What Should I Do - Used Car - Buy or Sell First? Custom Number Plate

justanick on 19/01/2025 - 16:20
Last edited 19/01/2025 - 16:29 by 1 other user

Hi all, I haven’t bought and sold a car for years and came here to resolve some dilemma.

  1. I need to upgrade my current car which has no financing on it and buy another used car with no financing. However, I need the cash of selling the car sooner like within 3 weeks max otherwise I’ll have some trouble with finances. I’m wondering what most people would do in terms of upgrading cars. i.e. do you first sell the car and do rental car until you find your car or first buy the car you like and then sell the existing car?

  2. My current car has custom number plate which I would like to retain. When I sell my car how do I put another cheap number plate and transfer the existing registration, insurance CTP and comprehensive?

  3. What are the costs of doing step 2?

I have been researching but couldn’t find all the above.

Many thanks for your help.

Automotive Number Plate

Comments

  • MS Paint on 19/01/2025 - 16:31

    Just confirming you're in NSW?

    • pegaxs on 19/01/2025 - 23:02
      +1

      lol @ expecting an answer…

      6h30m later and still no confirmation. In fact, not a single reply to anyone in the thread… the ‘ole post and ghost strikes again.

    • justanick on 19/01/2025 - 23:15
      +4

      Sorry for being MiA got a water leak on a Sunday and trying to patch work :(

      • Nugs on 20/01/2025 - 06:13
        +4

        "got a water leak on a Sunday"
        Try Tena?
        .

      • stephendt on 21/01/2025 - 15:55

        I forgive you.

  • brendanm on 19/01/2025 - 16:37
    +5

    I would swap out plates for standard one first. I buy a new car before selling the old one.

    • justanick on 20/01/2025 - 00:40

      What’s the process of doing this buy the car first get the license plates swapped then sell my car? What’s the cost of doing this?

      • pegaxs on 20/01/2025 - 09:13
        +5

        The process is you get on the Service NSW website and read about how to put plates into storage. (Was literally a 12 second search)

        • brendanm on 20/01/2025 - 17:49
          +2

          You have more patience than me.

      • xylarr on 21/01/2025 - 09:28

        You take your personalised plates to Service NSW. Pay the storage fee. Get new plates, put them on your car. Take tools with you, do it in the car park.

        Sell car.

        Buy car.

        Take plates off new car. Go back to the same Service NSW location, give them the plates, collect your personalised plates. Put them on the car.

        • Euphemistic on 21/01/2025 - 17:47

          Youll probably need to fill out a form for each transaction so thatll likely make it too difficult.

  • freefall101 on 19/01/2025 - 16:44
    +2

    Get a personal loan or car loan. Make sure there are no conditions for early repayment. Buy new car, sell old car, pay back loan.

    7% interest on say a $40k loan is $233 a month, buys you time to get it sorted. Should be able to get a lower rate with decent credit or a car loan

    • justanick on 19/01/2025 - 23:18

      How do I get a $40k personal loan without any collateral and that too less than 7%? My mortgage is with CBA and I got 6.20% rate on it. Can’t do refinancing as we just did it.

      • freefall101 on 19/01/2025 - 23:22

        All depends on your credit rating. ING, Citi do ones for 6.9%, Omm are 6.57%, just google around.

        • justanick on 20/01/2025 - 00:38

          Thanks a lot. I’ll be looking into this.
          Just did a $30,000 loan for 5 years it’s coming out to be around $600/month on interest (6.9%) ing bank

          • JumpingUnicorns on 20/01/2025 - 09:14
            +2

            @justanick: That math doesn't make sense? 6.9% P.A on $30k is just over $2k for the year, that's not actually breaking it down with repayments.

  • Commander Shepard on 19/01/2025 - 17:22
    -1

    I was in your situation when I was younger.

    Buy your new car on a personal loan (make sure it has no early exit fees and minimum establishment fees).

    Remove your custom plates, put them on the new car. And put standard plates back on the old car (roughly $90 for new standard plates - check your states govt website).

    Sell the old car and pay off the personal loan.

  • Euphemistic on 19/01/2025 - 17:36
    +2

    Go to your local registration authority (Service NSW?).

    I think the process is: get new plates for the old car. Put your personal plate in 'storage'. Get them out of storage when you transfer ownership of the new ride to yourself. Theyll tell you the costs. I just got new olates for a car and it was under $100, but youll need to oay to retain your existing plates. Their website should tell you this process. .

