Selling a parent's car? We deal with you, start to finish.

You can sell a parent’s or relative’s car for them. If they can make the decision and sign, you can handle everything else. If they can’t, you need legal authority to sign in their place, such as a financial power of attorney that is still in force. Either way, the money should go to the owner, and the car should leave only after it has cleared.

This page covers how that works when you sell to us. For the legal detail on each kind of authority, read our guide to selling a car with power of attorney.

Can the owner sign, or do you need authority?

Start with the owner. Needing help with phone calls or paperwork is not the same as being unable to decide. If your parent understands the sale and wants to go ahead, they can sign themselves with you beside them, and you handle the calls, the questions and the arrangements.

Being their son, daughter, partner or sibling doesn’t on its own give you the right to sign for them. That takes formal authority, and which kind depends on the situation.

Two points catch families out. In NSW, an enduring guardian (the person appointed for health and lifestyle decisions) can’t make financial decisions, so that appointment alone doesn’t let you sell the car. And a general power of attorney stops working if the owner loses capacity, while every power of attorney ends when the owner dies. The NSW Government’s power of attorney page sets this out for NSW. Names and rules differ between states, so read the document itself, and ask the solicitor who prepared it if the wording isn’t clear.

If there is no power of attorney and the owner can’t decide, the route is a tribunal order. In NSW, NCAT can appoint a private financial manager, such as a family member, or NSW Trustee and Guardian. In Victoria, VCAT appoints an administrator.

How the sale works when you’re selling for someone else

The process is the same as any sale with us. Only who we talk to and who signs changes.

1. Tell us about the car and the situation. Use the form or call 1800 73 55 73. Say who owns the car, who will sign, and whether there is finance owing.
2. Get a genuine offer by phone. It comes from a licensed dealer, not an online estimate. Talk it over with the owner before you accept.
3. Deposit, then inspection. Once you accept, a deposit is often paid the same day. The inspection follows at a time and place that suits you.
4. Balance, then collection. The balance is paid by bank transfer into the seller’s account. When you’re selling for someone else, that should be the owner’s own account. We collect the car only after you confirm the funds have cleared.

Tell us on the first call that you’re acting for someone else, so we can confirm what we need to see before anything is signed.

We prepare the sale paperwork and help with the transfer of ownership. In most states the seller lodges a notice of disposal, usually online, and we’ll make sure yours is done correctly. If you’re signing as attorney, ask the transport authority in the owner’s state how they want it lodged. Usually no roadworthy or safety certificate is needed when you sell to us; rules differ by state, and we confirm on the call.

What to have ready

Gather these before you call:

• The rego papers, with the owner’s name as it appears on the registration.
• Photo ID for whoever signs.
• The power of attorney or tribunal order and a copy, if you’re signing for the owner. If the document only starts in certain circumstances, have evidence that it has started.
• The service logbook, receipts for recent work, the owner’s manual and every key.
• Loan details and a payout figure, if the car is under finance.
• The owner’s bank details for the payment.

Our list of documents needed to sell a car covers the rest. We’ll confirm on the call exactly what we need for your situation.

Keeping an older owner safe from scams

An older owner who lists a car privately can end up taking calls from strangers, often alone. Scamwatch lists these warning signs for sellers:

• A buyer happy to buy an expensive item without seeing it in person.
• A payment for more than the agreed price, followed by a request to refund the difference.
• Requests to pay through unusual methods, such as several different PayIDs or accounts.
• An account holder name that doesn’t match the person you think you’re dealing with.

A few house rules help. Put your number on any listing, not the owner’s. Agree that nobody signs a transfer or hands over keys until the money is in the owner’s account. Check the balance in the banking app or with the bank, never from an email, a text or a screenshot.

Check that any business buyer holds a dealer licence, too. Ours is NSW MD 077404, and our guide on how to check a car buyer is licensed shows you how.

If something has gone wrong, contact the bank straight away. IDCARE can help on 1800 595 160. If you’re worried that someone is pressuring an older relative over money or property, the National Elder Abuse Phone Line is 1800 ELDERHelp (1800 353 374), a free number that puts you through to a service near you.

Collection from home, aged care or storage

A parent’s car may be in the garage at the family home, a visitor bay at an aged care residence, a relative’s driveway or a storage unit. That’s fine. The inspection happens at a time and place that suits you, and we arrange collection anywhere in Australia.

Tell us where the car is and anything that affects access, such as a basement car park, a locked garage or set visiting hours. If no one can be there on the day, a key drop-off can be arranged. Our guide to collection and key drop-off explains how it works.

Before the car goes:

• Keep the rego and insurance running until it has been collected.
• Take out the e-tag, garage remote, parking permits and anything in the glovebox and boot.
• Unpair phones and clear saved addresses from the screen.

If there’s finance owing, or the owner has died

Finance doesn’t change the order of things. We deal with the lender directly to pay out the loan, then pay any equity. Settlement usually takes 2 to 3 business days. If more is owed than the car is worth, the difference has to be covered before settlement. Ask the lender what they need from you to discuss the owner’s loan.

If the owner has died, a power of attorney no longer applies. The car is dealt with through the estate, usually by the executor. Our guide to transferring a car after someone dies covers the transport authority steps, and our page on selling a deceased estate car explains how that sale works with us.

Deciding whether to sell, and who to sell to

If you’re acting as attorney, the question isn’t only whether you can sell, but whether selling is in the owner’s best interests. The NSW Government says an attorney must act in the owner’s best interests, avoid conflicts of interest, keep their own money separate from the owner’s and keep accurate records. Keep a copy of the offer, the sale paperwork and the payment record. If you or another relative wants to buy the car, get legal advice first.

A car nobody drives still costs rego and insurance. A private sale adds listings, strangers and payment risk, all handled on someone else’s behalf. Selling to us takes most of that away. Sell Your Car Australia is run by Autohaus Australia Pty Ltd, NSW motor dealer licence MD 077404, by a valuer who has priced cars since 1992. We buy cars, utes, SUVs and 4WDs built in 2021 or later with 100,000 km or less. If the car is older or has done more, send it through anyway and we’ll tell you straight away if we can help. The valuation is free, with no obligation and no fees taken out of the offer. Call 1800 73 55 73 when you’re ready, ideally with the owner beside you.