Selling a car in Queensland: roadworthy, transfer and timing

If you sell a registered vehicle privately in Queensland, it is on you — not the buyer — to provide a current safety certificate. You can advertise without one. You cannot complete the registration transfer without one. Driven Autocare issues them for $89 at our Molendinar workshop.

The sequence that actually works

• Fix the obvious fails first: lights, wipers, tyres on the wear bars. See our prep checklist.
• Book the $89 inspection. If something else fails, we quote it before we start.
• List the car with “RWC ready” in the ad. Buyers on the Gold Coast filter for that.
• Transfer within two months or 2,000 km. One certificate, one buyer.

What a roadworthy is not

It is not a pre-purchase inspection. A safety certificate says the car met minimum safety standards on that day. It does not scan for a worn dual-mass flywheel or a leaking head gasket. If you are the buyer, book a pre-purchase inspection as well — we do those in the same workshop.

Selling to a licensed dealer usually does not need a certificate. Selling interstate into Queensland does. Call (07) 5626 0055 if you are not sure which box you are in.