Deciding whether or not to buy a car is one of the first big choices a backpacker can make in Australia. There are pros and cons to both sides: a car will obviously give you more freedom for both travel and work, but it is an investment and a lot of money to spend up front. If you’re only planning on living in big cities with solid public transport connections, you may not feel you’d get the most use out of a car. Whereas if you’re looking for rural jobs/farmwork, or just wanting your own set of wheels for traveling and exploring, you’ll likely want to buy a car.

If you decide you want to buy a car – and let’s be real, as a backpacker you’ll be buying a used car! – this guide will help you with the process. I’m not an expert and this isn’t legal advice – rules can and do change. But this is based on my personal experience buying not one but two cars in Australia!

Where to Find Used Cars in Australia

There are used car dealerships all over, same as you’d likely find wherever you’re from. These will almost always be more expensive then buying privately. If you’re looking to buy a car in Australia through a private owner, I’d recommend the following places.

• Facebook Marketplace (this is where I bought both my cars in Oz!)
• Facebook groups
• Car Sales
• Gumtree

What Kind of Used Car Should I Buy in Australia?

If you’re buying a used car in Australia, you should probably decide between buying a normal car, or a “backpacker” car equipped with all the gear (rooftop tent or built-in bed, camping gear, cooking utensils, etc). This is a convenient option, as these vehicles usually have everything you need for road tripping and camping included in the sale. If you have a deadline and/or are looking to hit the road right away, this would be a good option.

If you don’t want to buy a car with everything (secondhand) included, you can always fit it out for camping yourself. This is essentially what I did, twice! I transformed my car myself, bought a mattress and gear, and loaded it all in. I left Sydney in a bit of a rush, so my car was still a work in progress. But I’m really pleased with what I did with it, and I’ve set my second car up in the same way.

One thing to consider when buying a car in Australia is whether you want a 4WD, or are happy with a 2WD or AWD car. When someone asked me, “where are you going to go with a 4WD car?” I responded with, “where am I NOT going to go with a 4WD car?!” Buying a 4WD car will simply give you so many more options, and allow you to access so many more places. Australia is a huge country, and some of the most unique places require long drives on unsealed (unpaved) roads. I bought a 4WD and I’m so glad I did.

Below are some of the most popular backpacker cars (these are the ads I see regularly on Facebook)

• Toyota Landcruiser/Prado (this is kind of the holy grail)
• Toyota Rav-4
• Mitsubishi Pajero
• Nissan Patrol or Pathfinder
• Nissan X-Trail (I’m not just saying this because I bought two Nissan X-Trails, they are SUPER popular backpacker cars for road trips!)
• Honda CR-V
• Subaru Forester or Outback

Unless you are wanting all the used/secondhand camping equipment (and happy to pay for that), I actually recommend against buying a car from a backpacker/traveler. Backpackers typically won’t be in the country for long, won’t have owned the car for long, and probably won’t want to put in any serious money to fix long-term problems unless it’s absolutely necessary. Yes, they will likely maintain the car to get them around on their travels. But they probably won’t pour money into it – as they know they’ll be selling it eventually. A lot of the backpacker cars are old, and not in great condition.

For full disclosure, I bought my first car from some random guy off Facebook (he was actually a private dealer, I think he flips cars). However, I felt quite confident buying the car as the second owner had the car for 19 years. It was his family car, he maintained it very well, and clearly put a lot of money and love into making sure it ran properly. It turned out to be an excellent car and I’m so grateful. Unfortunately, I rolled the car (and almost died) halfway through my trip. This prompted me to buy another car, so I ended up having to go through this whole process again!

How to Buy a Car Privately in Australia

It can be intimidating to buy a car privately in Australia, if you don’t know how the systems work. But like buying a used car anywhere in the world, there are some basic tips for making sure you don’t get scammed or ripped off.

Always, ALWAYS, arrange a test drive. Do not send any money for a vehicle until you have seen it in person and driven it yourself. Be very wary of scammers – they are everywhere on Facebook Marketplace in particular.

You can pay a mechanic fee to have someone come with you and inspect the used car, to ensure everything is mechanically sound. This will be different wherever you’re buying the car, but you can usually google it. Local backpacker Facebook groups will also likely be able to recommend mechanics who will do this. I highly recommend doing this and definitely think it’s worth a small fee to get things checked over by a mechanic. I used Airtasker to find a mechanic to help me with buying my second car – it cost $150 but it was the best money I spent!

Use PPSR to run a check on the car. You need to make sure it’s not stolen, previously written off, and also that there’s no outstanding finance. If you buy a car with outstanding finance (ie. the previous owner never finished paying it off), you will be liable for that money. It’s well worth it to run a check. A PPSR costs $2.

If you buy a car privately in New South Wales, you need to make sure you get a receipt of sale from the seller. The guy I bought my car from gave me a handwritten receipt, which was legitimate and accepted as proof of sale without issue with I transferred ownership. You will need to make sure your car receipt includes the following:

• Seller’s full name
• Seller’s full address
• Seller’s date of birth
• Buyer’s full name
• Buyer’s full address
• VIN
• Rego (license plate)
• Engine number
• Price paid for vehicle
• Date of sale
• Signatures of both buyer and seller

Most private car sales are paid for by bank transfer. This is easy to do (provided you have an Australian bank account with Australian dollars!) and takes next to no time. Just keep in mind that if you’re making transfers on weekends or holidays, they might take longer. If someone demands payment in cash only for a vehicle, it is very suspicious. Normal people, selling normal cars, will usually be happy with a bank transfer. People who only accept cash are likely trying to hide something – be very cautious.

