Every car at a Japanese auction comes with an auction sheet. An inspector from the auction house walks the car, grades it, marks every scratch and dent on a diagram, and writes notes by hand. Learning to read a Japanese auction sheet is the single best protection you have when you buy a car you have never seen.
Most of it is in Japanese and shorthand. Below is what each part means, in the order we read it.
The overall grade
The big number is the overall grade. It sums up the car against others of its age. As a rough guide:
- S or 6: new or nearly new.
- 5: excellent, very little to find.
- 4.5: very good. Light marks only.
- 4: good. Some marks you would expect for the age.
- 3.5: average. Visible wear, sometimes light repairs.
- 3 and below: rough, and usually not worth the shipping.
- R or RA: the car has a repair history. RA is the lighter version.
Some auction houses use 0 or *** for cars they cannot grade the normal way, often because they are modified or damaged. The scale also shifts a little between auction houses, which is why the grade is a starting point and never the whole answer.
The interior grade
Next to the overall grade is a letter for the interior, from A (like new) down to E (poor). A strong overall grade with a C interior usually means worn seats, a marked dash or a smoker’s car. Worth knowing before you bid on a car you plan to keep.
The damage map
The outline of the car is where the inspector marks each fault with a letter and a number. The letter is the type of fault. The number is the size, from 1 (small) to 3 (large).
- A: scratch
- U: dent
- B: dent with a scratch
- W: wavy panel, usually a sign of past repair
- S: rust
- C: corrosion
- P: paint mark
- Y: crack or hole
- G: stone chip in the glass
- X: panel needs replacing
- XX: panel has been replaced
A few A1 marks on a grade 4.5 car are normal. W and XX marks tell you a panel has been worked on, so we look at where they sit. A replaced bonnet is one thing. Repair work near the chassis rails is another.
The inspector’s notes
The handwritten notes are the most important part of the sheet and the part most buyers can’t read. They cover things the diagram can’t: warning lights, engine or gearbox noises, aftermarket parts, interior smells, and structural repairs such as work on the side members or frame.
Structural notes are where we draw the line. A car can carry a respectable grade and still have a note about a side member, and that is a car we would not import ourselves.
The details that decide whether a car can come home
- Steering: the sheet marks left (左) or right (右). Plenty of European cars in Japan are left-hand drive.
- Type designation: the code in front of the chassis code, such as DBA- or CBA-. In New Zealand it can decide whether the car meets the emissions rules.
- First registration date and mileage, checked against each other.
What we do with every sheet
Every auction sheet is translated and interpreted by our team before you bid, notes included. For the cars we feature ourselves, the bar is grade 4 or better with a clean sheet: no structural notes, and nothing we wouldn’t buy for ourselves.
Found a lot you like? Send us the lot number and we will translate the sheet and tell you plainly what it says before any money moves.