something is really wrong with their car and end up paying these con-men whatever sum they demand for fake repairs carried out, when in reality, nothing was wrong with the car in the first place. All this done with extremely sweet talk, assuring you that they saved you from your car catching fire in the nick of time and taking advantage of the good faith that you place in them. These type of fraudsters should never ever be spared, and never ever be entertained on the road. The only way to avoid these type of frauds from happening is to never ever trust anyone on the road no matter how nicely they speak to you. Better to always be safe, than sorry. Also attaching a picture for the benefit of fellow BHP-ians on how the 'car-spark' gang works.

[MaG]

Hi Folks!
Trust all is well with my fellow BHP'ians.

I'm writing this content with my experience 2 days back under the Mulund Flyover, Thane. People may please note and exercise caution if passing by this location.

After applying and successfully getting an inter-district Pune-Thane pass for a to-and-fro same day travel, I started from Pune at 9 am. My drive through the expressway was excellent thanks to the covid19 which has reduced traffic drastically. My day was about to get a shock as I crossed Airoli and reached Mulund. I was being repeatedly told by many passerby's that there is some sort of spark coming under the bonut while the car is running. Initially, I ignored these people twice however when another 2 people prentending to crosss road also pointed out, I became a little worried and eventually halted the car near Rabodi Police Station. There comes another 1/2 men stating they're auto rickshaw drivers and they also see some spark while I was driving. They advice me to take it to a local spare part shop and get it checked. Without approaching anybody, there comes 1 person impersonating mechanic and he decides to 'help'. Just looking at it he tells me, there is a problem with the car's alternator. Yes, Alternator!!
And he replaces the car's alternator in no time and demand 25k cash. Luckily I did not fall into their trap and shooed them away.

Point is: while I narrated this experience with my friends and relatives, many people have gone through this almost at the same location. Although, I've filed a police complaint, requesting people to be vigilant.

[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by MaG

Hi Folks!
Trust all is well with my fellow BHP'ians.

I'm writing this content with my experience 2 days back under the Mulund Flyover, Thane. People may please note and exercise caution if passing by this location.

...

Point is: while I narrated this experience with my friends and relatives, many people have gone through this almost at the same location. Although, I've filed a police complaint, requesting people to be vigilant.

Your friends are right. This scam (among others) is quite well documented and known. Best is to drive into an authorised workshop or call their roadside assistance if you see anything amiss.

[silverado]

Originally Posted by MaG

Hi Folks!

Although, I've filed a police complaint, requesting people to be vigilant.

Next time we find these stop your car, take their pic and move away.
This will create some doubt in their mind , also let them know " Main tera picture internet pe dalunga"

[rjainv]

Originally Posted by silverado

Next time we find these stop your car, take their pic and move away.
This will create some doubt in their mind , also let them know " Main internet pe dalunga"

I would strongly discourage from any such things. These are mostly antisocial elements, and you never know what may provoke them and make them then violent.

Most might just panic a bit and leave you alone, but there might be some who go in totally opposite direction and pick up a fight!

Best is to go to authorised service centre. Or stop by a traffic police guy and then checkout.

[silverado]

Originally Posted by rjainv

I would strongly discourage from any such things. These are mostly antisocial elements, .

I agree with you sir, but atleast i will take his picture to create a doubt in his mind without saying anything or even talking to them.
I am sure i will not go away without doing atleast this.We can pretend to click one from insde the car.

[MaG]

I would probably say that our new age cars hardly have such issues. If we are regular at servicing our machines in the stipulated intervals, we should trust them over such crooks!

[techspark]

Wow, I didn't know such things are happening in Mumbai since a few years now. I fell prey to one such scam yesterday. But thankfully I just lost 100 bucks but did end up wasting a lot of time and getting my car checked unnecessarily today. I want to ask fellow members, what is it that we can do to stop these and get the culprits caught. They really play with our anxiety and in my case even though I did not lose any money but I did waste a lot of time taking my car back home to avoid any risk and I was late for a meeting and had to go through unnecessary hassle of taking a cab. I really want to give those guys a taste of their own medicine.

Full Story: It was 7pm in the evening. I drive a swift and it was near the Sion Hospital Dharavi Road, a guy knocked at my window and told me sparks are coming out of my engine bay. I sensed something fishy and moved ahead and then another guy comes up to me and tells me the same thing that he can see sparks coming out of my engine bay. I pull my car to the side and open the boot and see nothing abnormal. The same guy comes to me and tells me that he knows a mechanic nearby and it will just cost me 50-100 bucks and I can get it checked. I refuse at first but then he tells me see your car is very hot and I noticed one fog lamp was not working (later I realised it had gone bad long back) so I tell this guy to call the mechanic and in less than 2 minutes the mechanic arrives.

He asks me to start the car and tells me that my alternator, alternator belt and some fuse have gone bad and I should replace them immediately or it will burn up other parts. He claims he works for maruti and tells me if I don't fix this immediately, the car will have to be kept in service center for 15-20 days. He quotes me 7k for alternator and some 2k for other parts. He cleverly asks me that I can speak to his manager who works at 'Sai Service' and that don't tell him we are doing these repairs out of the service center. This is where I realize he is taking me for a ride and nothing is wrong. I did not want to mess up with them as I soon realized that it's a big gang and I politely told him no problem, I will show it to my mechanic tomorrow and I offered him 100 bucks for taking a look. He told me it's okay, not needed and then he insisted I should repair immediately and not drive more than 2-3 kms. He told me he can do a small fix in which I can drive 4-5 kms without it affecting the battery or any other part. He asked me to keep the Ac off and told me it will cost 250 Rs for this. I told him no that's okay I can take risk but then later he did it and asked me it's okay not to pay. Me being such a noob I gave him 100rs and all did was remove some relay from the black box on the side and that had nothing to do with the battery or anything. I paid 100rs, left the spot and parked my car home, got it checked today morning and my mechanic told me that nothing was wrong and I got scammed and he told me it's very common. I was so pissed that I fell prey to this, wasted 2 hours of my time and had to take a cab to the place I was going to.

But I learnt my lesson. Never trust anyone, always use your common sense and have basic knowledge and understanding of whatever car you drive.

Now, I would do anything it takes from my part to stop these things happening. If I just think that I lost 100 bucks and I should move on, I will be wrong because they are gonna scam someone else tomorrow and this has to stop. So please guys tell me what is it that we can do. Any inputs will be appreciated.