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This article is brought you by ClickAutos, a leading online car portal that provides everyday Australians the best cars for sale, directly from our hand-picked dealerships with finance included.
Whether you are thinking of gifting your family car to a child graduating from university or handing over the keys to them to help them get an early start at adulthood, it’s important to know that gifting a car is different than giving away your car. Thanks to ClickAutos team, we have prepared some useful tips for gifting a car to a valuable family member discussed in this article below.
1. Consider the giftee’s financial situation
First, you’ll want to make sure that the giftee can afford to pay for insurance, gas, maintenance and repairs. Giving a car as a gift is a financial responsibility for both parties and the giftee will need to pay for these ongoing costs mentioned above. If they can’t afford these common car ownership expenses and you don’t want to cover them yourself and you may want to reconsider gifting them a car.
2. Choose what car are you are gifting
The next step is to determine what type of car will you be gifting. For example, is it an existing family car you are gifting or are you intending to purchase a brand new or used car for your family member?
3. Own the car outright
Make sure the car you are about to hand over is owned by yourself outright. You can’t gift a car or transfer the ownership officially if you don’t own the car outright. If you have an outstanding balance on a car loan, you will want to pay this off before gifting your vehicle. You’ll need to own the car outright with no outstanding balance to progress to the next step which is transferring the ownership title.
4. Draft up the formal paperwork
Once you own the car outright, start the formal paperwork to transfer the ownership of the vehicle to the family member as per the motor registry’s process. Start by writing up a sale agreement and make sure it’s signed by you and the giftee. Your sale agreement should include:
· Make and model of the car
· Purchase price of the car
· Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
· Odometer reading
To officially release ownership of your car to the person you are gifting it to, you should transfer the ownership title officially. Complete the title forms accurately and check with the motor registry you have completed all of the necessary steps correctly.
5. Insure the giftee
Last but not least, you may like to consider taking out insurance for the new car owner. You may to do this especially if you are gifting your vehicle to a child. This can be done by calling an insurance agent and getting a policy in the new owner’s name. If the family member already has a car, it is pretty simple. If this is the person’s first car, there will be more information required to get an insurance policy.
You’re now ready to hand over the set of keys to your beloved family member! We hope that this article has helped you find tips for gifting a car to your child. On behalf of the ClickAutos team we wish you all the best in finding your next dream car for sale in Australia.
