Three things need checking before any money moves: that the car exists, that its condition matches the advert, and that the seller can be held to it.
Know the market price, or the bait is invisible
Look up the same year, mileage and options on Encar, K-Car and Bobaedream first. Without that baseline you cannot tell a bargain from a trap.
The commonest trick is the bait price: a car worth 20 million won advertised at 12 million, and when you arrive it has "just sold" while you are steered toward something pricier. The other two to expect are hidden history — an accident or flood car cleaned up and sold as accident-free — and refusing to return a deposit, on the grounds that "the process has already started".
Choosing the seller is half the job
A certified used-car programme (Hyundai, Kia or an import brand) or a licensed dealer gives you real recourse when a defect turns up. Some dealer complexes also provide interpretation.
The two documents to see with the car
- The performance inspection record (성능점검기록부) — a legally valid document. Ask for it and read it
- Carhistory, run by the Korea Insurance Development Institute — look up the accident and flood record by VIN yourself and compare it with what the dealer told you
Test drive it to hear the engine and feel the shifts, and bring a used-car inspector or a repair shop along for the undercarriage and engine bay, which you cannot judge by eye.
What the contract has to say
Put the price, the accident status and the options in writing. And treat pressure to "pay quickly" as the signal itself — an offer built on hurry is usually one that cannot survive being checked.
Case-by-case scam patterns and how to report one are on the WeBring blog.