As one who is going through this process right now, it can be difficult to navigate if you don’t know what you are doing. The simplest option is obviously to buy and sell through a registered motor vehicle dealer that will offer warranties as the quality of the vehicle being sold/purchased. However, the additional costs of a dealer mean a lot of people choose to sell/purchase privately instead.
As the seller, you need to prepare your vehicle for sale including removing all personal items from the vehicle and ensure that your vehicle registration, safety checks and CTP insurance are all in place or alternatively, decide whether you intend to sell the vehicle unregistered. You will need to pay any outstanding fines associated with the vehicle and if the vehicle was under finance, ensure that all amounts owed have been paid before you sell. Make sure that you have copies of any relevant service history, safety inspection reports and your Certificate of Registration available as well as identification to confirm that you are the current owner of the vehicle to provide to any purchaser.
As the purchaser, you will need to view the vehicle carefully, and take it for a test drive to ensure that it is going to meet your needs. Consider whether it may be appropriate to ask a mechanic to look it over for any obvious faults or safety issues. You should search the Personal Property Securities Register to confirm that there are no outstanding loans, debts or finance owing on the vehicle prior to making an offer. Anyone can go onto the Service NSW website and search a vehicle registration to confirm the registration expiry date, the CTP policy details and recent odometer readings. You can also purchase a vehicle history report for a small fee that includes information on whether the vehicle/plates/engine has been stolen, whether the vehicle has been written off and how many owners it has had since the first date of registration.
Once a purchase price has been negotiated and funds paid, the seller should provide a receipt confirming the vehicle details, date of sale and name/address of the seller and purchaser. The seller will also need to complete a Notice of Disposal (available on the Services NSW website) within 14 days of the date of sale. The CTP policy will automatically transfer to the purchaser once they transfer the vehicle registration into their own name through Services NSW within that 14 days. Be aware that the purchaser will need to pay any applicable transfer fee, stamp duty and motor vehicle tax.
It is important that sellers do not misrepresent the quality of a vehicle and that purchasers obtain legal advice as soon as possible if they believe a vehicle purchased is not as advertised. There are specific protections available under the Australian Consumer Law in relation to consumer guarantees, and protection against false or misleading representations however remedies can be difficult to obtain and enforce against private sellers if action is not taken quickly.
KC Hilton, WNB Legal