Melbourne bound Mark

Hi all,

I'm looking a buying a second hand car privately rather than through a dealer and as it's the first time I have done this I am just looking for a bit of advice as it's all new.

I am based in Melbourne and I am considering buying a car interstate - to kill two birds with one stone almost as I want to see a bit of Australia and drive it back.

Firstly I am not even sure if I can do this? I can see that cars can be sold with or without a RWC (is this the same in all states as I only know this for VIC).

If anybody understands what I can and can't do then any help would be much appreciated.

Regards,
Mark.

ozzieeagle

Hmm I dont think even the average Aussie would know the answer to that one.

I certainly dont. I do know that WA and QLD have cheaper rego than Vic... or did have... and that you can keep a car in Vic with interstate rego plates for around 9 months I think.

Your home address is probably going to be an issue for the transfer of registration from seller to purchaser though.

I think you need someone that works in the trade to answer this one.


Just asked the wife... and she reckons ask at a Backpackers, because they do this all the time.



.

simnmax

I'm sure you can buy a vehicle anywhere & drive round in it for a certain amount of time until you have to rego it in your state.
In nsw you also have 14 days to transfer rego into your name, so you could take 2 weeks to get home.

h2oskineil

If you find a vehicle in Perth, the RAC can carry out a Vehicle Condition Appraisal for you.

http://rac.com.au/Motoring/Auto-serv...ppraisals.aspx

Melbourne bound Mark

The vicroads website says you can apply for an unregistered vehicle permit and for interstate says:

"Interstate use - You can drive interstate with an Unregistered Vehicle Permit if this condition is specified on your permit. - You do not need a permit from VicRoads if your journey starts interstate and finishes in Victoria. Check with your local vehicle registration authority if you need an interstate permit before you drive."

That's all good but I'm not sure if I need to do something to satisfy any requirements that may be in place in the state that I buy from.

mulben

When buying a Victorian unregistered vehicle at auction in Melbourne , I was allowed to drive it to NSW but you have to register it at the first RTA in NSW you come to , so even thou I lived 400km from Moama NSW that is where I had to register it.

JMC1678

Hi Mark. Having had my fingers burnt with this issue before I would reccommend that if you live in Victoria you should buy a car with VIC plates. When it comes to selling it you can do that in any state, however buyers may be reluctant to buy a car interstate as change of ownership gets a little complicated and the RWC is meaningless interstate.

Here's the problem I had:

Live in VIC. Bought a QLD car with a RWC and tax (rego). Tried to do change of ownership and lincense plates at Vic Roads office. RWC is not suitable as it is from QLD. Must get RWC in VIC. Also, QLD rego is not suitable either. After doing a test the car is in bad condition and repairs cost more than I paid for the car. I could just leave it as a QLD car but that would involve going to a QLD office. You can't do it by post. I bailed the car out as it never officially belonged to me.

However, WA have no RWC system. Look for a car with plenty of rego as it's not cheap. My Fiesta costs $624 a year.

John

Melbourne bound Mark

Hi John,

yes I understand what you are saying in that a non Victorian rego or RWC are not valid in Victoria however I was under the impression that at least from the rego perspective you can get a refund from the state it was issued on a pro rata basis (same as if you ever relinquished a tax disk in the uk).

In terms of the car condition I am going to pay for a professional check up so there are no surprises.

I did a similar thing when I bought my motorbike and it worked out fine - knew exactly any little fault that was listed and everything went well - that was in Vic though and had a RWC so with looking interstate I just wanted to work out the other logistics of this.

I can see from Vicroads that I need to apply for an unregistered vehicle permit but I am not sure if there is anything I need to get from the state that I would be buying the car from - can you remember if there was anything you had to do?

For some reason a lot of the cars I am looking at are a good chunk cheaper (mostly in Qld) and as I said originally I quite like the odd driving holiday so it would be a good chance to kill two birs with one stone.

Cheers,
Mark.

Dimond

I recently purchased 2 cars in NSW and drove them in NSW for 2 weeks then drove them to Tasmania and some month later registered them in Tasmania. Had to pay 2% tax on purchase price in Tassie as in most states, so get an lower value receipt from the vendor. Things are pretty casual- as long as the original registration (hence 3rd party insurance) is still valid, in my opinion you can defer registration for a while. The seller will probably let his local registration authority know he no longer has the car in any case.

But beware- when you do register it you will get forwarded through any fines you pick up -we got one from Victoria from a NSW car not registered in our name soon after we registered it in Tasmania where it got new plates. Also ensure the registration is still current as local police in any state can easily detect on the national computer system if it has expired.

phat-dave

be extremely careful with purchasing vehicles out of queensland at the moment - make sure you do both REVS/VSR (encumbrance) and WOFF (stat & repairable write off) checks.

I've seen a few folks going up to snap up bargains to find out the vehicle was, unknowingly, a repairable write off due to the floods.

if i were you, i'd simply go to the local RTA/DOT with the vendors RWC and transfer the rego to yourself, drive it home and then worry about transferring from whichever state back to your own as the rego expiry approaches (must obtain a vic RWC).

mulben

When using an unregistered car under permit , you have to drive the shortest possible distance to have it re registered - no touring is allowed .
The permit has to be on display at all times ( polis will pull you up again and again to check it out ).
A Victorian permit is of no use with a QLD car- needs a QLD permit.

Far better to buy a registered car.

Melbourne bound Mark

Hi,

it is probably going to be from either NSW or QLD.

So if I am understanding things properly if I buy a registered car in either of these states I should buy the car then drive to whichever office is closest to transfer the rego into my own name?

When that is done I can drive it home (touring around if I like) and continue to use the car in VIC until the rego expires then I have to get the car inspected and registered again in VIC?

Dimond

No,
Just buy a vehicle with current registration in the state you want and drive it to your final destination in your own state in a leisurely manner then re-register it there. Easy

Melbourne bound Mark

One of the things that I am still unsure of in all of this is where is the stamp duty applicable?

Lets say I pick up a car in QLD and drive it back and reregister it in VIC then where is the stamp duty paid?

Regards,
Mark.

Dimond

When you register the car in Victoria after you return (and should be within 3 months) you will have to pay the duty and Victorian rego. You need have no contact with the Qld authorities if the registration is still current, but you can apply by post for any whole months of Qld rego left to the authority in Qld after it is registered Victoria.