Korean Job Discussion Forums

xCustomx · Joined: 06 Jan 2006

http://global.encar.com/global/index.html

I've been browsing through this site and it seems like there are some fairly decent cars.

I'm planning on checking out a '98 Avante with 25,000km this weekend for 3.6million. The seller will pay for all the paperwork, but I'm still gonna try and work the price down to 3.0 if I can. From the pictures that I have seen the car looks really clean and does not have any accident history (unless the dealer is lying, which of course he could be). Would I be overpaying for this car?

ajstew · Joined: 04 Feb 2004 Location: Korea

Yes... I can say I bought my car a few weeks ago from there. There were a number of good deals. I went from Seoul to Gwangju (in South) to pick it up and drive it back.

I registered (although I don't think it is really necessary). Called the number to find where the vehicle was (my fiancee did the speaking). Went down and got it.

Easy enough.

pkang0202 · Joined: 09 Mar 2007

Check out the asking prices for the 1995 year cars.

happeningthang · Joined: 26 Apr 2003

Never used encar but they seem OK.

Just wanted to point out there are a lot of cheaper secondhand cars out there. Even here on Dave's you see circa 1995 models with 100,000ks on the clock for less than a grand.

My last car was 600, 000won and lasted three years until I crashed it and then ran it into the ground. Still, for the money, it was a great deal.

xCustomx · Joined: 06 Jan 2006

Can dealers usually be trusted? I've never thought of them too highly back in the States, but Koreans here tell me that dealers are more honest than individual sellers here.

How common are detailed receipts of the work done on the cars? I kept all the maintainence records on my old car and would like to buy a car with them so I know the history of the car.

How dependable are cars that sell for 1-2.0 million?

lonestarkorea · Joined: 23 May 2007 Location: Seoul

Have owned a boatload of cars here. A 1 mil car is just as dependable or undependable as a 3 mil car, no matter where you buy it. On the bright side, parts and labor are dirt cheap here. Had an engine on a Sonata2 blow on me once and got a reconditioned one put in for 500k including everything. Imagine, an entire friggin engine for a measly 500 bones.

As to your maintenance and work history question, Koreans are terrible at archiving vehicle paperwork in my opinion, though they seem to have gotten better over the past few years with their newer cars. Doens't really matter for an older cheaper car though IMHO.