Reading the Auction Checksheet
When looking at cars in the Japanese Car Auctions, one of the biggest problems to begin is understanding the information in the check sheet. While all the cars are very well examined so you can be confident in the quality of the vehicles, it takes some time to get used to reading the auction check sheets.
While there are some difference between each of the auctions, they all follow the same basic pattern, here is an exampmple to help you understand how to read the Japanese Car Auction Checksheet.
Auction Checksheet
Here is an example of a real auction checksheet from one of the main Japanese Car Auctions.
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With this information we can learn how to read the check sheets and be able to understand when looking for cars at the Japanese Car Auctions ourselves.
In this page I will show you the meaning of all of the different sections of the car auction spreadsheet.
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This is a recent 2016 Merceds Benz G Wagon, but the system is the same for any car.
Auction Lot Number
Simply the lot number for the car. Be careful though, different auctions may use the same number so make sure you have the right auction details too when bidding.
Year Of First Registration
The year the car was first registered, normally the year of manufacture but can be different for imported cars. It is listed in Japanese format, please check our year converter here.
Engine Size
Just the size of the engine, listed by cc.
Model Code
The model code for the car, sometimes may be slightly different to the standard if it was produced for export to the Japan market.
Model Name & Number of Doors
The name of the maker and model for the car, as well as the listed number of doors.
Model Specifications & Drive Train
This gives some more details on the particular specification of the car that is list, also the type of drive train is usually noted too.
Overall Rating & Interior Rating
The rating by the examiners at the car auction. The overall rating is between 0(xxx)-6 and the interior rating is E-A, for a guide to what this actually mean please click here.
Shakken(MOT) & Mileage
This shows the amount of time remaining on the current Shakken(similar to an MOT), this is needed to legally drive in Japan and the certification lasts for 2 year(3 years for the first registration of a new car). Also the mileage is almost always in kilometres unless noted.
Color, Colour Code, Fuel Type, Seller and Steering
This list the color in Japanese(ホワイト), as well as the color code. The type of fuel is also listed in Japanese(ガソリン), for cars it is almost always gasoline with few diesel models. In the seller section it mentions the lister is a car dealer, and finally there is the Japanese character for left(左) as it is left hand drive.
Transmission & Aircon
This simply lists the type o transmission on the car and also the air conditioning system that it is using. The majority of cars available are automatic, but of course for sports cars and other speed machines you can find some manual models.
Car Features
If the car has these features they are circled on the diagram.
SR - Sun Roof, 純AW - factory original Aluminium Wheels, PS - Power Steering, PW - Power Windows, カワ - Leather Seats, TV - TV, ナビ - Navigation, エアB - Airbags.
Sales Points
These are attractive features of the car written by the lister, but also checked by the auction staff who will remove incorrect details. Written in Japanese but if you ask the company you are buying from they should be able to translate for you.
Number of Riders
The amount of people that the car is registered to carry, 人 is the Japanese character for people and as you can see the number here is 5.
Inspection Notes
When the auction staff inspect the car they note any issues they`ve found here. These can range from "interior is dirty"(written on almost every car unless it's been professionally valeted 30 minutes before it arrived) through minor issues up to major issues such as Engine Noise. Again, this is written in Japanese so please check with the company you buy from and ask them to translate.