Does it cost anything?

No. Getting an offer is completely free and there is no obligation to sell. We never charge fees.

How fast will I hear back?

Most sellers get a call with a firm offer within the hour during business hours.

What if I still owe finance?

All good. We settle the outstanding finance directly with your lender and pay you whatever is left.

Do I have to drop the car off?

No — we come to you for the inspection and collection, at a time that suits.

Who am I dealing with?

Kiwi blokes who love to help — real people you can talk to.

Terms & Conditions

These terms explain how TradeMyCar works, what our offers mean, and what our $500 guarantee covers. They're written in plain English on purpose. By requesting an offer you agree to them.

1. Our offers

Any offer we make is an estimate based on the information you give us— your vehicle's details, condition, and photos. It is not final until we have physically inspected the vehicle. If, on inspection, the car isn't as described — undisclosed damage, mechanical faults, an odometer or records discrepancy, outstanding finance you didn't mention, or any other material difference — we may revise or withdrawthe offer. You're under no obligation to sell, and we're under no obligation to buy until both sides agree in person.

2. The vehicles we buy

We buy most makes and models across New Zealand. As a general guide, cars older than 10 years or over 160,000 km are assessed case by case — we may still buy them, but our automatic $500 guarantee (below) may not apply to them. The vehicle must be legally yours to sell, registered in NZ, and free of undisclosed defects or obligations.

3. The $500 beat-any-trade-in guarantee

We'll beat a genuine written dealer trade-in offer by $500 — but the guarantee exists to beat real, arm's-length offers, not offers arranged to game it. For the guarantee to apply, the competing offer must:

(a) be a written trade-in offer from a licensed NZ motor vehicle dealer (an email, appraisal sheet or signed quote); (b) be genuine and arm's-length— the same offer that dealer would give any customer, not a personal favour or “mate's rate” created to inflate the number; (c) be current, dated within the last 7 days; (d) be for the same vehicle in the same condition as presented to us; and (e) reflect a genuine trade-in valuation.

Genuine dealer trade-in offers sit well below a car's retail value — that margin is how dealers operate. Because of this, we may decline to apply the guarantee to any offer we reasonably believe is not genuine, including an offer that is unusually close to the vehicle's retail priceor that we otherwise assess as not arm's-length. This assessment is at our reasonable discretion. The guarantee is also subject to our physical inspection and to clauses 1 and 2 above.

4. Finance owing

You can sell a car with finance still owing. Tell us when you request your offer. We settle the outstanding amount directly with your lender and pay you the balance. If more is owing than the car is worth, the difference is yours to settle.

5. Payment & ownership

On agreement, we pay by bank transfer, usually the same day, and handle the NZTA change-of-ownership. Until payment is confirmed and ownership transferred, the vehicle remains yours.

6. Your information

We use the details and photos you provide only to assess and process your sale. We don't sell your information to third parties. See how we handle it in our Privacy Policy.

7. General

These terms are governed by New Zealand law and don't limit any rights you have under the Consumer Guarantees Act or Fair Trading Act. We may update these terms from time to time; the version on this page at the time you request an offer applies. Questions? Use the Contact form on our homepage.

Last updated: July 2026.