Korean Job Discussion Forums

[fence sitter]

2001 Daewoo Matiz II.

Automatic.
Immaculate.
Two new front tires.
Low mileage (54,000 and some change).
Regular oil changes.
Never been in a wreck.
Leather (pleather?) seats.

Fill it up for about W45,000 to go more than 400km (highway). Believe it or not, a very comfortable ride if you're not too tall (over six feet).

W3.5mil drives it home.

Located in Seoul.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14251936@N03/sets/72157602183510874/

[bassexpander]

I have the same model year in a stick, but my seats aren't pleather.

They're great cars. You get half-price at most tollgates, too.

Repairs are generally pretty cheap.

Anyone looking for a nice little car should look to work a deal on this. It won't drop a lot more in price in a few years, either. These little cars are pretty robust for resale.

[fence sitter]

[tzechuk]

[bassexpander]

I've got a few things to say about that, since I actually own nearly the exact model and know what they go for.

Normally, auction sites do have a bit better prices, but you're missing some very important factors:

1. 2001 was the first year of the Matiz 2. That alone brings a lot more money. Different body style and upgrades. Every one of your cars on that link is an original model Matiz. Apples to oranges (but still a good car). The price might be a few hundred high, but I bet the OP would be willing to take a few hundred less to sell it. Take a look at your same site... only at the car the OP is actually selling: http://listings.auction.co.kr/Category/MotorsList.aspx?category=56020103&sort=2


2. Those cars may not actually exist. "Bait and Switch" is a massive problem online when dealing with cars and apartments, as another example. Dealers, who were getting killed by sites such as auction.co.kr, learned to put up fake cars to draw buyers in. I'd be pretty surprised if most of those cars were even real. Using "Bait and Switch," they snatch photos of cars from other sites and create a fake car that doesn't exist, then once you come down to see it, explain that it just sold. But then they're happy to show you several more expensive cars.

3. Those cars on that auction site all have high miles, or are just getting into higher miles for a Matiz. Actually, the miles aren't all that high considering what they would be like in the West, but at 90,0000 plus, you need to do some expensive maintenance (which I did on mine) that costs about 350,000 won. Timing belt, etc. Brakes need to be changed again about that time, too (I'm right at 90,000 now). Koreans spend a lot more time in traffic, with the engine running, so high miles often mean a lot more wear and tear than Western engines.

As someone who has purchased numerous Korean vehicles (including motorcycles), I can tell you that Korea has two kinds of individuals -- those who take care of their vehicles, and those who ride 'em rough until they are about to die. People who take care of their stuff rarely have a difficult time selling their stuff. You can recognize when something looks good, and it just sells immediately (if the price is not outrageous). Other crap sits and sits until somebody picks it up and gets suckered.

Take a look at www.encar.co.kr for a better look at correct prices on a 2001 Matiz 2 with low miles. And make sure you look at automatics, like the OPs vehicle. They bring more money than mine (stick).

[fence sitter]

The prices on the website that I provided a link to are not set by dealers, unless a dealer is the one selling the vehicle. You may have overlooked the fact that many cars on these sites are for sale by individual owners (like me) who've set their own price (based on the current market value) which one can gauge based on mileage, wrecks, tires, etc.

In fact, I've listed my car on many of these sites and dealers have already made offers on very close to the asking price.

Trust me, 3.8mil for this car might not be a steal, but it is definitely a good deal.

[hanguker]

Well you should just take the dealer's offer. It would save you a lot of headaches and bassexpander wouldn't have to type his fingers off trying to sell your car.

[skindleshanks]

If you want to get the best price for your car, the Korean market's going to be better than here. The local ad papers - kyocharo, etc. give you a larger pool of potential LOCAL buyers, and generally people who are willing to pay a fair price, not like most of us cheapskate foreigners.

We bought a standard 2002 Matiz with 12,000 km on it in 2004 for 4 mil from a dealer, and sold it to family last year at 42,000 km for 2 million, which is just under what the dealers valued it at. I'm sure we could have gotten more if it hadn't been in a fender bender (no structural damage , just the fender). No accidents are fairly important in Korea. Unfortunately, the year model is almost more important to Koreans as the mileage, and 6 years old is somewhat ancient in Korean car terms. Like you said, it's not a bad price, not a deal, either, but I think you might do better on the Korean market if you have someone who can help you out. A dealer might call you up and offer to buy it off you for 500k less than what he would sell it for--that's what I did this weekend with my high km Rezzo, and I think I got a very fair price. Honestly, I think I got a better deal than if I'd have sold it myself.

