Japanese Auction Guide

Prestige Motorsport Pty Ltd DL14688 [email protected] 0418 944 253

Japanese Auction Guide

The Japanese auction system operates on a vast scale and there is nothing like it in Australia.

Understanding how the auctions work will make sourcing your vehicle much smoother and you will feel more comfortable throughout the process.

This Auction Guide has been prepared to assist you to become familiar with the Japanese auction process, including detail about the grading and abbreviations used on auction sheets.

Please contact us at any time if you need further help or advice.

One of many parking areas at a large auction with 6,000 cars Auction Bidding Room – multiple ‘lanes’ selling simultaneously

Further resources are available to assist you, just let us know what you would like: Daily auction data for any makes / models of interest including sale prices.

http://prestigemotorsport.com.au/usearch.php (Free 30-day Trial) Japan Import Cost Calculator / US Import Cost Calculator

Vehicle Import Guide

Vehicle Search Commencement package (how to get started)

Example vehicle inspection reports (showing vehicle quality and how we inspect at auction)

Email Mailing List for regular updates at: http://prestigemotorsport.com.au/pages/mailing_list.php

Auction Codes – Quick reference Guide

Exterior Comment

5 As new with no condition faults

4.5 Very clean, one panel affected by minor paint blemish 4 More than one panel affected by minor paint blemishes 3.5 Some attention to panel and paint is required

3 Rough overall condition

2 Serious panel damage, rusty or water damaged 1 Performance upgrades or mechanical changes A / 0 / R Accident damage and repair

Interior Comment

A As new with no condition faults B Very clean and nice

C Average / clean for age including expected wear and tear

D Cigarette burns / smell, rips, tears, or other damage to interior, significant wear and tear

SR Sunroof AW Alloy Wheels PS Power Steering PW Power Windows AB Airbag

XX Panels have been replaced due to repairs and / or painted.

W Wavy -- can mean the affected panel has been painted, and the paint is not as smooth as the original factory paint. However, in some cases even when marked with a W it is impossible to tell with the naked eye whether paintwork has been done. Auction staff can make mistakes also, and mark panels W when they are

uncertain. W or W1, W2 and W3 are used, with 1 being least affected.

A Scratch. A1 is only a tiny scratch, and generally you would expect this to buff out or be an easy touch up. A2 is a medium scratch through the top layer of paint, and won't easily be hidden. A3 is a deep scratch like an intentional key mark, and will definitely require paintwork if you want to fully address it.

U Pin dent, only a small dent such as you would pick up in the carpark. Again, U or U1, U2 and U3 are used to denote the size of the dent.

B Larger dents than the U pin dent grading, from B1 to B3. Y Cracks, usually in bodykits or lights, Y1 to Y3.

P This indicates that there is some paint damage such as fading, scratches or discolouration from polishing, peeling or crazing.

S / C Rust. A C1 or S1 on the body may mean a small stone chip has some surface rust which is easily addressed. In other cases S noted in the negative comments section could indicate extensive underbody rust. Physical inspections are undertaken for rust regardless of whether it is noted on the sheet, as even grade 4.5 vehicles can be rusty.

Let’s start with the Best Auctions to buy from

Japan has auctions all week long (over 70 auctions across Japan) but the best days are from Tuesday through to Saturday. Monday has a couple of small auctions but these are online only (in the case of AUCNET which doesn’t enable physical inspections), or so small that it is not viable to have an agent there to inspect vehicles. Some also tend to have high prices. Therefore please consider Monday’s auctions for interest only.

For the best vehicles and prices our favourite 14 auctions are in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Kobe: Tuesday USS Yokohama, JU Saitama, CAA Tokyo, CAA Gifu

Wednesday JAA, CAA Chubu, BAYAUC, BCN Saitama Thursday USS Tokyo, Hanaten Osaka

Friday USS Nagoya, USS Osaka Saturday HAA Kobe, JU Gifu

Please note that we specifically avoid all Sapporo auctions due to rust issues. Sapporo is on the north island of Hokkaido where they have about 7 months of snow each year and salt the roads. That means nearly all cars sold there are rusty. Fukuoka in the south of Japan has a couple of auctions also but prices tend to be higher and additional transport is needed prior to shipping.

We have agents to inspect vehicles in person at these auctions most of the time. There will be occasions where we are unable to inspect, if that’s the case we will advise you and let the vehicle go as the risk of bidding sight unseen is generally too high.

Auction Grading

Every auction uses a grading sheet which lists the details of the vehicle plus information about the vehicle condition. Each auction house is a little different in the format of the sheets but the basic information is the same.

Vehicles are given from 0 to 5 for the overall grade with A to D used for interior grade (A is the best). Some auctions will add an extra A to D grade for body condition, so you may see a 4 B B for example. A interiors should be virtually as new. B is also considered extremely clean, and C is often used for average condition. For some auctions a C is still very good, while at others it will mean the interior is dirty, has cigarette burns, or obvious wear and tear. C for an vehicle older than 10 years is generally expected, but would be cause for concern on a 2-year old vehicle. D usually means very untidy, dirty, smoke-affected, or stripped out for racing.

Damaged or Repaired

Vehicles without a grade are those with unrepaired (usually recent) damage, mechanical or other major faults. 0, R, A are all used to denote repaired vehicles, with RA, A1, 01 being minor repairs. Repairs in the rear or any dents in structural members like chassis rails are exclusions under SEVS so we immediately avoid any of those vehicles for SEVS import. In fact, most vehicles graded as repaired will be excluded right away.

