When buying a vehicle from Japan, there are two options. Option one is to search for and buy a vehicle that has already been advertised at a dealer. Option two is to buy the vehicle at auction. As a rule, buying a vehicle at auction is more profitable, but it is possible that the requested vehicle does not appear for a while or if it appears that it does not correspond to the condition we want. In auctions, each vehicle is inspected before the auction by an inspector of the auction house, who carefully checks the car and describes it. All data is entered in the auction card. It contains information about the car such as: VIN number, mileage check, car rating (from 1 to 5, 5 is the highest rating), interior rating (from E-A, where A is the highest rating), color condition and mechanical condition of the car.

The auction purchase process begins after making a deposit and defining which vehicle we are looking for. When the requested vehicle appears at auction, we contact our agent in Japan.

Before the auction, he personally checks the car on the spot, further emphasizing the pros and cons that the vehicle can have.

After inspecting and checking the status of the vehicle (agent’s opinion + added photos or video), the buyer decides whether and how much he wants to offer for the vehicle in question.

In the event that the car meets the buyer’s requirements, the maximum bid is submitted before the auction, up to which we bid for the client. The bid is submitted in this way because the auctions themselves last 20-60 seconds per vehicle, and the bids are entered into the system by computer. In the event that the bidding stopped below the maximum amount specified by the buyer, the vehicle was purchased at the price at which the bidding stopped.

After a successful auction, the buyer pays the bill for the car, which includes the price of the vehicle, the commission of the auction house, transportation to the port in Japan, cargo to Europe and its insurance. Transporting a car from Japan to Europe usually takes about 4 months from ordering a ship to being delivered to an EU port.

Further fees, such as 10% EU duty and 19% VAT (in Germany), are made upon arrival at the destination port. After customs clearance, the car is transported to our company’s headquarters, from where it can be picked up by the customer or we can deliver it to any address.

Please contact us for further information.