The auction sheet is the reason buying a car in Japan, sight unseen, from the other side of the world, is a rational thing to do. It is written by an inspector who works for the auction house rather than the seller, it follows a standard format, and the entire Japanese motor trade relies on it. Learn to read one and you stop depending on anybody’s description of a car — including ours.
The short version
- The overall grade runs roughly 1 to 5, with 4 excellent and 3.5 very good.
- Grade R / RA means recorded accident repair — not automatically a write-off, but always a question.
- A separate interior grade (A–D) is graded independently of the bodywork.
- The panel map and the inspector’s handwritten notes matter more than the headline number.
What an auction sheet is
Every car entering a Japanese auction is physically inspected before the sale. The inspector records an overall condition grade, a separate interior grade, the odometer reading, whether the service book and spare key are present, and a diagram of the car’s panels annotated with every mark found. The result is a single A4 sheet that accompanies the lot.
Two things make it trustworthy. The inspector is employed by the auction house, which has no stake in the car selling high; and the format is standardised, so a Grade 4 at one house means roughly what it means at another. It is not a warranty and it is not a mechanical report — but as an independent, comparable condition statement it has no equivalent anywhere else in the used-car world.
The overall grade scale
| Grade | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| 5 and above | Essentially as-new. Very low mileage, no meaningful marks. Priced at a clear premium, and usually more car than a driver needs. |
| 4.5 | Excellent, low mileage, only the faintest cosmetic marks. The sweet spot if condition matters more than price. |
| 4 | Genuinely excellent for a used car. Light scratches or a small dent or two, nothing structural. The grade most buyers should target. |
| 3.5 | Very good with visible cosmetic wear — scuffs, a few dents, maybe a wheel kerb. Sensible value if you can live with marks. |
| 3 | Noticeable wear, likely needing cosmetic work. Viable for a trade buyer with a bodyshop, rarely for a private one. |
| 2 and below | Significant damage, corrosion or wear. Project territory. We do not buy at this level. |
| R / RA | Accident repair recorded, regardless of current condition. See below — the grade tells you less than the notes do. |
Grades follow a national convention but are applied by individual inspectors; treat half-point differences as indicative rather than absolute.
We buy Grade 3.5 and above as standard, and we tell you the grade before we bid rather than after we have won.
Grade R and RA: repaired, not written off
This is the most misunderstood marking on the sheet. Grade R means accident repair has been recorded — and in Japan that threshold is low. A replaced bumper skin or a repaired rear quarter can earn an R. So can structural repair to a chassis rail. The letter alone does not distinguish between them.
What does distinguish them is everything else on the sheet:
- Which panels are marked on the diagram, and whether any of them are structural rather than bolt-on.
- The inspector’s notes, which frequently specify what was replaced or repaired.
- The price relative to non-R equivalents. A large discount usually means the trade has read something you have not.
Our position on Grade R
We will buy a Grade R car where the repair is documented, cosmetic and confirmed on our own physical inspection — and we disclose it every time, in writing, before you pay. What we will not do is quietly ship one as if the marking were not there.
The interior grade
Alongside the bodywork grade sits a letter, usually A to D, describing the cabin. A is close to unmarked. B is clean with light wear. C means visible wear — scuffed trim, worn seat bolsters, marks on the carpet. D means damage, tears, burns or staining.
The two grades move independently, and the combination tells you a story. A Grade 4 body with a D interior often means a well-cared-for car that carried children, pets or cargo. A Grade 3.5 body with an A interior usually means a car that was parked badly and driven gently. Which of those you would rather own is a genuine preference, and it is worth having one.
The panel map and its shorthand
The diagram is where the real information lives. Each mark is annotated with a letter code and a number: the letter says what kind of defect, the number says how severe. You do not need to memorise the codes — a good translation spells them out — but you do need to look at where they cluster.
- Marks spread evenly across the lower panels and bumpers read as ordinary car-park life.
- Several marks concentrated on one corner read as a single impact, whatever the grade says.
- Any annotation on the inner structure, rails, or panel joints is a different conversation entirely.
- Corrosion markings matter more than dents, because dents stay the size they are.
Notes that should stop a purchase
The inspector’s handwritten comments are the part machine translation mangles and the part that matters most. Treat these as hard stops rather than negotiating points:
- Any odometer inconsistency flag. Japan records mileage at every inspection; a discrepancy means the records disagree, and there is no benign explanation worth the risk.
- Structural or frame repair noted. Regardless of how the car presents, and regardless of price.
- Corrosion described as advanced or perforating. It only ever goes one way.
- Warning lamps illuminated or systems inoperative. Sometimes trivial, sometimes an expensive control module. Never something to find out about at your own port.
One last practical point: insist on the original sheet as issued, with the auction house name, lot number and date visible, alongside its translation. Reproductions circulate, and an exporter who will only show you a retyped summary is telling you something. Then cross-check the mileage against the export certificate — the document set is covered in every document you get with a Japanese import.
Grading conventions are applied by individual inspectors and vary slightly between auction houses, so grades are a strong indication rather than a guarantee. This is why we inspect every won vehicle physically before it ships, and why a car that does not match its sheet does not leave Japan.