    As for selling before buying, only you can answer that. If you cant afford to upgrade you have to either trade in, or sell and manage without a car until you can buy. In the past i have only traded in or sold AFTER buying. Don't rent a car for the interim unless you know the newer car is ready in a couple of days.

    • Gunnar on 19/01/2025 - 22:06
      +1

      Yep this for process on the plates

      I’ve bought the new one before selling the old one

  • Nucleus Acumbens on 19/01/2025 - 21:50

    I just go to the dealer, pick out the car I want, negotiate a trade in price for the old car, sign a few things then drive away in the new car.

    • miwahni on 19/01/2025 - 22:56
      +1

      You tend to leave a lot of money on the table with a trade-in though. I've sold my last two cars privately for well over what I was offered as a trade in. As long as you're realistic about your asking price you won't have too much trouble selling.

      • Euphemistic on 20/01/2025 - 06:34
        +3

        While trade ins do cost you in $, they make up for it in convenience. If you dont have funds to buy first then sell, you dont have to try to deal with not having a car. If you have the funds and can deal with tyre kickers, no shows and lowballers then buy first then sell and youll get a few extra coins.

        My experience is that it can take weeks to sell a car for not a massive gain in $, especially if youre talking about a car that is low $ value.

        • pegaxs on 20/01/2025 - 09:35
          +1

          My experience is that it can take weeks to sell a car for not a massive gain in $

          Or quite often after sitting on your car for months, you end up selling it to someone for less than you were offered as a trade in because you are tired of sitting on it and getting nothing but idiots and tyre kickers.

          I am amazed at the amount of people I make offers to buy motorcycles off and I always price them half way between retail and wholesale price and they wont budge, only to get back to them and find out they gave it to some dealer for $1000's less than what I offered. It's like people, if they cant get the price they want for it, they dont want ANYONE to get a cheap car.

      • kiitos on 20/01/2025 - 08:41

        I guess it depends on the condition of the car as well? If it's got dents, rust, problems, it would be easier to trade it in?

  • justanick on 19/01/2025 - 23:12

    Apologies guys I should have mentioned I’m in NSW

  • justanick on 19/01/2025 - 23:18
    -1

    I spoke with some dealer they are offering much cheaper trade-ins like $8k less or more.

    How much is to swap my license plate on the current car with a cheap plate and to hold onto my license plate?
    Scenario:
    If I buy the car first it will come with a license plate - can I swap my existing custom plate with the new one and then sell the older car? With this process how much am I looking at and what’s the process?

    • Euphemistic on 20/01/2025 - 06:35

      Talk to service nsw about the process and cost for plates. Its not difficult, they do it all the time.

    • JimB on 21/01/2025 - 11:02

      What car and how many KMs?

      When you say $8k less, less than what?

      What you think you it's worth? What the highest priced example on Carsales is advertised at?

  • justanick on 20/01/2025 - 01:29

    I went to ING bank and checked their calculator for borrowing and I can only do $4000 cause I have a credit card $15k and $9k for which I always pay on time.
    I went to https://www.getcreditscore.com.au/ as suggested by ing bank and got an excellent credit score.
    Should I still apply for $30-40k personal loan or my application will be rejected as their calculator thinks I have $24k credit limit that means I can’t fund monthly payments.
    I can’t reduce the credit limit any more as I need the credit cards one is latitude interest free stuff and one I use for personal use and it’s min amount credit limit to maintain points etc with ANZ.

    • Euphemistic on 20/01/2025 - 06:36

      Why get a loan if you dont need finance? Selling your car privately for $8k more gives you $8k to play with while you sort put your new ride. $8k is a lot of taxis rides and bus tickets. Heck, you could probably buy a $3k car and sell it again and still be ahead over the trade in value - but with a lot more hassle.

      Plus, don't forget that trade in value is only part of the equation. Look at the price difference, not just the trade in price. Some will low ball trade in, but have a low sell price for the purchase. Others will give you a great trade value, but be priced higher on the new car.

    • Gunnar on 20/01/2025 - 09:34

      Credit cards are always taken as its full limit, regardless of whether you pay on time, have a zero balance, etc. when you’re applying for a loan they take your entire limit as a debt. Ignore all the sites you get sent though because they are indicative only, anything you get on there means zero when applying for a loan.

