Trading in vs selling privately: how to get a fair result
When it's time to change cars, there are two ways to move the old one on: sell it yourself, or trade it in with the dealer you're buying from. Neither is right for everyone. It comes down to how you weigh the price against time, effort and risk.
At a glance
Trade-in | Private sale | |
|---|---|---|
Price | A figure from the dealer that allows for the cost of getting the car ready and reselling it | You set the asking price and may get more, but buyers will negotiate |
Time and effort | Usually settled when you buy your next car | Photos, ads, calls, messages and inspections, for as long as it takes |
Safety certificate (Queensland) | Not needed when you trade to a licensed dealer | You must provide one when the registration is transferred |
Finance owing | Must be paid out; tell the dealer at the start | Must be paid out before the buyer can own the car free of debt |
Risk | Dealing with a licensed business | Strangers on test drives, payment scams, and tolls and fines in your name until the transfer goes through |
Selling privately in Queensland: what's on you
- Get a safety certificate from an approved inspection station, plus a gas certificate if the car runs on LPG. You must give the buyer a current certificate when the registration is transferred. For a private seller it's valid for 2 months or 2,000 km.
- Describe the car accurately. An honest ad saves wasted trips for you and the buyer.
- Fill in the registration transfer application with the buyer. The seller completes one part and the buyer the other, and you give the buyer the certificate copies they need.
- Tidy up after the sale. Take the car off any direct debit for rego, remove toll tags and update your toll account. Until the buyer transfers the registration, you stay liable for tolls and fines on the car. The buyer has 14 days to transfer it.
Watch for scams. Scamwatch warns about overpayment scams, where a "buyer" sends more than the agreed price and asks for the difference back. Don't hand over the car or the keys until the money has cleared in your account.
Getting a fair trade-in figure
A dealer's figure depends on what the car should be worth once it's ready for sale, less the cost of getting it there. You can't change the car's age, but you can help it make a good first impression:
- Know the market. Look at advertised prices for the same model, year and kilometres, and remember those are asking prices, not what the cars sold for.
- Bring the history: log books, service receipts and records of recent work such as tyres or a timing belt.
- Bring both keys and the registration papers.
- Clean it. A clean car is easier to assess and shows it's been looked after.
- Be upfront about faults. Any figure depends on an inspection, so a fault you don't mention will usually be found then anyway.
What moves the figure most: age, kilometres, condition, service history and demand for that model at the time.
Look at the changeover. When you trade in and buy at the same time, the number that matters is the difference: the price of the car you're buying minus what you're getting for yours. A generous trade-in figure against a higher price can leave you in the same place as a lower figure against a sharper price.
In Queensland, a trade-in doesn't reduce the stamp duty on the car you're buying: duty is worked out on the full amount you pay, including the trade-in allowance.
If there's still finance owing
You can sell or trade a car that still has a loan on it, but the loan has to be paid out before the next owner can have it free of debt. Ask your lender for a payout figure (it's usually quoted as valid to a set date, because interest keeps adding up), and tell the buyer or dealer about the loan at the start. A secured car loan shows up on a PPSR search, so a careful buyer will find it anyway.
Trading in with us
Trade-ins are welcome. Tell us the year, make, model, kilometres and condition of your car, and any finance owing, and we'll come back to you. Any figure we give depends on seeing the car in person. Send us a message to get started.
General information only, checked against the sources below in September 2026.