Crime Scene

I consider myself pretty bright when it comes to recognizing scams that people play on people. I cover crime, so presumably I’d be more aware than most. But yesterday, I myself was the sucker and ended up paying $75 to a man pretending to be a mechanic. I’m writing this so hopefully you don’t fall for this one too.
Here’s how it worked:
I was driving on the upper east side of Manhattan. Rounding a corner, some dude on the sidewalk shouted, “hey, your car is smoking.” Another guy nearby shouted the same thing, and recommended I pull over. I did. That guy, wearing a mechanic’s outfit, offered to check out my car, told me to the pop the hood. I did.
He then took a looksy at the engine and said, “you must have been hitting a lot of potholes lately.” He explained that my “pins” were locked and that this was causing my car to smoke. If I continued to drive, he said, I could do serious damage to the car.
So at this point, I was thinking I’d have to have my car towed to a mechanic and pay who knows how much money to get the car fixed.
But this guy convinced me this was my lucky day. He said he could fix it himself on the spot, that it was an easy problem to fix. He told me to buy a gallon of water to use as coolant. I did. When I returned, he showed my a puddle of antifreeze forming under my car, saying this was the result of my “pins” being locked. (He undoubtedly made that happen while I was in the store). Then he showed me the engine and said some gibberish that I didn’t understand, something about my O2 sensor not working and how this would prevent me from knowing when my car overheats.
At the same time, he was on the phone with his “boss” who was giving him information about my Nissan, he said, to help him make the repair and know what the repair would cost.
As he “worked” on my car, he had me turn on the AC to high so, he said, the engine would stay cool. (I only later learned that that you’re actually supposed to turn on the heat in that situation). He also had me rev the engine (to keep me from looking at him as he did nothing.)
When he was done, he asked for $150. Being cheap, I talked him down to $75. Then he walked away.
That’s when I had my realization that I’d been had. Perhaps it was the fact I never actually did see the smoke. So yes, I got taught a $75 lesson. Don’t let it happen to you.