Kolon Auto Auction API: Lots, Condition and Auction Data

One auction, three addresses

Kolon Auto Auction (코오롱오토옥션) opens at auction.ahsellcar.co.kr. Two older addresses, autohubauction.co.kr and sellcarauction.co.kr, lead to the same site. You may have seen it under any of the three names: AutoHub Auction, AH Sellcar Auction or Sell Car Auction. In KoreaCarsAPI it is one source, so you never count the same auction three times.

To use it on its own, find its entry in GET /domains and pass the ID in domains[]. Kolon Auto Auction is not the AutoHub used car complex in Yongin, which is a separate marketplace source. KoreaCarsAPI is an independent data service and is not affiliated with Kolon Auto Auction or AutoHub.

The anatomy of a lot record

A lot record has the same vehicle part as any car: year, brand, model, generation, trim, engine volume, fuel, transmission, body type, colour and options. The listing part is what makes it a lot.

is_auction is true. auction_at gives the auction date. condition and damage summarise the state of the car. price and current_bid are present where the auction shows them, as data fields only. Odometer, photos and the external.url complete the lot, and created_at, updated_at and last_seen_at show its life in the data. Where the auction publishes an inspection, it comes back in inspections[].

The difference from a marketplace listing is mostly about time. A marketplace car stays up until it sells, and its asking price may change along the way. A lot is tied to a session, so its useful life in your tools runs up to auction_at, and the dates in the record show when it appeared and when it was last active.

Pulling the lots

Use GET /cars with is_auction=true and the Kolon Auto Auction entry in domains[]. Each response includes a next_url; follow it until there is none to collect every active lot.

If you need only certain cars, GET /search narrows by brand, model, generation, trim, year, odometer, fuel and transmission, and domains[] with the Kolon Auto Auction ID from GET /domains keeps the results on this source.

# SOURCE_ID is the Kolon Auto Auction entry from GET /domains
curl --get https://api.auctionsapi.com/cars \
  -d is_auction=true \
  -d "domains[]=SOURCE_ID" \
  -d lang=en \
  -d api_key=$API_KEY

The layers of condition data

Condition data comes in layers, from summary to detail. The listing's condition and damage fields give the first summary. Then, where the auction publishes an inspection, inspections[] adds conclusions: the overall result, accident status, water, fire and chemical damage status, and an evaluation_score.

Below the conclusions, inspection_blocks give checked, passed and issue counts per area of the car. checked_items list each finding with the part, damage type, severity and location on a body map. diagnostic_errors list codes read from the car, and photos document the inspection.

Not every lot has every layer. Some carry only the condition and damage summary, some a full inspection with every block filled. Which fields are filled depends on what the auction publishes for each lot, so a review tool should show each layer when present and say clearly when it is not.

Reading condition data well

Condition data is detailed, which makes it easy to over-read or under-read.

• Start with the conclusions, then go to checked_items only for cars that pass your first filter.
• Weigh severity and location, not just the count of findings. A scratch and a frame repair are both one item.
• Compare evaluation_score only within the same source.
• Check water, fire and chemical status explicitly; they rarely show in photos.
• If no inspection is published, the condition is unknown. A missing report never means a clean car.

Keeping the combined data clean

Combining sources creates two risks: double counting and mixed comparisons.

• Pick one of the three Kolon domains for counts, or de-duplicate by car_id and VIN if you read all three.
• A car can appear at more than one auction over time. Follow it by VIN with GET /cars/vin/{vin}.
• Group by auction_at and by source, so each session stays readable.
• Compare condition and price data only for the same generation, trim and mileage band.
• Keep current_bid as a captured field with its update time, never as a final result.
• Store the source of each lot with it, so you can always tell which Kolon domain a record was read from.

Adding the marketplaces

Once the auctions are combined, the next step is the retail side. Encar, KB ChaChaCha and K Car come back with is_auction=false and asking prices, in the same vehicle format. A report with auctions in one column and marketplaces in another, model by model, shows the trade to retail spread in Korea.

For export, Autowini and Autobell Global add what Korean sellers list for buyers abroad.

A combined auction export can be tested with a demo key, which we provide on request.

Questions