"Be Careful When Buying Used Cars"… More Than Half of Damaged Vehicles Are in Poor Condition

Consumer Agency Used Car Damage Relief Applications Increase Annually
73% of Businesses Located in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, and Other Metropolitan Areas

Recently, as more consumers prefer used cars due to the burden of new car prices, related damages have also been steadily increasing.

According to the Korea Consumer Agency on the 21st, the number of damage relief applications related to used car sales has been increasing every year, with 94 cases in 2021, 112 cases in 2022, and 124 cases last year.

Looking at 330 damage relief applications over the past three years by type of damage, "cases where the disclosed performance and condition differ from the actual vehicle condition" accounted for the vast majority at 80.0% (264 cases). This was followed by "delayed or refused refund of deposit" at 6.1% (20 cases), and "unjustified charges or unsettled expenses" at 4.5% (15 cases).

A used car export complex in Incheon filled with used cars. The photo is unrelated to the article content. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Among the detailed contents of "cases where the disclosed performance and condition differ from the actual vehicle condition," "poor performance or condition" was the most common with 190 cases (57.6%). This was followed by "insufficient disclosure of accident or flood information" (18.8%, 62 cases), and "abnormal mileage" (3.6%, 12 cases).

By business location, businesses in Gyeonggi-do accounted for 42.4% (140 cases), Seoul 21.8% (72 cases), and Incheon Metropolitan City 8.8% (29 cases), with businesses located in the metropolitan area where large sales complexes exist making up 73% (241 cases) of the total.

Among the damage relief application cases, only 38.8% resulted in an agreement between consumers and businesses. Among these, compensation was the most common at 18.5% (61 cases), followed by refunds at 11.5% (38 cases), and repairs or maintenance at 5.8% (19 cases).

The Korea Consumer Agency advised that when purchasing a used car, consumers should ▲ check accident history and flood status through Auto 365 or Car History, ▲ inspect the vehicle condition through a test drive, and ▲ verify the salesperson’s automobile sales license and registration on the Automobile Sales Business Association Federation website before signing a contract.

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