      If you’re in a bind I would satay try and decrease your credit card limits

      As a side observation, from what you’ve posted on here it sounds like the car you want is beyond your means if the figures you’ve thrown around above means you cannot afford it (ie you need more fat in your budget)

  • loadofrubbish on 20/01/2025 - 07:56
    +1

    Clean your car thoroughly or get it professionally detailed to make it look its best. Take high-quality photos in a clean area with no other cars in the background to keep the focus on your vehicle. Advertise it as the cheapest option for its kilometers and age, making it a standout deal. If the price is right, cars typically sell quickly. It sounds like you're working within a tight budget and may have a funding gap between selling your current car and buying a new one. Don’t stress about missing out on your ideal replacement there will always be more cars available in the future. Focus on selling your car quickly.

  • sprocketoctopus on 20/01/2025 - 08:37

    You may needva few months to sell your car.
    Last one I sold in 2023 I got stuffed around, I had one tell me on test drive, he was only "driving to see what they were like as he had never driven a Forrester before"

    My car was cheapest make model and mileage and had a current RWC. On carsales.

    There are a lot of time wasters out there.

    • JumpingUnicorns on 20/01/2025 - 09:18
      +1

      Yep same, but Carsales got me 0 leads. Sold it through Facebook after showing 3 different people.

      So many time wasters it's crazy, then add the scammers on top wanting this specific report that their "mechanic" told them to get…

  • SlickMick on 20/01/2025 - 09:26

    Uber or car hire might be cheaper than a loan, as a short-term solution for any gap between selling and buying.

  • pegaxs on 20/01/2025 - 09:31
    +3

    1: I dont get it, you need to sell in 3 weeks or it will cause some kind of financial issues and complaining about how little you are offered as a trade in? See what kind of offers you get if you need to sell a car in 3 weeks. Now that covid is over, people are no longer lining up to buy cars. It is going to take you 2~3 months to sell it and ironically, you will end up letting it go for about the same or even less then what the trade in valuation was.

    2: FFS, this website has become the new "ask google". You literally could have typed less words into Google and got your answer quicker. I literally tested it by typing "NSW plate storage" into Google and the top result answered your question.

    3: If you are worried about the price of keeping your plates, then you are worrying about the wrong things. This is like the $2 PPSR guy who didnt like the price of a $2 PPSR check, but was happy to pay full price for a $15~20,000 car. It costs what it costs.

    • Gunnar on 20/01/2025 - 09:35
      +1

      lol you posted this as I posted my post above, I think the OP is beyond his means on this one

  • nswnotill on 20/01/2025 - 14:58

    I read in the media that prices for used cars are falling away significantly, now that new car production (including EV's) is getting back to normal. A recent survey indicated that used cars now on average take 7-8 weeks to sell. More sellers than buyers.

  • justanick on 20/01/2025 - 21:43

    Thank you guys. I called Service NSW and the guy was very helpful and answered everything for me. I think it will be easier for me to buy the first and then sell. Like some of you recommended above I have to consider around two months to sell my car.

    Need some advice from experienced people here:
    1) When I’m selling the car and someone wants to test drive - what caution should I take so that I can know they are genuine buyers? They are not going to hit my car? I’ll take a snapshot of their license and I’ll sit on the car but apart from that is there anything else that I can do?

    2) Carsales estimated my car very low but I saw similar cars on Carsales offered $15k more. How do I know the average price of my car with the options and good condition my car is it in?

    3) I test drove a car today it was great. I would like to give an offer tomorrow. Any tips from seasoned people- car advertised $43730? They were happy with pre-purchase inspection. Do I get MTA to go and do the inspection or any other recommendations?

    • JumpingUnicorns on 21/01/2025 - 16:05

      What's the car you're selling

    • Euphemistic on 21/01/2025 - 17:49

      Car sales prices are just random. Theres pkenty of covid era pricing and dreamers hoping they can catch someone out. Plenty of cars that have been onnthere since forever becasue the price is too high.

      Also, carsales prices are NOT what cars sell for, but just what they are advertised for, before negotiation.

    • Nucleus Acumbens on 21/01/2025 - 19:33
      -2
      1. If he drove, walk around his car and check out what condition his car is in? Ie: does he have a habit of reversing into things, side swiping mirrors, hitting little old ladies, road kill in front grill?

      At least hold onto their licence.
      - if not copy front and back of licence
      - check if license is current
      - check if address on licence is current
      - check if buyer looks like picture on licence and note any differences
      - check if manual or automatic
      - check if any restrictions such as glasses or medical issues

      • some states require you have a current RWC certificate to sell car.

