Selling a car in The Australian Capital Territory (ACT)

Selling Your Car

The three ways you can sell a car are privately, at auctions, or to dealers. You will come across advertisements in magazines and newspapers, online, and on public notice boards. You need to have all the documentation ready if serious buyers want to inspect. It is not mandatory to give a warranty when making a private car sale. But the seller is required to notify the purchasers if the vehicle has any serious defects.

You can always opt to sell your vehicle to a dealer for cash. You will not get a reasonable price compared to if you opt to sell your car privately. You can choose to sell your car at auctions. The auction house will handle all the documentation. The auctioneer is in charge of advertising the sale of the car.

They will also advise you on the price you should sell it for. The auction house will then take an agreed-upon percentage of the amount after the vehicle is sold. If you have considered selling your car in the ACT as a private owner, there are some guidelines that you should follow. If you follow these guidelines, selling your car will be a piece of cake.

Do I Need Documents When Selling My Car?

There is nothing as distressing as losing documents that are to be used in selling your car. More so if you are planning to sell your car in the Australian Capital Territory; the following documents will be required:

Transfer of registration

Once you sell your car, you must transfer the registration to the current owner. You must do this within fourteen days of the sale. If you do not comply with this, you will be asked to pay a late fee (payable by the purchaser). The private trader of a second-hand car has to complete the 'Application to transfer registration' and the 'Notice of disposal.'

These are typically found at the back of the vehicle's registration certificate.  Car buyers and sellers need to both complete this. After the sale is finalised, the trader must deliver the 'Notice of disposal' to an Access Canberra service centre.

The seller should give the buyer the 'Application to transfer registration.' This will enable the purchaser to change the registration of the second-hand vehicle to their name. Payment is made when the transfer is made, which the purchaser is supposed to pay.

As the seller, ensure that the transfer of registration is done immediately after the sale of the vehicle. This will prevent you from paying fines for traffic offences obtained when the records still have your name as the owner.

Roadworthy certificate

If your car is not more than six years old, you are not obligated to obtain a roadworthy inspection in the ACT. Vehicles older than six years, however, do require having a check-up. An up-to-date roadworthy certificate is required to transfer the registration to the present owner.

However, it does not mean that the seller has to get it. If the person purchasing agrees, the sale could happen provided that they get the roadworthy certificate. To ascertain that your vehicle is fit for the road, the tyres, brakes, suspension, safety features, windscreen, and so on have to be inspected.

This is what the roadworthy check looks at. An authorised test examiner is responsible for doing roadworthy inspections on second-hand cars in the ACT. The only exemption of a roadworthy check if the car is more than six years old is when the purchaser is a dealer.

How Should I Price My Car?

Get to know the market price of your car before putting it up for sale. This will prevent you from putting a price too high, making it hard to sell or too low, robbing yourself a few more dollars.

What To Do Before Selling Your Car

Planning

With a bit of planning, selling your car can be a walk in the park. Appearance is everything, so ensure that your vehicle is clean not only outside but even inside. Remove litter from inside, do not leave things like CDs lying around. You can even go ahead and get a professional to do the thorough cleaning.

Do a full check

Check if there are any small chips, grazes, or spots, check if the tyres are inflated to the appropriate pressure, ensure that the service book and required documents are accessible should the purchaser want to check them. Do not forget to check your car engine's bay.

Potential buyers will most times raise the bonnet to check the engine bay. You should change the engine oil and ensure it is at the right level. If there is anything stuck around your engine or underneath your windscreen, such as leaves and bugs, remove them.

Get in touch with your financier

If your vehicle is presently under finance, get in touch with your financier and make arrangements for it to be cleared once the sale is finalised.

Take quality images

If you want to entice prospective buyers, take quality images. If you cannot do it well, hire a professional to take the pictures at different angles. Select the best photos for your advertisement.

Design your ad

After taking the photos, it is time to design your advertisement.

Buy a for sale sticker

Put a 'For Sale Sticker' on your vehicle. This should be placed on the lower left-hand side of the back window. This is to prevent any obstruction of view when driving and also gives it good publicity. This is also an efficient way of marketing while driving.

Keep tabs on your advertisements

Check how your advertisement is performing. If you place your advert online, you can check how the ad is performing. You can check if the ad is attracting or not attracting views and perhaps change something in the advert.

You can include a short video, add a brief description, highlight your car's unique features, check the prices of other cars that may be similar to yours, and adjust the price accordingly.

Respond to potential buyers

As soon as your advertisement is running, you will start getting phone calls or emails from prospective buyers inquiring about the car. Always be prepared by having a list of your vehicle's history.

The list should contain things like your vehicle's odometer reading, service record, how many owners have owned it previously, colour, and any other additional features. If there are any minor damages, include them on the list.

Closing The Deal

Honesty

One rule of doing good business is honesty. Be truthful about your car. If it has not been professionally serviced recently or has minor defects, let the purchaser know prior to closing the deal. If you are not willing to do the repairs, you can price the car a little lower.

Always meet in public

Always arrange to meet prospective buyers at a central place instead of giving out your home address as you can only be too careful. Do not forget to come in the car when meeting the clients.

Check that the buyer is insured

Before allowing any prospective buyer to get into your car and go for a test drive, ask to see their driver's license. Always ask your insurance company to know if the prospective client is covered should they get in an accident. Accompany the potential client for the test drive.

Bargaining

There is bound to be a little bit of bargaining from the buyer. Be ready for that. Have a minimum price that, no matter what, you will not go below it.

Write out a receipt

As soon as the price has been agreed upon by both the buyer and yourself, write out a receipt. If the buyer is paying in instalments, write the receipt indicating this but do not give them the car keys. Remember to include the words 'sold as seen' and make sure you keep a copy for yourself that has been signed.

Do not hand over the keys

Do not give out the keys to the vehicle until the agreed price is paid in full.

When In Doubt Use A Professional

With just a small amount of due diligence, selling a car in Canberra, ACT is not as complicated as people think, especially if you decide to use a professional car seller. You have three options to choose to sell your car, so select one that you feel most comfortable with. Follow the above tips to get a reasonable price for your vehicle if you sell your car in the ACT.