Selling a car on Facebook Marketplace: is it worth the hassle?

Facebook Marketplace can be worth it when your car is simple to sell: no finance owing, a price local buyers can manage, and time on your side to answer messages and host inspections. If you’d rather not sort through a stream of messages, screen out scammers and let strangers drive your car, it’s often more hassle than it’s worth. Below is how to filter the messages, spot scam requests and get paid without losing the car.

What does Marketplace do well for car sellers?

Marketplace puts your car in front of people near you, and you can list it from your phone. NRMA calls selling on social media such as Marketplace “an effective way to spread the word”. Meta changes its listing rules and features from time to time, so check them in the app before you post.

The catch is that a message costs a buyer nothing, so you hear from serious buyers, bargain hunters and scammers all at once. Scamwatch warned in 2021 that vehicle scams were running on Facebook Marketplace and other classified and car sites. Many of those involved fake sellers, but NRMA’s 2025 guide for sellers shows scammers work the other side too.

Why do I get so many “Is this still available?” messages?

Because it’s the quickest message anyone can send, often to a string of ads without reading any of them. Some senders are genuine, some are just browsing, and some are scammers looking for a seller who will engage.

You don’t need to answer every one at length. Reply once with a question that only a real buyer will bother to answer:

Yes, it’s available. When would you like to come and see it? I’m free weekday evenings and Saturday mornings in [suburb].

A genuine buyer usually names a time. A time-waster tends to go quiet, and a scammer often skips the question and starts talking about payment, couriers or why they can’t come. Either way you’ve spent one message, not twenty.

Your ad can do some of the filtering for you. Put the details buyers would otherwise ask about in the first lines: year, variant, kilometres, rego expiry, service history, how many keys, any known faults and your inspection times. Phrases like “no lowballers” or “serious buyers only” are unlikely to stop a lowballer, and they can put off the people you want.

How do I tell a genuine buyer from a scammer?

Look at the profile, then at what the buyer asks for. NRMA’s guide to avoiding scams when selling a car on social media says to stay alert if a buyer doesn’t live near you or only recently joined the platform. Neither proves a scam, because real people make new accounts too, and NRMA notes that an old, local profile can be hacked. Treat the profile as a reason to slow down, not a verdict, and weigh it with the red flags below.

NRMA lists a buyer happy to buy without seeing the car, a quick switch to another channel, and an email address that doesn’t match their name. It adds an unprompted, detailed story about why they need the car, a courier pick-up, a buyer who dictates the payment method early, and no haggling at all. Scamwatch adds a payment for more than the agreed price followed by a refund request, being asked to send money in unusual ways (such as to several different PayIDs), and account names that don’t match the person you’re dealing with.

Here’s how those signs, and a few other requests to refuse, can look in your inbox.

Why do buyers ask for my email, phone number or a code?

When the request comes early, before any talk of an inspection, it’s often about getting you off the platform, where their messages are harder to report and easier to fake.

Your email. Scammers want an address so they can send a fake payment notice. One version is an email “from PayID” saying the buyer’s money is waiting until you pay to upgrade your account. Australian Payments Plus, which runs PayID, says PayID never contacts you directly, and our guide to the PayID scam aimed at car sellers shows how the script runs. Scamwatch also warns about links to look-alike sites that ask you to enter your bank details.

Your phone number. Texts are another channel for fake payment alerts and links. A genuine buyer will need your number to confirm an inspection, so share it then, not in the first message. WA ScamNet’s general rule fits: never hand over personal information to people you don’t know.

A code sent to your phone. Refuse this one outright. A code texted to you by an app or website is how that service checks it’s really you, whether you’re logging in, resetting a password or opening an account. Read it to someone else and you hand them that check. Moneysmart notes that even your bank will never ask you for online banking passwords or codes. A car buyer has no reason to need one.

How should I price a car on Marketplace?

Expect low offers, whatever you ask. Marketplace browsing is casual, and some buyers message several sellers with a low number just to see who bites.

Start with comparable ads for the same model, variant, year and kilometres in your state, and decide your walk-away price before you post. Leave a modest margin above it, then word the ad so haggling happens after an inspection:

2022 [make, model and variant], 48,000 km, full dealer service history, two keys, rego to [month and year]. [Any known faults.] Asking $[your price]. Happy to discuss price after you’ve inspected it. Inspections in [suburb] on weekday evenings or Saturday mornings.

