Used Car Inspections at Japanese Car Auctions
Car auctions in Japan employ seasoned mechanics to inspect all the vehicles they sell. These inspectors work on site in the case of most auctions, or off site at car dealerships in the exceptional case of Aucnet.
The auction inspection covers every aspect of the car, from mechanical areas and chassis, to the exterior and interior condition. The car auction inspectors are thorough in their approach, with the only caveats being that they do not drive the car at any more than parking lot speeds, and obviously they cannot dismantle the vehicle to check out really hard-to-reach places.
The Auction Inspector's Report
The car auction inspector write his notes on the o-kushon hyo (auction sheet). He will use a combination of scoring systems, written descriptions and a diagram of the exterior to give readers a good idea of the condition of the used car.
Overall Auction Grade
Car auctions in Japan assign an overall grade to each of the cars entered in the weekly auction.
I do not recommend that you rely solely on this grade when you consider whether to enter a bid or not. You will need to check the other detailed information that the inspector has written on the auction sheet as well.
(A good Japanese car exporter will be able to give you a professional translation of these details.)
That said, the overall auction grade has a role to play in helping you narrow down the field of potential bidding candidates. Here is a quick summary of the different grades:
Grades 7, 8, 9 or S – These refer to brand new cars with only delivery mileage.
Grade 6 – This grade can sometimes be equivalent to the grades above, but cars with this auction grade will usually have a little more than just delivery mileage.
Grade 5 – These are vehicles in superb condition, very close to brand new standard, but with several thousand kilometers on the odometer.
Grade 4.5 – A car in excellent condition, but with up to a few tens of thousands of kilometers on the clock.
Grade 4 – A good, solid car usually having less than 100,000 km on the clock.
Grade 3.5 – A higher mileage vehicle or one which will need some work to clean up.
Grade 3 – Either a very high mileage car or one which is generally rough.
Grade 2 – Very rough vehicles usually with corrosion holes being the reason for this low grade.
Grade 1 – Usually a heavily modified car which has had a different engine or transmission fitted, or which has an aftermarket turbo charger. Other possibilities are used cars with flood or fire extinguisher damage.
Grade R, RA, A and 0 (zero) – These are cars that have had some kind of accident repairs. At one end of the scale the repairs will be a single panel replaced due a minor parking ding, whereas at the other extreme there are vehicles that must have rolled in an accident which have had almost every panel replaced.
Ungraded vehicles – These are sold as-is by the auction with no or almost no information about their condition. As such they are very risky and can result in escalating additional costs if they cannot drive or move.
Some of these grades are more common than others. For example, grade 3.5 and 4 used cars will make up about 50% of any given day's auction, whereas there will only be a handful of grade 1 cars on the same day.
Interior and Exterior Grades
Japanese car auction inspectors assign letters to indicate the interior and (sometimes) exterior condition of the car. Again, these are very broad designations, just like the overall auction grading, and it is really important to read the details of the inspectors' comments to get a full picture of the condition.
Essentially, "B" is considered "average condition, considering the age and mileage of the car". So an interior grading of "A" means that the interior is above average, and if it is "C" then it is below average.
