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James Coyle
James has over 35 years experience in financial services with particular expertise in two of the key components of retirement finance - Superannuation and the Age Pension. He is passionate about providing the guidance and support that can help older Australians enjoy their best possible retirement. He lives in regional Victoria surrounded by dogs and chooks.
I have just read your article on Your Car and Your Retirement and am a little confused about the comment by Steve Sadler regarding vehicle registration. He states that if you have a pension card you don’t have to pay for registration. In Sth Aus we get a discount is this a state by state decision or an error in the article .
I find your emails extremely helpful and informative
Kind Regards
Craig
Hi Craig, thanks for keeping us honest! We’ll double check this information, Centrelink have confirmed that the benefits of the Pensioner Concession Card are national. I apologise in advance if this is incorrect but thank you for bringing it to our attention.
Cars.com and red book all rate my car at $18000 – $20000. That’s the selling price. However, this is not the price that I will be paid by these companies if I decide to sell. Am I wrong or not understanding?
Hi Linda, thanks for reaching out! You aren’t wrong, there are many factors that impact the private sale value of your vehicle. Cars.com.au and Red Book are good to use as a guide if you genuinely don’t know your car’s worth however your car could have scratches in the paintwork, stains in the interior etc. which would reduce your specific car’s value lower then those guides suggest.
Linda, not that I’ve checked the guides lately but I have always sold my cars ‘Privately’ where you normally pitch your price under the Retail (car yard price) and well above what the “Trade Price” which is what you would get by just going to the dealers; which will be around say 60% of the Sale Price , less even if the car is common and is only going to take up yard space or maybe more if it is desirable. These days though the market is out of kilter due to the pandemic and certain vehicles 3 maybe 5+ years old are selling for new car prices.
Very helpful information. Could you please clarify the statement
‘And don’t forget, if you are on the Age Pension, you will have a Pension Concession Card which means you do not have to pay registration’.
Queensland Transport appears to offer concessions rather than discounting registration completely.
Hi Terry, thanks for keeping us honest! We’ll double check this information, Centrelink have confirmed that the benefits of the Pensioner Concession Card are national. I apologise in advance if this is incorrect but thank you for bringing it to our attention.
How do I enquire about free registration?
Hi Phyllis, thanks for getting involved in the conversation! You need to let your state’s government department in charge of vehicle registrations know that you have the Pensioner Concession Card. For eg in NSW it is Service NSW (formerly RTA) whereas in Victoria it is VicRoads.
And don’t forget, if you are on the Age Pension, you will have a Pension Concession Card which means you do not have to pay registration. This is a significant amount of money, so make sure you receive this concession if you are entitled to it.
On full pension with card only get ” reduced” rego..QLD
Hi Anthony, thanks for keeping us honest! We’ll double check this information, Centrelink have confirmed that the benefits of the Pensioner Concession Card are national. I apologise in advance if this is incorrect but thank you for bringing it to our attention.
In WA I received a slight discount on my car registration. I’m on full pension and have a pension concession seniors card. Still left with considerable balance to pay. Please explain.
Hi Ian, thanks for bringing this to our attention! We have amended the article to correctly reflect that it is a “discount” that is received but the amount of the discount does vary between different states.
I was of the understanding that these asset like home and contents are valued at firesale prives
when will we achieve universal pension ?
i have family in New Zealand they reach pension age they get the pension, if they want to work 1 day or 5 days they pay tax on their total income, not tax plus 50% of some or all their pension.
result :- less skill shortage, more bureaucrats released to pursue the multi nationals dodging millions in tax.
Well said Colin
That would be a great win win for the whole nation
But what chance do you give on this happening
Hi, I understand about car going into your assets but what if between the 2 of us we have 3 cars does it still work the same in Australia that it goes as a asset?
Hi Chris, thank you for replying to our article! It doesn’t matter how many cars you have or whether they are registered in you or your partner’s name. They all count as assets based on their private sale value.