The year, kilometres, history and keys are examples, so swap in your own details. Our guide on how to price and negotiate a private car sale covers counter-offers and lowball replies in more detail.

How do I run inspections and test drives with a Marketplace buyer?

Treat a Marketplace buyer as a stranger until they’ve proved otherwise.

• Share your suburb in the ad, not your address. Give the street once a time is booked.
• Call the buyer before any test drive. NRMA suggests this so you know the number is really theirs.
• See their licence before anyone drives. NRMA says to photograph both sides and note their details. A digital licence should be opened in the state’s official app, not shown as a photo from their camera roll.
• Ride along. Don’t let a buyer take the car alone, and get the key back as soon as the drive ends.
• Have someone else around. Hold inspections in daylight, with a friend or family member at home.
• Check your insurance. RACV suggests asking your insurer whether you’re covered if a buyer crashes or the car is stolen on a test drive.

If you ever do let a buyer drive without you, NRMA suggests a tracker such as an AirTag in the boot, unless you can already track the car in the carmaker’s app. Our guide to running a safe test drive covers routes and when to say no.

How should a Marketplace buyer pay me?

Agree the payment method in the chat before the buyer travels, and don’t let them change it on the day. NRMA’s view is that cash or, failing that, a bank cheque is the safest bet. Whatever the method, the car, the keys and your signature on the transfer go to the buyer only when you have the full price: counted in your hand or cleared in your own account.

• Bank transfer or PayID. Log in to your own banking app the usual way and check the full amount has arrived. A screenshot, a forwarded receipt or an email “from the bank” isn’t payment. NRMA also suggests finishing the sale in person at the buyer’s bank, ideally one you also bank with, so the funds appear straight away.
• Bank cheque. Call the issuing bank on a number you look up yourself, then wait for your own bank to confirm it has cleared.
• Cash. Count it. For a large amount, meet at your bank so you can deposit it before you hand over the keys.

The NSW Government and Consumer Affairs Victoria both tell sellers not to sign anything that transfers ownership until they’ve been paid. WA Consumer Protection warns about scammers who fake a payment or promise to pay after taking the car. Our guide on whether a bank cheque is safe explains what “cleared funds” means for each method.

When is Marketplace not worth the hassle?

Mostly when there’s finance owing, the price is high or your time is short.

If finance is the sticking point, our page on selling a car under finance explains how the loan payout works when you sell to us.

What if a Marketplace buyer has already scammed me?

Act straight away. The sooner your bank hears about it, the better the chance of stopping a payment, although recovery isn’t certain. The first two steps follow WA ScamNet’s online car-sale scam page. It’s written for buyers caught by fake sellers, but the order is the same for you.

1. Call your bank on the number on your card if you sent money or entered your banking details anywhere.
2. Call IDCARE on 1800 595 160 if you shared your licence, a code or other personal details. It’s the national identity and cyber support service.
3. Report it to Scamwatch, and to police if you’ve lost money or the car. Report the buyer’s profile on Marketplace too.
4. Stop replying, and don’t send any more money, whatever the next message promises.

Our guide on what to do if you’re scammed selling your car takes you through the first hour step by step.

So is Marketplace worth it for your car?

It comes down to your car and your time. A private sale gives you control of the price, and Marketplace is a quick way to reach local buyers. In return you take on the messages, the screening, the test drives and the payment checks yourself, and that’s where the hassle and the risk sit.

If that trade doesn’t suit you, selling to us works differently. Sell Your Car Australia is run by Autohaus Australia Pty Ltd, NSW licensed motor dealer MD 077404, and led by a valuer who has priced cars since 1992. You get a genuine offer by phone, not an online estimate, and no strangers test-drive your car. A deposit is often paid the same day, and the inspection happens after you accept, at a time and place that suits you. The balance goes into your bank account, and we collect the car only after you confirm the funds have cleared. One seller, Ray Murray, said: “I had tried to sell it privately for some weeks but was only contacted by scammers and ridiculous offers. Dean offered me a fair price.”

We buy cars, utes, SUVs and 4WDs 2021 or newer with 100,000 km or less, anywhere in Australia. If yours is older or has more kilometres, send it through anyway and we’ll tell you straight away if we can help. The valuation is free, there’s no obligation, and no fees come out of the offer. Call us on 1800 73 55 73.