I got scammed out of $140 to buy a taillight to replace one on my son’s Passat, paying using Venmo. It seemed legit, of course, and I simply did not do my usual due diligence. I was in a hurry and didn’t carve out the time like I should have in order to do the most basic of searches. This was the first time I have ever been scammed. Lesson learned. That is all.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/04/2023 09:53PM by Speedy.

Sorry about that, Speedy. People are scum.

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“There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in."

Why/how did you bust the taillight on your kid's car in the first place?
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Buzz
Why/how did you bust the taillight on your kid's car in the first place?
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Yeah Dad, even though you thought you were out of that phase of your life, worry when you notice you're teaching yourself the same lesson for the third time and that was just last week.

Speaking of which I bought an economy model 9th gen iPad for one of the g'kds, what showed up was a (misrepresented) 1st gen iPad Air. Mercari refunded but the scammer from Georgia never reclaimed his AirPad - anyone out there want or have a use for an old Pad that's been known to put on airs?

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Buzz
Why/how did you bust the taillight on your kid's car in the first place?
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Son parked my 2004 TDI Passat wagon at Home Despot in Minnesota and a young woman about 70 parked behind him. She finished shopping before he did and attempted to drive in reverse but instead hit the gas in D. She rode up on the Passat bumper as well as the step of the 3/4 ton parked next to him. She got hung up on the 3/4 ton step, one wheel in the air, so was still there when he came out. I gave him the car which he took to Texas where he lives, something planned before the collision. There was damage to the rear which his local bodyshop repaired but they couldn’t find a taillight. I use a WTB on the TDIClub forum and quickly got scammed. I still need to find a left taillight…

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

I've heard nothing about venmo when it comes to security, payments and scammers. I avoid it like C45

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!#$@@$#!

proofraed by OwEn the c@t.



Nobody remembers their first download, but everyone remembers their 1st LP.

She finished shopping before he did and attempted to drive in reverse but instead hit the gas in D. She rode up on the Passat bumper as well as the step of the 3/4 ton parked next to him. She got hung up on the 3/4 ton step


Yet another example of mandatory driver testing after 65 years or thereabouts.

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Hurts like a bastid...

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mrbigstuff

She finished shopping before he did and attempted to drive in reverse but instead hit the gas in D. She rode up on the Passat bumper as well as the step of the 3/4 ton parked next to him. She got hung up on the 3/4 ton step


Yet another example of mandatory driver testing after 65 years or thereabouts.

but he said "a young woman".

Not festive. I call moments like that "tuition".

My car repair guy uses car-part.com for used parts. He buys stuff every day.

Sorry to hear about the Menards incident. Irks me every time I go there that John makes ya park on one side then ya gotta cross the concrete desert to get back to your car after you've bought crap from him.

I survived one meeting with John when they started in racing. Life is too short for that guy.

How did you get scammed through Venmo?

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Central VA

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CJsNvrUrly
How did you get scammed through Venmo?

my take is that he sent money though Venmo and the item never arrived. This is like giving cash to someone on the street with the promise they come back to the same spot the next day to give you something. I can't really blame Venmo for that.

for the record, I do not use Venmo, but I use Zelle. Never had a problem with Zelle so far and I used it for maybe 5 years.

I don't like Venmo. Wife uses it to send payment to a tutor for out son, and I looked up that tutor and I can see reviews from other users. I don't recall if the amounts were also listed, but seeing some of the people that pay and leave her positive reviews seems creepy.

I was under the impression that Venmo was mostly used for sending a friend or relative money. The one time I used it (and the only reason I signed up) was to reimburse a co-worker. My wife and daughter use it more frequently with each other and my daughter with her close friends. I don't think I'd even consider it with a stranger. A least Paypal offers some protection, no?

Sorry to hear that Speedy. That sucks.

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gadje

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CJsNvrUrly
How did you get scammed through Venmo?

my take is that he sent money though Venmo and the item never arrived. This is like giving cash to someone on the street with the promise they come back to the same spot the next day to give you something. I can't really blame Venmo for that.

.

This^. Venmo is meant for use with family and friends. Venmo had nothing to do with me being scammed. I walked, no, ran right into the scam. “Here, take my money and scam me.” I did email Venmo about the scammer hoping they would block him. A CSR did reply and she said she would look into blocking him. But all he needs is another email, name and account to keep scamming. He offered to use Zelle, Venmo, Cashapp, Money Order and Apple Pay.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/2023 02:53PM by Speedy.

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chopper
My car repair guy uses car-part.com for used parts. He buys stuff every day.

Sorry to hear about the Menards incident. Irks me every time I go there that John makes ya park on one side then ya gotta cross the concrete desert to get back to your car after you've bought crap from him.

I survived one meeting with John when they started in racing. Life is too short for that guy.

It was Home Despot. But I’m with you on John Menard. I will look into car-part.com but that is the site that was used by the auto body shop to no avail.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/2023 02:41PM by Speedy.