(BTW, I'm in the market for another LPG Rezzo or Carens, late 05 or later, with 30,000km or less, preferably with a few options - pleather seats, Cd player, and passenger airbags would be nice. PM if you have one:) )

[bassexpander]

Try to sell it on encar.co.kr

And hey... I felt they guy was being jumped-on when it wasn't deserved. I jump on people who ask too much for their stuff, but this guy wasn't out of line with his price.

As someone else implied, this site is full of poor teachers looking for a bargain.

[tzechuk]

I wasn't trying to jump on anyone - just thought that the list on encar was posted by dealers (which my husband says what they mostly are).

I did say good luck and I meant it in sincerity, not tongue-in-cheek.

[earthbound14]

I'm lookin for a car. From what I've seen this ad isn't crazy. A 1993 might go for 500 thousand, a car from 97 seems to go for roughly 2 grand, 2001, 3 or 4 grand, 2005 - 6-9 grand (compact to midsize). The size of the car, of course, has some effect on the price, but not to the same degree it would in Canada (my impression, it still seems cool to drive a small car or scooter in Korea in comparison to Canadia where you might get laughed at if you picked your girl up for a date in a 3 cylinder Suzuki Swift).

It all seems too pricey for me, but that seems to be the way the Korean market works. In Canada I would expect that a car would loose a lot of value within the first year, then it would gradually go down until it was a rusty bucket of junk. I wouldn't expect to pay 4 grand for a small 6 year old car, but I also wouldn't expect a 93 that was still in good shape to be 500 bucks (price of a 93 KIA Pride). In Canada a nice 93 might still go for a grand (I was checkin the auto trader and couldn't find anything cheaper). Last time I was there and I also drove a shit box 19 year old car that cost me 400 bucks (sold it a year later for 200 and the guy who bought it was younger than the car). I also paid 4 grand for a ten year old truck (trucks have higher value than cars), I probably wouldn't offer more than 1.5 or 2 grand for a 10 year old car (compact or sub compact), or in this case a 2.5 or 3 grand for a 6 year old car in Canada. But this is Korea and the rules are different. A KIA Pride costs 10 million off the lot in Korea, base price is 14 grand in Canada (KIA Rio).

So, my question is, Do cars in Korea hold there value longer off the lot, then drop drastically in price after more than 12 or 14 years? If this is the case then buying a car within the first few years, driving it for a few years then selling it, or buying a car once it's really old would probably be the best way to get wheels cheap with the least loss when you turn around and sell it again. Buying a car when it's nearing ten years of age would probably be a bad thing.

Anyone else agree?

Sorry I don't want to buy your car OP (nothing against the price or age of the car, just looking for something older and cheaper). I'm just throwin in my two cents and diggin for some opinions.

[bassexpander]

I think most cars you'll find that are 10 years or older are probably owned by expats. That, or those really old farts who bought a "then high-class" Dynasty ten years ago for big money, and they're still out driving it around -- expecting you to give them way like they were a new Equus or something.

I think the value of the car plummets after it's older than 6 to 7 years. It really is make/model-dependant, though.

[fence sitter]

[discostar23]

We bought our car recently and the dealer who we bought it from (who i can refer anyone to, great guy very helpful) told us that although we bought our car for about 1.2 million selling it back to the dealer we would only get about 400,000won. So he said you get your best resell value on private sales.

As for this guys sale, I think it is worth the price. Those matiz are awesome cars. Cheap to fill and cheap to drive. The price of fuel these days is crazy!

[skindleshanks]

Another thing to consider is what you're using it for. We upgraded from a Matiz II to a Rezzo LPG. The Rezzo is much bigger, yet costs less than the Matiz to fill (35,000 average these days). Fuel economy is much lower in the city, while on the highway we get 450km/tank, about the same as the Matiz. LPG is generally safer than gasoline, and the only drawback I see is that you have to warm it up for about 2-3 minutes before driving it in the winter (whenever it's below about 5 degrees).
If you're wanting to tour cheap, I could see buying a Rezzo, traveling around the country, and crashing in the car--it's certainly big enough. However, the Matiz is loads more fun to drive and super easy to park. (We were late catching a flight and our little Matiz got us there just in time going up to 160. I shouldn't have done it, and wouldn't do it again but it saved us 1.5 million won. I vowed never to go to a go-kart track again.)