A MOREDON dad conned by a Gumtree gang has warned other car sellers to be “very cautious”.

He believes the group of men, who arrived in the early hours to buy his BMW, poured oil in the exhaust and the coolant – in a deliberate ploy to knock down the cost of the car.

Police think that the gang could be behind two other similar incidents of criminal damage in Swindon. They have warned of a national scam, with men targeting those selling high-powered cars through online market-place Gumtree.

Father-of-five Jonathan Marshall, 29, of The Gardens, hoped to get £5,500 for his BMW 330 M Sport when he listed it online in November. 

He agreed a price with buyer “Nick” and fixed a time for the man – described as “olive” skinned, in his mid-20s, smartly dressed, with slicked-back hair – to view the car.

Jonathan says that “Nick” missed the time they had originally agreed to meet, claiming he was stuck in traffic. 

It wasn’t until after 1am that the man finally arrived at Jonathan’s door – along with three others. 

Ground worker Jonathan said: “He asked to look round the car. I left the bonnet up and I wasn’t really paying much attention to the other guys. 

“All that I can imagine happened is that one of the others was putting oil in my exhaust and, when we went round the back, putting it in the coolant.” 

The car was taken for a test drive and, when the group returned, “Nick” claimed that the head gaskets needed replacing. He accused Jonathan of concealing the fact in his Gumtree article.

“He made me feel I was selling a dodgy car,” Jonathan said. 

“Nick” offered the Moredon dad £2,000 under the asking price – saying it would cost £3,000 to fix the gaskets. 

Jonathan said: “They were all standing around me. It was 1.20am. I didn’t know what to say. I didn't know what they were going to do. I felt obliged to say yes.”

The next day, the sense that he had been cheated began to grow. Jonathan called the police, who told him that there was little they could do – as a price had been settled on between the two parties.

However, they became more interested when Jonathan spotted an article on the website of Adver sister paper the Bournemouth Echo about a gang using a similar method to swindle a car owner in East Dorset.

Wiltshire Police now believe that Jonathan could have been the victim of a gang also believed to be behind two criminal damage reports in Upper Stratton.

Crime investigator Dee Williams, said “This is a nationwide scam whereby a group of males attend the addresses of those people selling often high powered vehicles on Gumtree.

"While the seller is distracted, the group cause damage to the vehicle and then agree a price much lower than originally agreed after claiming the vehicle is damaged.”

Jonathan warned others selling their cars through websites like Gumtree to “be very cautious”.

“I’m very angry with myself that I fell for it,” he said. “When they turned up at 1.10am in the morning it didn’t click that this was wrong. They kept me updated through the evening. 

“It wasn’t until the next day that I ran it all through my head and things started clicking.”

To report any information about the gang, call Wiltshire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.