SPANISH FORK — Ermanno Simeone was driving in Spanish Fork when a man in the car next to him approached him and made him a strange offer.
The man waved his hands to get Simeone’s attention before telling him out his car window that he could fix the dent in Simeone’s white Tesla for $400. They had just stopped at a red light near a Chevron gas station on Chappel Drive.
“He suggested we stop in a parking lot so he could take a closer look,” Simeone said. “I said I couldn’t do that at the moment but asked what he wanted. He said he was mobile and had his day off and could do it right away.”
Simeone said he was concerned because the dent was near the camera that recorded the interaction, and he was afraid the camera might be damaged by the repair the man offered.
He had also previously taken the car to a Tesla service center, where he received an estimate for the dent and other parts of the car that needed to be repaired. Tesla’s official estimate for the dent included work on the inner fender and wheel, and totaled $1,322 before taxes and labor.
A man offered to repair a dent in the driver of a white Tesla while they were stopped at a red light. (Courtesy of Ermanno Simeone)
In the video recorded by the Tesla’s camera, the man can be seen still talking to Simeone after they drove off.
“I felt a lot of pressure and didn’t want to deal with it at that moment, so I tried to get his number,” he said. “When we left, we were still talking.”
Simeone said as he drove away, he remembered scams he’d heard about in the past that were similar to what he’d just experienced. After he posted in a Spanish Fork Community News Facebook group, many others responded saying they’d been approached by people making similar promises, mostly in parking lots in Spanish Fork and Provo.
Law enforcement could not confirm that the man in the video was specifically offering a scam. Lt. Cory Slaymaker of the Spanish Fork Police Department said they have not had any reports of a repair scam in the area, but urged caution.
“Whenever you have any kind of repair done, be sure to check the company before you do anything,” he said.