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Speedy

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Buzz
Why/how did you bust the taillight on your kid's car in the first place?
==

Son parked my 2004 TDI Passat wagon at Home Despot in Minnesota and a young woman about 70 parked behind him. She finished shopping before he did and attempted to drive in reverse but instead hit the gas in D. She rode up on the Passat bumper as well as the step of the 3/4 ton parked next to him. She got hung up on the 3/4 ton step, one wheel in the air, so was still there when he came out. I gave him the car which he took to Texas where he lives, something planned before the collision. There was damage to the rear which his local bodyshop repaired but they couldn’t find a taillight. I use a WTB on the TDIClub forum and quickly got scammed. I still need to find a left taillight…

OK, that 'splains it mo betta. Thanks.

Son borrows car, smashes it at Depot, blames old lady so you won't/don't make him pay for his mishap. Good story.
We let Baby Buzz pull that shtuff, too.... he's wrecked three of our old white Lexii, so far. The first one was bought new, and had ~140K miles on it. We found a newer one to replace w/ 105K miles on it when we bought it, 117K miles on it when he crunched it. It got replaced w/ a similar vintage w/ 82K miles on it, and it got wrecked at ~97K miles, though it turned out his then GF was actually driving. We were then fortunate to score the current similar vintage pearly white Lexus w/ only 65K miles on it, and thus far it's still intact.

Enable those damn millennials!
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Quote
Buzz

Quote
Speedy

Quote
Buzz
Why/how did you bust the taillight on your kid's car in the first place?
==

Son parked my 2004 TDI Passat wagon at Home Despot in Minnesota and a young woman about 70 parked behind him. She finished shopping before he did and attempted to drive in reverse but instead hit the gas in D. She rode up on the Passat bumper as well as the step of the 3/4 ton parked next to him. She got hung up on the 3/4 ton step, one wheel in the air, so was still there when he came out. I gave him the car which he took to Texas where he lives, something planned before the collision. There was damage to the rear which his local bodyshop repaired but they couldn’t find a taillight. I use a WTB on the TDIClub forum and quickly got scammed. I still need to find a left taillight…

OK, that 'splains it mo betta. Thanks.

Son borrows car, smashes it at Depot, blames old lady so you won't/don't make him pay for his mishap. Good story.
We let Baby Buzz pull that shtuff, too.... he's wrecked three of our old white Lexii, so far. The first one was bought new, and had ~140K miles on it. We found a newer one to replace w/ 105K miles on it when we bought it, 117K miles on it when he crunched it. It got replaced w/ a similar vintage w/ 82K miles on it, and it got wrecked at ~97K miles, though it turned out his then GF was actually driving. We were then fortunate to score the current similar vintage pearly white Lexus w/ only 65K miles on it, and thus far it's still intact.

Enable those damn millennials!
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Well, my 30 y.o. son is a much safer driver than his father. He has never had a ticket or an at fault accident. I’m totally relaxed when I ride with him except I would like him to speed just a bit to keep up with other traffic.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

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mrbigstuff

She finished shopping before he did and attempted to drive in reverse but instead hit the gas in D. She rode up on the Passat bumper as well as the step of the 3/4 ton parked next to him. She got hung up on the 3/4 ton step


Yet another example of mandatory driver testing after 65 years or thereabouts.

My grandmother was up in years many decades ago, and she was on then in-force, mandatory annual re-exam. Well, she somehow passes (against everyone in the family's hopes), and when her new license shows up, it's for five years! Well, her youngest son (my uncle) ratted her out, and had her license remanded back to one year. Then after (yet) another fender bender near her favorite little shopping area, the family successfully put an end to her driving.

As to mandatory testing, I'm not sure how I feel about that. These days, there so many bad drivers of all ages, I hate to single out just us oldies. I'd love to see more Big Brother data capture used to weed out all bad drivers, but then I'm not a fan of Big Brother as a general rule. Not sure what can be done. It'll be interesting to see what happens as we electrify all of our transportation, and more tech is involved.
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Ways to improve web conference image and sound quality. [forums.macresource.com]

"Well, my 30 y.o. son is a much safer driver than his father. He has never had a ticket or an at fault accident. I’m totally relaxed when I ride with him except I would like him to speed just a bit to keep up with other traffic."

Is he available for driving lessons? My 29 y.o. Baby Buzz could obviously benefit....

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It looks like they've got those on Amazon for 80 bones or so. Auto Zone has them, but the wagon's costs 180 or so (idkw). If you really care about the car, OEM is almost always worth it, I think, but if it's just transpo, all the Amazon parts I've bought at least work (maybe a little off).

kj, interesting suggestions. The VW dealers don’t stock them and can’t get them according to the bodyshop. I’m headed for Amazon, then AutoZone.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

I think a lot of places stock stuff like what I've bought on Amazon, but at least Amazon stuff is easily returned and comes quickly. I have received the wrong thing (there are so many variations), but I just send it back if it's not right.

Have you tried doing a search of the local body parts/junkyards? We found a needed taillight assembly there for an old accord. We did have to show up with tools and uninstall it ourselves, although that was easy. Also pulled a new driver seat and a complete radio assembly to replace that others. Was pretty easy and cost was low.

I ended up buying an OEM assembly from a Canadian recycler for US$201 via eBay (shipping exceeded the cost of the part). Others were available and much cheaper but so was the Chinese plastic. This will better match the other taillight.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.