'Fix Your Car' Scammer Could Be Back in Midtown

The "fix your car" scammer could be back in Midtown. 

"He seems to come and go," said West Midtown resident Seth Jones, store manager of the on Ponce De Leon Avenue. 

Around lunchtime on Tuesday, Jan. 18, Jones got a call from a man who needed to tow his Chevy Suburban from the on Ponce. The car wouldn't start when the driver returned from eating at the fast food restaurant.

Jones said the SUV wouldn't start because someone went underneath the vehicle and purposely disabled it. He's seen the situation many times before. For around a decade, Jones said, a man has run a scam in Midtown where he tampers with cars in parking lots.

"He'll disconnect something underneath the vehicle to make it not start," Jones said. The man tends to target trucks and SUVs since they are higher off the ground than cars. When the person returns to the vehicle and finds it won't start, the man shows up and offers to fix the vehicle, saying he is a mechanic. 

"He tries to be the hero," Jones said. But when repairs are complete, the man asks for money. He typically demands $20 to $100, Jones said. "He's not that pushy for the money," said the tire store manager, who described the man as in his late 40s or early 50s. He's 150 to 180 pounds and near 5-feet, 10-inches tall. 

"He's usually pretty well-dressed and well-spoken," Jones said. He said the man speaks with a thick Caribbean accent "that sounds fake." The scammer tends to target parking lots on Ponce, especially those at Home Depot, Whole Foods, Kroger, Publix and McDonald's.

With yesterday's incident at McDonald's, Jones said the man never approached the owner of the car to offer repairs. He said something must have spooked the man.

People who think they are a victim of the scam can call at 404-874-1112 for assistance. The shop is open Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

"Midtown Tire is so fed up with this guy that they will fix your car for free," said Sgt. Bill Cooper, who heads the patrol for the Midtown Ponce Security Alliance.