Moving overseas? Sell your car around your flight date.
Tell us when you fly and we plan the sale around it. A genuine offer by phone from a licensed dealer, a deposit often the same day, and the balance in your bank account before the car is collected.
Now buying: 2021+ and 100,000 km or less
Get your free valuation before you fly
Step 1 of 3: your car
- Licensed dealer MD 077404NSW licence. Run by a valuer since 1992
- Paid before pickupFunds clear before the car leaves
- An offer on the callA real offer, not an online estimate
- Australia-wideWe arrange collection in every state
What sellers say
Corey sold his LandCruiser from Melbourne and had a deposit in his account that night. Spiros was paid before the car left his hands, and Roy's sale involved his lenders. Here is what they said, in their own words.
Within 10 minutes of my enquiry I was contacted by Dean. It all happened in less than an hour from the initial enquiry. I had a deposit in my bank account that night.
“I was paid before Autohaus took possession of my car, which from my experience normally doesn’t happen.”
Spiros Mercedes-Benz SLK 250 “They helped me through the transaction of a high value car and made it very pleasant. From paperwork and working with the lenders, to a personal touch.”
Roy Mercedes-Benz GLE 450
Sell Your Car Australia is run by Autohaus Australia Pty Ltd, so some reviews mention Autohaus Australia.
How the sale works around your flight
Four steps. Your part takes about a minute, and you are paid before the car leaves your driveway.
Tell us about your car
Make, model, year and kilometres. A minute on the form, or a quick call.
Get a genuine offer
We call you, check a few details and make a cash offer. Accept it or walk away.
Get paid
A deposit once you accept. The balance lands in your account after an inspection.
We collect the car
Only after your funds have cleared, from your home or work, anywhere in Australia.
What to sort out before you fly
Six things decide whether a sale fits neatly around a departure date. Most of them take one phone call to sort.
Your flight date
Give it to us on the call. The inspection, the payment and the collection are then planned backwards from it, with a few days spare in case a lender or a bank transfer runs late.
Your Australian bank account
The deposit and the balance are paid by bank transfer into your bank account. Keep it open, and check you can log in from overseas, until the sale has fully settled.
Finance or a novated lease
We deal with your lender directly and pay any equity to you. Cars under finance usually take 2 to 3 business days to settle. A novated lease has to be paid out first: see selling a car on a novated lease mid-term.
Kilometres before the inspection
Your offer is made from the details you give us, and the inspection comes after you accept. If you will keep driving the car for a few weeks, or use it for the move, say so on the call.
Who hands over the keys
The car is collected only after you confirm the funds have cleared. If you have flown by then, key drop-off can be arranged. See car collection and key drop-off.
Notice of disposal and tolls
In most states you lodge the notice of disposal yourself, often online. WA and Tasmania give sellers only 7 days, so lodge it and take the car off your toll account before you board.
Free and no obligation. Or call 1800 73 55 73.
Guides for people leaving Australia
- Selling tipsCan you sell your car while you're already overseas?Already overseas with a car still in Australia? How to sell it remotely: keys and access, signing, getting paid, finance and each state's notice of disposal.Read the guide
- Selling tipsCar collection and key drop-off when you can't be thereHow car collection works after you sell: who picks it up, why it waits for cleared funds, and how to leave the keys safely if you're at work or away.Read the guide
- Selling tipsJust sold your car? The after-sale checklistJust sold your car? What to do in the first week: notice of disposal, e-tags and toll accounts, rego direct debits, insurance, apps and the records to keep.Read the guide
Selling your car before you move overseas
A countdown to your flight, what changes with finance or a novated lease, handing over the keys if you've already left, and the paperwork to finish before you board.
If you’re moving overseas, start as soon as you have a flight date. Get a genuine offer from a licensed dealer, and make sure the balance has cleared in your Australian bank account before the car is collected. Leave a few days of room before you fly in case a lender, a bank transfer or a booking runs late.
Already left, or flying before the sale can finish? Our guide to selling your car while you’re overseas covers finishing the sale from abroad.
A countdown to your flight
The order of a sale with us never changes. You get a genuine offer by phone, then a deposit (often paid the same day) and an inspection after you accept. The balance goes into your bank account, and the car is collected only after you confirm the funds have cleared. Moving overseas only changes when each step is booked, so work backwards from your departure date.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| As soon as you have a date | Ask for an offer and give us your flight date. If there’s finance or a lease, ask for a payout figure. |
| Once you accept | The deposit is often paid the same day. Book the inspection at a time and place that suits you. |
| After the inspection | The balance is paid into your bank account. Cars under finance usually take 2 to 3 business days to settle. |
| When the funds have cleared | Confirm with us, and the car is collected at a time that suits you, anywhere in Australia. |
| The day the car goes | Lodge your notice of disposal, take out your e-tag and remove the plate from your toll account. |
| Before you board | Cancel or move your insurance, and check your bank and transport logins work from overseas. |
The closer you cut it, the less room you have when something slips. An expired payout figure or a slow transfer is easy to absorb with a week in hand. If time is already short, see how to sell your car fast.
Can you keep the car until you fly?
Most people need their car until near the end. Tell us on the call how long you need it, so the inspection, payment and collection are planned around your date. Aim to have the car collected a few days before your flight, not on the morning you leave. If you’d rather finish early, sell a week or two ahead and use a hire car or lifts for the last stretch.
Two things matter while the car is still with you:
- Kilometres and condition. Your offer is made from the details you give us, and the inspection comes after you accept. If you’ll be driving a lot or towing a trailer of furniture before then, say so up front.
- Insurance. Keep the car insured until it has been collected. Until the truck arrives, it’s still in your care.
Should you tell a buyer you’re leaving?
In a private sale, a deadline can work against you. On the Whirlpool forums, one member advised a seller heading overseas not to tell dealers they had to sell, because it weakens your price. That’s one person’s opinion, but the logic holds for haggling: a buyer who knows your flight date can wait you out.
A private sale against the clock also leaves little time for no-shows, test drives and checking payments. Scamwatch warns about overpayments, payments split across several PayIDs and buyers who won’t see the car in person.
With us, tell us your date. Knowing when you fly is what lets us plan the inspection, the payment and the collection around it.
If there’s finance or a novated lease on the car
We deal with your lender directly to pay out the loan, then pay any equity into your account. Cars under finance usually take 2 to 3 business days to settle, so build that into your countdown. Ask your lender for a payout figure early, and note the date it’s valid until. If you owe more than the car is worth, the difference has to be covered before settlement, so keep enough in Australia to cover it rather than moving all your savings overseas first. Our page on selling a car under finance explains the steps.
A novated lease takes more planning. The lease is tied to your job, so when you leave your employer it usually comes back to you, and the finance company owns the car until the lease is paid out. Moving overseas usually rules out taking the lease to a new Australian employer. Call your provider first and ask three things:
- What is the payout figure for my target date, and until when is it valid?
- Will you take payment directly from a buyer?
- How and when do you release ownership?
Then tell us on the call that the car is on a lease. Our guide to selling a car on a novated lease mid-term covers the order of events and what to do about any shortfall.
Leaving before the car is collected
Sometimes the flight comes first. The sale can still finish, because the car is collected only after you confirm the funds have cleared, and you can check that from your banking app anywhere.
We collect anywhere in Australia, and key drop-off can be arranged if you can’t be there. Corey, who sold us his LandCruiser in Melbourne, said the freight company “even were happy to arrange a key drop off so I didn’t have to be home”. You can also leave the keys with someone you trust: a partner, relative, friend or building manager.
Give that person one rule in writing: the car doesn’t move until you’ve told them the money is in your account. Handing over keys isn’t the same as signing for you, though. If anyone will sign documents in your name, they need legal authority, such as a power of attorney, so get advice for your state before you go. Our guide to car collection and key drop-off covers how to leave keys safely.
Paperwork to finish before you board
We prepare the sale paperwork and help with the transfer of ownership. We’ll make sure your notice of disposal is done correctly. In most states it’s a quick online form, but lodging it is usually your job. Most states give sellers 14 days, WA and Tasmania give only 7, and Service NSW says to lodge it immediately after you sell.
Do it the day the car goes, while you’re still here. Logging in from abroad can be the hard part. Service NSW’s advice on logging in from overseas says: “We cannot send the MFA code to an international mobile number”. If you might need your account after you leave, set up the Service NSW app or an authenticator app before you fly, and check how your own state’s login works.
| Job | Why do it before you fly |
|---|---|
| Lodge your notice of disposal (in Queensland, start the seller’s transfer) | It’s quickest from here, and WA and Tasmania allow only 7 days. |
| Take out the e-tag and remove the plate from your toll account | Trips after the sale shouldn’t end up on your account. |
| Cancel any rego direct debit | VicRoads and Queensland both tell sellers to do this. |
| Decide about personalised plates | SA, WA and Tasmania say it has to be sorted before the sale. |
| Cancel or move your insurance once the car has gone | Keep cover until collection, then ask whether unused premium is refunded. |
Some states add steps because we’re a NSW buyer. In Victoria, VicRoads recommends cancelling the rego and removing the plates when the buyer is interstate. In WA, the vehicle licence can’t transfer to a non-WA resident. In South Australia, the notice of disposal goes in on the paper form. We explain the steps for your car before pickup, and anything that needs a service centre visit is easier before you leave. Our after-sale checklist covers each state, including the records to keep.
