A woman claims a mechanic’s employee told her she ‘signed away’ her boyfriend’s Tesla, and now he wants $35,000 to hand it back

Cheyenne Serano says her boyfriend’s Tesla has been held for eight months by a California repair shop, in a dispute that has now landed in court, as detailed by BroBible. Serano posted about the situation on TikTok under the username @cheyenneserano, alleging that Gary’s Auto Collision Center in Newhall, California is “actively stealing” her boyfriend’s car.

According to Serano, her boyfriend, Malcolm Moyenda, crashed his Tesla in November 2025 and had it towed to the shop, where owner John Wright had him sign a preauthorization form before inspecting the vehicle. Both Wright and Serano confirm the roughly $4,000 quote for repairs was something Moyenda agreed to over the phone.

Wright said he began ordering parts and prepping them for installation shortly afterward. Serano says the couple grew suspicious after several days passed without a written estimate, and told Moyenda to back out of the repair. Moyenda texted Wright saying he no longer wanted the work done and wanted his car back. Wright responded that he would try to cancel the parts order but that Moyenda would likely be stuck paying for it since the request had already gone through.

Then Wright stopped responding

From there, Serano says Wright became difficult to reach, with the shop repeatedly telling her he wasn’t available. Disputes between customers and repair shops over unpaid or disputed work have made headlines before, including a man who claimed a dealership charged him an extra $150 after allegedly crushing his oil filter during a routine service.

Wright maintains that further inspection revealed structural damage to the vehicle, prompting an updated estimate, which Moyenda rejected. Both sides agree Moyenda eventually demanded the car back. Wright says he could not release it without payment for work already completed, offering to hand over the car along with unused parts if Moyenda paid the originally agreed $4,000. Serano disputes that this offer was ever made clearly to the couple.

A former employee named Vanessa told Fox 11 that little to no work was actually being done on the car during this period, alleging that customers were told repairs were in progress even when they weren’t. Wright denied instructing her to lie, saying instead that the shop was “technically working” on the vehicle throughout.

After the couple hired a lawyer and sent a demand letter, Wright filed a lien against the car reportedly totaling $158,983, a figure he says was generated automatically based on the shop’s daily storage fee structure rather than reflecting the car’s actual value. Serano says a shop employee once told her the car no longer belonged to the couple because of the signed authorization form, a claim Wright denies making.

He maintains the situation is a standard possessory lien, comparable to a lien placed on a house. The two sides also differ on a later phone call regarding a buyout offer, with Wright confirming he offered to release the car for $35,000 but disputing Serano’s claim that Moyenda had offered $5,000 in return. A mediation hearing in the case is scheduled for July 30.