Vehicle sales
Establish who you're dealing with before you meet, transact or grant access.
A private car sale compresses a lot of risk into one afternoon: an unfamiliar person at your address, a test drive in your vehicle, and a large payment. ID Verified lets you establish who that person is. It does not verify vehicle ownership, legal title, finance status, condition or listing legitimacy, which need their own separate checks.
✓ Trust Established
Mia is now a NoStranger.
You can now view the information Mia has chosen to share.
★★★★★ IDENTITY VERIFIED
Mia Alvarez
Approx. connection location: Wellington, NZ
Age
29
Gender
Female
First name
Mia
Last name
Alvarez
Identity Verified
These details were verified from a government-issued ID and checked against authoritative records, with a live face check confirming the person completing the verification matches the ID.
You only see what they chose to share. This code can't be used again.
The evidence
Buying and selling goods between strangers drives reported losses
Published Australian regulator data. We have deliberately not cited a vehicle-specific breakdown we could not confirm in a primary source.
$8.6m
reported lost to shopping scams in Australia between January and September 2025, from 9,628 reports. That is a 19% rise in reported losses on the same period in 2024, and the most reported scam type involving financial loss.
ACCC / National Anti-Scam Centre, November 2025$122m
in reported losses over the same period where scammers made first contact through online content such as fake websites, adverts, social media or apps, which is 47% of all reported losses. That is also where most vehicle listings are found.
ACCC / National Anti-Scam Centre, November 2025The gap
You can check a vehicle's whole history and still know nothing about the buyer.
Private vehicle sales are unusually well served for checking the asset. Registration and title searches, finance and write-off checks, odometer records and pre-purchase inspections all exist, and any careful buyer uses them.
None of that describes the person. A seller arranging a test drive knows only a first name and a phone number, and is about to let that person drive away in a vehicle worth tens of thousands, sometimes with the seller in the passenger seat, sometimes not.
Buyers face the mirror image. They are asked to send a deposit to hold the car, or to travel with cash to an address from a listing, on the strength of a few photos and a plausible message.
NoStrangers verifies the person only. It does not verify vehicle ownership, legal title, outstanding finance, condition, roadworthiness, listing legitimacy or a vehicle's history.
Run both: a vehicle history check on the car, and a Trust Request on whoever you're meeting.
How it works
How NoStrangers works around a private vehicle deal
Before the test drive, before the deposit, before the handover.
Send a Trust Request
Reply to the enquiry with a unique code, before you agree a time and place.
They verify and share what they choose
The other person completes ID Verified, a live face check alongside their government-issued ID, and decides what to return to you. A seller can ask a prospective buyer, a buyer can ask a private seller, or both can verify each other.
Then arrange the test drive
Meet in public, check the licence and insurance, and keep the vehicle paperwork with you.
✓ Trust Established
Mia is now a NoStranger.
You can now view the information Mia has chosen to share.
★★★★★ IDENTITY VERIFIED
Mia Alvarez
Approx. connection location: Wellington, NZ
Age
29
Gender
Female
First name
Mia
Last name
Alvarez
Identity Verified
These details were verified from a government-issued ID and checked against authoritative records, with a live face check confirming the person completing the verification matches the ID.
You only see what they chose to share. This code can't be used again.
Privacy
Verify the buyer without publishing your driveway.
Only the match is shared. Your private information isn't. They don't see it. Neither do we.
A car advert already tells strangers you own something valuable and roughly where it is parked. ID Verified does not mean adding your identity documents to that, or exchanging them with the other person.
Each person chooses what goes into their side of the Trust Request, and each sees only what the other chose to share: enough to know who you're meeting, and no more.
More detail in our Privacy Policy.
When to use it
Points in a private sale to verify
Before a test drive
Someone you've never met is about to drive your car, with you in it or without you.
A deposit to hold the vehicle
Money is requested before anyone has met, often with a deadline attached.
A buyer coming to your home
The car is on your driveway, which means your address is part of the deal.
Travelling to view a car
You're going to an unfamiliar address, possibly out of town, possibly with cash.
Interstate or long-distance sales
Transport and payment arranged remotely, with no chance to meet before committing.
Handover day
Keys, paperwork and payment all change hands at once, so it is worth knowing exactly who with.
Be clear
What a Trust Request establishes in a vehicle sale
Who you're dealing with. The vehicle needs its own, separate checks.
It can help you
- Establish that a live person completed the verification process.
- With ID Verified, establish who that person is, using government-issued ID and a live face check.
- Let a seller ask a buyer, a buyer ask a seller, or both verify each other before a test drive or deposit.
- Give you a verified identity to weigh alongside your vehicle history checks.
It doesn't
- Verify vehicle ownership, legal title, registration or finance status.
- Assess condition, roadworthiness, odometer accuracy, write-off history or listing legitimacy.
- Confirm a driving licence, insurance cover or that payment will clear.
- Guarantee anyone's safety during a test drive or handover.
FAQ
Private vehicle sale questions
Someone wants a test drive. How do I check who they are?
Send a Trust Request before you agree a time, and ask for ID Verified. They complete a live face check alongside their government-issued ID and choose what to share. A driving licence check is still separate and still your responsibility, along with confirming insurance cover for the drive.
Does NoStrangers check the car?
No. It does not verify ownership, registration, title, outstanding finance, write-off history, odometer accuracy, roadworthiness or condition. Use your national vehicle history check, a registration or title search and an independent pre-purchase inspection for those.
I'm buying and I've been asked for a deposit. What should I do first?
Verify the seller before any money moves, and be wary of pressure, a story about another buyer, or a request for an irreversible transfer before you've seen the vehicle. Verification confirms a live person is behind the listing, not that the vehicle or the deal is genuine.
Is it reasonable to ask a private buyer to verify?
Yes. You're handing over the keys to a valuable asset to a stranger who is about to drive off in it, often with you in the passenger seat. Most genuine buyers understand immediately why you'd want to establish who they are, especially when you offer to verify too. It doesn't mean exchanging ID documents with each other.
Where should we meet?
Somewhere public, in daylight, with someone else present, and ideally not your own driveway. Bring the paperwork rather than inviting people into your home, and agree the test-drive route in advance.
What about payment on collection?
Confirm funds have actually cleared before the vehicle leaves, not just that a transfer has been shown on a screen. Verification of identity is not payment verification.
Does a verified buyer mean the sale is safe?
No. It gives you a verified identity so you can make a better decision. It cannot predict behaviour, guarantee payment or guarantee your safety during a test drive or handover.
Related use cases
Verify before the test drive.
About 90 seconds, before anyone gets behind the wheel or sends a deposit.