How to run a safe test drive when selling your car privately

Don’t let a buyer test drive your car alone: go with them, in the passenger seat, after you’ve checked their licence properly. Whether you’re insured if they crash depends on your policy and your insurer, so ask before the first drive, not after a prang.

In a private sale, the test drive is the moment a stranger from an online ad has your car on roads you don’t control. If you’re still at the listing stage, our guide to selling your car online for free covers the ad itself.

Am I insured if a buyer crashes on a test drive?

It depends on the type of policy you hold and its conditions, so check before anyone drives. Moneysmart’s guide to choosing car insurance sets out the main types, and the differences matter here:

• Compulsory third party (CTP) is the cover you must have to register the car. It covers injuries to people caused by your car, not damage to your car or anyone else’s.
• Third party property covers damage your car does to other people’s cars or property. It doesn’t cover damage to your own car.
• Third party property, fire and theft adds cover if your car is stolen or damaged by fire.
• Comprehensive covers damage to your car and other people’s cars or property, even if you caused the accident, plus theft, fire and weather.

So if you only hold third party property and a buyer hits a pole, the repairs to your car are yours to pay. Even comprehensive cover comes with conditions. RACV tells sellers to speak to their insurer first, and notes that the buyer’s age and experience will affect the excess if there’s a prang.

Call your insurer, or check the policy wording, and ask these five questions:

1. Am I covered if someone who isn’t listed on my policy drives the car with my permission?
2. What excess applies for a driver of the buyer’s age, and is there an extra excess for an unlisted or inexperienced driver?
3. Does it make a difference to my cover whether I’m in the car?
4. If a buyer drives off with the car, is that covered as theft, given I handed over the keys?
5. If something happens, what will you need from me?

Write down the answers, with the date and the name of the person you spoke to. If the answer to question 1 is no, drive the car yourself with the buyer as passenger, or skip the drive and offer an inspection instead.

Should I go on the test drive with the buyer?

Yes, every time. NRMA’s private-sale tips favour sitting in the car during the test drive, and say not to be afraid to end negotiations if a buyer thinks that’s unreasonable. A buyer who insists on driving alone is giving you a reason to say no.

How you handle the seats and keys matters as much as being there:

• Get in first. Be in the passenger seat with your belt on before the buyer starts the car.
• Keep it to one buyer. If they bring friends, the friends wait at the meeting point. If you bring a friend, they sit in the back.
• Don’t rely on the fob. On many push-button cars the engine keeps running after the key leaves the cabin, and only refuses to restart once it’s switched off. Keeping the fob in your pocket won’t stop a drive-off if you step out.
• Never get out while the buyer is behind the wheel. Not to check a noise, take a photo or swap seats. If anything needs looking at, the engine goes off and the key comes back to you first.
• End it the same way. Back at the start, the buyer switches off and hands the key to you before anyone gets out.

Meet in daylight. NRMA suggests a busy public place such as a council car park, and taking a family member or friend with you.

How do I check a buyer’s licence properly?

Look at the real thing and check it against the person in front of you. NRMA tells sellers not to allow a test drive without a valid licence, to photograph both sides, and to call the buyer’s number before the drive to confirm it’s theirs. If there’s no plastic card, ask them to open their state’s licence app in front of you, because NRMA warns that scammers may show a forged licence saved as a photo on their phone.

Digital licences need extra care. Service NSW’s guidance for licence checkers says accepting a screenshot or copy of a NSW digital driver licence is not recommended. It suggests asking the holder to swipe down to update the “last refreshed” time, or scanning the QR code with the licence scanner in the Service NSW app on your own smartphone. Both checks happen live: the buyer swipes down on their phone while you watch, and you scan the code on their screen. Other states’ apps work differently, so if you can’t verify it, ask for the plastic card.

P plates deserve a second look if your car is quick. Some states restrict what provisional drivers can drive. In NSW, for example, P1 and P2 drivers can’t drive a prohibited high-performance vehicle, which includes any car with a power-to-tare-mass ratio above 130 kilowatts per tonne or a significant engine modification. Learners can only drive with a fully licensed supervisor and L plates, and an inexperienced driver may attract a higher excess, so it’s reasonable to say no.

NRMA’s advice is to note the buyer’s name, licence number and address, to cover you for problems during the drive or after the sale. Keep the photos and details until any fine or toll from the drives has had time to reach you, then delete them.

