Selling a used Tesla Model 3 or Model Y: versions and handover

CarsGuide research, reported by EV Central, found the average advertised price of a used Tesla Model 3 fell from $65,990 in January 2023 to $46,705 in December 2024, and a Model Y from $79,950 to $53,987. The fall came while Tesla was repeatedly cutting its new-car prices. We haven’t found an independent source that tracks used Tesla prices in 2026.

So your version and today’s new price matter more than what you paid. Before you sell, pin down your version, check the recalls on your VIN and prove the over-the-air ones are done. Then gather your key cards and charging gear, and plan how you’ll hand over the car and remove it from your Tesla account.

Which version of the Model 3 or Model Y do you have?

Both cars have had a major update since 2021, and buyers will ask which version yours is. The updates are best known by their codenames, Highland for the Model 3 and Juniper for the Model Y.

Sources: CarExpert for the Highland changes and timing; Drive and EV Central for the Juniper arrival.

The Highland had an early hiccup. CarExpert reported that deliveries were paused from 17 January 2024 because the car had no accessible rear-centre top-tether point, which breached the Australian Design Rules. Deliveries resumed after the fix. If your Highland was delivered before the pause, run the VIN check described below and ask Tesla whether any fix applies to your car.

Keep your invoice or order confirmation handy too. It shows the exact variant and options, and two Model 3s from the same year can be quite different cars.

What have used Teslas been selling for?

The most detailed Australian figures we’ve found come from CarsGuide research, reported by EV Central on 25 January 2025. It tracked average advertised prices on Gumtree, Autotrader and CarsGuide over two years.

That’s a drop of about $19,000 for the Model 3 and about $26,000 for the Model Y. Read these figures with three limits in mind. They’re asking prices, not sale prices. Each month’s average mixes different years, versions and kilometres. And the data stops at December 2024, so it shows the fall but doesn’t tell you where prices sit now.

As EV Central reported it, the research linked the fall to weaker demand for used EVs and didn’t blame the batteries. Cheaper new Teslas help explain it: a buyer won’t pay close to new money for a used car when the new one costs less. Our guide to why used electric car prices dropped covers that story in full. Forum stories about one owner’s car aren’t market figures, so treat them with care.

Why do two used Teslas of the same age get such different offers? Usually it comes down to:

• Version and build date: an updated car and an original are judged differently, and a later build has less age on it.
• Variant: the drive and battery version on your invoice.
• Kilometres and condition: including kerbed wheels, paint chips and any accident repairs.
• Evidence: service records, battery details, recall status and both key cards.
• Today’s new price: if Tesla has just cut it, every used example has to sit further below it.

Which Tesla recalls should you check?

Start with a VIN search on the government’s vehicle recalls site. It’s the same check a careful buyer or dealer will run. The recalls below are notable ones for these models, not a complete list, so your own search is the one that counts.

Over-the-air fixes are convenient, but they leave no workshop job card. That makes the proof different:

1. Make sure the update has installed. A car that has sat unused or out of signal for a long time may have missed it. Connect it and install any pending software.
2. Photograph the software screen. Capture the installed version on the touchscreen, with the date.
3. Ask Tesla to confirm it in writing. Give Tesla’s service team your VIN and ask whether any recall is still open on your car.

For a recall that needs a service visit, book it before you sell. Recall work is free, and finishing it removes a question from the buyer’s list. Our guide to checking for open recalls before you sell explains how to read the search results and what to do if the work can’t be done in time.

What happens to the key cards, phone key and Tesla account?

This is the part of a Tesla sale that’s easiest to miss. A Tesla is opened and driven with a phone key through the Tesla app, with key cards as the backup. Tesla’s Model 3 owner’s manual says two key cards are supplied, and the Model Y comes with two as well. Key fobs are sold separately, so if you bought one, it goes with the car.

Count your cards now, not on the day, because a buyer counts them like keys on any other car.

Your account is a different matter. While the car sits in it, you can still see where the car is and control it from your phone. Tesla’s manual sets out two steps, and the order matters:

1. Factory reset from the touchscreen. This erases personal data such as saved addresses and contacts, and returns settings to default. The manual puts this step first, so do it while the car is still in your account.
2. Remove the car from your Tesla account in the app. This ends your access to it through the app.

