A local garage in Hertfordshire helped uncover a scam where a con man posing as an interested car buyer had tampered with the vehicle’s engine to knock money off the asking price.
As reported in the Shropshire Star, Jerry Scagell and Jennie Shaw fell victim to a fraudster that claimed to be a mechanic who was interested in privately buying their Skoda Octavia Scout.
The “car buyer” asked to look under the bonnet while the owner went to get their V5 documents.
After then taking the Skoda for a test drive it appeared that oil had leaked all over the engine bay.
The “car buyer” offered £7,000 under asking price to take the “problem vehicle” off their hands.
However, Scagell resisted the temptation to sell at a knockdown price and instead sent the Octavia to a local garage to investigate.
It transpired that the caps to the coolant tank and engine compartment had been removed, which had sent oil and water leaking over the engine bay during the test drive the previous day.
Repairs cost the couple £400, but they avoided a more costly sum after being duped by the fraudster.
The oil scam has been prevalent for years, with the RAC warning back in 2018 that the practice from con artists was making a comeback.
In this variation of the scam, fraudsters can pour oil into the coolant reservoir of the vehicle for sale, and then offer a cut-price because they falsely claim the engine is wrecked.
In this issue:
How dealers are becoming more green
Making every kWh count – gaining an understanding of chargers and infrastructure
Dealers start to overcome used buyers’ EV fears
How targets are driving carmakers to new lengths in winning fleet and retail orders.
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Freelance writer for AM, Tom Seymour has been a specialist B2B journalist covering the automotive sector for over 14 years. He started his freelance career in 2015 and currently writes for a variety of automotive, business and technology publications.
