Can I sell a car with finance owing or registered against it?
Buying & selling
- $2
- buyer's search
- Certificate
- protects the buyer
- 2 ways
- pay out or settle
- AFSA
- runs the register
Yes — you can sell a car that still has finance owing or a PPSR registration against it, but you have to resolve the security interest as part of the sale.
A buyer who does a PPSR search will see the registration, and if they buy without it being cleared, the finance company may be able to repossess the car from them. So the registration has to be dealt with — before or at settlement — for the sale to give the buyer clean title.
A registered interest is a deal-breaker for an informed buyer until it's resolved.
What a buyer sees when they search
Any buyer doing a $2 PPSR search on the car will see whether a security interest is registered against it, along with the secured party's details.
The PPSR tells buyers to talk to the seller about having a registration removed before they buy, and warns that going ahead can put them at risk of repossession if money is still owed (ppsr.gov.au — understand your car search result). A dated clear search certificate is what protects them (ppsr.gov.au — how the PPSR protects buyers).
Your two options for selling
Clear the finance before you list, or settle it out of the sale proceeds.
Pay it out and discharge it first
Pay out the finance, have the secured party discharge the registration, then sell with clean title already in place. This is the simplest experience for the buyer.
Settle it at the point of sale
The amount owing is paid to the finance company from the sale proceeds, and the registration discharged as part of settlement. Common where the payout figure is close to the sale price.
If the registration is a previous owner's
Sometimes the registration isn't your finance at all — it's left over from a previous owner, or was lodged in error. That's a removal question, not a payout one: see how to remove an incorrect registration or, if it's stuck, your options when it won't come off.
Register for launch updates
How Verexia is designed to assist
At launch, Verexia will help you sell clean: establishing what's genuinely owed, coordinating the payout and discharge or the settlement at sale, and dealing with the secured party so you're not managing it mid-sale.
- Working out exactly what's owed, so nothing surprises the sale.
- Coordinating the payout and discharge, or settling it at the point of sale — so the buyer gets clean title.
- Dealing with the secured party, so you're not managing finance admin while closing a sale.
The first step will always be working out where you stand. Final outcomes depend on the secured party and the facts of the registration, and no service can promise otherwise. What Verexia will commit to is doing the work and being straight about what's achievable.
Verexia is preparing a service designed to assist with vehicle ownership, finance and PPSR matters. Services are not currently available. Register your interest and we will contact you when the relevant service launches.
Sources: Personal Property Securities Register (ppsr.gov.au) — understand your car search result and how the PPSR protects buyers and lessees. The PPSR is operated by the Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA).