We can purchase cars at all USS auctions, but personally attend and can therefore have our team inspect personally at Tokyo and Yokohama. We therefore highly recommend you select cars from these two auctions. All other auctions are by 3rd party inspection and to be honest we prefer to keep it in house. The USS website covers all auctions and can be found here. Username is U25045

We are an agency who organise the search, selection, importation and registration of cars from Japanese car auctions. Our aim is to take the pain out of the potential minefield of obtaining a car from Japan. You may be looking for cash savings in comparison with purchasing a similar car in the UK, if this is your aim, this is possible, but in a sense you may be missing the point. Why import a car from Japan? The true strengths of this market are availability, the quality of the cars, their low mileage due to the average citizen in Japan driving comparably less per year, their lack of corrosion in comparison with a similarly aged vehicle from the UK and the standard specifications of the vehicles which tend to be much higher than a similar UK model.

Overall, the biggest strength is the purchasing system. A Japanese car auction allows you to know the vehicle you are purchasing before you bid, all vehicles are assessed by the auction house before the auction, an auction grade sheet is then produced by them detailing everything down to the smallest scratch. Just to eliminate any possible oversight by the assessors, we have an independent auction inspection team who carry out further inspections at the auctions on the vehicles we want to purchase. This teams standards are high. They are known for their superior selection of vehicles, indeed they have built a business and a 15 year reputation doing just that, they reject 30% of the vehicles we ask them to bid on, they are over cautious maybe, but the end result is a consistent flow of high quality vehicles.

After winning a bid at auction, our independent inspection team transports the vehicles back to their dealership and run them through a further series of tests on a rolling road, to check thoroughly the engine, gearbox and all mechanical and electrical systems. If the vehicle does not pass this test they resubmit the vehicle into the next auction to be resold. We maintain the highest levels of quality control for all the vehicles we import.

For the benefit of those of you who are not familiar with the process of importing, allow me, dear reader, to walk you through it, allowing you to hopefully be illuminated in all aspects and complications of the process.  Initially, you must first decide what you are looking for. This can be a complicated and lengthy process for some and an easy task for those with a very specific model in mind. Initially you need to know that you can import any car that is older than 10 years and these vehicles require only an MOT, the fitting of a rear fog light and a recalibration of the speedometer from km to mph.

You can also import cars that are less than 10 years old, but for these vehicles you are restricted in choice to vehicles with a model report....

A model report is required to pass the ESVA test which is taken at a VOSA approved test centre, in order for the vehicle to be declared legally compliant for UK roads. In other words if you want a vehicle that is less than 10 years old, the place to start is the list of available model reports.  After understanding this point, I recommend you use the free resources available as links from our homepage. Initially I would recommend that you browse through the auction website and cross reference the model numbers with a specification web site and an auction price history website. If working to a specific budget you will also need to calculate the importing, compliance and registration costs, this will allow you to ascertain the maximum you can bid in Japanese Yen at auction, inevitably this will also involve exchange rate considerations, these tend to fluctuate too, so build in a contingency to your financial planning if you are working to a tight budget.

We are able, upon payment of a deposit, to advise you in the above matters, but our time is limited and our website is a good resource, we ask you to use this resource wherever possible before contacting us. The deposit is refundable should you decide to not bid at auction, however, if you do bid and actually purchase a car at auction as a result, you should understand that you have entered into a binding agreement with us, should you bid at auction and win the bid, you are then under contract to purchase the vehicle and to pay all costs incurred for it’s importation and registration in the UK.  Please see our terms and conditions for details.

When you feel comfortable with a specific model, a specific mileage range and a colour, other considerations such as diesel or petrol, 2wd or 4wd, must have alloy wheels, etc etc, then you are ready to bid, at the amount in Japanese Yen you have determined to be a good realistic bid for likely success at auction. We will advise you with what we think is a realistic bid for the vehicle type you are interested in. At this point you are at the mercy of the timezone difference between the UK and Japan (Tokyo = GMT + 9 hrs) and the scheduling of the Yokohama (Tuesday in Japan) and Tokyo (Thursday in Japan) auctions. To be able to bid at auction we need to know the car you are interested in by 11pm Japanese time on the day before the auction.  We then translate the auction grade sheet on your behalf and send you an email back with the translation and recommended bid price for auction success. We will await your maximum bid and if requested by you will bid at auction the following morning for the vehicle if your bid is received by 6am on the day of the auction.

Understanding some of the terminology of the auction grade sheet can greatly help you to be confident of exactly what you are getting and prevents any misunderstandings, you are buying a car thousands of miles away from you, you need to be able to picture the vehicle mentally and decide whether you will be happy if there is for example a small scratch on the bumper, or a small dent in a door, or a chip in the windscreen, it’s your decision on the line and it can be a tough call sometimes. This understanding an auction grade sheet page is intended to help.  We will translate auction grade sheets for you, but we will not translate the exterior condition as detailing every scratch is virtually impossible, it is up to you to understand these.  We understand it can be very difficult and frustrating, time consuming and annoying working with this system and time frame, but if you want to hand pick a specific vehicle this is the way it happens.

Alternatively we can work together to build up a picture of exactly what you are looking for and what you will be happy with, what standards you are working to and build a relationship of trust, when both parties are confident in each other and communications have reached a point where we are both singing from the same hymn sheet, then we can proceed in a search for your desired type of vehicle on your behalf.  This process is far easier for both parties in practice, however, you're the customer -  it’s up to you. Alternatively again, you can select a vehicle from our stock in Japan, in transit to the UK or landed and for sale in the UK.

Success at auction, winning the bid, will obviously incur the auction price as the first cost involved in importing your vehicle. All vehicles in Japan also have to pay a recycle fee, this varies according to the vehicle and is in the region of 10,000 yen to 20,000 yen, this is detailed on the auction grade sheet. After the auction, we can find and fit any parts you may require at a fee agreed between us at the time. We will send you the results of the rolling road test and a set of photos of the interior and exterior of the vehicle (as an example see our stock page). The Japan side fees are 98,000 yen, this includes everything required to get the car cleared through Japanese customs, de – registered and all required documentation translated and sent to the UK via DHL or similar registered post. On receipt of payment in Japanese Yen by telegraphic transfer and confirmation that the funds have cleared, the vehicle will be booked onto the next available sailing bound for the UK. The car can be delivered to Southampton, Bristol, Newcastle or Liverpool.

We will arrange marine insurance and freight on your behalf – this is charged by the cubic meter in US Dollars, the price fluctuates around $65 a cubic meter. On arrival our customs clearance agent will clear your vehicle through customs. You will receive a bill for the above which will include customs duty of 10% and VAT of 17.5%. The vehicle will then be transported to the nearest MOT or ESVA test centre and prepared to UK compliance standards before being tested. It is unusual due to the stringent standards of the Japanese sha-ken test, but an MOT failure would require parts and retest the same as any car taking an MOT. After passing the MOT and ESVA (where applicable) the car has all the required documentation to be able to be registered by the DVLA. With car tax and insurance and identity documentation from you we can register the vehicle on your behalf, you may wish to do this yourself. Number plates are then made and fitted and the car is on the road registered in your name and fully legally compliant according to all rules and regulations, on payment of the final compliance and registration invoice you may then collect the vehicle or have it delivered.