How buying a car from Korea works
Nine steps from your first message to number plates on the car – with real timelines, real amounts and the points where buyers most often lose money.
This page describes importing a car into Russia via Vladivostok.
You find an exporter
A video on social media, a colleague’s recommendation, a comparison of several companies – and you’re ready to get in touch.
Watch out. Choose a company that has been in business for more than a year. Check its registered capital: ₩10 million (about $10,000) or more is acceptable; a lower figure is set by those who plan to collect money and disappear. The company must have a real office and its own car park – Korean law requires this of car exporters.
Finding the car
You tell us your budget and the model you want, and we send you options – not only ones that match your criteria exactly, but also similar models in the same budget, so you have a wider choice.
Watch out. If you are offered a car below market price on terms that look too good to be true, it is either a scam or a problem car. Good cars are not sold dirt cheap.
In-person inspection
Only a specialist with long experience of cars can judge a car’s real condition: computer diagnostics, known factory defects in a particular production batch, the typical weak spots of the make and model. We tell the client about every problem we find before the purchase.
Watch out. Not every defect is visible: gearbox wear from improper use, hairline cracks in the valves from unsuitable fuel. All of this only shows up after delivery, when nothing can be done about it. We also have the car checked at a service centre and at an official dealer, where its full history of servicing, insurance claims and part replacements can be seen.
Contract and deposit
If you’re happy with the car, you pay a deposit: about ₩1 million (~₽65,000) for an economy car or ₩3–5 million (~₽200,000–300,000) for business and premium models. The dealer sets the amount. We draw up a contract, record the deposit payment in it and reserve the car.
Watch out. You will need the contract to register the car – keep it safe.
Paying in full
The most reliable method is a SWIFT bank transfer against an invoice. The current value limit for a car exported from Korea to Russia is $50,000; for more expensive cars, the payment route is worked out case by case.
Watch out. The money can be held up in correspondent banks’ accounts – in our experience, for a month at most. Meanwhile the won exchange rate may change, and the difference between the day of transfer and the day the money arrives sometimes has to be topped up, because the service is priced in Korean won. Don’t send money through private individuals – the fraudster may not be the exporter but the middleman handling the transfer.
Purchase and preparation for shipping
Once the payment arrives, we buy the car and take it to the workshop. Servicing is agreed individually: oil, filters, a set of wheels, spare parts if needed. We make no money on extra services – everything is at cost, with receipts.
Port, sea and paperwork
We book the next available ferry – they sail every week. The key document for sea freight is the bill of lading: the car will be cleared in the name of whoever it is issued to when it is imported into Russia. In Vladivostok a customs broker receives the car; you hand them the documents, they submit them to the customs post and invoice you for the duty and fees. The car then goes through a testing laboratory for its vehicle safety certificate (SBKTS) and receives an electronic vehicle passport (EPTS).
Watch out. You name the consignee on the bill of lading. If a stranger appears there, it is a sign of fraud. Pay the customs fees only from your own accounts and as the broker instructs: the sooner you pay, the sooner the car is released.
Delivery to your city
Once the car arrives in Vladivostok, all the formalities take about 10 days if you pay promptly. After that it travels on by car transporter, lorry or rail. In winter and spring we recommend rail.
Watch out. Insurance from Vladivostok to the destination is a must – usually about 0.25% of the car’s value. Don’t choose a carrier on the lowest rate alone: saving ₽20,000–30,000 often means saving on the driver and on how the car is secured.
Registration in Russia
The car transporter arrives and the car is ready to be registered. You’ll need the contract (the one from the deposit stage), the customs receipt order and the payment receipts. On average, two months after payment, the car is yours.