Why does my car shake when I'm stopped at the lights?
A car shaking at idle usually comes down to four causes. Here's how to read what your car is telling you and which ones can wait vs. which ones can't.
What to do after selling your car in Australia
Handing over the keys feels like the finish line. It isn't quite. There are several steps you need to take after a private car sale to protect yourself legally and financially. Most of them take only a few minutes. Skip them and you can spend weeks dealing with the consequences.
1. Lodge the Notice of Disposal
This is the most important step and the one sellers most often forget. In New South Wales, you must lodge a Notice of Disposal (NoD) with Service NSW within 14 days of the sale. Other states have their own equivalent notification processes, most with similarly short deadlines.
The NoD records the sale date and the buyer's details, and removes your name from the vehicle's operator record. Without it, any fines, toll notices, or parking infringements generated by the new owner can land with you. In NSW, lodge it at service.nsw.gov.au. It takes a few minutes and is free.
If you sold to Carma, this step is managed as part of the process. You don't need to lodge it separately.
2. Cancel or transfer your car insurance
Once the car is sold, your insurance policy on that vehicle serves no purpose. Contact your insurer the same day as the sale and cancel the policy. Most insurers will refund unused premium for the remaining period, though some policies have cancellation fees.
If you're planning to buy another car soon, ask your insurer whether your policy can be transferred or suspended rather than cancelled outright. Some policies allow a brief suspension between vehicles without losing your no-claim bonus history, which can save you money when the next policy starts. The exact process varies by insurer, so confirm the options before you cancel anything.
3. Check for an unused registration refund
In some states, you may be entitled to a refund on unused registration if you cancel the registration at the time of sale rather than leaving it in place for the buyer to transfer. This varies by state and by how much registration is remaining.
In NSW, you can apply for a rego refund if you cancel the registration yourself. The refund is calculated on the remaining full months, not the exact remaining days. If the sale price included the remaining rego as part of the agreed amount (as many private sales do, since buyers expect to inherit the current registration), this step may not apply. But if you're cancelling the registration rather than transferring it to the buyer, it is worth checking the refund entitlement before you do so.
