buying a car in melbourne

Buying a car in Melbourne? Lovely idea—just don’t let the laneway latte distract you from the paperwork.

Set a budget that includes on-road costs: stamp duty, transfer fee, rego, and insurance in AUD.

For registered cars, the seller should provide a current Roadworthy Certificate (RWC) in Victoria; no RWC means no rego transfer.

Run a PPSR check to ensure no finance owing and that it’s not a write-off; then get a pre-purchase inspection and a test drive long enough to find squeaks.

When buying from a licensed dealer, you’ll get consumer guarantees and, for many used cars, a statutory warranty—plus a short cooling-off period on most used purchases.

Private sale? Be thorough with service history, verify the VIN/engine numbers, and transfer the rego with VicRoads within 14 days.

Prices in Melbourne vary wildly, but expect to pay a premium for clean history and low km; cheap usually isn’t if it hides a timing chain angrier than a magpie in spring.

If you want to browse options, Tradingpost has plenty across the city and suburbs.