The gap is real but smaller than the headline
Take a car that a private buyer will pay $24,000 for. Almost nobody pays the asking price, so you probably listed at $25,500 to land there. Out of that $24,000 come the listing fees, the roadworthy in states that require it, the tyres a buyer noticed and used to negotiate, and six weeks of registration, insurance and depreciation while you waited.
The net is often between one and two thousand dollars above a competitive dealer offer, not the four or five thousand the advertised prices suggested. That difference is still real money. The question is whether it is worth six weekends and the transaction risk, and for a lot of people the honest answer is no.
When a private sale is clearly worth it
- The car is desirable, well presented and has full history
- You have four to six weeks and are comfortable with the process
- It is an enthusiast or niche vehicle where the right private buyer pays well above wholesale
- You are confident handling payment safely and screening time wasters
When a dealer offer is clearly better
- You need the money or the space now
- The car has damage, high kilometres or a gap in the history that private buyers will punish harder than dealers do
- There is finance owing, which complicates a private sale considerably
- You are not willing to have strangers test drive your car from your home
- You are buying a replacement and need certainty about your number
The move that works either way
Get the dealer offers first, then decide. They cost nothing, they take a minute, and they give you a floor. If you then list privately, you know exactly what you are trying to beat and exactly when to stop chasing. If the offers come back stronger than you expected, you have saved yourself six weeks.