Don’t do either step until the money has cleared and you’re handing the car over. Until then, you may still need your phone key to move or charge it.

A few other things to clear before the car goes:

• Subscriptions: cancel any paid subscription for the car billed to your account, so it doesn’t keep charging you.
• Dashcam footage: if you use a USB drive for dashcam or Sentry Mode recordings, take your footage off it.
• Toll tags: take out any tag and remove the rego from your toll account.

Our guide to wiping your personal data from your car has the full list, including garage remotes and parking apps.

What will buyers ask about the battery and range?

The battery is usually the first thing an EV buyer asks about, because they can’t see inside it on a test drive. Expect questions like these:

• Did you mostly charge at home or at Superchargers and other fast chargers?
• What charge limit did you usually set?
• Has the car ever shown a battery or charging warning?
• How much of the battery warranty is left?

Answer honestly, and back it up where you can. Ask a Tesla service centre whether it can give you a battery health reading in writing, with the VIN, date and kilometres on it. Take a dated photo of the range shown at a known charge level. That figure is an estimate, not a measurement of battery health, so present it as what you saw, not a promise.

We haven’t confirmed Tesla’s current battery warranty terms for this guide. Find the battery section of your warranty documents and write down the start date, the years and the kilometres. “Battery warranty to [month and year] or [kilometres]” tells a buyer far more than “still under warranty”.

Our guide to EV battery health before you sell explains what state of health means and how to describe range without overselling it.

Which charging gear goes with the car?

A buyer will look for a portable charging cable. If one came with the car, or you bought one for it, leave it in the car with any adaptors and say so in the sale.

A wall charger is different. It’s usually wired into your home, so it normally stays with the house. If you plan to take it with you when you move, removing it is a job for a licensed electrician, and it isn’t part of the car’s sale.

Before the inspection, make sure the charge port door opens and closes properly and the car accepts a charge. Leave enough charge for a test drive.

What does a buyer or inspector check on a used Tesla?

Here is what a careful buyer or inspector will usually look at, and how to get ahead of each one.

Telling the buyer about a problem early is almost always better than having an inspector find it. A surprise on the day is what turns a firm price into a renegotiation.

In what order should you do it all?

Here’s the sequence that keeps you in control.

1. Before you ask for offers: find your invoice, count the key cards, run the VIN recall check and gather your battery and warranty details.
2. When you accept an offer: confirm the payment steps in writing and book any recall work that needs a service visit.
3. Before the inspection: leave any charging cable and both cards in the car, with some charge in the battery.
4. Once the balance has cleared: do the factory reset, remove the car from your Tesla account, then hand over the cards.
5. After the car leaves: remove the rego from your toll account and check no subscription is still billing you. Make sure your notice of disposal is done correctly for your state. In most states it’s a quick online form.

If there’s finance on the car, the loan has to be paid out as part of the sale. On a novated lease, the finance company owns the car until the lease is paid out. Our guide to selling a car on a novated lease mid-term walks through that order, starting with a written payout figure.

Getting a firm offer on your Tesla

The used Tesla market moves with new-car pricing, and no one can time it. What you can control is the evidence: a clear version and variant, closed recalls, both key cards, any charging cable and honest battery details. With those in hand, you can judge a real offer against today’s new price.

If your Model 3 or Model Y is 2021 or newer with 100,000 km or less, we can give you a free valuation. It’s a genuine offer by phone from a licensed dealer, not an online estimate, and we’re run by a valuer who has priced cars since 1992. There’s no obligation, and no fees come out of the offer.

If you accept, a deposit is often paid the same day, and the inspection happens at a time and place that suits you. The balance goes into your bank account, and we collect the car, anywhere in Australia, only after you confirm the funds have cleared. That’s when you do the factory reset and remove the car from your account. We prepare the sale paperwork and help with the transfer of ownership. If there’s a loan, we deal with your lender directly to pay it out and then pay you any equity, which usually takes 2 to 3 business days to settle. If you owe more than the car is worth, the difference has to be covered before settlement.

Call us on 1800 73 55 73. If your car is older or has more kilometres, send it through anyway and we’ll tell you straight away if we can help.