8 common mistakes to avoid when selling your car
The 8 most common mistakes when selling your car privately in Australia — from overpricing to the Notice of Disposal most sellers forget to lodge.
Trade-in vs selling a car privately: the honest comparison
Most people know there are two ways to sell a car: trade it in at a dealership, or sell it yourself. What most people don't realise is how much money they're leaving on the table with a trade-in, or how much time and stress a private sale actually costs them.
Here's what both options actually look like, and how to figure out which one makes sense for you.
Selling a car privately: the honest pros and cons
Selling privately, through platforms like Carsales or Facebook Marketplace, is how you get the best price. That part's true. But there's a real cost to that extra money, and it's worth understanding before you commit.
What works:
- You set the asking price and control the timeline.
- Motivated private buyers will often pay closer to retail value.
- Selling a car privately online gives you access to a wide market, especially for popular makes and models.
What doesn't:
The process is genuinely time-consuming. A private sale can take anywhere from two weeks to two months, depending on your car, your price, and the market. During that time you're fielding enquiries at odd hours, arranging test drives, and fielding low offers from people who've spent 20 minutes on RedBook. Popular models like the used Toyota RAV4 and used Fords generate plenty of enquiries, but so does the competition. Buyers comparing multiple listings will use every imperfection as leverage.
Before committing to the private route, it's worth asking how much your time is worth. The price gap between a private sale and a competitive dealership offer is often smaller than it looks once you account for weeks of effort.
The risks of selling a car privately go beyond wasted time. Test drives mean handing your keys to someone you've never met, and you're often uninsured if something goes wrong, since many policies don't cover accidents during private test drives. There are also documented cases of cars being taken during test drives and not returned.
