Buying a car in Korea

[rhetoric]

If you buy from a private seller, the necessary paper work can be done at city hall.  The young gentleman here spoke English, and it went very smoothly.  I needed to have my insurance before they would allow the transfer of the license.  My co-teacher arranged for the insurance, but a few months ago a friend looked it over and said I could have gotten a much better deal on the insurance.  I mention this because it seems it pays to negotiate the details of the policy, and the price varies depending on how you get the policy/who your representative is.  You would need a Korean, preferably one experienced at getting a good deal with car insurance, to achieve this, though.

[sheila]

Yay~! I just bought a car last night and found the process relatively easy.  You can shop online through a Korean website or ENCAR.  Do it with a Korean to make it as fast an easy as possible.  Know what kind of model your interested in.  That cuts then number down from 100,000 to like 1,000.  Then you can be more specific. 

When getting to the dealer, make sure to test drive it and bring a Korean with you to translate any problems that need to be fixed and haggle.  The first car I looked at went from 2.5M to 1.9M after a little bargaining.  The second car I looked at went down in price 200,000원, got a free key-less entry, registration done by the dealer, and my CD player fixed. It will be delivered to my school tomorrow as well. 

Insurance was a little harder.  The insurance agent was there at the dealership so that was the easy part... no waiting around.  You first have to choose if you want to pay all at once or month to month.  If you select month to month, you must have a Korean credit card.  Mine was rejected because the computer won't register an international one for online monthly transactions for some reason.  However, now my boyfriend is putting it on his card month to month and that is settled.  You can choose to have minimal accident coverage which will cover the other person's car as well as any medical expenses not covered by insurance, just like home.  However, it was strongly recommended to me to get the full insurance to cover the cost of replacing my car as well.  It only turned out to be 200,000원 more for the year. So in total, 1.2M for the year because I got a sports car and since it's my first record of driving in Korea (I am 27 western age with no accidents). I hear for a simpler car, the rate will be between 600,000원 and 800,000원.

When signing for the vehicle, you basically sign a contract with the dealer.  When doing this I had to only pay 100,000원 at the time.  Because I did it on a Sunday, he has to register it today before I can drive it.  When I get it delivered, I will sign for it as the owner and pay the remainder of the price.  Make sure when talking to the dealer, you have some questions in mind that you would ask a dealer at home as well.  Especially about accidents, what damage was done, and how it was fixed/replaced.

I have a license from home and my international one which they said is totally fine for my insurance.  Make sure you check before buying to be sure you've secured coverage. 

If you're thinking about investing in a car in the 경기도 area, let me know.  We went to two very good dealers, the second 중안매매단지 (I believe) being the largest in the province (it's in Suwon close to the station).  Good luck to all of you looking for car out there. And driving in Korea... you'll need it.

[msm]

I'm looking to buy a car but would like to purchase reliable car insurance.
Does anyone know where to find a provider and how much it normally costs per month?

Cheers.

[merle]

If you are in the public school system I recommend Educar.  It's cheaper than other insurance companies I looked at and so far they've been really reliable (haven't gotten into an accident, but did need roadside assistance.  You get 5 free a year, I think).  I had a number here for a guy based on Jeju, but I'd have to find it.  Your co-teachers should be able to help you since one of them should have it, too.

Educar is only available for public school teachers, though, so if you work in an academy you can't use it.

Not sure about monthly but it cost me about 380,000 for the year (I'm over 26 though).

[pyeager]

I checked the internet and Educar, but I ended up with Samsung after talking to my coworkers. It was considerably cheaper directly from the broker...don't know why, but when my alarm wouldn't stop going off, they did actually come.

Relationships are really important to Korean people, and asking for and using someone's recommendation kind of makes them feel closer to you, I think. So yeah, check prices on the internet, and then see what your co-workers' people can do.

[meggie107]

Hello fellow waygookins!

I am thinking about buying a second-hand car soon, and was just wondering whether anyone who has experience in this area would like to offer up some advice...

What paperwork do I need from the previous owner? I have an international driver's licence; will I need to show it when buying the car and do I need to get it converted to a Korean licence. What will I need to do to register the car in my name?

Thank you:)

[mogfunk]

I bought a car two years ago, so maybe things have changed. 

This website might help you though. 

http://www.korea4expats.com/article-buying-and-registering-a-car.html

Some things to keep in mind:

Remember you have to pay a year's insurance up front. Insurance is very reasonable, it's based on how much coverage you want as well as the car's age.   But it could still be a few hundred thousand won.

You need the registration from the owner and he/she has to sign it over to you.  If the car has outstanding debts from parking/speeding tickets, you will have to sign saying that you will be responsible for that.  You might want to cut a deal with the previous owner- either have him pay up, or negotiate a cheaper price on the car in case you end up having to pay the fines.  But you will have to sign that paperwork at the registration office.

