Any time you sell a car in a private sale, write the buyer a receipt. It's useful at tax time, but the real value is protection: it proves the payment happened and that the car left your hands. A good receipt records when the sale took place, how much was paid, and the details of the car itself.

Do you actually need one?

Receipts always matter, and they matter more when the thing being sold costs as much as a car. Private sales are everywhere, but with no dealer in the middle it comes down to two strangers trusting each other. The seller might play down a fault. The buyer might swear the transfer went through when it hasn't. A written receipt is what settles that.

It also covers you after the fact. If the buyer prangs the car or racks up fines before they get around to transferring it into their name, the receipt shows the car was already theirs. And in some states the buyer can't register the car at all without proof of purchase, even with the VIN in hand.

The laws that apply

Two things govern car sales in Australia: the Motor Vehicle Dealer Act and Australian Consumer Law.

Contracts for vehicle sales fall under the Motor Vehicle Dealer Act, which says both buyer and seller need a copy of a contract setting out the terms. That contract should cover the purpose of the sale, how the buyer is paying, the total price with any tax and deposits broken out, when and how the car gets delivered, whether the buyer can pull out (and any cooling-off period), whether the seller can cancel, and how the two of you communicate.

Consumer Law sits over the top of all of it. It's worth a read before you sell, because the rules tilt a little towards the buyer, and you want to know where you stand.

What goes on the receipt

You can build the receipt from scratch or start from a downloadable template. Either way, it needs to carry a few things. If you run a dealership, put your business title at the top; a private seller can skip that. Then include:

  • Date of sale
  • Seller's details: name, contact number, address, driver's licence number
  • Buyer's details: the same again
  • Vehicle details: make and model, car registration date, VIN, chassis number, road tax details, insurance details
  • Payment details: the full price with a breakdown of sales tax and any deposit, plus the due date. That includes goods and services tax, registration transfer fees, and luxury car tax if it applies
  • Vehicle condition, ideally with an odometer reading
  • Space for both parties to sign and date

Cover all of that and your receipt does its job. A template just saves you wondering whether you've missed a line.

Writing it and handing it over

With a template you're really just filling in blanks. Building your own is fine too. A Word document works; save it as a PDF so the formatting holds. Then either print it, sign it, and swap copies with the buyer, or send it across and sign electronically. Signing online skips the paper and leaves you with a copy stored somewhere you won't lose it.

The rest of the paperwork

The receipt isn't the whole job. There's more to line up before the buyer leaves, and some of it you'll want copies of even after they've gone:

  • The car's details, VIN, chassis number, engine number, plus a PPSR check and an odometer reading
  • Service reports
  • Warranty documents, since a transferable warranty can lift the price when you're selling your car, so it's worth checking whether yours moves with the car
  • The sale bill from when you first bought it

After the money's changed hands, ownership has to be transferred properly. You've got a set window, and it depends on where you live, to tell the transport authority the car has a new owner. A dealer hands you a transfer form; in a private sale that's on you, and you'll need to lodge a notice of disposal to show you've sold it. Remind the buyer to register the car in their name too, because plenty forget.

Selling safely

A private sale can feel exposed, and worrying about time-wasters and scams is fair enough. You can get through it fine with a bit of common sense.

List the car on decent websites, leave out anything too identifying, and give buyers a way to reach you. If a buyer sets off alarm bells, walk away, no sale is worth a bad feeling. Meet in person before you hand anything over.

Payment is where it counts. Take cash or an on-the-spot bank transfer you can confirm has landed. Don't take a personal cheque; they bounce. A genuine buyer won't blink at paying you in a way you can verify.

Then there's the receipt itself, which is really the whole point here, proof the sale happened. Get both signatures on it and you're done.

Selling "as is"

A car sold "as is" means the buyer takes it in its current state. Put that in the contract and the onus is on them to inspect it properly before they pay.

Receipt or bill of sale?

Same thing. A bill of sale is the generic term for a receipt transferring ownership of any personal property; a car sale receipt is just that with the vehicle detail filled in. You'll hear both used for a car.

Want the full picture on offloading a used car? We've written it up here. The bits that matter most: keep the payment safe, write a bill of sale, hand over every document, and transfer ownership properly. Turning up with a solid car history report doesn't hurt either, buyers trust a seller who's already done the digging. Get yours here.