Stay Safe When You Buy a Car on Facebook Marketplace

Stay Safe When You Buy a Car on Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace has become one of Australia’s most popular ways to buy and sell cars. It is quick, local and often cheaper than the big classified sites. But that convenience comes with trade-offs. Anyone can list a car, there is no vetting process, and you are relying on your own judgement to know what is real.
That does not mean you need to avoid Facebook altogether. It just means slowing down before you commit.
Why Marketplace can be riskier
Because listings are free, Facebook attracts a mix of casual sellers, flippers and sometimes unlicensed dealers posing as private owners. Some cars are repairable write-offs, some have hidden finance owing and others are sold by people who do not actually own the vehicle.
Photos can mislead too. Wet cars in car-wash bays hide scratches, filters disguise faded paint, and a low price can tempt you into skipping checks.
How to spot a genuine listing
Facebook has plenty of genuine sellers, but the platform’s open nature also attracts scammers and short-term flippers who buy and resell cars quickly for profit. The difference is often in the small details.
Check how long the profile has existed and whether it looks like a real person rather than a throwaway account. Marketplace reviews are a good sign too. A seller with positive feedback and a history of legitimate listings is usually more reliable than one with no reviews or a recently created profile.
Be cautious if the seller’s location does not match the number plates, if their story about why they are selling keeps shifting, or if they claim to be selling on behalf of someone else. Look closely at the photos as well. Wet cars, tight cropping or photos taken in different locations can all hide scratches or damage.
And if the price seems far below similar listings, there is almost always a reason. Sometimes that reason is mechanical.
Real sellers are transparent. They show the car in daylight, meet in person and are comfortable answering questions. Anyone who pressures you to move fast or put down a deposit before you have seen the car should be avoided.
The essential checks
Before you talk about price, confirm the basics. Run a PPSR check to see if the car is encumbered, stolen or written off. Make sure the registration details and VIN match the paperwork. Always meet in a public place and bring a friend if possible.
Then, before money changes hands, get a professional pre-purchase car inspection. This is where Carinspect makes the process simple. Their qualified mechanics inspect the car at its location, whether that’s a private address or dealership, and you don’t need to be there. After the inspection, you can speak directly with the mechanic to discuss the report (see a sample here).
Each inspection also includes a free Car History Insights Report which checks for finance owing, written-off status, registration and stolen status. Some report options even live market valuation data so you can see whether the asking price is fair compared with similar cars for sale.
This means you can make an informed decision without driving across town or relying on guesswork.
The bottom line
Buying a car on Facebook Marketplace does not have to be risky if you treat it like any other serious purchase. A quick PPSR check and a professional inspection are small costs compared with the price of a mistake.
The platform might be casual, but your checks should not be. Take a moment to verify, confirm and inspect, and you can still find great deals safely.
Book with Carinspect before you buy. A mobile pre-purchase inspection from Carinspect includes a detailed photo report, mechanical assessment and a free Car History Insights Report with live market valuation. It is the easiest way to turn a Facebook deal into a smart, secure purchase.
Related
More than a service, we’re a trusted partner
Easy Online Booking
Simply share the vehicle and seller details, and we’ll handle everything from there—quick, secure, and hassle-free.
Fast Turnaround
As soon as the inspection is complete, your digital report is delivered straight to your inbox—fast, clear, and reliable.
Fully Independent
Our qualified mechanics work independently of sellers or dealerships to give you honest, objective vehicle assessments.
Qualified Mechanics
Every Carinspect mechanic is fully licensed, insured, and vetted—ready to inspect with decades of experience and precision.
Trusted by Industry Leaders
We’ve partnered with Australia’s largest automotive brands so that you can have the confidence in who we are and what we stand for. Our partnership with Australia’s most iconic marketplace - GumtreeCars, connects us to over 20,000 private car listings monthly. We’ve also partnered with UltraTune - the largest Australian-owned automotive after-sales servicing provider so that you can get the benefit of a hoisted inspection in qualified workshops around the country.
Once you have received your inspection report, our team can connect you with verified finance partners, interstate transport providers, extended warranty products and more!










