FKI: Majority of Consumers Distrust Used Car Market... Agree with Large Corporations Entering

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] A survey revealed that the majority of consumers distrust the used car sales market and view the entry of domestic major automobile manufacturers into the market positively.

The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) commissioned market research firm Monoresearch to conduct a 'Consumer Perception Survey on the Used Car Market' targeting 1,000 adult men and women nationwide. The results, announced on the 8th, showed that 80.5% of consumers responded that "the domestic used car market is opaque, chaotic, and underdeveloped." In contrast, only 11.8% of consumers responded that the "used car market is transparent, clean, and advanced."

When the Korea Economic Research Institute conducted the same survey last November, 76.4% responded negatively about the domestic used car market. Rather than improving, consumer perceptions of the used car market have worsened. The FKI explained that this reflects accumulated consumer distrust due to the persistent problems in the domestic used car market remaining unresolved.

Consumers cited the following reasons for their negative views of the used car market: ▲ distrust in price estimation (31.3%) ▲ false or bait listings (31.1%) ▲ damages caused by odometer tampering and accident history (25.3%).

Regarding the future entry of domestic major automobile manufacturers into the used car sales market in Korea, responses were very positive (40.3%), somewhat positive (23.1%), neutral (22.0%), somewhat negative (6.0%), and very negative (8.6%). Consumers who support the entry of domestic major automobile manufacturers into the used car sales market (63.4%) outnumber those who oppose it (14.6%) by more than four times.

Among consumers who view the participation of domestic major automobile manufacturers in the used car sales market positively, high responses were given for expectations of good performance, quality safety, and post-purchase management (41.6%) as well as resolving existing issues such as false listings (41.4%). This was followed by trust in major corporations (7.4%), availability of manufacturer-certified used cars (6.6%), and reasonable used car prices (3.0%).

Regarding opinions on manufacturer-certified used cars, which are currently only allowed for imported car brands such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW, the highest response (48.0%) was that manufacturer-certified used cars are more trustworthy than general used car sales dealers.

Responses indicating that allowing certified used cars only for imported cars is unfair stood at 23.8%. This was followed by opinions that high-priced certified used cars are unnecessary (17.9%), distrust in manufacturer-certified used cars (7.2%), and that domestic certified used cars are unnecessary (3.1%).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.