Numbered Grades

Grade 3 or 3.5 can also be the result of a minor accident repair. Repairs are usually denoted with XX on the affected panels, but can be hidden in the notes section written in Japanese.

Very minor repairs to front panels may be considered where it’s obvious that only bumpers or front panels have been repainted and any parts replacement has not affected the front structure. If there is any doubt about this we will avoid the car as it is simply not worth the risk of rejection by your compliance workshop.

We generally source grade 4 to 5 vehicles.

Occasionally a lower grade vehicle might be worth considering, e.g. some large scrapes and scratches on the bodykit / bumpers could result in a 3.5 grade for what is otherwise a very nice car. This cosmetic damage may be easy to fix yet result in significant savings on newer vehicles.

Grade 2 indicates very poor condition or water damage.

Grade 1 is a sign of ‘significant modifications’, whether it is performance upgrades such as larger turbos, a transmission change from auto to manual, or an engine change.

So it’s a matter of reviewing the auction sheet and pictures for any vehicles of interest with an open mind to determine those worth further inspection. Any that look promising will be physically inspected by our agent at auction to confirm actual condition and more pictures will be taken. We then contact you to discuss condition and your budget.

Our Importing Guide describes the auction inspection and bidding process in more detail.

Auction Sheet Basics

The next few pages will allow you to read the basics for any vehicle yourself. Don’t be daunted, as auction sheets are simple to understand without learning any Japanese, and most information uses numbers or codes in English. Many options and performance modifications are written in English.

Often the comments to the left of the vehicle diagram will reiterate in writing the damage shown on that diagram. Our agents will translate any Japanese from the sheet that is important to the condition report, when they

undertake a full inspection for you.

Additional pictures will be taken of any significant body and interior damage, as well as underbody pictures. Our agent will provide his overall opinion of the vehicle.

Above all, there is more to buying a nice car than just a good auction grade. This is where experience is necessary to select only the best vehicles.

Reading Auction Sheets – Example 1

This vehicle was a 2007 Nissan Skyline V36 370GT coupe, base model. Graded 3.5 due to a rear repair. Note XX in the notes section, but not shown on the vehicle diagram in this case. Body and interior were graded C and B.

Model detail – this was a base model

so only 370GT is stated. If it were a Type SP, the Japanese characters for ‘Type’ would be written after 370GT, followed by the letters SP in English

Overall grade 3.5

Exterior and interior grade C and B

Doors / body type.

2 door coupe

Total kms. “*” = unknown kms. “$” = total

kms from owner records supplied

Year and month of first

registration using Japanese year system

(this may be after manufacture date)

Auction number

Engine size in cc

Colour code

Positive comments box. ETC = Electronic Toll Card reader

Model code. CKV36 = V36 coupe

Positive features box. HDD = Hard drive.

Also has DVD, AFS system which can be read in English. Generally standard features are shown here. Anything of

note will be translated at inspection

Negative commentsbox

XX = replaced / painted. Other faults like rust (S), scratches (A), dents (U, B), painted (W),

odometer details, engine (e/g), interior damage will be noted here. Often this reiterates body damage shown on the vehicle diagram to the right. Anything of note will be translated at inspection and

checked by our agent

Chassis number, combine with model

code to get chassis code CKV36-404037

Vehicle Diagram shows damage type and location

A1 to A3 = small to large scratch. A1’s

are hard to see, A3 is a deep scratch. A is also used for small windscreen chips

U1 to U3 = small to large pindent. U1’s

are often hard to see

B1 to B3 = small to large dent

P1 to P3 = minor to serious paint issue

such as fading, acid rain damage etc.

S = Rust

Make and model

Features such as TV, Airbag, Alloy

Wheels, Power Steering, Sunroof, Power Windows and rear spoiler are listed here

Transmission

FA / FAT = Fully Automatic Transmission 5F / 6F = 5 or 6 speed manual transmission

Auto Aircon

Y1 to Y3 = crack, typically bumpers, sideskirts or lights

W1 to W3 = Wavy, which means paint surface isuneven usually due to painting. W1 can be very hard

to see if not pointed out

AU may be combined to describe a dent and scratch together. AU3 would be a large scrape and dent

Body condition will be inspected by our agent and pictures taken of any damage worth noting. Most vehicles will have some small scratches or pin dents. These are normal things to expect from daily use and generally they don’t detract from the overall condition

Reading Auction Sheets – Example 2

Here is another example for a 2006 V35 Skyline Premium coupe in a slightly different handwritten format for USS auctions. The same information is there.

Standard options circled if present.

Sunroof, Alloy Wheels, Power Steering, Power Windows, TV, Rear Spoiler, Airbag

Chassis number Grade 4 B

Model detail – this was a Premium model so you can see the word

“Premium” written in Japanese characters after 350GT. If this is blank then the model would be base model (non-Premium)

19” alloy wheels, BOSE stereo

Remaining registration in Japanese year format,

rego expires on this car 2013 June. This is important as remaining registration has value to Japanese domestic buyers. Vehicles with no number plates or with rego about to expire can be cheaper for us

A2 scrapes on bumper corners are very

common in Japan as with most countries

U1 pin dent is probably very hard to see

except on close inspection

Scrapes on the front and rear of

sideskirts are also common as they are the lowest part of the car