hmmm, here's some real world legal advice from someone who has actually been through the courts to try and recover costs for damages.

if you are going to pursue this legally, it is a matter for small claims tribunal (<$7500), and no legal representation is allowed for either party. Taking Frodaddy's advice of paying to see a solicitor will do you little if any good.

As the aleged contract and goods were in QLD, it would have to be heard in QLD's legal system, which will cost your mate more airfares and time of work.

And this is assuming you can even claim indirect costs such as these you are complaining about through the small claims tribunal. I very much doubt it.

I think the best you can expect to hear from any legal proceeding is that your mate was foolhardy to enter into all those expenses making arrangements for the transport of the car without first securing the vehicle with a holding deposit. My advice is to put it down to experience and get over it, and don't make the same mistakes again. You can argue till you're blue in the face that you had a "verbal contract" with him, but if you didn't pay him a holding deposit, which is the normal practice in these matters, you're really going to have trouble convincing anyone that you did have a deal finalised.