The "Magic Dent Repair Adventure"

During the Christmas season I set out on an adventure to Disneyworld with my son and his family, which included two beautiful grandchildren. At that time, I just didn’t realize just how much of an escapade it would be. One dark evening, when I pulled into the automatic gate of our hotel, I decided to get close to the keypad and enter the code from the car. I wasn’t familiar with the “flying buttresses” of Florida’s safety bollards, which stick out in the air from the poles. As I pulled away I heard the awful, distressing sound of concrete on metal! When I climbed out of the cute little black rental car, my heart sank. The left backseat passenger side had a gash a foot long! Of course, I had decided not to get rental insurance since my company covered car rentals, but with a $500 deductible! I chastised myself all the way up to my room and informed my son of the tragedy. He took it in stride and went down to inspect the damage.

The next morning, he rubbed off the yellow paint I thought was a gash, took pictures and whisked them off to several auto repair shops. The estimates came back between $600 to $800! (Isn’t Florida supposed to be cheaper than New York?) Anyway, they told us the rental agency would charge double that, so we decided to get it fixed here.  With my driving history, I’ve had several mishaps in parking lots on dark rainy nights, I didn’t want to go through my insurance. So, we were holding out for one more estimate from Magic Dent Repair. By then it was 9:30 and I wanted to get to Epcot, my favorite park. When he texted me to call him, I immediately did so.

I couldn’t believe it when he told me it would cost only $140! My son heard that and jumped up, “Let’s go now!  I was hesitant. “The Magic Dent Repair” guy said to meet us in a half an hour in a parking lot ten minutes away. It didn’t sound Kocher to me. However, the price was enticing so we decided to check it out. After a few wrong directions, we found him parked behind some bushes with a stack of large green totes where he kept his tools and of course a black pick up truck. Oh boy, I conjectured, this really is shaping up into a shady deal!

However, after five minutes of evaluating the dent and validating who he said he was with his NASA ID badge, we agreed. Yup, he told us he was a security guard for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration down the road at Cape Canaveral. I thought his story sounded out of this world, but Epcot’s call grew louder, so I agreed to his terms.

With a trembling hand, I handed over the rental car keys to him, and shook my finger. “You better be legit. I’m from New York and I’ll sic my NYPD nephews on you!”

On the way to Epcot in the shuttle, I fell apart. What a fool I am, I chided. I texted him right away and demanded he send me a picture with his progress. To my surprise, he answered a few minutes later with a picture and text. “I’ll send you another photo when it’s finished.” I relaxed a little and prayed we weren’t being duped.

Making plans for the pickup then became an issue because I had to take the shuttle back to the hotel and I wanted to stay to see the “Candlelight Processional and the “IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth” light show. After a few texts back and forth with his wife, we arranged to pick up the car at 11:30 after he got out of work. I shook my head. What a perfect scam this could be and what a bunch of suckers we were! Stupid.  Although he had five-star reviews online, he probably got his conspirators to write them. Once again, I prayed Mr. Magic wasn’t half way to the coast in my getaway rental by the time we went to retrieve it.

In my mind, I saw police strobe lights and thousands of dollars slipping though my fingers. Yet suffice is to say, it all worked out in the end! In the dark of night, we met him in the Whole Food parking lot and followed his car into a gated community. I was so relieved when I saw the car in his driveway and the dent repaired.  I gladly paid the $140 by credit card, so I could have a record of him. Sure enough, the receipt text came through as “Magic Dent Repair.” The operation was legitimate! Mr. Magic, NASA security guard talked with us for about fifteen minutes like we were old friends and assured us it would pass the rental agency’s inspections. It did, thank the Lord. But as I contemplated this whole venture, a life lesson and spiritual application started to percolate.

Stay tuned for Part II, the whole reason I wrote about this crazy adventure! If you liked what you read, please consider subscribing to this blog. I’d also love for you to leave a comment.