04/09/2026
🚨 ⚠️ CAR SELLERS — PLEASE BE AWARE ⚠️ 🚨
We want to make local car sellers aware of a worrying scam that we’ve been hearing about when vehicles are being sold privately.
There are reports of multiple men attending together to view a vehicle, with one or more people creating distractions while another person inspects the car.
The concern is that, during this distraction, oil may deliberately be introduced into areas of the vehicle to create the appearance of a serious mechanical problem.
This could potentially include:
🔧 Oil being put around the engine bay or underneath the vehicle to make it appear that the car has an oil leak.
💧 Oil potentially being introduced into the coolant expansion tank, making the coolant look contaminated and giving the impression that the vehicle has a serious head gasket or engine problem.
They may then use the supposed fault to pressure the seller into dramatically reducing the asking price.
⚠️ PLEASE DON'T BE PRESSURED INTO A QUICK DECISION.
If several people turn up to view your car:
👀 Keep an eye on everyone while they inspect the vehicle.
🚫 Don't allow yourself to be distracted while someone else is looking around the car.
📸 Take photos of the engine bay, coolant and underneath the vehicle before the viewing.
🔍 If someone suddenly points out a serious fault, don't automatically assume they're correct.
🧑🔧 Get the vehicle independently inspected by a trusted, reputable mechanic before accepting their diagnosis or dropping your price.
And remember — oil in coolant doesn't automatically mean a blown head gasket, and oil around an engine doesn't necessarily mean the vehicle has developed an expensive leak.
If something suddenly doesn't look right, stop the sale and get professional advice.
We'd much rather see someone walk away from a sale than lose potentially thousands of pounds because they've been pressured into believing their car has a major mechanical fault.
🚗🔧 Please share this post and help us spread the word. It could save someone from being caught out.
