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sugarloaf82
Joined: 21 Dec 2008
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 Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2009 9:49 pm Post subject: Buying a car |
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I am looking into buying a cheap, used car and would like any information I could get about the process.... I have no idea even where to start looking. I'm not looking for anything fancy. I live in a very rural area and am looking for something to get me to and from school and just to travel around the surrounding area as the public transportation out here is fairly sporadic.
So, if anyone knows, about how much should a used small car cost? Also, what other expenses should I expect? Insurance, registration, etc... |
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eamo
Joined: 08 Mar 2003
Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.
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| Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2009 10:03 pm Post subject: |
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I'm guessing you're going to have to ask a Korean friend or co-worker to help you here.
Finding a nearby used car lot would be the first step. Choose your car and take it from there. |
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b0101
Joined: 24 Jul 2009
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| Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2009 10:15 pm Post subject: |
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| Check the buy/sell/trade forum. Someone just posted a bunch of links there along with people selling cars. Insurance you usually have to pay in one lump some for the whole year. I had a Korean friend call a few companies and see who offered the lowest price. It is higher the first year as you are considered a first time driver in Korea. My first year I paid 680,000 and that's for an old car. Second year went down to 480,000. Taxes you have to pay twice throughout the year, varies depending on the car. Registration I don't remember exactly, but it was minimal for me. This may be obvious, but if you don't have a Korean driver's license you need one of those, although I've heard you can drive on an international license under certain circumstances. |
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cashpiles
Joined: 17 Sep 2007
Location: Busan, South Korea
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| Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 7:53 am Post subject: |
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I went to Korean driving school. It took a little over a month. They took care of scheduling and bringing you to all driving tests. After 2 months I had my Korean driver's license, good for 8 years.
Driving school will cost under 2 million won.
As b0101 was saying, go to a registration office, pay some fees and they give you your registration and some new license plates. |
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Alaskaman
Joined: 22 Sep 2009
Location: Bundang-Gu, South Korea
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| Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 3:47 pm Post subject: |
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| If you get a copy of your driving record from your home country that shows a clean driving record they will drop the first year high insurance rate. I did this and in dropped the cost by about 40%. Something to think about if you have a good driving record and had a license in your home country |
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Mr Crowley
Joined: 23 Mar 2006
Location: Suwon
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| Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 5:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Alaskaman wrote: |
| If you get a copy of your driving record from your home country that shows a clean driving record they will drop the first year high insurance rate. I did this and in dropped the cost by about 40%. Something to think about if you have a good driving record and had a license in your home country |
Who do I need to contact to get a driving record from the US ? |
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Alaskaman
Joined: 22 Sep 2009
Location: Bundang-Gu, South Korea
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| Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 5:49 pm Post subject: |
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| Your state DMV this can be done over the internet or visa snail mail. Get it notorized and submit to your K-land insurance company. |
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b-class rambler
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 6:04 pm Post subject: |
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| Alaskaman wrote: |
| If you get a copy of your driving record from your home country that shows a clean driving record they will drop the first year high insurance rate. I did this and in dropped the cost by about 40%. Something to think about if you have a good driving record and had a license in your home country |
This is good advice and something many people don't realise.
In my case I'd been driving (and living) in Japan previously and my Korean insurer just asked me for written proof that I'd been insured there and hadn't had any accidents. I got the insurance company I'd used in Japan to provide a simple document showing the required details and submitted it to the insurer here. Even though it was all in Japanese they didn't need a translation, so I'd expect something in English would be acceptable too. |
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bassexpander
Joined: 13 Sep 2007
Location: Someplace you'd rather be.
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| Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 6:06 pm Post subject: |
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| b-class rambler wrote: |
| Alaskaman wrote: |
| If you get a copy of your driving record from your home country that shows a clean driving record they will drop the first year high insurance rate. I did this and in dropped the cost by about 40%. Something to think about if you have a good driving record and had a license in your home country |
This is good advice and something many people don't realise.
In my case I'd been driving (and living) in Japan previously and my Korean insurer just asked me for written proof that I'd been insured there and hadn't had any accidents. I got the insurance company I'd used in Japan to provide a simple document showing the required details and submitted it to the insurer here. Even though it was all in Japanese they didn't need a translation, so I'd expect something in English would be acceptable too. |
Good information. Probably would have saved me some cash, at first. |
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oldsurly
Joined: 05 Nov 2009
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bassexpander
Joined: 13 Sep 2007
Location: Someplace you'd rather be.
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| Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 6:18 pm Post subject: |
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| We also purchased our car from Encar, which is similar to E-bay without the auction component. Be careful... the "check" provided by Encar missed something very obvious. I was able to fix it cheaply, but still... they missed something. |
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wormholes101
Joined: 11 Mar 2003
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| Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 6:26 pm Post subject: Re: Buying a car |
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| sugarloaf82 wrote: |
I am looking into buying a cheap, used car and would like any information I could get about the process.... I have no idea even where to start looking. I'm not looking for anything fancy. I live in a very rural area and am looking for something to get me to and from school and just to travel around the surrounding area as the public transportation out here is fairly sporadic.
So, if anyone knows, about how much should a used small car cost? Also, what other expenses should I expect? Insurance, registration, etc... |
A cheap 2nd hand car ranges from half a million to 2 million won depending on it's year, condition, and brand.
Insurance can be expensive. If you work for EPIK or any government school, get your insurance through Educar which sells only through the internet as far as I know. That's probably your cheapest option. If you work for a hagwon, I'd recommend LiG insurance which also does cheap insurance. I paid about 350,000 my first year and 300,000 the second.
Registration is not much, just a few thousand won of I remember correctly. Vehicle inspections are also cheap about 20,000 won or so.
So if you go low budget, you can get a car with all expenses for less than 1 mil but I'd also expect to pay an extra couple of hundred thousand on fixing things here and there.
Finally, do some googing on how to inspect a car before buying
(http://www.google.com/search?name=f&hl=en&q=how+to+inspect+a+car+before+buying) Make a list of things to check, bring it with you and check the car thoroughly before you buy. You can use any faults you find to reduce the price if you want that car. |
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