Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Hello]

I'm thinking about getting myself a used car. I tried my luck with what I could find here (not much) and Craigslist (mostly army folks), but it seems I need to look somewhere else. Any ideas?

Where should I go in Seoul, or maybe even in Gyeonggi, to get a good deal? I can go with a Korean, so language really isn't an issue, but not getting ripped off definitely is.

I live in the eastern part of Seoul and found out, thanks to my friend Google, that around Janghanpyeong there are a lot of used car dealers. Anyone bought a car there?

How about insurance, is it hard to get or expensive for foreigners?

[NSMatt]

[Swampfox10mm]

www.encar.co.kr

What kind of car do you want? Maybe I can help.



Used it to purchase a few cars in Korea. Don't bother to purchase through the English side, as prices are jacked-up there. Get a Korean to help you, if needed. Remember that you will need insurance when you purchase the car. The best prices are generally with Educar or Lotte Direct (although I prefer Educar, having both).

A word or warning. Anything at that big car lot at Janghanpyeong station is a royal piece of repainted/patched crap. And poorly reworked, at that. Not even worth a visit. You'll just end up being disgusted that you wasted the time. The USFK Forums auto dealer guy (sorry, I forget their name) uses a photo of this lot to make it seem like they are all his cars. They're actually a huge lot of hoopties that any dealer camped near it can sell.

My two cars were purchased from lots outside of Seoul, which I found via Encar ads. You can get a good deal on a used car in Korea, but it's very hard not to find something that hasn't been in an accident or two. This recent car was certified accident-free from the gov't, besides obviously having been in an accident.

The little paper which they get from the gov't office telling you if it has been in an accident is a joke, and often false. Often, accidents go unreported, are fixed by a shop, then sold off with just enough work done to pass inspection as never having had an accident. I've purchased two used cars that have been in prior accidents, and NEITHER turned out to be fixed totally or properly. Luckily, the first one was a cheap fix to make it good enough. The 2nd cost me about 250,000 to fix (but still not perfectly fixed).

My advice is that you purchase something about 300,000 under your budget, and expect to put work into it after you get it. That, or buy from another expat (for some reason, I'd trust them more than Koreans) who has had the car more than a year. Never buy anything from anyone that they've only had a few months. Also, never buy new. It's a stupid waste of money, IMHO.

The car service centers that are actual certified service centers for your car make will charge you cheap for general maintenance (oil changes) but will rape you blind on anything above that to the tune of 5 times the cost that a private shop will charge you, along with telling you that you need far more work than you actually do. The trick is finding a private shop that you can trust. I've had good luck with James Garage fixing my stuff (oddly, he is related to the guy from USFK Classifieds). His number is 02-796-6062. He is near Crown Hotel in Itaewon/Yongsan.

BTW, you'll also need to pay taxes every 6 months, and will have to get emissions and other stuff checked by a gov't check every so often (I forget if it's 2 1/2 years or so?). NEVER NEVER NEVER miss that date! The fine is massive!

[Swampfox10mm]

Some other advice:

Taxes now include a fee for Korean schools that will increase exponentially, depending on the size of the engine of your car. Bigger engines mean quite higher taxes. This is a slick way the gov't figured out to force people to pay taxes for schools.

Next,


Koreans (or anyone, really) will generally unload a car for two reasons:

1. It's been in an accident.

2. Costly repairs or maintenance are needed

3. They just want a change.


It's been my experience that #3 cars, if in nice condition, end up insanely overpriced. The dealers will also make money doing whatever they can to make #1 and #2 appear as if they are #3. They will pull every little slimey trick in the book to make the car seem perfect. They'll even go so far as to not wash the car if there are cosmetic things they are trying to hide (never buy a car that hasn't been thoroughly cleaned first). Check the doors and body for evidence of accidents despite any gov't documentation stating there were no accidents. Check EVERY LITTLE OPTION on the dashboard to make sure everything works. Radio, flood lights, aircon, heat, you name it -- ALL. As I stated, the dealers will fix the minimum necessary to get the car on the road again, and finding out certain options don't work can be your first clue as to the real story.

Also, find out what options are normal for that vehicle. One car I bought was supposed to have a 3rd seat for kids in the back. The dealer removed it after the sale, and I didn't notice it until I got home, then denied it was ever part of the deal. I'd lowered the price before buying, and he decided to get even by removing that seat. Yes, these are the types of crooks you will deal with when buying a used car.

Along the lines of maintenance, remember that people unload a used car when expensive maintenance is needed. Usually, this means changing the timing belt and thermostat. This is a required thing that should be done on most every vehicle by 80,000-100,000 kms. People will often stretch it to just over 100,000 and dump the car. If you don't do this, and the belt fails (one of the most common bad things) you'll likely be purchasing a new engine!

Cost for a timing belt change from a certified dealer will run you as much as 500,000 won. From a private small guy, you'll pay 250,000 or so. I expect this needs to be done on just about any used car I buy. If you don't do it, you are driving a time bomb. If you do it, you'll get another 60,000+ worry-free kms out of the car, most likely (of course, other little things can happen). My advice: find out if it's been done, and if not, DO IT. This is why I say you should budget to buy something at least 300,000 less than what you can pay at the time you buy a used car.

Another thing -- avoid LPG cars like the plague. The stations can be difficult or at best, inconvenient to find, and per liter, LPG only gives you about 60% of the distance a liter of gas will give you. Sure, it seems cheaper at the pump, and it is, but you will barely break even given the poor mileage LPG gets. What's worse is that you'll soon learn that LPG cars require lengthy warm-up times in the winter. We're talking up to 5 minutes before the warning light goes off and you're supposedly safe to drive. Sure, you could drive off sooner than that, but....

Anyway, hope this helps. If you can get away with not purchasing a car in Korea, and most single people can, then I'd say don't get one. If you have a family, then welcome to the Korean family rat-race.

[Hello]

Wow, Swampfox10mm, thank you sooooo much for all the information you just gave me. It's way more than I expected or even hoped to get.

[Swampfox10mm]

Glad to help. I see someone is selling a Lacetti in the For Sale section on Dave's. The price is probably decent... haven't checked, but it sounds like a fair deal. Low miles. You should look into it.

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=206505

[Na La Ri]

The information here is great. Wish I could have read this before I bought my car. Expecting to put in about 300 000-500 000won in repairs is about right. To be honest, I think the mechanics in Korea are great. The guy I go to feels ashamed when he takes longer than expected to fix something and offers discounts or "service" when that happens.

I was wondering if anybody here knows a good place to buys car stereos and navigation systems. New or used. I know I can look online but was wondering if there were any good places I can go to in person.

[Swampfox10mm]

You can buy car navigation systems in E-mart, Technomart (tons there) or go to Yongsan station's new building (beware, they are not to be trusted). You can also find a used dealer at the end of the building where Xbox's and PS3's are sold (on the side facing E-land).

What are you looking for in navigation? I've owned several. I suggest you take a look at them in Coex's Link-O store, and/or Hi-Mart, then purchase online. Oh, and another huge place for them is Techno-Mart.

The main service center for Inavi (I've had 2) is located in the basement of E-Land in the Yongsan Electronics market.

After owning a few, I tell everyone that Inavi is good, but I like the look of the Atlan maps. Whatever you get, make sure that free, continuous updates are made available. I update my maps every 6 months to a year.

For what it's worth, the 3D modes are really cool, but many of them are not practical when driving down the street. I keep my older Inavi G1 in 2D mode looking straight down at the street.

[Yaya]

This thread reminds me why I refuse to get a car in Korea.