This is an escrow scam. I have advised the website where the car was advertised by sending them the following email. The scammer was david-walkerr@msn.com. I didnt get caught as I was cautious but watch out. Their website is now down but details can be found when searching for them on google.
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I pursued the purchase of an Audi A8 3.0TDI recently advertised on your site. The offer did seem a bit too good to be true and in the end the buyer "disappeared" much the same way as his advert did on the Pistonheads website.
Fortunately I hadn't parted with any cash but the seller had initially indicated the car was in Dunbar in Scotland but after an exchange of emails, the car appeared to be in Spain but still UK registered. The seller was seeking for me to lodge funds with the shipper, Dialljo Expeditions, whose website appeared very professional indicating a wealth of car shipping experience and over 40 years of trading. I asked many questions about the legitamacy of the arrangement with me offering to lodge the asking price (£17900) with a Scottish lawyer but the seller was adamant that I lodged the funds with the shipper and they would transfer to the seller only if I accepted the car upon delivery.
I had an colleague in Spain who I asked about this apparently long standing shipping company. The response from this was that the shipping company didn't exist and my contact in Spain has now reported this "phantom" company to the Spanish police as he works within the local authority in Murcia wher the company was allegedly based. Checking their website today, it would appear that their account has been suspended.
I would really appreciate you warning your members / readers of this potential scam noting some of the facts
The seller's email is david-walkerr@msn.com
The car in this case was a 2006 Audi A8 3.0 TDI registration
The shipping company was Dialloj Expeditions, website http://www.dialloj-expeditions.com
I was very lucky through my own perseverance to establish the legitimacy of those involved. if you search for this shipper on Google, you will see many reports about escrow scams which would lead to your members losing their money.
Hope this helps someone.