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OnlyCars review (2026): the $49 until-sold challenger
By The MotorLoop team · Last updated 11 July 2026
Classifieds + dealer marketplace + financeInformation as at 2026-07-11 — check their site for current details
The pitch: one flat fee, no ladder
OnlyCars’ seller proposition is deliberately simple: $49, once (advertised as reduced from $69 when we checked in July 2026), and the ad runs until the car sells. No renewal fees, no per-enquiry charges, no prominence tiers to decode — the anti-carsales pricing model. Note the promotional churn though: cached versions of the page have shown $20 and $39 at different times, so confirm the current price on their sell page.
The finance angle
What actually differentiates OnlyCars is baked-in finance. Through broker Credit One (40+ lenders and insurers), buyers can browse by weekly repayment, get pre-approved, and finance private-sale purchases — something most classifieds leave buyers to arrange alone. For sellers, a buyer who arrives pre-approved is a buyer who can actually settle, which matters more in private sales than most people expect.
It’s part of the Only Sales group (OnlyTrucks, OnlyBoats, OnlyAg and more), sharing tech and cross-promotion across verticals, with an editorial arm the company says reaches over a million readers.
The honest limitation
Scale. Around 18,800 total live vehicle listings and 400+ dealers is a genuine marketplace but a small pond next to carsales’ millions of monthly consumers — third-party traffic estimates (unverified) sit around 70,000 monthly visitors. There’s also little independent review coverage on ProductReview or Trustpilot, so the complaint record that keeps bigger platforms honest just doesn’t exist yet, and there’s no escrow or valuation tooling.
The rational play: $49 as an additional until-sold channel is cheap optionality alongside Facebook Marketplace and a big-reach ad. As a sole channel, expect patience.
Pros and cons
Pros
- One flat $49 fee and the ad runs until the car sells — no renewals, tiers or per-enquiry charges
- Finance built into the buyer journey (Credit One, 40+ lenders; buyers browse by weekly repayment)
- Simple dealer economics ($300+GST/week unlimited listings) attracting 400+ dealers
- Assessed legitimate by third-party trust checkers; a visible scam-reporting workflow
Cons
- Audience is a small fraction of carsales/Gumtree — thinner buyer pool, likely longer time-to-sell
- Almost no independent review footprint, so reputation is hard to verify either way
- Promotional pricing fluctuates ($20/$39/$49 seen across sources), which muddies the headline
- No escrow/payment protection or data-backed valuation tool
OnlyCars FAQs
- How much does OnlyCars cost?
- A one-off $49 at our July 2026 check (advertised down from $69), running until the car sells. Promotional pricing rotates, so confirm on their sell page.
- Is OnlyCars legitimate?
- Yes — it’s operated by Only Sales Limited (the Only-verticals classifieds group, formerly Cartopia) and is assessed as legitimate by third-party site checkers. It’s simply much smaller than the major platforms.
Our verdict
The best-value paid challenger: a flat $49 until sold is honest pricing, and finance-qualified buyers are a real differentiator. Small audience means it works best as your second or third channel, not your only one.
See how OnlyCars compares against every other site to sell your car →
Sources: OnlyCars — sell my car (pricing) · OnlyCars — about (Only Sales / Cartopia history) · OnlyCars — finance (Credit One) · OnlyCars — dealer advertising · ScamAdviser — onlycars.com.au check
About this guide
The MotorLoop team
These guides are researched and maintained by the MotorLoop team — we gather what each platform publishes about its own fees and features, plus public reviews and press coverage, and link the sources so you can check everything yourself.
General information only — not advice, and not confirmed fact. Everything on this page was gathered from public sources (each platform’s own pages, reviews and press coverage) at the date shown, and pricing, features and policies change often and can vary by vehicle and location. Always check each platform’s own website for its current, correct information before making decisions.
All platform names, trademarks, logos and content referenced here belong to their respective owners; MotorLoop is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or responsible for any of the third-party sites mentioned. MotorLoop operates its own marketplace, which appears in this comparison clearly marked as ours.
Last updated 11 July 2026.