Buying a used car privately: the inspection checklist

A private sale can be the best value way to buy a car, but you get no statutory warranty and no cooling-off period. The protection is the checking you do before money changes hands. Work through this list in order.

1. The paperwork, before you see the car

• Registration. Ask for the registration number and check it on your state's transport website. You will see whether the registration is current and, in most states, the make, model and colour it is recorded against.
• Finance owing and written-off history. Buy a Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) certificate using the VIN. It costs a few dollars and shows whether money is still owed on the car (a lender can repossess it from you) and whether it has been recorded as written off or stolen.
• Service history. A stamped logbook or a folder of invoices is worth real money. Gaps are not a deal-breaker, but they shift the risk to you.
• The seller. The name on the registration papers should match the person selling. If it does not, ask why.

2. The walk-around

Look at the car in daylight, dry, and cold (not just driven). Check:

• Panel gaps and paint: uneven gaps, overspray on rubber seals or a slightly different shade on one panel point to accident repair.
• Tyres: uneven wear across a tyre suggests alignment or suspension problems. Check the date code on the sidewall; tyres older than about six years are due regardless of tread.
• Under the bonnet: look for fresh oil, coolant that is not the right colour, and a battery date sticker.
• Under the car: rust on the sills and subframes, oil on the gearbox or differential.
• Inside: every switch, window, the air conditioning on full cold, and the smell. Damp carpet is hard to fix.

3. The test drive

Drive it for at least twenty minutes on a mix of roads. Listen for knocks over bumps, feel for pulling under braking, and make sure the automatic shifts cleanly when warm. After the drive, let it idle and look underneath again for drips.

4. Pay for a pre-purchase inspection

For anything you would mind losing money on, an independent pre-purchase inspection is the best few hundred dollars you will spend. The inspector puts the car on a hoist, reads the fault codes and gives you a written report you can negotiate with. Use the Inspections and roadworthy category to find one near the car, not near you.

5. Roadworthy and transfer rules by state

Each state has its own rule about who must provide a safety or roadworthy certificate and how quickly the transfer must be lodged. Check the official source for the state the car is registered in:

• New South Wales: service.nsw.gov.au
• Victoria: vicroads.vic.gov.au
• Queensland: qld.gov.au/transport
• Western Australia: transport.wa.gov.au
• South Australia: sa.gov.au
• Tasmania: transport.tas.gov.au
• Australian Capital Territory: accesscanberra.act.gov.au
• Northern Territory: nt.gov.au/driving

6. Paying

Pay by bank transfer or bank cheque, get a signed receipt with the VIN, odometer reading, price and both names, and lodge the transfer straight away. Never hand over money for a car you have not seen in person.