How To Sell A Car Privately In NSW

Selling a car privately in New South Wales isn't an overly complicated process. You just need to have proof that you're entitled to sell the car and that the buyer is eligible to register it. It doesn't even have to be currently registered.

Normally this means you need the vehicle to be registered in your name so you can sell it, and the buyer needs a valid Australian driver's license.

As Newcastle's best car removal service, we know quite a bit about the private sale of vehicles. So read on to learn exactly how you can sell your car privately in NSW.

Person To Person Sales

The most common way to sell your car in NSW is to sell it directly to another driver. This is also known as a person-to-person sale.

Person-to-person car sales usually involve advertising your vehicle. Common methods include a “For Sale” sign on your windshield, listing the vehicle online or in a newspaper ad.

Online advertising options continue to increase with places like carsales.com.au, Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree, and many other websites offering a mixture of free and paid Ads to choose from.

Once advertised, then, you wait for an interested buyer to get in contact with you.

Inspection & Test Drive

Once an interested person contacts you about your vehicle, they will most likely want to inspect the car in person and test drive it.

Depending on the experience of the buyer, they may wish to get a third party involved who could be a friend with more experience with buying cars. Or they could request professional assistance.

This can include an NRMA pre-purchase inspection, which involves a thorough inspection of your vehicle to make sure the buyer knows exactly what they are buying, including any underlying issues.

As the seller, you have the option to accept or deny any of these inspection requests, but obviously, if you did so it would appear you are trying to hide something.

Also, you should offer a test drive to the interested buyer to show them how well the car handles on the road. Just make sure to check they have a valid license and are legally allowed to drive.

Making The Sale & Transfer Of Registration

After an inspection and test drive, the buyer will either accept your price or may negotiate if they believe you have it overpriced.

Once you agree on a sale price you then need to arrange a payment method, normally cash or bank transfer.

After payment has been made you must properly dispose your vehicle. This is done by filling out the Notice of Disposal paperwork on the back of the registration papers. Here you specify the sale price and the buyer's details.

Next, you must submit this notice of disposal with Service NSW so they can update their records of who the vehicle is owned by and registered to.

Pros & Cons Of Private Car Sales

Selling your car privately using the method listed above has a couple of pros and cons.

On the positive side, you can get the highest amount of money for your vehicle if it still runs. However, finding a buyer for a car with issues will be exceptionally difficult, unless the car is a rare collectible.

This means you may have an unwanted vehicle sitting in your yard until someone decides to buy it.

A Faster Alternative

If your car isn't in good condition, doesn't run at all, or is an insurance write-off, finding a private buyer can be nearly impossible. In that case, your only real option will be to sell to an car wrecker such as us.

This is a lot easier than a person-to-person sale, but you may not get as much depending on the car you're selling.

Auto wreckers such as us, buy cars based on the recycling value. The main benefit to you is same or next day pickup so, you don't have to worry about the vehicle sitting around while you wait for a buyer.

The recycling value of your car is calculated based on multiple factors, but we have an entire blog post dedicated to explaining it if you'd like to check it out.

This is your best option if your vehicle doesn't run, continuously breaks down, or has been totaled in an accident.

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