      • proof they can afford car if they decide to buy it

      • time period they intend to pay for and take ownership of the car (might not be looking for immediate purchase or have enough funds to pay in full)

      • predetermine absolute minimum you will accept for car as most people will try to negotiate with you and some will even low ball.

      • predetermine how and when you want to be paid. Some will try and use unsafe payment methods or even negotiate a payment plan.

      • ask for Medicare card or something else to hold onto (as well as licence if they will let you). The more of his info you have, the more likely he is to come back cos it's a PIA to get card renewed. Heck, get bank cards if they'll hand them over or even their first born son.

      • maybe even ask for a grand or two deposit

      • consider going with them as a passenger on the test drive.
        => how do you know they're not going to steal your car/ not going to bring it back before they have used it as a getaway car for a bank robbery or some other aggravated offence and cruising through a zillion red lights and stop signs, swerving to hit some objects whilst running into others whilst being pursued by gun wielding policeman shooting out the windows pursuing the car at high speed along the motorway only coming to a stop when Mel Gibson does a mid air flip in a barrage of bullets from high powered weapons, gets a one in a million shot from the overpass overhead and shoots out the windows causing the car to careen onto the footpath and coming to a stop after it runs over an old lady using a walker, rolls over multiple times before coming to rest on its roof and slides and crashes through the plate glass window of a liquor store causing your boot to drop open spilling all the gold kruegerands that you had previously smuggled from the embassy all over the street at the feet of the cops?

      Tell me how that would make you feel knowing all that alcohol was probably being looted and you weren't there to get any?

      => make sure car is safe to drive/roadworthy => if he has an accident and your car is found to be at fault, he could sue you for any injuries, real or imagined he gets.

      => this included adequate tread on the tyres and the spare.

      => seriously, if you send your car for a test drive, inform your insurer and ask them what they need from you to make sure you have coverage and something does go wrong and you need to make a claim.

      If you don't have insurance, at least get some before you give your car to some random stranger whose driving history or intentions for wanting the car are not known to you.

      => photo of person holding their licence
      => copy of licence
      => photo of person with or in your car )(so they can never deny they saw it)
      => name and id of anyone they are with
      => name & contact # of NOK or someone you can contact "in case of emergency"
      => refundable deposit
      => working phone number
      => one of those apple tags or gps finders
      => offer a glass of water before they leave => you now have a copy of their finger prints
      => complete dossier of photos of all aspects of your car inside and out showing condition of car before other person takes it - get them to name, date and sign back of each photo
      => heard of some people purposely damaging car for leverage to negotiate lower price. Heard some remove a part of your car and replace it with a different part (they were doing their car up and wanted the spare parts) of course, some people just have accidents.

      => remove dead bodies (and any remaining parts and cooking instructions), acid, ski mask, gloves, gaffa tape, rope, zip ties, switch blade, shovel, map showing where other dead bodies are hidden, concealed weapons, fire accelerant, lighter, night vision goggles, external Hard drive with naughty photos on it, torch, baseball bat wrapped in razor wire, billiard balls stashed in socks, spray paint, padlock key to secret hideout, koolaid, bulk pack of lubricated condoms (forensics can detect the lubricant from used condoms now and isolate brand used if traces remain in seminal discharge), the video recording that identifies you and contains homophobic and anti semantic slurs, anti woke speech, threats to assasinate CEO of PHI companies, hate speech, various blackmail and ransom attempts, proof of your illegal lottery business and scheme to import $50m of heroin inside boxes of Covid vaccines and the burglary kit from the boot.

      => go over everything with test driver such as check lights work, brakes work, where hand brake and indicators are and how to engage them. Show him where mirror adjustment buttons are, car seat adjustment levers, make sure seat belt working and secure.
      => if manual, check licence and confirm with driver he can actually drive a manual and has preferably driven one recently.

      (Some cars have all this stuff on different sides in their cars so might not be used to where stuff is in your car)

      => put sticker over engine warning light so they can't see it is always on and never goes off.

      => some kind of written agreement stating giving keys to potential buyer solely for the purpose of him test driving the vehicle on date/time for the purpose of assessing the car to determine intention to purchase at price nominated by seller. State transfer of possession (and/or ownership) is not intended to be permanent until such time as seller receives full payment as determined by seller. test driver responsible for fixing any damage, paying any excess incurred from insurance claim, how many klm he can travel, proposed journey, discourage eating, drinking or doping whilst in possession of your car, confirmation that driver is not drunk, drugged or otherwise impaired at time of taking your car (hold up three fingers and ask him how many he sees) confirmation his insulin for diabetics is up to date, leaves car in same condition as you gave it to him.

