Sell your car

Get a fair asking price from similar cars for sale in Ireland right now, see what buyers will check, and write your ad for DoneDeal or Adverts.ie. Free, and nothing you type is kept.

Selling it safely

Viewings: at your home, in daylight, with someone else there if you can.
Test drives: check they're insured to drive your car first, go with them, and keep hold of the keys when you swap seats.
Payment: hand over the car, keys and papers only once the money is in your account, not "on its way". If someone pays more than the price and asks you to send the difference back, it's a scam.
Receipt: write one for you both: the date and time of the sale, the reg, the mileage, the price and both names, signed by you both. Keep a copy.
After the sale: cancel your insurance on it (or move it to your next car) and take out your toll tag.

The paperwork

Change of ownership. By law, the seller and the buyer must both tell the Department of Transport about the change. For a private sale you can do it online, there and then, with the Department of Transport's Online Change of Vehicle Ownership service (also on motortax.ie):

You (the seller) enter your car's details and get a one-time transfer code.
You give the code to the buyer once you've been paid.
The buyer enters the code and logs in with their verified MyGovID to finish it.

Or the paper way: you and the buyer both sign the back of the Vehicle Registration Certificate, add the date of sale, and post it to the Department of Transport in Shannon. The buyer then gets a new certificate in their name. Selling to a dealer is different: the online service is only for private sales.

Motor tax. It isn't refunded when you sell a car (refunds are generally only for cars that are scrapped, stolen or exported), so any tax left stays with the car. Say how long is left in the ad.

Be accurate. Buyers can check your car's make, colour, tax and NCT status, number of previous owners and whether it was imported on the same government service, so make sure the ad matches.

Sources: Department of Transport, Online Change of Vehicle Ownership (Sept 2024) and vehicleservices.gov.ie; Offaly County Council, change of ownership and motor tax refunds. A guide, not legal advice.

How the price works: we compare your car with similar ones for sale in Ireland from our weekly figures, adjusted for year and mileage, with dealer prices brought down to what a private seller usually asks. Only the car and mileage you type are sent, to work out the price; nothing is kept. See privacy.

Buying instead? Check a car ad or use the viewing checklist.