Selling to us before you move
Sell Your Car Australia is run by Autohaus Australia Pty Ltd, a NSW licensed motor dealer (MD 077404), and your offer comes from a valuer who has priced cars since 1992. 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.
Usually no roadworthy or safety certificate is needed when you sell to us; rules differ by state, and we confirm what applies on the call. The valuation is free, with no obligation and no fees taken out of the offer. Call 1800 73 55 73 or send your car through, and have your flight date ready.
Your money clears before your keys leave your hand
Private sales go wrong at the handover: fake bank transfers, cheques that bounce, cars driven off before the money lands. We turned the order around so that never happens to you.
“I was paid before Autohaus took possession of my car, which from my experience normally doesn’t happen.”
No strangers at your door
No test drives, no tyre-kickers, no one turning up and haggling on the driveway.
Deposit first
Accept our offer and we pay a deposit, often the same day, before anyone inspects the car.
Balance cleared before pickup
The rest is paid into your account. We collect only once you confirm it has cleared.
A licensed dealer, on the record
Autohaus Australia Pty Ltd, NSW motor dealer licence MD 077404, ABN 54 618 813 737.
Questions about selling before you move overseas
Straight answers. If yours is not here, call us and ask.
1800 73 55 73Can I keep driving my car until I fly?
Tell us on the call how long you need it, so the inspection, payment and collection are planned around your date. The order doesn't change: offer, deposit, inspection, the balance into your account, then collection once you confirm the funds have cleared. Aim to have the car collected a few days before your flight rather than on the morning you leave, and keep it insured until it has gone.
Can you pay the money into an overseas bank account?
The deposit and the balance are paid by bank transfer into your bank account. The simplest plan is to keep your Australian account open until the sale has fully settled, then move the money yourself. If you have already closed it, or plan to before the sale finishes, raise it on the call before you accept.
What if my flight date changes?
Tell us as soon as you know. If it moves later, the steps that are left can be booked around the new date. If it moves earlier, the rest of the sale can usually be finished from abroad: someone you trust gives the inspector access and hands over the keys, or a key drop-off is arranged, and you confirm the balance from your banking app. Our guide to selling your car while overseas covers how it works.
Should I cancel my rego before I leave?
Not before you've sold. Ask us first, because the right step depends on your state. VicRoads recommends cancelling the rego and removing the plates when a Victorian car is sold to an interstate buyer, and in WA the vehicle licence can't transfer to someone who isn't a WA resident. We're a NSW dealer, so we explain your state's steps before pickup.
What happens to my novated lease when I leave my job?
The lease is tied to your job through the deed of novation, so when you leave that employer it usually comes back to you, and the finance company owns the car until it's paid out. Call your provider first for a written payout figure and ask whether it takes payment directly from a buyer. Then tell us on the call that the car is on a lease.
Do I pay tax when I sell my car before moving?
The ATO says private cars are generally exempt from capital gains tax. If the car was used in a business or bought through an ABN, talk to your accountant about GST, and ask them how leaving Australia affects your tax more generally. We can't give tax advice.
When do I get paid?
Once we agree on a price, we can often pay a deposit the same day. After an inspection, the balance is paid into your bank account by bank transfer. The car is collected only after you confirm the funds have cleared, so you are never left without the car and without the money.
Do you pick the car up?
Yes, anywhere in Australia, and we arrange the transport. Once your funds have cleared, our transport partner collects the car from your home or workplace at a time that suits you. Key drop-off can be arranged if you cannot be there.
What happens to my car insurance and rego?
Keep your insurance active until the car has been collected. After that, contact your insurer to cancel or move the policy to your next car; many insurers refund unused premium. The transfer of registration notifies your state transport authority that you no longer own the car.
We can buy your car, wherever you are
A licensed dealer buying cars 2021 or newer, with 100,000 km or less right around Australia. Pick your area, or get your free valuation now.
- We buy cars in Sydney
- We buy cars in Melbourne
- We buy cars in Brisbane
- We buy cars in Perth
- We buy cars in Adelaide
- We buy cars in the Gold Coast
- We buy cars in Canberra
- We buy cars in Hobart
- We buy cars in Darwin
- We buy cars in Newcastle
- We buy cars in the Sunshine Coast
- We buy cars in the Central Coast
- We buy cars in Wollongong
- We buy cars in Geelong
- We buy cars in Parramatta
- We buy cars in Penrith
- We buy cars in Logan
- We buy cars in Townsville
- We buy cars in Cairns
- We buy cars in Toowoomba
- We buy cars in Ballarat
- We buy cars in Bendigo
- We buy cars in Launceston
- We buy cars in regional NSW
- Every place we buy cars
Find out what your car is worth before you fly
Free and no obligation. Call 1800 73 55 73 or send it through, and tell us your flight date. Older or higher kilometres? Send it anyway and we will tell you straight away if we can help.