How to Transfer Ownership of Your New Car (in New South Wales)

Each state has a different process of transferring ownership of a used car. I bought my first car in New South Wales, and the second in Western Australia, so this post will focus on these two processes. If you are buying a car in a state different to its registration (ie. if the license plates are from a different state), you will need to figure out how exactly you can do this. I’m glad I bought a NSW car in NSW, and a WA car in WA, and avoided that hassle!

In NSW, you’ll need to go to a service center and transfer the registration. If you don’t have an Australian driver’s license, you will need to get a NSW customer number. This is just another form you need to fill out, it’s not overly complicated. I needed to bring two forms of ID (my passport and a credit card in my name) for this process. I also brought my foreign driver’s license with me. After I filled out the forms, I got called up to a desk where someone input all of the information. I showed my receipt, and received the paperwork that the car was now registered in my name. I paid $137 AUD to transfer the registration.

How to Transfer Ownership of Your New Car (in Western Australia)

I bought my second car in Perth, in Western Australia. The buying process and transfer process is different here than in New South Wales! Instead of a written receipt, the owner had the official form for selling a vehicle, which we filled out together. I then went to a service center in Perth to submit my proof of identity (I took my passport), and give them the paperwork to have the vehicle officially transferred to my name. I believe this in-person step is unncessary – if you have a WA address, I think you can simply fill out the forms and mail them in. WA is meant to be the easiest state/car plates for buying cars! It cost me $146.90 AUD to transfer the car.

How to Get Car Insurance in Australia

I didn’t have any issue getting car insurance in Australia on a foreign driver’s license. Although insurance likely would have cost a bit less if I’d had an Australian license. There are a lot of insurance comparison sites, where you can find the cheapest rate based on your vehicle and driving history.

I bought comprehensive insurance as, honestly, I don’t really know anything about cars. I went with Bingle – this cost me $534 AUD for the year. They don’t have a call center which is why they’re so cheap – something to keep in mind if you need to contact them. Having been involved in my first ever car accident, I can’t recommend them. Unless you are in a major city (and apparently Cairns doesn’t count?), they likely won’t have an approved mechanic with availability to repair any damage to your car. In hindsight, I wish I would have paid more and gone with a different company. For my second car, I chose AAMI for my insurance.

I also highly recommend getting roadside assistance. Although these are often available for separate states, they have reciprocal agreements with other states. As I bought the car in NSW, I bought breakdown assistance with NRMA. It cost me $214 AUD for the year. It paid for itself within a week of buying it when I got it stuck in a campground in the Blue Mountains. RAC is the national company that offers this, although it is more expensive than NRMA.

How to Renew Your Rego in New South Wales

Renewing the rego (annual car registration) will be different in each state – I’m focusing on NSW as that’s where I bought my car and needed to go through this process. The car had valid rego for about a month after I bought it. So, I needed to renew the rego not long after I purchased the car.

First, I needed to take the car to a mechanic and get a “pink slip,” to ensure that the vehicle is safe to drive. This was easily done and cost me $43 AUD (this is a standard price in NSW). I then needed to get a “green slip” – this is liability/injury insurance. If I get into a car crash and injure someone, this insurance will cover it. It’s mandatory to have this insurance. You can search on the NSW site to see the cheapest options. I went with AAMI and it cost $430 AUD for the year.

Once you have your pink slip and green slip, you can go online and renew the rego. It cost me $400 AUD to renew the rego for one year.

How Much Money I Spent to Buy My Car(s) in Australia

My car was absolutely an investment – she was my baby, and it was such a worthwhile purchase. I bought my first car for $3400 AUD (this was haggled down from $3900 AUD). I also spent $534 AUD on annual comprehensive insurance, $214 AUD on annual breakdown assistance, $137 AUD to transfer the registration, $43 AUD to get my pink slip, $430 AUD to get my green slip, and $400 to renew the rego. Besides the initial cost of my car, I spent approximately $1758 AUD on everything else associated with actually being able to drive it. This brings my total amount of money spent on my car to $5158 AUD.

I also spent another good chunk of money (about $500 AUD or so) to get my car road-trip-ready. This included my mattress from Ikea, some camping gear, equipment like jumper cables, and a whole lot of miscellaneous items. Considering how much money I’m saving on accommodation as I can sleep in my car (and prioritize finding free campsites), this has been so worth the money! I’ve also built a platform in the back of the car, to give me more space. I’d absolutely love to get a fridge, but it’d be a pretty big investment and a lot of mechanical work – in hindsight after the crash, I’m SO glad I didn’t put a fridge in this car! It would have been money down the drain.

My second car cost $4600 AUD (this was haggled down from $5000 AUD). I am currently paying approximately $86 AUD per month on comprehensive insurance. I spent $147 AUD to transfer the vehicle to my name, and I also spent $276 AUD on two new front tires. Building the platform, getting a new mattress, and buying bedding and random things for the car from Kmart cost me $286 AUD altogether.

If you’re planning on traveling a lot in Australia, you’ll probably want to buy a car. If you’re buying privately, the process can be confusing and overwhelming. God bless the patient man at the NSW service center who went over, three times, what I needed in order to renew my rego! But it can be done, and a car will give you so much freedom on the road! I hope this post helps any backpackers looking to buy a used car in NSW or WA.

Have you bought a used car when traveling Australia? What type of car did you buy and what was your expeirence like?

You might also like my posts:

Moving to Oz on a Working Holiday Visa: How to Start Your Life in Australia

How to Get a Work & Holiday Visa (WHV 462) for Australia in 2023

Australia Budget: Month 1 (April 2023)

All of my Australia posts!

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