I was driving my car along the western express highway in Mumbai with my family.
When we were about to get on to the National Park fly over at Borivali, two guys on a bike came aside us and pointing to the off-side front tyre made signs that there was something wrong. They then went ahead. After few seconds another guy with a girl came along on a bike and did the same. We passed the fly over and stopped the car on the road side. The guy and girl stopped their bike and came to us.
They claimed that they saw smoke coming out from under the car and did we not notice it? The guy talked very confidently and asked me to open the bonnet and start the engine. he asked my wife to watch the underside. I started the engine and came around. He showed me that ther was some oil leaking out of the ignition coil. He then asked me to get some cloth. He placed the cloth on the leaking area and asked me to start the engine again. The cloth burst into flames. He quickly put it out. There was no burnt marks on the cloth though. He explained to me that the oil is leaking from the device and if it falls on the fuel tube below, there can be an explosion.
The girl told in good English that we were lucky that they saw this and that we should break a coconut in a temple. The guy asked if I had tools. I did not have any. He then brought a spanner and plier from his bike and offered to dismantle the coil and replace it from a nearby garage. I then told him that the car was new and Sai Service Station from where I had purchased the car was nearby. I proceeded to call the service station. The girl told the guy that it was right that I call Sai service station and both of them did a sudden disappearing act.
Sai service guys explained that these were cons who replace the part for a duplicate one and charge 3000 to 5000 rupees from car owners. It was a regular phenomenon near Kurla, but recently it has started on Western expressway also.
There were two things that saved me from the cons. My car was full of dust from the long distance I travelled the previous day. So they thought that I was on a long journey and did not expect me to call up my service station. The second thing is that they asked me to break a coconut in a temple. A bit of an over-acting on their part. But this taught me a lesson about the cheats on the highways.