Used cars in Melbourne typically sell for A$1,550 to A$15,350 (about $1,100 to $10,750). A private car sale is decided by paperwork long before it is decided by price, so gather the V5C, the service history and the MOT record before you photograph anything.
Selling a car in Melbourne
Melbourne has the strongest vintage and op-shop culture in Australia and a large student population across several universities, so buying second hand here is entirely ordinary. It is also the country’s music city, which keeps instruments, amps and records moving in a way they do not everywhere.
The tram network covers the inner suburbs densely and is how most small handovers happen. The city is flat, which makes collecting a bike or a chest of drawers by car straightforward, though inner-suburb streets are narrow and permit parking is tightly enforced.
On anything stored in a garage or shed, check for damp. The winters here are wetter and colder than the city’s reputation suggests, and fabric and particle board both suffer for it.
Melbourne, in Victoria, has around 5.1 million people, which means a buyer pool big enough that almost anything finds someone, and close enough together that collection is rarely the obstacle. Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo are close enough that a buyer there may well make the trip for the right thing.
Handing it over in Melbourne
Australia Post covers everywhere, but distance pricing is real and interstate parcels cost meaningfully more than local ones.
What cars are worth
What lifts the price
- Fewer previous owners
- Recent cambelt, tyres and brakes with proof
What pulls it down
- Outstanding finance, which prevents a clean sale
- Accident damage and recorded write-off categories
Working out what yours is worth
- Gather the service book, receipts and test history
- Note mileage, owner count and exact specification
Getting it ready
- Gather the V5C logbook, service history, MOT certificates and any receipts for major work. This pile is most of what a buyer is paying for.
- Clean it properly inside and out, and photograph any dent, scratch or kerbed alloy rather than shooting around them.
Photograph
- The V5C and service history laid out, with personal details obscured
- Every dent, scratch, kerbed wheel and worn tyre
Put in the description
- Service history: full, partial or none, and whether main dealer or independent
- Any outstanding finance, and any known faults or advisories
Make, model, variant, year and mileage: “Ford Fiesta 1.0 Titanium, 2018, 42,000 miles, MOT to Aug 2026”. Mileage and MOT date belong in the title because they are the first two filters. State the number of previous keepers — buyers ask immediately and volunteering it reads as confidence.
Listing is free and there is no selling fee, so the whole amount the buyer pays stays with you. You and the buyer agree the handover between yourselves.
Same region (Victoria)
Common questions
Where can I sell a car in Melbourne?
List it free here and arrange the handover with the buyer yourself. The tram network covers the inner suburbs densely and is how most small handovers happen. The city is flat, which makes collecting a bike or a chest of drawers by car straightforward, though inner-suburb streets are narrow and permit parking is tightly enforced.
Can I take it for a test drive?
Say yes, and check the buyer’s licence and that they are insured to drive it before handing over the keys.
How much is a car worth in Melbourne?
Most used cars change hands for A$1,550 to A$15,350 (about $1,100 to $10,750). Condition and completeness move that figure more than anything else.
More: selling a car across Australia, what cars are worth, everything second hand in Melbourne, or Vehicles in Melbourne.
Guide range converted from sterling at the 2 August 2026 rate, not a quote — sellers set their own price.