Police warn about man going door to door, offering car 'repair' service

BELLEVUE -- Police are trying to identify a man who’s been going door to door, trying to swindle money from people by offering to fix their cars.

Take a look at the side of this GMC Denali. The family that owns the truck didn’t want to talk on camera. But they tell us a man knocked on their door this weekend and offered to buff out some scratches on their side door.

They said yes, figuring they wouldn’t pay him unless the repairs were acceptable. But police say the man didn’t do any repairs.

“He masked off the damaged area, spray painted it gray like a primer, and it was at that point that the suspect demanded an additional $250 for supplies,” Bellevue police officer Seth Tyler said Monday.

The owner of the truck refused, and took a picture of the suspect before he drove off.



“It’s pretty clear this was a fraud suspect with no intention of actually completely the repairs," Tyler said.

Detectives believe the suspect may be responsible for a similar case in Federal Way last month. They’re now trying to determine if he tried to defraud any other drivers.

“It’s likely there are other victims who haven't reported this, either because they're embarrassed or they didn't want to get the police involved," Tyler said.

They do say this case is a good reminder for people to be wary of anyone soliciting business door to door, especially if they don’t have any business identification or license.

“We do recommend that folks go to a reputable business. If there's a website they can go to or a physical location, it's much safer than someone coming to you asking for business, going door to door," Tyler said.