The true cost of selling a car privately in 2026

Selling a car privately costs more than the price of the ad. On top of listing fees, you may pay for a roadworthy or safety certificate, cleaning and small repairs, the rego, insurance and loan interest that keep running while the car is listed, and hours of your own time.

Each of those lines is easy to underestimate on its own. Added together and set against the extra money a private buyer might pay, they decide whether selling privately is worth it. Below is every line of the bill, where to find your real figure, and a receipt you can copy straight into our calculator.

How much does it cost to advertise a car?

Anywhere from nothing to a paid package with upgrades. Some community sites and social marketplaces, such as Facebook Marketplace, let you list a car for free. You pay with time instead, because a free listing can bring a stream of “is this still available?” messages that go nowhere.

The large car classified sites generally charge for an ad, and sell it in tiers. One large site, for example, offers Standard, Premium and Ultimate ad packages. In a 2021 article, the NRMA put the big car sites at $60 to $100 for an average vehicle. Treat that as a rough guide only, because prices may have changed since, and check the site’s own pricing page on the day you list. Add any upgrade, and any second site you plan to use.

Consumer Affairs Victoria sums up the trade-off. You may get more for a car sold privately, but finding a buyer takes time, effort and money spent on advertising.

Do you need a roadworthy or safety certificate to sell privately?

Only in some states, and where it applies it’s a cost you can’t skip. Victoria and Queensland require one for a private sale of a registered car. Most other states don’t ask for one when a current registration is transferred.

Victoria: a roadworthy that runs out after 30 days

Consumer Affairs Victoria says you must give the buyer a Certificate of Roadworthiness less than 30 days old. The certificate checks safety, not mechanical reliability, so a careful buyer may still pay for their own inspection. If the car fails, you have 14 days to fix the faults and get it re-checked, rather than paying for a whole new test. Ask a licensed vehicle tester for a price before you book, and allow for the repairs a fail would need.

The hidden cost is timing. If you get the roadworthy before you list and the car takes longer than 30 days to sell, the certificate no longer meets the rule and you need a new one.

Queensland: a safety certificate you can get later

As at October 2026, the Queensland Government lists the inspection fee for a vehicle up to 4,500 kg at $102.70, the rate from 1 July 2026. You no longer need the certificate to advertise, but you must give one to the buyer before the transfer. If you don’t, you may be fined over $700. For a private seller it’s valid for 2 months or 2,000 km, whichever comes first, and each certificate covers one transfer only.

Because you can advertise first, you can hold off on the inspection until a serious buyer turns up, so the certificate doesn’t expire while the car sits. The catch is that a failed inspection then delays a sale that was ready to go.

What will you spend getting the car ready?

Whatever it takes for the car to match its photos. The usual lines are:

• Cleaning or a professional detail, inside and out.
• Small faults a buyer will spot, such as a cracked mirror, a blown globe, worn wipers or a chipped windscreen.
• Any repair a roadworthy or safety inspection asks for.
• A service, if one is due and you want a fresh stamp in the logbook to show buyers.
• Photos, which cost nothing on your phone, or a paid photographer if you want them.

The test for each repair is simple. Do it only if a buyer would knock more off the price than the repair costs you. Keep every receipt, because together they make up the “getting it ready” figure in the calculator.

How many hours will a private sale take?

It depends on your car and the buyers it attracts, so nobody can tell you the figure in advance. Keep a rough log from the day you start, because your time is the cost that never appears on a receipt. Count the hours you spend on:

1. Cleaning, taking photos and writing the ad.
2. Replying to messages and calls, including the ones that go nowhere.
3. Each inspection and test drive: being home, showing the car and riding along.
4. Waiting for buyers who don’t turn up.
5. Haggling over the price and the terms.
6. Meeting a mechanic if the buyer wants the car checked.
7. Confirming the payment has cleared in your account, not just been “sent”.
8. The paperwork: a receipt for the buyer and your state’s notice of disposal or transfer.

