A gay college student in Virginia says that his car has been the target of four separate attacks of vandalism in just the last few months, as some people find it hilarious to use their keys to etch homophobic slurs — and randomly, the word “dye,” which we assume is either a spelling error or some kind of meta-comment on the prominence of gay men in the fashion and hairstyling worlds — into his vehicle. Unable to pay for the repairs, a local body shop in Roanoke and other businesses pitched in to fix the car up.

“The lowest estimate I got just to fix the damage to the doors was like $2,500 and for a college student that’s a lot of money,” the student tells WDBJ-TV.

The manager of Roanoke’s Quality Auto Paint and Body says that he heard about the young man’s car, “I said that’s uncalled for we’re gonna fix your car that’s the least we can do.”

With the help of several other local businesses — Parts Unlimited in Vinton, Advance Auto Parts, Moon’s Auto Body, Rice Toyota, Val’s Automotive, The Rod Shop, B&C Exterminating, Twists & Turns, AJ’s Landscaping, and Sunnybrook Auto Spa — the body shop not only provided the student with a new paint job for his car, but new tires, tinted windows, a new security system, and a new stereo.

“It looks great,” says the student about his Volkswagen. “It hasn’t looked that great the entire time I’ve had it.”

“We can’t afford to do this ourselves,” the body shop manager explains of the approximately $10,000 worth of repairs and upgrades. “We might have all the good intentions in the world but I can’t finance something like this ourselves.”

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.