Still Driving? Here's the Faster Way to Sell in Canberra
If your car still runs well, a private sale can technically get you a slightly higher number — but only after you've paid for a roadworthy certificate, taken photos, written a listing, and spent weeks fielding messages from people who never show up. Selling directly to us skips all of that: one call, one inspection, paid the same day.
What a Private Sale Actually Costs You
- Time: Canberra private car sales commonly sit listed for several weeks before a serious buyer appears.
- A roadworthy certificate: Required to legally sell a registered vehicle privately in the ACT, typically $150–$250 before you've sold anything.
- Risk: Unverified buyers, lowball haggling in your driveway, and payment that isn't always guaranteed to clear.
- Effort: Photos, ad copy, constant messages, and no-shows.
What We Actually Look At When Your Car Still Runs
Unlike a scrap or wreck assessment, a running car's value comes down to different factors, and we take all of them into account:
- Odometer reading and general mileage for its age
- Service history, if you have it — even a rough idea helps
- Number of previous owners
- Overall condition — paintwork, interior wear, tyres
No detailing or repairs needed beforehand. We assess it as it sits.
From Call to Cash: A Typical Same-Day Sale
- Morning: Call or fill out the form with your car's details for an initial quote.
- Midday: We inspect the car at your home or workplace and confirm the final offer on the spot.
- Same afternoon: Accept, get paid via Osko or PayID, and we tow it away — done before dinner.
When You Should Not Sell to Us
It is worth being straight about this. If your car is late-model, low-kilometre and in demand — a five-year-old Hilux, RAV4, or Ranger in good order — the retail market will pay more than any wholesale buyer can, including us. You should list it privately or take it to a dealer, and we will tell you that on the phone rather than waste your afternoon.
The point where selling to us starts making sense is when the gap between our offer and the private-sale price is smaller than the cost and hassle of getting there. That happens sooner than most people think: once you subtract a roadworthy, a few weeks of your time, and the discount a private buyer will push for on any car over about ten years old, the difference is often a few hundred dollars rather than a few thousand.
The Roadworthy Question in the ACT
To transfer a registered vehicle to a private buyer in the ACT you generally need a current roadworthy inspection. That is $150 to $250 up front, before you have a buyer, and if the car fails you are then choosing between paying for the repair or dropping your asking price to reflect it. Plenty of otherwise sound cars fail on tyres, brakes, or a suspension bush.
We are a licensed motor vehicle dealer, so we buy without one. There is no inspection to arrange, no repair to fund first, and no risk that a failed check resets your whole sale.
What Happens to Your Registration and Plates
If the car is still registered when you sell it to us, you are entitled to a refund on the unused portion once the registration is cancelled with Access Canberra, and you keep the plates or hand them in. We complete the disposal notice at the time of collection so the vehicle stops being your responsibility on the day — not weeks later when a toll or infringement arrives in your name.
If your registration has already lapsed, or the plates are long gone, that is a different process and it is set out on the unregistered cars page.
Cars That Still Run but Nobody Wants
A large share of the running cars we buy are not broken at all. They are second cars that stopped being needed, vehicles left behind when someone moved interstate, a car a student drove for three years and has now finished with, or something perfectly serviceable that simply will not sell because there are forty of the same model listed at the same price. Mechanical condition is not always what ends a car’s useful life — sometimes it is just circumstance, and the offer is the same either way.
Already have a private sale offer on the table and just want to compare it against something faster and guaranteed? See our full breakdown of cash sale vs. trade-in vs. private sale to weigh it up properly before you decide.
