Import cars from Japan

You can import a car from Japan straight from its graded auctions. Our own team in Japan reads the auction sheet, bids to your instruction, inspects the car before your money moves and prepares the export paperwork. You get one all-in landed price to your port before you commit.

Get your landed quote Our Japan team

What you get when you import a car from Japan with us

Importing a car from Japan at a glance
Drive side	Right-hand drive, plus factory left-hand-drive premium models
Where we buy	Japan's graded auction houses, bid to your maximum
History check	Independent auction sheet, translated, and mileage checked against inspection and export records
Export ports	Yokohama, Nagoya, Osaka, Kobe, Hakata
Typical sea transit	Roughly 3–5 weeks to East Africa, 4–6 to South Asia, 6–8 to Europe and Australasia
Where we ship	Right-hand-drive markets worldwide, plus factory left-hand-drive stock for Europe, the Middle East and the Americas

Import your car from Japan in five steps

Tell us the car and your country
Send the make, model, year and budget, and the country it is going to. We confirm that country's import rules — age limit, drive side, any pre-shipment inspection — before anything is bought.
We find it in Japan
Our Japan team searches the weekly catalogues across the major auction houses, sends you the auction sheet with an English translation, and bids only up to the maximum you approve.
We inspect it before you pay
Every car gets the same multi-point physical inspection from our own team, whichever country it is bought in — engine, transmission, underbody, electronics, bodywork and interior — photographed and sent to you before your payment is released. If it does not match the description you approved, it does not ship, and you are not charged. The auction sheet is read in Japanese and checked against the car itself.
We clear it for export and ship it
Our Japan team prepares the export documents, and the car sails from Yokohama, Nagoya, Osaka, Kobe and Hakata under marine insurance, with tracking updates until it reaches your port.
You receive it at your port
The car arrives at your port with its full document pack. We support your customs clearance; the import entry and registration are made in your name.

Researching first? Read our guide, How to Buy a Car at a Japanese Auction.

Your landed quote covers five costs

We add them up into one all-in figure to your port before you commit, so you decide on the real number. Duty and taxes depend on your own country, so we calculate them for yours.

The car's purchase price in Japan
Export costs in Japan: inspection, deregistration and export paperwork
Sea freight from Yokohama, Nagoya, Osaka, Kobe and Hakata to your port, and marine insurance
Your country's import duty and taxes — calculated in your quote, paid in your name
Port and clearance charges when the car arrives

Read the full breakdown: What It Really Costs to Import a Car From Japan

The documents that come with a car from Japan

Our Japan team prepares the export side; you receive the whole pack before the car arrives, ready for your clearance agent.

Export certificate (deregistration) with certified mileage
Pre-shipment inspection certificate where your country requires one (JEVIC, QISJ and similar)
Biosecurity cleaning record where your country requires one
Bill of lading
Commercial invoice
Marine insurance certificate

Cars people commonly import from Japan

Choose one to start your inquiry with it filled in, or tell us any other car in the form.

Browse Japanese cars by destination

You deal directly with our own team in Japan

Providence Auto Japan

Address: Full address available on request — ask the team when you enquire.
Phone: +44 208 004 3000Group line — routed to the Japan team
Email: [email protected]

What our Japan team does

Auction bidding across the major Japanese auction houses
Physical pre-export inspection and daylight photography
Deregistration, export certificates and mileage certification
Pre-shipment inspections, biosecurity cleaning and port loading

Tell us the car you want to import from Japan

One all-in landed price to your port, quoted before you commit.

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Your questions about importing a car from Japan, answered

Can I import a car from Japan?

Yes. You choose the car, and our own team in Japan finds it, inspects it before your money moves, clears it for export and ships it to your port. Whether it can be registered is set by your own country — its age limit, drive side and inspection rules — and we confirm those before anything is bought.

How do I get a quote to import a car from Japan?

Send the make, model, year and your country through the form on this page. A named consultant replies with one all-in landed price to your port — the car, export costs in Japan, freight, marine insurance and your country's import charges — before you commit to anything.

Do I pay before the car is inspected?

No. Our own team inspects the car first and sends you the photographs and report. Your payment is released only once the car is confirmed, inspected and cleared for shipment; if it does not match what you approved, it does not ship and you are not charged.

How long does it take to ship a car from Japan?

Sea transit from Yokohama, Nagoya, Osaka, Kobe and Hakata is roughly 3–5 weeks to East Africa, 4–6 to South Asia, 6–8 to Europe and Australasia. Allow time before that to find and inspect the right car and prepare the export paperwork. Your consultant gives you the sailing date and tracking updates once the car is booked on a vessel.

Do you deliver the car to my door?

We ship it to your port rather than your door — CNF, in every market. When it arrives you have the full document pack and our support through customs clearance; the import entry and registration are made in your name, and the last leg from the port is yours to arrange.

Will I see the auction sheet before you bid?

Yes. We send you the original auction sheet with an English translation and our own photographs before we bid, and we bid only up to the maximum you approve. If the car goes above it, we do not buy, and you move on to the next one.