Car burns at NT service station

DARWIN - Try before you buy, or risk getting burnt.

A man who had just bought a used car for $8,000 was about to refuel at a Darwin petrol station when it was engulfed by flames.

The 26-year-old was driving through Berrimah when he noticed sparks and flames beneath his new purchase.

When he pulled into a Caltex service station to fill up the tank shortly before 8pm (CST) on Thursday night, there was smoke and flames coming from under the vehicle, police said.

Aware of the petrol all around him, the driver rushed into the station and alerted the console operator who immediately shut down the bowsers.

By then, the car was well alight.

"Police and fire units attended the scene to find the Nissan Skyline Coupe engulfed in flames near bowsers at the service station," police said in a statement.

"Police redirected traffic for a short time while fire service personnel extinguished the blaze."

Duty Superintendent Dean Maloney said it had been a particularly bad day for the the driver.

"The owner of the vehicle had only just bought the vehicle from a friend," he told ABC radio in Darwin.

"The poor gentlemen had only just paid $8,000 moments earlier."

Police said there were no suspicious circumstances around the fire, which is believed to have been caused by an electrical fault.

The service station sustained minor heat damage to the roof.

- AAP