Everything You Need to Know About Selling a Car in Victoria
Looking to take advantage of the high used car prices and sell your wheels? You're in the right place. Each state has its own set of rules and guidelines when it comes to selling a car, and VIC is no exception. Here’s what you need to know about selling a car in Melbourne or regional Victoria.
First figure out how you want to sell the car. You have a few alternatives, each with its own pros and cons. At a high level, there are 3 main options; selling your car privately, selling your car to a dealer or recycling your car if it’s no longer roadworthy.
Selling Your Car Privately in Victoria
This will typically get you the most money, depending of course how much time and effort you put into the sales process and how good of a negotiator you are. It is higher effort than the other 2 approaches though. Here’s what you need to do:
Get your paperwork in order
First and foremost, you’ll need to get some paperwork together. In order to sell your car in Victoria, you’ll need the following:
A roadworthy certificate. A RWC shows that your car is safe to be on the road. There are a few exemptions to this but most cars will need them.
A vehicle transfer form which you can get from VicRoads.
To be able to prove that you have the right to transfer the car. A copy of your registration certificate/renewal notice will work here.
2. Prep your car for Sale
Before listing your car you want to get it looking its best to help you get the best price you can. Here are our top tips to help;
Get your car serviced and detailed. It’s worth going beyond a basic clean here. A good polish and detail can make a much bigger difference than you might think.
Make sure you have the service history available. If it’s in need of a service, do it before you sell or it may look like you are hiding a mechanical issue.
Thoroughly clean your car, both inside and out. No one wants to test drive a messy vehicle.
Take great photos. This is worth getting right and can help attract more interest from buyers. Taking photos in the morning or late afternoon will usually get you the best light.
Remove any personal decorative items – you might love your fuzzy dice but not everyone might.
Take great photos. Make sure you take the time to get this right as it will affect the level of interest from buyers. We recommend doing this in the early morning or late afternoon when you usually get the best light.
3. List Your Car for Sale
Use online platforms like CarsGuide, Carsales, Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace. Make sure you provide all the key details so potential buys can see what they are getting.
Make, model, year, colour, and body style of the car (e.g., hatchback, sedan).
Mileage (kms travelled) and info about the engine and transmission type.
Any special features or accessories the car has that might boost the value. Think extras like Apple Carplay or Android Auto, lane change assist or autonomous braking.
Clearly state if the car is registered and provide the rego expiry date. If rego is about to expire, consider extending it (unless you are selling to someone out of state)
4. Negotiate and Close the Deal
Reaching an agreement with a buyer involves some negotiation. This doesn’t come naturally to everyone, but we’ve got some tips for you that might help.
Be prepared for potential buyers wanting a mechanic to inspect the car before purchase.
Determine your lowest acceptable price and stand firm during negotiations. When you reach that price, make sure to signal to your buyer that that’s your final price and never ever go lower.
Meet potential buyers in a safe and neutral location.
You’ll need t show the buyer some photo ID and proof of your right to transfer (e.g. your rego certificate).
If negotiating really isn’t your thing, ask someone you trust to negotiate on your behalf.
Carsales has some great tips and advice for sellers.
5. Complete the Paperwork and Transfer Ownership
There’s a couple of steps here:
Before you complete the sale you’ll need to check the buyer’s ID and ensure they have a licence/VicRoads customer number. If the buyer is going to keep it registered in VIC, but doesn’t have a VicRoads customer number, they’ll need to get one before you sell. They can do this at a VicRoads Customer Service Centre.
If it’s an interstate buyer who doesn’t have a VicRoads customer number, VicRoads recommends that you sell the vehicle unregistered.
Keep a record of all agreements and transactions for your records. VicRoads has a receipt template that you can use.
Complete the vehicle transfer form which is available online or from a VicRoads Customer Service Centre.
VicRoads has some great resources to help you here.
Dealership Car Sales or Trade-Ins
This often means lower sale price, but selling your car to a dealership tends to be easier and much quicker. You get to skip the back-and-forth with buyers and inspection no-shows. You also get to make the sale much faster so if you’re in a rush, this is often the way to go.
If you value time over money, then the answer to “should I sell my car privately or go to a dealer” is probably to choose a dealer sale.
You also get much better value when you buy a new car from the same dealership so if you are looking for a replacement straightaway, check out this option.
Recycling Your Car
If your old banger has reached the end of days and is no longer roadworthy, you can sell it to an auto recycler. A quick google will usually reveal loads of people looking to “pay cash for your wreck” or to scrap it on your behalf, though you’ll want to make sure whoever you choose is disposing of the cars in the most environmentally friendly way.
Selling your car in another state? Check out our QLD and NSW guides.
Life After Selling Your Car
Now that you've successfully sold your car, what now? Why not avoid the hassle and expense of car ownership entirely and choose to car share instead? GoGet is a great way to access to a variety of vehicles and get all the benefits of a car without having to put up with the expense of ownership.
With GoGet you get access to thousands of cars throughout Melbourne (and Sydney and Brisbane too for good measure). GoGets come in all different shapes and sizes. Grab a small hatch to do your weekly shop, a SUV for that trip up the coast and a van to get your new sofa home. Whatever kind of car you need for your trip, we’ve got you covered. And you can hire it for as little as 1 hour.
Even better, the GoGet network of cars means that our members don’t need to travel far to find a car or van, there’s often one at the end of their street! Check out your closest GoGet here.
Sound good? Find out more about our rates and membership plans today.
