Survey by PR&D Company, operator of HeyDealer scrapping service

71.9% say online scrapping service is needed

Complaints center on lack of price information, difficulty comparing quotes

[Provided by HeyDealer]
[Provided by HeyDealer]

Seven in 10 South Koreans believe an online vehicle-scrapping brokerage service is needed, a new survey shows, reflecting strong public demand for greater price transparency and the ability to compare quotes from multiple operators in the scrapping market.

PR&D Company, which operates the online vehicle-scrapping brokerage platform HeyDealer, released Tuesday the results of a nationwide public-awareness survey on online scrapping platforms conducted by Macromill Embrain in June. The survey polled 5,000 men and women aged 20 to 69 across the country.

Some 71.9 percent of respondents said an online vehicle-scrapping brokerage service was "necessary" — about 18 times the 4.0 percent who said it was not. Additionally, 69.2 percent supported allowing online platforms, including mobile apps, to legally provide scrapping brokerage and price-comparison services.

Among the 1,243 respondents who had personally scrapped a vehicle, 83.7 percent agreed such a service was needed. Willingness to use the service reached 70.8 percent among all respondents and 81.6 percent among those with scrapping experience, indicating that demand for online brokerage grows with firsthand experience.

The survey also confirmed a significant information gap in the scrapping market. Some 52.2 percent of all respondents said they had little or no knowledge of the scrapping process. Among those who had scrapped a vehicle, 53.5 percent said they had difficulty judging whether a quote was fair, and 45.1 percent said they found it hard to compare quotes from multiple scrapyards.

Since scrapping a vehicle is an asset-disposal process for owners, respondents expressed strong support for an environment that allows them to compare and choose among multiple operators. Support for the legal recognition of online scrapping brokerage and price-comparison services stood at 69.2 percent among all respondents and 78.5 percent among those with scrapping experience.

Kim Pil-su, a professor in the future automotive department at Daelim University, said online scrapping platforms represent "a positive case in terms of consumer protection and market vitality." He added that, as with the used-car market, the scrapping market needs platforms that guarantee transparent, objective price comparison and consumer choice to expand.

Meanwhile, a separate in-house survey HeyDealer conducted between May 2023 and May 2026 among 10,197 customers who had completed a scrapping transaction found that 99.5 percent were satisfied with the service, with 87.4 percent saying they were "very satisfied."

A HeyDealer official said the survey confirmed that consumers want transparent pricing and the freedom to choose in the scrapping market, adding that the company hopes to see a transaction environment where customers can compare options and make decisions with confidence.


eyre@heraldcorp.com