What does this used-car sale channel calculator compare?
This calculator turns three Korean used-car sale offers into comparable bank-account proceeds. It covers a dealer instant purchase, an online auction, and a private sale. A route with the highest headline offer may fall behind after commission, preparation, repair, delay, owner effort, and lender payoff are deducted.
The tool does not appraise the vehicle. Vehicle name, mileage, accident history, and repair condition document whether all three quotes cover the same asset and scope. Prices, fees, and timing must come from the user’s current written quotes or clearly labelled planning assumptions.
Korea-based scope and rule date
Results use KRW and Korean transfer-registration checkpoints verified on August 31, 2026. The calculator does not decide legal ownership, registered interests, dealer registration, transfer acceptance, tax treatment, or contract enforceability. Confirm the current vehicle register, lender payoff, written deductions, payment method, and completed transfer before handing over the vehicle.
- Use it immediately after receiving two or three quotes for the same vehicle condition.
- Use it when a replacement-car deposit depends on the amount remaining after lender payoff.
- Use it to put a cash value on the delay and personal effort of a private sale.
- Use it to create a negotiation floor before asking for revised written offers on the same day.
Align the three quote scopes before comparing numbers
A fair comparison starts with the same model, trim, mileage, accident record, repair record, photographs, and inspection scope. If one contractor already deducts preparation from a net payment while another states a gross offer, the two headline numbers are not comparable. Record the quote date and validity period because a used-car offer is private, time-sensitive evidence rather than a statutory price.
Dealer instant purchase
Settlement may be fast, but the offer can be lower. Check transport, transfer support, inspection deductions, payment timing, and any post-inspection reduction clause.
Online auction
A higher winning bid can still carry percentage commission, a fixed platform charge, diagnosis or preparation cost, transport, and a later reduction.
Private sale
Direct fees may be lower, but the owner absorbs advertising, repairs, enquiries, test drives, paperwork, delay, and collection risk.
Do not deduct an included cost twice. If a contractor states a net payment, enter zero for commission, transport, or preparation already included in that number. Align all routes on either a gross-offer basis or a net-payment basis.
Inputs and the evidence behind them
Key inputs, meanings, and preferred evidence for the Korea used-car sale comparison| Input | Meaning | Preferred evidence |
|---|
| Gross offer | Vehicle or winning-bid payment before separate deductions | Purchase confirmation, auction award, or sale contract |
| Percentage and fixed fees | Commission linked to the offer plus separately itemised charges | Current fee schedule and contract clauses |
| Preparation and repair | Owner-paid detailing, diagnosis, repair, or sale preparation | Repair estimate, invoice, or written reduction statement |
| Sale delay | Insurance, vehicle-tax equivalent, parking, and finance cost until expected payment | Policy, tax bill, parking contract, and lender statement |
| Loan or lien payoff | Amount that must be settled from sale proceeds on every route | Lender payoff statement and current vehicle register |
| Owner time value | User-chosen value of photos, enquiries, test drives, and paperwork | Actual time log and personal planning rate |
Mileage and condition are scope notes, not automated price multipliers. If the vehicle has accident, flood, structural, or unresolved repair issues, disclose the same information to every route and obtain written treatment of possible deductions. The calculator cannot test disclosure adequacy or vehicle condition.
Calculation method
1. Convert monthly holding cost to a daily amount
Monthly holding cost equals insurance plus the monthly vehicle-tax equivalent, parking or storage, and finance cost. Daily holding cost equals that total divided by 30. Route holding cost equals the rounded daily amount multiplied by expected sale days.
2. Add route-specific deductions
Percentage commission equals gross offer multiplied by the entered contract rate. Fixed direct cost equals fixed fees plus preparation, repair, and other direct cost. Owner time cost equals effort hours multiplied by the user’s hourly planning value.
3. Calculate time-adjusted net proceeds
Time-adjusted net proceeds equal gross offer minus commission, fixed direct cost, delay holding cost, owner time cost, and lender payoff. A negative result remains visible because the owner may need extra cash to complete settlement.
Negotiation floor
For each route, the calculator holds non-offer costs constant and solves the gross offer needed to match the best of the other two routes. It also solves the offer needed to meet the user’s minimum desired proceeds. The higher amount becomes the negotiation floor and is rounded upward to KRW 1,000 so the displayed threshold does not understate the target after percentage commission is rounded.
How conservative and optimistic scenarios work
The initial sensitivity uses offer variation of ±5% and sale-time variation of ±7 days. These are fictional, editable assumptions and not forecasts. The conservative case reduces each offer by the selected percentage and adds the selected delay. The optimistic case increases the offer and shortens the sale period, with zero days as the lower bound.
Conservative case
Recalculate commission on the lower offer and holding cost on the longer sale period. Use a wider percentage if inspection-stage reductions or offer expiry create material uncertainty.
Optimistic case
Recalculate commission on the higher offer and holding cost on the shorter period. Treat this as an upside planning case, not a promised sale result.
Fixed direct costs, owner effort hours, and lender payoff stay unchanged across the three sensitivity cases. If those items may also change, run a second calculation with the alternative values rather than hiding multiple assumptions inside one result.
Worked fictional example
The initial screen uses fictional gross offers of KRW 18,500,000 for a dealer, KRW 19,600,000 for an online auction, and KRW 20,500,000 for a private sale. Common lender payoff is KRW 8,000,000. Monthly insurance, vehicle-tax equivalent, parking, and finance cost total KRW 330,000, creating a KRW 11,000 daily holding cost. Owner time is valued at KRW 20,000 per hour.
