Selling a Campervan in Australia Before You Leave: Steps by State

What the seller does, state by state

The table lists what each authority says the seller must do, and the certificate that goes with a private sale. States where the authority's page left out a step are marked, so ask them before you list the van.

Whichever state you are in, keep the receipt and a copy of the notice, because they are your proof of the date the van left your name.

Safety certificates in Queensland and Victoria

Queensland's seller must give the buyer a current safety certificate or certificate of inspection, and the buyer lodges it with the transfer. The certificate is valid for 2 months or 2,000 km on a private sale and 3 months or 1,000 km on a dealer sale, and it is not needed when you sell to a dealer. A vehicle with gas fittings needs a gas certificate under 3 months old, and caravans and motorhomes are not exempt.

In Victoria a private seller supplies a roadworthy certificate issued no more than 30 days before the sale, and a vehicle that is not registered can be sold without one. Because a certificate can find faults that cost money, book the inspection early enough to fix them before you advertise.

Cancel the registration or sell with it

If you sell the van with its registration, the buyer pays the transfer fee and duty, and you tell the authority the date the van left your name. Queensland's page says the seller can stay accountable for the buyer's offences until the transfer is finalised, so a late notice keeps you exposed.

If you cancel instead, Queensland refunds the unused registration and the compulsory third party premium, deducts a $22.00 fee and requires the plates to be surrendered. New South Wales cancellation needs the form and plates at a Service NSW centre, and it deducts a cancellation fee. Western Australia says no refund is possible once the vehicle is relicensed in another state.

Clear the finance and prove the sale

A buyer should run a PPSR search, which costs $2 online and shows whether a finance company has a security interest in the van. The ACCC says a private seller must guarantee clear title and that nothing undisclosed is owing, so clear any loan before the sale.

Keep a signed receipt with the buyer's name, the price, the date and the vehicle identification number. In New South Wales also delete the registration from your toll account and update your comprehensive insurance, because the green slip normally moves to the buyer.

Where backpackers sell and how long it takes

Travellers Autobarn's selling advice says fellow backpackers are the best buyers and that Gumtree works but needs frequent relisting. It adds that a sale at 60% to 80% of what you paid is pretty good, that keeping at least 3 months of registration on the van helps, and that Sydney, Perth and Melbourne are quietest from April to July, with Darwin and Cairns slow from December to June.

Those are a van dealer's views, not official rules, and no price or timing is guaranteed. If you bought from Travellers Autobarn with its guaranteed buy-back, its page sets the return at 40% of the purchase price up to 6 months and 30% up to 12 months, with the figure agreed in writing, so work out whether the buy-back beats a private sale before you list.

Plan the last trip in AussieCamps

AussieCamps cannot list or sell your van. It can help you finish the trip near the city where you plan to sell, because a trip holds ordered stops, dates, notes and route distance, and marks visited progress as you go.

It lists 1,838 campgrounds and 745 national parks from the state park agencies, plus 5,552 rest areas from road authorities, with each place's facilities, fees and rules as the agency publishes them. Place details work offline; map tiles, routing, weather and photos need signal.

Places along the way