For steps 3 and 5, see our guides to running a safe test drive and negotiating when you sell. In the calculator you can put a dollar value on each hour, or leave it at zero and compare on money alone.

What does the car cost you while it waits for a buyer?

Every week the car is listed, you’re still paying to own it. These holding costs are easy to forget because they don’t arrive as a new bill, but every extra week on the market adds another round.

• Rego. Your registration keeps running. Divide what you paid by the number of weeks it covers: 52 for a yearly renewal, 26 for six months.
• Insurance. Keep the car insured while strangers inspect and drive it. Check what your policy says about drivers who aren’t named on it, then work out the weekly cost the same way.
• Loan interest. If there’s finance on the car, interest keeps building until the loan is paid out. Your statement or your lender can give you a weekly figure.
• Wear. Every test drive adds kilometres, and the car keeps getting older while it’s listed.

Finance can also slow the sale itself. A buyer who runs a PPSR search will see your lender’s security interest on the car, and will want to know how it gets cleared before they pay. Our page on selling a car under finance explains how that works when you sell to us instead.

The number of weeks is your own estimate. For help with it, see our guide to how long it takes to sell a car.

What can go wrong, and what does it cost?

Part of the cost of a private sale is risk. These things may never happen to you, but each one costs time or money when it does.

• No-shows. A buyer who doesn’t turn up costs you the time you set aside.
• Lowball offers. Some buyers start well under your price and wait to see whether you’ll give in.
• Scams. Scamwatch lists the warning signs. Watch for a buyer happy to buy without seeing the car in person, or one who pays more than the agreed price and asks for the difference back. Be wary of anyone who pushes an unusual way to pay. A scam can cost you the car itself, so hand over the keys only once the money is in your account, not when an email says it’s on the way.
• Disputes after the sale. The ACCC says most of the consumer law protections that come with a dealer sale don’t apply to second-hand cars bought privately. That doesn’t put you in the clear. In WA, for example, Consumer Protection says a private seller can still be liable for a serious defect they knew about and didn’t disclose, and must disclose any finance owing. Even a complaint that goes nowhere takes your time.
• Fines and tolls. Until your notice of disposal or transfer is lodged, the new owner’s fines can come back to you. VicRoads warns about fines and tolls, and Service NSW about parking and driving fines. Lodge it the day you sell.

Your private-sale receipt, ready for the calculator

Here is every line of the bill in one place, where to find your own figure, and which box it goes into in our private sale vs dealer calculator. Apart from Queensland’s published inspection fee, every figure is yours to fill in, because it depends on your car, your state and your choices. Rego, insurance and loan interest all go in the one weekly box, so add them together first.

The calculator subtracts your costs from the price you expect and shows what’s left next to the offer. If you enter weekly holding costs, it also tells you roughly how many weeks the car can sit before the offer comes out ahead. Compare that break-even point with your own guess of how long the sale will take. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.

So is a private sale worth it for you?

It can be. If the gap between a private price and a firm offer is bigger than your costs, you have time to spare and you’re comfortable with strangers at your door, a private sale may leave you ahead. If the gap is small, the car is under finance or you need the money soon, the costs above can eat most of it.

The fair test is a real offer, not an online estimate. Sell Your Car Australia is a NSW licensed motor dealer (Autohaus Australia Pty Ltd, MD 077404), run by a valuer who has priced cars since 1992. A free valuation gets you a genuine offer by phone, with no obligation and no fees taken out of it.

If you accept, the deposit is often paid the same day. We inspect the car at a time and place that suits you, pay the balance into your bank account, and collect the car, anywhere in Australia, only after you confirm the funds have cleared. Usually no roadworthy or safety certificate is needed when you sell to us; rules differ by state and we confirm on the call. If there’s a loan, we deal with your lender directly to pay it out, then pay you any equity. It usually takes 2 to 3 business days to settle. If you owe more than our offer, the difference has to be covered before settlement.

We buy cars, utes, SUVs and 4WDs that are 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. Put our offer in the calculator next to your private-sale numbers, or call 1800 73 55 73.