Fictional gross offers, expected sale days, base net proceeds, and negotiation floors| Channel | Gross offer | Sale days | Base net proceeds | Negotiation floor |
|---|
| Dealer instant purchase | KRW 18,500,000 | 1 | KRW 10,469,000 | KRW 19,380,000 |
| Online auction | KRW 19,600,000 | 4 | KRW 10,714,800 | KRW 20,249,000 |
| ★ Private sale | KRW 20,500,000 | 21 | KRW 11,349,000 | KRW 20,151,000 |
In this example, the private sale leaves KRW 634,200 more than the online auction and is the only route above the KRW 11,000,000 desired net. Under the conservative 5% lower-offer and seven-day-longer case, private-sale proceeds fall to KRW 10,247,000. The user should therefore review the downside case, not only the base ranking.
Step-by-step workflow
- Record the vehicle, mileage, condition, and identical evidence sent to each buyer or platform.
- Enter each gross offer and only the percentage, fixed, preparation, repair, transport, advertising, or document costs that are separately payable.
- Enter expected days until handover and payment, plus the owner hours needed for each route.
- Replace the fictional lender payoff and monthly holding costs with current statements and bills.
- Set the minimum desired net proceeds and sensitivity assumptions that reflect the actual uncertainty in the quotes.
- Compare base ranking, conservative result, cash timing, and negotiation floor before asking for same-day revised offers.
- Print or save the comparison, then obtain transfer and payment completion evidence before treating the transaction as finished.
Practical decision scenarios
A replacement-car deposit is fixed
Enter the deposit and liquidity buffer as the minimum desired proceeds. Check whether the conservative result and negotiation floor still protect that amount after payoff.
Fast disposal matters
A lower dealer offer may become more competitive after delay and effort are included. The difference from first place is the economic price of convenience under the entered assumptions.
Lender payoff is large
Payoff reduces every route by the same amount, so it may not change ranking, but it can determine whether the owner receives cash or must add cash. Use a sale-date payoff statement rather than an app balance.
Private asking price is uncertain
Widen the offer-variation rate and sale-time range. If the private route loses its advantage quickly, obtain firmer buyer evidence before relying on that amount for the next purchase.
Korean transfer-registration checkpoints
Cost ranking is not a legal clearance decision. The calculator does not determine whether a seizure or mortgage can be released, which person must file in a specific transaction, whether a contractor is properly registered, or whether the authority will accept the transfer. Obtain transaction-specific confirmation.
- Automobile Management Act Article 12 provides the ownership-transfer registration framework and the registered dealer filing structure.
- Automobile Registration Decree Article 26 states a 15-day filing period from purchase for a sale. Confirm the actual triggering date and applicant for the contract.
- Automobile Registration Rule Article 33 distinguishes the transfer certificate for a direct transaction from the form used by a registered dealer or auction operator and lists supporting documents.
- Automobile Management Act Articles 58 and 65 address dealer disclosure and fees, but this calculator does not decide whether a particular charge is lawful or refundable.
The National Law Information OPEN API returned Automobile Management Act ID 001747 and MST 286989, Automobile Registration Decree ID 004592 and MST 286481, and Automobile Registration Rule ID 007934 and MST 286693 on August 31, 2026. The Act article service also carries December 17, 2026 article-effective metadata, so maintainers must recheck the in-force text around that date. No statutory price, commission rate, or sale period enters the arithmetic.
Limits and accuracy tips
Record the quote time
Used-car offers can change with condition, inventory, region, and demand. Compare same-day evidence and refresh expired offers.
Separate a confirmed deduction
Put a known inspection reduction into preparation or other direct cost. Use the sensitivity percentage only for uncertainty, so the result remains auditable.
Keep refunds separate
Insurance or vehicle-tax refunds vary with cancellation and registration timing. Confirm them with the insurer or local authority and add them to a separate cash plan.
Look at downside, not only rank
The base leader may miss the target in the conservative case. Review the first-place margin, downside result, cash date, and negotiation floor together.
Frequently asked questions
Should I simply choose the highest offer?
Not necessarily. Commission, direct costs, delay, effort, and payoff can change the ranking. Compare base net proceeds and the conservative case on the same scope.
Must I put a cash value on private-sale time?
No. Enter zero for a cash-only comparison. If enquiries, test drives, and paperwork affect your decision, use a personal planning value rather than treating those hours as invisible.
Is the 2.2% auction commission a current platform rate?
No. Every initial amount, fee, period, and percentage is a fictional example. Replace it with the exact current written fee terms for the platform and quote.
Does the calculator estimate market value?
No. Use the separate used-car price tool and Car365 as references, then enter actual written offers here. This page preserves a separate search and calculation intent from an appraisal tool.
Does a result prove that transfer registration is complete?
No. Confirm registered interests, documents, applicant responsibility, payment, and completed transfer with the authority, lender, and counterparty. Keep completion evidence before cancelling related obligations.
Sources and update policy
- Korean National Law Information Center: Automobile Management Act ID 001747, MST 286989, Articles 12, 58, and 65.
- Korean National Law Information Center: Automobile Registration Decree ID 004592, MST 286481, Article 26.
- Korean National Law Information Center: Automobile Registration Rule ID 007934, MST 286693, Article 33.
- Car365 vehicle history and price-reference services operated for Korean vehicle information.
- NIST Handbook 135 lifecycle-cost principles for consistent comparison scope, not for vehicle pricing.
- The user’s actual purchase confirmation, auction fee schedule, transfer certificate, repair quote, lender payoff, and payment evidence.
Legal and official references were checked on August 31, 2026. Private offers and fees must always be refreshed from current written evidence. This implementation intentionally stores no nationwide price, platform ranking, sale-success probability, or predicted sale duration.
Start with three aligned written quotes
Replace every fictional input with the same-scope evidence for your vehicle. Save the base result, conservative downside, cash timing, and negotiation floor before requesting revised same-day offers.