    • Nucleus Acumbens on 21/01/2025 - 19:43
      -2
      1. Remember the prices advertised on car sales are not the prices the cars are selling for. They are either the wishful thinking of the seller or the price he has allocated from which to start negotiations with potential buyers.

      There must be some function where you can track how much previous listings sold for.

      Heard something about a red book? Is this the book dealers use to work out value of your car?

      Ring an insurance company, tell them you want to insure it and ask how much they value it?

      Go to car dealer pretend you want to buy a new car and see what trade in price they will give you for it?

      My real advice though is to work out what is the lowest amount you are prepared to sell your car for. Can always set a higher price and negotiate down if needed.

      Reality is, the only value in your car is that which a potential buyer is prepared to pay. The price you set will determine how long it takes you to find a legitimate buyer wanting to purchase your car.

    • Nucleus Acumbens on 21/01/2025 - 19:49
      -2
      1. Thought you had to sell your car before buying a new one?

      Don't jerk other people around by inspecting cars you can't afford to buy. It might take weeks or longer before you sell your car.

      Also, don't enter into any contracts to buy another car until you can pay for it. At least insert clause of subject to finance from lender of your choice (so they can't force you to accept finance from some source charging super high interest)

      If you end up unable to afford second car, you still have a contract to pay for it even if you can't afford it.

  • sajidmib on 21/01/2025 - 10:10

    Wondering if its worth doing a trade-in with the dealers.

    Peace of mind for some money lost. How much approx do we lose if we trade in on a car? Any dealers here. Can you let us know your secret. :)

    • flywire on 21/01/2025 - 16:25

      $8k

      Basically auction price less fees and sales commission.

    • Euphemistic on 21/01/2025 - 17:51

      Your piece of string is this long.

      It is variable based on a whole bunch of factors including the margin on the vehicle you are buying. Some dealers give you a great trade in, but price their cars high. Others screw you becasue they dont want the hassle.

  • justanick on 22/01/2025 - 01:59

    Thank you all. There are some good people out here and some good points.
    I checked out the trade in prices and unfortunately dealers are screwing me up big time. Currently in Carsales my current model is advertised on average $33k and I’ll be happy with $25k. Three dealers I spoke with they wanted to trade in $14k, $17k, $18k respectively.
    I guess private sell will be the way for me but will be a huge headache but at least not going to lose a lot.

    • Jono05 on 22/01/2025 - 04:29

      Still haven’t said what car you are selling or buying. Is it a secret?

      • justanick on 22/01/2025 - 14:32

        I am reluctant to give all the details as there are folks here who would make silly comments. How would this help anyways? Look at the few comments above without much info they already said I shouldn’t own a car… I most definitely can’t afford etc.

        • Jono05 on 23/01/2025 - 21:49

          Don’t be so precious.

    • Nucleus Acumbens on 22/01/2025 - 19:08

      But what were you trading in on? If they thought you were going to trade your car on one of their cars, they usually have a lot more wriggle room but if you point blank told them you weren't interested in their cars and only wanted a valuation, they're likely to shut you down and not offer you anything equitable.

      You said you were interested in placing an offer on a $43,000 car. How much trade in did they offer you?

      • justanick on 23/01/2025 - 01:51

        Hey mate I liked one of their cars but the three cars I liked I wanted to trade in my car with theirs. The one I really liked has top of the line cars and the one I was after was the cheapest car they had. They told me straight up that they only sell cars from 2022ish my car is 2015 so not worth their time so offered $14k. The one in Parramatta road I didn’t like their car 100% maybe 60% I liked they offered me $17k but willing to negotiate.
        If I can sell my car $20k I’ll be happy. Private sale of this car is going around asking price $23k to $34k with all options. My car has all options but I’m just scared of selling privately.
        I sold furnitures recently gave me a headache. Cars are different I know but I just need to take the leap of faith and sell it on Carsales. I’m happy to wait a month but not sure how long it takes to sell a car.

        • Jono05 on 23/01/2025 - 21:53

          None of those cars get sold for the advertised prices. Most of the sellers are dreaming.

          • justanick on 23/01/2025 - 22:03

            @Jono05: At what price do they sell?

            • Jono05 on 23/01/2025 - 22:10

              @justanick: Couldn’t tell you mate, I’ve never bought a used car. I’ve only sold 1 car privately in 1999 (before internet advertising), advertised in the trading post newspaper. Traded in all the other cars I’ve had.

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