Vehicle Inspection Report for Cars from Korea: What's Inside and How to Use It

In short: in Korea most cars listed on Encar come with a professional inspection report (not all of them — see has_checkup below) — not "photos from every angle", but a part-by-part record of body condition, diagnostics of the main systems, and accident history. Union API returns this report in a single request, in Russian or English. Below is what's inside and why it matters both for business and for the end buyer.

What an inspection report is — and why it beats photos

In Korea, before a listing goes live, the car is run through a mandatory inspection (성능·상태점검). The inspector records:

• body condition, part by part — hood, fenders, doors, sills, side members, pillars, floor panel;
• system diagnostics — engine, transmission, steering, brakes, electrical and fuel systems, and more;
• accident history and legal status — accidents, liens, seizures, theft, flooding, total loss, ownership changes.

On photos, a freshly repainted fender looks new. The report shows it was a replacement and that the side member next to it was straightened. That difference is exactly the gap between a "pretty listing" and the car's real condition.

What the /report endpoint returns

GET /api/v2/cars/{car_id}/report?market=encar&lang=en

The response has three substantive blocks.

1. Body damage (damages)

A list of parts with recorded work, and the type of work on each:

Repair type codes decode as follows:

Pay attention to pillars (P141–P146), side members (P121–P124) and the floor panel (P161): these form the structural frame. Work on them is a different order of risk than a scratch on a door.

2. System diagnostics (diagnostics)

Eight systems: self-diagnosis, engine, transmission, driveline, steering, brakes, electrical, fuel. Each has a condition and the items that were checked (leaks, levels, component wear).

3. Accident history (accident_history)

A digest from open data: number of accidents, damage to own and third-party vehicles, total loss, flooding, and the number of ownership changes. For a deeper look at risk data, see the dedicated breakdown.

Besides the three blocks, the response also carries summary — a text digest of the inspection — and billing with the charge for this report.

Request and response example

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer <JWT>" \
  "https://union.api-centr.ru/api/v2/cars/42679284/report?market=encar&lang=en"

Real response fragment (vehicle 42679284, abridged):

{
  "market": "encar",
  "car_id": 42679284,
  "lang": "en",
  "has_checkup": true,
  "damages": {
    "count": 23,
    "items": [
      {"code": "P144", "title": "필러 패널(앞)(우)", "name": "Right front pillar",
       "status": "Sheet metal/welding", "status_code": "W", "rank": "RANK_B"},
      {"code": "P122", "title": "프론트 사이드 멤버(우)", "name": "Right front side member",
       "status": "Sheet metal/welding", "status_code": "W", "rank": "RANK_B"}
    ]
  },
  "diagnostics": [
    {"code": "S00", "title": "자기진단", "name": "Self-diagnosis", "items": [
      {"code": "s001", "title": "원동기", "name": "Engine",
       "status": "Good", "status_code": "1"}
    ]}
  ],
  "accident_history": {
    "accidentCnt": 11, "myAccidentCnt": 4, "myAccidentCost": 2808984,
    "otherAccidentCnt": 7, "otherAccidentCost": 25485061,
    "totalLossCnt": 0, "floodDate": null, "ownerChangeCnt": 12
  }
}

What stands out here: 11 accidents (4 involving its own car, 7 third-party) and 12 ownership changes — with sheet metal work on a pillar and a side member, i.e. on the structural frame. That is a car most buyers would only consider at a discount, and you can see it in a single request.

The lang parameter switches the language of every name — ru or en. The Korean original (title) stays alongside, for cross-checking and English-language interfaces.

What this means for business

• Dealer and classified platforms. A "Check car by ID" button right on the card boosts trust and conversion. And if you generate a check page per vehicle, that's a long tail of organic search too.
• Importers and resellers. The report filters out problem cars before purchase and gives you bargaining arguments: repair cost and affected zone are visible in seconds.
• Bots and check services. A Telegram or Max bot: the buyer sends a link and gets a human-readable report back. Nothing to parse by hand.
• Insurance, leasing, scoring. Condition and history for every car in machine-readable form — fuel for automated risk models.
• Your own database. Download a market segment, host it locally, and filter by damage and diagnostics without repeat requests.

What this means for the end buyer

• See the car before you travel. Not the seller's word, but a professional inspection protocol.
• Understand the upcoming repair. A fender replacement and a side-member straightening are different budgets; the report separates them by part.
• Negotiate with evidence. The list of work and zones is a ready-made basis for talking the price down.
• Avoid a rebuilt wreck. Replacements and welding on the structural frame, flooding or total loss are visible immediately.
• Check systems, not just the body. Diagnostics show leaks, oil condition and system operation — things photos never capture.

FAQ

Can I get the report without knowing Korean? Yes. lang=ru (or en) returns part names, repair types and system names in the chosen language. The Korean original stays in the title field.

Is a report available for every car? No. The has_checkup field shows whether inspection data exists for a given car. If has_checkup: false, the source has no report.

How much does a report request cost? Generating a report is metered at a fixed 1 ₽ per report (see the billing.report_price_rub field in the response). Unlimited subscriptions do not cover it. See the pricing page for current terms.

Is it Korea only? The /report endpoint currently works for the encar market (Korea). The combined API catalogue spans 11 markets behind a single key.

Getting started

1. Request demo access to Union API.
2. Get an API key.
3. Call /api/v2/cars/{id}/report?market=encar&lang=en for the car you need.
4. Render damage, diagnostics and history in your interface or bot.

Full endpoint reference — in the API docs; risk data details — in the extra field reference. Need a key — sign up.

Integrating car checks into your product? Drop us a line — we'll help you set up the query and the report rendering.