escrow services / buying a car

[z28dreams]

Hey all,

I'm interested in possibly purchasing a car from a wholesale dealer here in the virginia/DC area. He basically picks up vehicles from auctions and resells them.

The catch - he's asking for a deposit up front since he'll be at risk if he purchases a vehicle and I decide not to buy it.

Obviously, potential scam alerts are going off in my head, but he does seem fairly legitimate.

What would be the best way to protect myself? An escrow service? (Something like escrow a $500-$1000 deposit on the condition that a car purchase is made, etc?)

Actually, the escrow money could be transferred to him for an option contract to purchase the vehicle - anyone know the proper way to do this?

Any other ideas appreciated.