Sell your car in Townsville and North Queensland. Paid before pickup.

Selling from North Queensland

A private sale in Townsville means a smaller pool of local buyers, plus the listing, the scam messages and the test drives. A trade-in means negotiating with the dealer selling you the next car. Take the car south to a bigger market and you are looking at more than 1,000 km of Bruce Highway before you reach Brisbane.

You don’t have to take it anywhere. A valuer who has priced cars since 1992 makes a genuine offer over the phone, from the car’s details and a few photos, and a deposit is often paid the same day. The inspection happens after you accept, at a time and place that suits you: a driveway in Kirwan, a shed outside Ayr or the car park at work. We arrange the transport, and the car is collected only after you confirm the balance has cleared.

That order matters more up here than in a capital city. The Bruce Highway is prone to flooding in places during the wet, so a pickup date can move. Because you have been paid by then, a later pickup is an inconvenience, not a financial risk.

Flood and water damage: tell us up front

If your car has been in floodwater, say so on the call, before an offer is made. Queensland’s Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) lists flood among the events that can make a car a total write-off. Insurers must report a car they assess that way, and if nobody has, TMR says the owner must. Once a car is on the written-off vehicle register, its status doesn’t change even if it is repaired or sold, and a PPSR search shows written-off status where the data is available.

Not every wet car is written off. If your insurer repaired it, keep the claim number, the assessor’s report and the repair invoices together. The Queensland Government warns buyers that many consumer rights won’t apply in a private sale, but a false answer to a direct question is never safe. Dealers carry stricter duties: the ACCC says they must not mislead buyers about accident history or written-off status. Our guides to accident history and car value and selling a repairable write-off go further.

Utes, 4WDs and touring rigs

Dual-cab utes and 4WDs do the work in North Queensland, from the cane farms around Ayr, Home Hill and Ingham to the cattle country west of Charters Towers. We buy late-model utes, SUVs and 4WDs of any make, including the HiLux, Ranger, D-MAX, BT-50, Prado and LandCruiser. See what we look for in utes and 4WDs.

Back from a lap of Australia or a run up to Cape York? Read selling your tow vehicle after a big trip for the tow bar, brake controller and touring gear. If the car has backed down boat ramps, hose the salt off the underbody before the inspection.

Posted out of Lavarack Barracks or RAAF Base Townsville? Weigh up moving interstate: sell your car or take it before you book transport.

Queensland rules in brief

The seller starts the transfer within 14 days, at no cost. TMR’s online service doesn’t cover transfers to an organisation, so a sale to a dealer usually uses the paper form (F3520). TMR says you may be held accountable for offences committed by the buyer until the transfer is finalised, so keep your seller’s copy. A private buyer is owed a safety certificate, but TMR exempts cars traded to licensed motor dealers, and we’ll confirm how that applies to your car.

We prepare the sale paperwork and help with the transfer of ownership. Our guide to selling a car in Queensland has the detail. Still paying the car off? Read about selling a car under finance.