The Car Handover Checklist: 30 Things to Do Before You Sell or Scrap Your Car in NZ

Why a handover checklist saves you money

In New Zealand the person on the register is responsible for the car until NZTA is told it has changed hands. That's why a forgotten step can cost you long after the car has gone. A toll road trip, a red light camera or an unpaid parking ticket all go to whoever is recorded as the owner. Personalised plates can be worth hundreds or thousands of dollars on their own. And a modern car stores more personal information than most people realise: your home address, your contacts, your call history and sometimes the code to your garage.

None of this is hard. It's just easy to forget when you're busy, the car isn't running, or the tow truck is already in the driveway. We buy cars every day across Canterbury, and these are the steps we walk sellers through on the spot. Run through the list once and you can hand over the keys and forget about it.

A week before: plates, paperwork and keys

1. Deal with personalised plates. If you own personalised plates, they belong to you, not the car. Transfer them to another vehicle or put them on hold through the personalised plates provider before the sale. The car then gets standard plates. Once a car has been sold, and especially once it's been crushed, getting plates back is slow and sometimes impossible. Standard plates stay with the car.
2. Check for money owing. If there's finance on the car, it's probably registered on the PPSR and the lender has a claim on it. Get a payout figure from your lender and agree how it'll be cleared. Our guide to selling a car with finance owing explains how this works.
3. Make sure you can prove it's yours. You'll need your driver licence (or other photo ID) and your details as they appear on the register. If the car is in someone else's name, such as a late parent or a former partner, read selling a car not in your name before you book anything.
4. Find every key and remote. Spare keys, keyless fobs, the valet key and the locking wheel nut key (often hidden in the glovebox or the spare wheel well). A missing key can cut a private sale price noticeably, and some buyers will charge for it.
5. Gather the service history. Service books, receipts for big jobs like a cambelt or new tyres, and the owner's manual. They add credibility to a private sale and help a buyer value the car properly.
6. Note the rego and RUC status. Check when the licence (rego) expires and, for a diesel, how many road user charge kilometres are left. On a normal sale these stay with the car, so factor them into your price. If the car is being scrapped, see item 30.
7. Get an honest quote first. If you're selling to a wrecker or cash for cars buyer, describe the car accurately: whether it runs, any damage, and whether anything's missing. Our guide to getting a quote that doesn't drop on the day lists exactly what to mention.

The day before: empty the car

Work through the car in a fixed order so nothing gets missed. Front to back, top to bottom.

8. Glovebox and centre console. Documents with your name and address, sunglasses, chargers, coins, spare cards.
9. Door pockets, seat-back pockets and sun visors. Parking receipts, fuel cards, kids' books, the odd $20 note.
10. Under and between the seats. Slide each seat all the way forward and back. Phones, jewellery and keys turn up here all the time.
11. Boot and spare wheel well. Tools, jumper leads, umbrellas, and anything stashed under the floor. Leave the spare wheel and jack, as they're part of the car.
12. Toll tags and parking permits. Peel off residents' parking stickers, workplace permits and any electronic tag.
13. AT HOP cards and fuel loyalty cards. They're easy to leave in a console tray.
14. Dashcam and its memory card. The card can hold weeks of footage showing where you live and work.
15. Child seats. They're expensive, and you'll need them in your next car.
16. Your own accessories. Phone holders, aftermarket stereos you plan to keep (tell the buyer first), roof racks and towbar bike racks if they weren't included in the price.

Wipe your data

Any car built in the last ten years or so probably remembers your phone, your contacts and where you live. Japanese imports often have a navigation unit with your home set as a saved destination. Here's how to clear it.

17. Unpair your phone, both ways. Delete your phone from the car's Bluetooth list and delete the car from your phone. Do it for every phone that has ever been paired, including family members'.
18. Clear navigation history and saved places. Home, work, school and recent destinations.
19. Delete garage door and gate codes. If the car has a built-in garage door opener, clear the programmed codes. Then think about changing your garage code anyway.
20. Factory reset the infotainment system. Most systems have a "reset to factory settings" or "initialise" option in the settings menu. The owner's manual will tell you where.
21. Remove the car from connected-car apps. If you use a manufacturer app to lock, locate or pre-heat the car, remove the vehicle from your account. Otherwise you, or the next owner, may still be able to see or control it. Cancel any paid connected services too.

What to leave in the car

Stripping parts before a sale is one of the most common ways people accidentally lose money. A buyer prices the car as described. If it turns up without its battery, wheels or catalytic converter, the quote changes. Unless you've agreed otherwise, leave these in place:

If you want to keep or sell a part separately, such as a good set of mag wheels, just tell the buyer first so the quote reflects it. That's normal and fine.

On the day: the handover itself

22. Check the buyer is who they say they are. For a private sale, see photo ID. For a wrecker or cash for cars company, check they're a real, established business. Our guide on how to verify a cash for cars buyer shows what to look for.
23. Get paid in cleared funds before the keys go. Cash, or a bank transfer that shows as received in your own banking app. Screenshots and emailed "payment confirmations" can be faked. A reputable buyer won't mind waiting a minute while you check.
24. Write a simple receipt. Date and time, plate number, buyer's name, the price, and a line saying the car is sold as is. Both of you sign, and you each keep a copy (a photo is fine). The exact time matters if a fine turns up later.
25. Take photos. The odometer, the car from all four sides, and the car on the tow truck or driving away. Thirty seconds of photos can settle any dispute.
26. Hand over every key. Plus the locking wheel nut key and the service book.

Straight after: close every loose end

27. File the notice of disposal with NZTA. This is the step that matters most. As the seller you must tell NZTA straight away, and you can do it online in a few minutes. Keep the confirmation. Our step-by-step notice of disposal walkthrough shows each screen. When you sell to us, we complete the paperwork with you on the spot.
28. Remove the plate from toll and parking accounts. If you have an NZTA toll account or a parking app linked to the plate, remove the vehicle so you don't pay for the next owner's trips.
29. Cancel or transfer your insurance. Do it once the car has actually gone, not before. You may get a refund of unused premium. If you're buying another car, ask your insurer to move the policy across.
30. Claim any refunds. If the car is scrapped and its registration cancelled, you may be able to get a refund of unused licence fees, and unused RUC in some cases. See our rego and RUC refund guide. For business vehicles, tell your accountant about the sale, as there can be GST and depreciation to account for.

Extra checks when the car is being scrapped

Selling to a wrecker is usually simpler than a private sale. There's no test drive, no haggling and no strangers coming back with questions. But a few points are specific to scrap cars:

• Personalised plates are urgent. Once a car has been dismantled or crushed, the plates are gone. Transfer them first.
• Check the access. Tell the buyer if the car has flat tyres, no keys, seized wheels, or is in a backyard or basement carpark. A good tow operator can handle almost anything, but they need to bring the right gear. See our hard-to-reach pickup guide.
• Don't remove parts to "sell separately" unless you've agreed it with the buyer. A scrap price usually assumes a complete car.
• Know where it's going. A responsible wrecker drains fluids, recovers parts and recycles the metal. Our guide to what happens to your car at the wreckers explains the process.
• Not sure whether to fix or scrap? Run the numbers with our repair or scrap guide, then check typical prices in the 2026 cash for cars price guide.

The full printable checklist

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Frequently asked questions