Some people are asking for it. Just saying.

I wouldn't do it myself, but if I were watching it happen I know I wouldn't lend a hand to stop it. Fraud couldn't happen to a better group of people.

Yes, I do know there's limits. I wouldn't refuse to help someone who's dying, even if they were Charles Manson. But if someone were to rip off a dealership trying to rip others off? Hmmmm... that's a tough one for me (not). Live by the sword, die by the sword and all that.

In today's world, no one leaves a note behind if they bumped into your car. The world is a bunch of cowards. If I saw a note on my widnshield, I don't know if I would take it seriously, especially if I don't see any damage to my car.

I think it's kind of creative.

@plustax: The best way to get the post office to care about the assholes who leave things on your mailbox is to gather up a couple dozen of them and put them in a mail drop-off box. The post office will have nobody to go after except the company in question. Then they can explain to the post office that although they placed fliers in mailboxes in clear violation of the law, they didn't place those particular fliers in that particular mailbox.

You might hit your quota this month and next, but long term the dealership would suffer.

So I guess I'm not surprised at a car salesperson doing this note thing, but would be surprised at dealership ownership being OK with it. Unless of course the dealership were in dire shape, then short-term gain is the only concern perhaps.

@shepd:

No, no. take your car to that specific dealership and tell the body shop to bill Kelly directly for the damages he/she caused your car.

No matter what, I am sure Kelly is going to be paying the body shop for wasting their time. Might even pay with his/her job.

I guess that quota system for x quantity of prospective customers calling for the sales dude/dudette has caused the sales dude/dudette to stoop to low life tactics.

So what is new?

No. Of course you don't. Wanna throw in a few "FIRST!"'s and ask if these notes will blend and/or play Crysis while you're at it?

Almost as tacky as the "economic stimulus check" I got in the mail. It came in an official looking envelope saying "Economic stimulus check enclosed - deliver to addressee only." With a return address of "stimulus processing center" or something like that. I was expecting a "real scam" but had a laugh when I opened it and the check was a trade in voucher check good only at that dealership toward a new car.

"Please call me about the smell." - gynaecologist

@tripnman: It is a federal crime but goodluck getting the postal service to bother to enforce it.

As for shepd's suggestion, on the face of it, I like it. But yeah, it crosses the line if you actually go all the way to small claims court. But it might not be so bad to just make 'em think you'll do it (just like how they brought Jack Bauer in to question the aide 2 weeks ago and have him be so scared of Jack that he'd tell him what they needed to know).

If I found a hand-written note on my car that said "Hi! This is Billy Bob Beaucephus at Screwem Motorcars, and I'd like to discuss trade-in possibilities with you. Call me on my cell xxx-xxx-xxxx M-Sat 8am - 7pm. Thanks!"

I wouldn't be irritated or feel like someone was trying to scam me. (Well, beyond the normal amount of scam any educated person expects from the car-buying process.)

But this... not quite there, and it would be enough to make me write off a dealership.

I was going to comment, but my lunch hour is up.

Not any worse than Consumer Reports.

Although the sticking point is you'd need to have a car that already actually has problem X. Not like you're going to smash it yourself just to hopefully get the money back that way.

Sorry.

So basically you want people to commit fraud?

Nice. Real nice.

So in a way it is a service... a giant "don't ever buy from us" notice that could save me from a worse problem down the road.

I know they are all out to get us, but that doesn't mean we're not paranoid. - new Consumerist motto?

If you don't care about it, move on, or don't read it at all.

sales pitch.

@DrGirlfriend: This!
If people were used to receiving notes on their car for a variety of reasons (I like your car and am interested in buying, your alarm goes off and it is irritating, your rims are cool where did you get them, etc) then we would be used to notes with random inquiries or sales pitches.

As it is now, note on car = I bumped/damaged your car. This context makes the sales note manipulative and underhanded.

Also this note looks like it's from an invididual salesperson - with her own extension.

The dealership may not even know she's doing it. voicemail probably says "hi this is kelly's desk" or something in case she's out peope will still leave a msg.

@internetsguy: The salesperson exploited a well-known method of letting someone know their car has been hit in order to create a sense of urgency in the car-owner to call back. It's not a huge deal, but certainly sketchy enough to make anyone shy back from doing business with that person.

I don't really see this a scare tactic or a "dirty" trick... it's just a regular trick :)

The dealer did not claim to have damaged the vehicle. They didn't call up and say, sorry I dinged your car, but I happen to be a car salesman and I can give you a deal. That would have been shady, and fraudulent.

It is hard to make a living these days, give the salesman a break, they are just trying to generate sales leads.

Yep- I'd go to the police station, file a police report- give 'em a copy of the note, find a scratch/dent on an exposed part of where the car was parked, and let the police give 'em a call.

Sure the note doesn't specifically say the writer damaged the car, but what else would one think? What other reason would someone write a note like this?

If I got one of these notes and called only to find out it was a sales pitch, "pissed off" would not begin to describe how I would feel. "Furious and blinded with a white-hot rage" would be closer.

Ahhh man, I hope that happens to me now, I have a big fatty dent in my car that is just waiting for a scummy car salesman to pay to fix. :)

@Radi0logy: Nigerian consultants.

I like shepd's idea. Someone should call them know about that scenario, ignore their sales pitch and just be concerned about reconciling the dent that "wasn't" there before the note was left...

From the local gym: "Please call me about your fat ass."

Then, for the coup de gras: Sue them in small claims, bring in the call, bring in the letter. Even if they admit to littering, I doubt the judge is going to believe them--this doesn't look like an ad, it looks like a "I bumped your car" note.

Basically, make Kelly pay to get your car fixed.

Oh, IANAL, and I am probably also morally corrupt. But, damn! Wouldn't this be fun, though...

Can you imagine the reaction of someone who finds this note then looks over their car to find damage they'd never noticed before?

Consider how many people that could happen to if the dealership tagged older cars that the owners didn't watch as closely anymore.

There's potential for a lot of accusations and a lot of bad karma for the dealership.

Gavin: The $200 dollar suit thing was a (lame) joke - clarified in thread now - and I guess Im just commenting on car salesmen who do things like what the author wrote. Although I do think a very large majority of them are essentially con artists.

This has also been done by real estate agents, with a note in a mailbox, "Are you looking to sell your house?" purporting to be from a couple eager to move into a specific neighboorhood.

Way back in the pre internet days some enterprising work at home scammer placed flyers under the wipers in my college's parking lot. And gave his street address and a supposed contact name...

I still wonder what he did with all the Rolling Stone subscriptions, record club enrollments (only Classical or old fogie music chosen), and extermination company inquiries we had sent to him.

Were they putting them on all the cars or just specific ones? There might be a demand for certain used cars at their dealership, in which case I think it might be a little annoying but not unethical. I sometimes ask people if they want to sell their hondas for my brother.

If I didn't see damage I wouldn't call

Someone needs a hug and a cookie

Plastic surgeon: "Please call m about your face."

I don't hate car salesmen, I just feel sorry for them. If they put in the same hard work/long hours into developing a talent or prepping for a real job, they could make a lot more money not trying to con people all day.

My father sells cars. Was it him? He would have been the guy in the gorilla costume.

Makes me want to go to dealerships and leave notes on the workers cars that say "Please call me about your lost morals" and leave the phone number for AIG Headquarters