From inspection to
, all in one
report
Choose your inspection
Select your inspection type. Book online in under 2 minutes.
Assign a qualified mechanic
Our system matches you with a certified mechanic in your area with relevant experience.
Expert
Industry leading accuracy on finance owing, written off status, stolen status and vehicle valuation data

Your next car, inspected in just a few clicks
Choose your inspection
Select your inspection type. Book online in under 2 minutes
We assign a qualified mechanic
Our system matches the inspection with a qualified mechanic in the seller's area with relevant experience.
Comprehensive inspection
Full inspection including engine, body, interior, diagnostic scan and comprehensive road test.
Digital report with images
Receive detailed report instantaneously once the inspection is complete.
Get a call from your mechanic
The mechanic will contact you directly to confirm inspection results and answer any follow-up questions.












Got questions before booking? We’re here to help.
We understand that the used car market can move extremely quickly. Seller’s can be difficult for our team to organise an inspection with or worse, they may sell the vehicle to another buyer before allowing our Carinspect mechanic to inspect the vehicle. For this reason, we offer an outstanding refund policy for customers using our service. Carinspect offers a full refund (minus a 3% credit card fee) for inspection bookings that for any reason cannot go ahead. The following two exceptions apply:
- If the purchaser requires the inspection to be cancelled for any reason and the inspection time and date has already been set with the seller, Carinspect will retain a $60 administration fee whilst refunding you the balance of the booking.
- On the occasion that the Carinspect mechanic has already travelled to the seller’s location to complete the inspection and is unable to fulfil the service, Carinspect will retain a $150 cancellation fee whilst refunding you the balance of the booking.
We’re here to change the game for used car purchasers and bring full transparency to the buying process. Whether you’re looking for the convenience of a mobile inspection or the security of a hoisted workshop inspection, our network of fully qualified mechanics spans Australia-wide so that you can buy with confidence. With our own proprietary inspection software, we’ve partnered with GumtreeGroup so you’ll find our service readily available on over 20,000 new vehicle listings across Australia every week. We’re a service you can trust to ensure you are empowered to make the right used car purchasing decision.
We make this process as easy as it can be. Forget finding out when the seller may be free, only to find that you can’t find a mechanic that’s available in the right area at the right time. Scheduling can be a nightmare, that’s why we do it for you! Our online booking system will check the live availability of the area at time of booking. Just provide us with the details of your booking, process the payment, and then leave the rest to us. Our team will contact the seller of the vehicle and arrange the inspection with them directly. Depending on the vehicle location, we are almost always able to deliver you the report within 48 hours of your booking.
Workshop Inspections are completed at our fixed site partner workshops across the country. Here you’ll receive the benefit of a hoisted inspection in a workshop environment - perfect for a meticulous buyer. For these bookings, the seller of the vehicle must bring the vehicle to our local workshop service partner. The booking process is simple, once you have confirmed with the seller that they can bring the vehicle to our local partner workshop, just process your booking with us and we’ll handle the entire process with the seller. You’ll receive your report immediately after the inspection is completed together with a phone call from the mechanic.
Our mobile team will travel to where the vehicle is being sold. Whether it's a home, workplace, dealership or auction house, our mechanics will inspect the vehicle at the location most convenient to the seller. This service is great for busy sellers or vehicles that cannot meet us at one of our workshop locations across Australia. These inspections are subject to environmental constraints. Bad weather, steep driveways or undulating surfaces or poor lighting can affect inspection results. You’ll receive your report immediately after the inspection is completed together with a phone call from the mechanic.
Carinspect reports are clear and easy to read, to see a sample report, just click here. Car buyers use our reports to identify potential problems with a vehicle which in turn allows them the opportunity to either walk away from the purchase entirely or use our findings to negotiate a more competitive price. Either way, it’s a win for our customers.
We cannot guarantee inspections to take place on the weekend as this time is usually assigned to completing overflow work. Although there are some sellers who only have very specific times that a car can be available for inspection, please be aware that our team deals with this everyday and almost always finds a time that works for all parties - even if it means the seller not being with the vehicle whilst we inspect it.



