How we buy
How a car gets from a Japanese auction to you
We buy at Japan’s dealer auctions, where an independent inspector grades every car before it sells. We bid only on cars that pass every rule below, and we stop at a ceiling we set before the auction starts.
Our rules
A car has to pass all five before we bid. Most cars we look at fail at least one.
01
Right-hand drive.
02
Graded by the auction’s own inspector, not the seller.
03
Unmodified, with nothing registered as changed.
04
No warning lights, and stability control working.
05
A price that still works once shipping, compliance and preparation are paid for.
The steps
01
We check New Zealand first.
Before we look at a car in Japan, we check how many are for sale here and what they sell for. If a model is easy to buy locally, we leave it.
02
We read the auction sheet in full.
Every car at auction has a sheet with the inspector’s grade, a diagram of marks and dents, and notes in Japanese. We have it translated and read every line, including the odometer checks.
03
We set a ceiling and bid to it.
We work out the full landed cost, from the purchase to shipping, compliance and preparation, and set the most we will pay before bidding starts. If the price goes past it, we let the car go.
04
Shipping and compliance.
The car is shipped to New Zealand, cleared at the border and taken through entry certification before it is registered here.
05
Our specialist inspects and services it.
Our European specialist runs a full inspection and diagnostic scan, fixes anything they find and services the car. You get their written condition report.
06
We list it with everything we know.
The listing shows the auction sheet, the condition report, what we fixed and what you should know, with the Consumer Information Notice on the same page.
Reading an auction sheet
The overall grade describes the body and general condition. The interior grade runs from A, excellent, to E, poor. Scales vary a little between auction houses, so we always show the grade exactly as the sheet gives it, next to the translated sheet itself.
6 or S
Nearly new.
5
Excellent, with very few marks.
4.5
Very good, with a few small marks.
4
Good, with more marks or small dents.
3.5
Average. Needs some work.
3 and below
Needs significant work.
R or RA
Accident damage has been repaired. We do not buy these cars.
The paperwork you take home
The translated auction sheet, with the grade, the odometer reading and the inspector’s notes
Our specialist’s condition report
The service and preparation record
The Consumer Information Notice, registration and warrant of fitness papers
Questions about how we buy?
Ask us about a car, an auction sheet or anything on this page. We reply by email or phone.