I brought my American license and my international license when I registered.  Technically you're only supposed to be to use the international license for up to a period of three months in one country and then you're supposed to apply for that country's license. 

Things I brought with me: my ARC, my two licenses,  a residence certificate, which you can get at immigration(but I'm not sure if it's necessary now), and the car's registration certificate from the previous owner.  There was an insurance representative at the registration office in Seoul, which was convenient, so I bought there.  You might be able to find cheaper insurance somewhere else, but I couldn't be bothered to shop around. 

Remember you must register your car in the district that is on your ARC.  I found that out the hard way as I bought my car in Incheon and went to an Incheon registration office only to be turned away and sent to seoul. 

I was also very lucky to have the previous owner with me, so that made signing paperwork a lot easier, especially when I found out there were unpaid traffic tickets still outstanding. 

Good Luck!

[Vincent]

Another one here for having the car's previous owner with you for the registration documents part of it  - if you're buying from a dealer they should be open enough to going to a local office with you.

If the car isn't anything special buy in your locality  - makes it much easier for registration bills, tickets, fines etc etc. You have to arrange your insurance within 2 weeks of buying the car or you'll get a fine of 500k methinks and you need insurance to register it anyways.

Another thing to mention is that the car should have it's annual car check documentation along with it/a sticker with barcode and number mounted on the car somewhere alternatively  - they check everything not just emissions so it's another string to you bow in negotiation if this isn't present.

Oh yeah forgot to mention but I'm insured with AIG through a broker and they recognized a 5 year no claims bonus from back home (Ireland) when shown a letter from the company and gave me a 20% discount for it.

[ironopolis]

I have an international driver's licence; will I need to show it when buying the car and do I need to get it converted to a Korean licence.

As was mentioned above, the international licence (or International Driving Permit to give it its proper name) is really only intended for people staying temporarily - as in for up to a few months only- in another country, not people who are actually resident there, like we are. You used to be able to drive on an IDP for up to a year after your date of landing in Korea, but I've heard that it's now 3 months.

Whatever, if you're buying a car you really, really should get a Korean licence. But note that it's your home country licence you need to exchange for the Korean one, not your IDP. Given that you spell licence with a 'c', I'm guessing you're not American, which means it's easy for you to exchange your home country licence for a Korean one, without having to take a test.

I've known of people who've steadfastly refused to get a Korean licence and have managed to buy a car and get insurance with just an IDP. However, none of them have ever had to make a claim on that insurance, which would be the real acid test. It's a pretty stupid risk to take IMO given how easy it is to get a Korean licence.

BTW, I'd also second the above advice about no claims bonuses from other countries being taken into account by insurers here. I'd driven for several years in Japan before and just a note of confirmation from my insurer there was enough to get me a discount with my Korean insurer. That note was in Japanese, so I'm sure one in English would be acceptable.

[Vincent]

yeah good call on exchanging you're license you pay a small fee and do a small sight test and something else medical and you're done  - it's really a simple process and a no-brainer come claim time.

I haven't had an accident here yet but if I was ever going to have a tip it would be in Korea - it's a different school of thought entirely.

[mogfunk]

Hi- just a heads up.  I was in a very small accident which was 100% my fault.  I scraped the bumper of a taxi.  The damage was some scratches on the taxi's bumper and some scratches on my door.  The taxi driver was very nice.  Because I don't speak Korean, I decided to deal with it by just letting my insurance company take care of it.

I later received a call from a friend of the taxi driver.  He said the taxi driver didn't want to use his insurance.  It ends up that an accident in Korea is never 100% one driver's fault.  Instead it's 60%, 40%.  That would cause his insurance rates to go up. 

We ended up deciding that each person would pay for the damages of their own car.  I am just very lucky that 1. no one was hurt and 2. the taxi driver was a very nice man.

[ironopolis]

It ends up that an accident in Korea is never 100% one driver's fault.  Instead it's 60%, 40%. 

That's definitely a very good point about how blame is nearly always shared here, and sometimes to extents you mightn't expect.

But it's not true that it's never 100% one driver's fault. I was in one such accident myself. A guy rear ended me (only very lightly) in a traffic jam on the expressway. I had stopped because the traffic was at a complete standstill and he obviously wasn't concentrating (maybe looking at his navi or changing a CD or something) and hit the back of my car.

I was lucky too in that he was a nice guy and accepted complete responsibility. Our respective insurers also agreed it to be 100% his fault.

What I've heard from a friend of my wife's who works in the insurance industry here, is that 0% responsibility is very rare and is only possible if the car concerned was stationary at the time of the accident, wasn't in a place where they shouldn't have been and couldn't reasonably have done anything to avoid the accident. She told me of a case similar to mine where a car was rearended but the driver wasn't 0% liable. The problem was that he was stationary in the right hand lane and waiting to go straight when the lights changed to green, but the lane he was in was marked clearly as 'right turn only.'