1. How it works
You make an offer — either from the car's ad page or from your Saved cars.
You carry out your ID verification now or when the offer has been accepted.
The seller accepts, declines, messages you to negotiate further, or counter-offers.
We let you know what the seller has decided.
You transfer funds to your carsales wallet.
You release the funds at pick-up, the seller accepts, and the funds should land in the seller’s account within seconds*.
2. Deposits (optional)
You can always add a deposit:
When making the offer or
After the offer has been accepted
Chat with the seller to agree on the amount. It's totally up to you whether you add a deposit.
The deposit will be held in the carsales wallet until all the funds are released at pick up.
3. Adding funds to your carsales wallet
You can add funds via PayID, PayTo, or BSB and Account number.
PayTo is our fastest method, usually landing in your wallet within seconds. PayTo is only available on select vehicles for now.
PayID can take up to 24 hours and a bank transfer can take a few business days*.
When you’ve transferred all your funds into your carsales wallet, arrange with the seller a convenient time to release funds and pick up the car.
After the funds are released, the payment can’t be reversed, so make sure you’re happy before you tap Release.
Just a heads-up: check your bank’s daily transfer limit — you can usually increase it online or by calling the bank. Depending on your bank, it can take a few hours — or even a few business days* — for the full amount to arrive in your carsales wallet.
Your funds — and your deposit — are held in a secure, third-party bank account.
4. Releasing your funds
When you’ve finished adding funds to your carsales wallet, we’ll let you and the seller know that the full amount of funds are ready to be released.
Then it’s time to:
Arrange a time to pick up the car
Check the car again (just to be sure)
And release the funds to the seller
To release funds:
You tap Release funds.
The seller taps Accept funds.
The funds land in the seller's bank account — usually within seconds*.
Make sure you both confirm that the funds have arrived. If you added a deposit, that gets released too.
If the seller doesn’t tap Accept funds within 15 minutes, don't worry. You simply repeat the steps. Release. Accept. Done.
Then it’s time to swap keys, transfer the registration, and drive away.
Remember — you or the seller can cancel your offer anytime before the funds are released. Your money is returned to you.
After the funds are released, carsales is not able to reverse the funds.
*Transfer times can be affected by a range of factors. See Annexure C of T&Cs for details.
PayTo is a registered trademark of NPP Australia Limited and PayID is a registered trademark of NPP Australia Limited.
Any information on this page is provided as a guide only. It is not professional or expert advice and is not a substitute for such advice. The content may not be appropriate, correct or sufficient for your circumstances and should not be relied on as the only reason you do or don’t do anything.