What should I set up before the buyer arrives?

Work through this list before the buyer turns up:

• Insurance answers written down, as above.
• A friend on standby who knows the time, the address, the buyer’s name and number, and when you expect to be back. Agree what they’ll do if you don’t check in.
• A tracker. NRMA suggests a tracker such as an AirTag if you can’t already track the car through the carmaker’s app, mainly for drives the seller isn’t on. You should be on every drive, so treat it as a backup only. Apple says iPhones, and Android phones running Android 6.0 or later, can alert the person carrying them when an unknown AirTag is moving with them, so a thief may find it.
• A clean car. Take out valuables, the garage remote, house keys, spare key and anything with your address on it. A thief with your car shouldn’t also have a way into your home.
• Condition photos. Photograph each side of the car, the wheels and the odometer just before the drive, so any new damage is easy to show.
• The buyer’s car. If they arrive in a car, note its make, colour and number plate.

What route should the test drive take?

Plan a loop before the buyer arrives, start and finish at the meeting point, and keep it to roads you know. A good route gives a genuine buyer what they need: some suburban streets, a stretch of faster road, a few turns and somewhere to try a reverse park. Tell the buyer the route and roughly how long it takes before you set off, so any change is clearly off plan.

You call the turns. Politely decline detours: “my mate’s place is just around the corner” or “let’s show my mechanic” is a change of plan you didn’t agree to. Avoid toll roads too, because any toll is charged to your tag or your number plate, not the buyer’s.

When should I say no to a test drive?

Decide these before the buyer arrives, not at the kerb.

What if the buyer crashes or drives off?

Let the police and your insurer do the chasing. Your job is to hand them good records.

If they crash

Make sure everyone is safe and call 000 if anyone is hurt. Swap details with any other driver, photograph the scene and the damage, and write down what happened while it’s fresh. Then call your insurer. The buyer’s licence photos tell your insurer exactly who was driving.

If they drive off

Don’t follow or confront them, and don’t go to the tracker’s location yourself. NRMA’s advice is to contact police straight away if a buyer doesn’t come back within the agreed time. Call 000 if it’s happening now, and give the police:

• The licence photos and the phone number you called.
• The ad, the messages and the buyer’s profile.
• A description of the buyer and anyone with them.
• The make, colour and plate of any car they arrived in.
• The live location from your tracker or carmaker app.

Then call your insurer and keep the police report or event number. You’ll need it for your claim and for any fines or tolls that arrive later. Report the buyer’s profile to the site where you listed the car. Our guide on what to do if you’re scammed selling your car covers the next steps, including protecting your ID if the buyer saw your licence or bank details.

Can a buyer test drive your car if the rego has lapsed?

Usually not on a public road. Transport for NSW warns that driving without registration or a permit is illegal and penalties apply. Its unregistered vehicle permit is for a specified journey, and the fee includes CTP. In Queensland, moving an unregistered vehicle on the road needs a permit, plus CTP insurance for the length of the permit. Neither state’s guidance mentions test drives, and every state and territory runs its own scheme with its own conditions.

Check with your state’s transport authority before anyone drives the car. Until then, let buyers look it over and start it on private property, or arrange a mobile inspection. Our guide to selling an unregistered car covers the rest of the sale.

Can I sell my car without letting strangers drive it?

Yes. Test drives are one of the costs of a private sale that never show up in the price, alongside the photos, the calls and the payment risk. Our breakdown of the true cost of selling a car privately puts them side by side. If you’re happy to host the drives, the plan above makes each one safer.

If you’d rather not hand your keys to strangers, selling to us means no test drives by buyers you’ve never met. Sell Your Car Australia is run by Autohaus Australia Pty Ltd, NSW licensed motor dealer MD 077404. We make a genuine offer by phone, and a deposit is often paid the same day. The inspection happens after you accept, at a time and place that suits you, and our guide to what’s checked at a car inspection explains it. The balance goes into your bank account, and the car is collected only after you confirm the funds have cleared. As Ray Murray put it: “I had tried to sell it privately for some weeks but was only contacted by scammers and ridiculous offers.”

We buy cars, utes, SUVs and 4WDs 2021 or newer with 100,000 km or less. If yours is older or has more kilometres, send it through anyway and we’ll tell you straight away if we can help. See how cash for cars works with us, or call 1800 73 55 73.