National Car Removal & Car Parts
Service Areas
Wrecking Now
Request Part
0800 88 44 55
Call Now To Sell
Sell Your Car
August 13, 2025

How to Sell a Car in NZ? A Complete Guide

Toyota RAV4, ACA31

Selling a new car isn’t as difficult as putting an old car on the market. You have to do a lot more work to make the latter more appealing to the buyer. However, regardless of whether you are selling a car for cash to people residing across New Zealand, there are a few legalities to complete.

In this article, we’ll tell you how to sell your car in NZ with the completion of all the documentation and legalities. So, let’s dive in.

Prepare the Car to Sell

Before you worry about any paperwork, you must first prepare your car for the big day. This means preparing the car in such a way that it attracts the most buyers. Here is what you must do before you put your vehicle on the market.

Wash & Polish Your Vehicle

A clean and shiny car is something that would catch the eye of any buyer. So, it doesn’t matter if your car is new or old, you should give it a good wash and then polish it for maximum effect. Once you have done that, selling your car for cash shouldn’t be an easy affair.

Remove Personal Belongings

The second thing on your list should be to remove all your personal belongings from your vehicle. After all, you don’t want anything valuable to end up in the hands of the buyer. So, perform a thorough sweep of your car’s interior and then repeat it once more to be sure. Once you have completed this step, you can move on to the next.

Post an Advertisement

Finally, you can take out your camera or mobile phone to take pictures of your vehicle. Make sure you do so during the day when there is ample sunlight so that the buyer can see the car clearly. Also, do not forget to take pictures from various angles such that the entire car can be seen in the photos. After that, upload these pictures to an online platform to start finding potential buyers.

Look for Potential Buyers

Now it’s time to decide on the platform you want to choose to sell your car for cash. For that, you have multiple options:

Online Classifieds

Your first option is to consider online vehicle buying and selling platforms. There are several websites you can choose from, such as TradeMe. On these sites, like TradeMe for example, you can post pictures of your vehicle and find buyers for it in no time. Alternatively, you can look for private buyers online, as it is the best place to sell privately and private buyers usually pay the most for a car.

Auction Houses

Several auction houses accept old and even new cars to sell to potential customers. If you are finding it hard to get rid of your car, contact an auction house, and you may get some good luck. But keep in mind that in an auction, you lose the power to negotiate with the buyer. The highest bid is what you’ll get for your vehicle. Therefore, it’s better to keep auctioning your car as a last resort.

Car Wreckers

One place you can get good value for a junk car is at a wrecker. Yes, scrap yards might seem like the last place you would want to go if you want to sell your vehicle, but they are in fact a considerable option. Car wreckers buy cars in any condition, even if they are old, damaged, unregistered, or written off. Basically, anything that other buyers would object to, they would pay no heed to those things. So, if you can’t find any viable buyer for your damaged vehicle, call your nearest car wrecker.

Before Handing Over to The Buyer

You must complete a checklist before you can hand over your car to the buyer. The NZTA requires you to complete the following things before completing the transaction:

Pay License Fees

A vehicle license also called ‘rego’ is a fee that you must pay to use NZ roads. If this is unpaid, the buyer of your car would get in trouble with the authorities. Therefore, pay any outstanding licensing fees before selling your vehicle.

Pay Outstanding RUC

If the Road User Charges (RUC) are not paid, you, as the seller, are committing an offence under the Road User Charges Act 2012. Therefore, clear the overdue RUC, if any, to avoid both you and the buyer getting into trouble.

Get the Latest (WoF)

The Warrant of Fitness (WoF) certificate for your car should be at least a month old. But the buyer is well within their right to ask for a more recent WoF. So, ask the buyer if they need something like that before completing the sale transaction.

If Selling an Unlicensed Vehicle

If your vehicle is unlicensed and you intend to sell it, you must pay the fee until the date the car is registered to the new owner.

If Selling a Unregistered Vehicle

It is possible to sell an unregistered vehicle; however, you must keep in mind a few things:

– You must inform the buyer of this detail

– If the licensing fee isn’t paid for 12 months, the registration is cancelled by default.

The buyer can register the vehicle on their own after buying; however, if there are any outstanding fees, you must take care of them.

What to do After Selling a Vehicle

Once you have completed all the documents, the last formality is informing the NZTA that you have sold your car. You can do so online by visiting the NZTA website.

However, if you can’t do it online, you always have the option to do so using mail or by visiting the NZTA office in person.

Note: No matter if the vehicle is old or new, you must inform the NZTA or else risk a serious fine.

Vehicle Transfer

The last thing to do is transfer the vehicle into the buyer’s name. Make sure you do so immediately and always confirm the car’s title has transferred over. Also, cancel any insurance on the vehicle and remove your car from your tolling account.

What Happens If Something Isn’t Right

If you are done with selling your car and the NZTA contacts you through email or mail, there is something wrong with the procedure. Usually, this happens if the buyer hasn’t informed the authorities of their buying the vehicle. Therefore, don’t worry if you ever receive an email from NZTA. Just follow the procedure, and all should be good.

Related Posts You May Like











National Car Removal & Car Parts
National Car Removal & Car Parts is the best place to go if you need used car parts or want to get rid of a vehicle that is taking up space on your property. We offer up to $15,000 in cash for old, broken-down cars, vans, utes, 4x4s, or trucks. Contact us today to find out more.
Contact Details
0800 88 44 55
09 579 5152 (For Parts)
removal@ncp.co.nz
parts@ncp.co.nz (For Parts)
22 Ormiston Road, Otara, Auckland
12 Bolderwood Place, Wiri, Auckland
© 2025 National Car Removal & Car Parts. All rights reserved.
WPStudio