JAPAN AUTO AUCTIONS

Thousands of used cars change hands at many Auctions in Japan daily from Monday to Saturday.  Most of the auctioned Japanese Used Cars are bought for foreign buyers; 579,582, of US$ 317,079,154 value, were exported to 161 countries during January-June 2008. Japan auto auctions, therefore, not only cater for international end-users’ need of high quality cars at low price but also creates world-wide business opportunities.

Year-wise (1997 to 2006)  Japanes used vehicles exported to other countries:

Some of salient benefits of auctioned Japanese used cars are:

• Low Price -   Owning used cars is expensive in Japan! This causes used cars to be sold early  and cheap - the longer one keeps a car in Japan, the more it will cost;
• Efficient sales system. Reselling cars has become a well developed system;
• Safety -  all those involve in vehicle auction and export process are accountable and the market overall is  trustworthy;
• High Supply -  around 150,000 cars are offered weekly for bidding;
• High Standards - Vehicles in Japan are maintained very well and used lightly and independent reviews of a car's condition is a perquisite of selling it in auction;
• More Equipment - Japanese vehicles contain what in most countries consider "extras”, for example, navigation systems and alloy wheels.

WHO CAN BID IN AUCTIONS?

The way the system is set up allows people to have access to information, but keep the auctions orderly with only professionals actually able to bid. Individuals though cannot directly use auto auctions, but must go through those holding auction membership. In Japanese law, only dealerships may become members to auto auctions.

TYPE OF AUCTIONS

The auctions fall within one of four categories:

• Independent Company Auctions: Are generally smaller offering a couple of hundred and over 10,000 cars a month, e.g. NDAA, SAA (Sapporo AA), Zip;
• Manufacture/Dealer/Rental Auctions:   Set up by major dealers and/or manufactures to sell off used cars from   different places e.g. Toyota dealers can sell off trade-in cars at a TAA and Rental companies, such as ORIX, will have auctions to sell off their old vehicles.  Other examples would be SUAA (Subaru), SAA (Suzuki AA), HAA (Honda AA), and   NAA (Nissan).
• Auction Groups:   Control large market share, are organized either as a union of independent auction, a single company, or subsidiaries under one company. Main AA groups are: JU Group, USS Group, and ARAI (also called AAA - Arai  Auto Auction) Group.
• Online/Satellite Auctions:  Operate mainly by internet or TV Satellite,   Some have their own stock, and some auction on the behalf of other auction Companies e.g. AUCNET, ASNET, GAO!, and HERO (also called Hiro).

AUCTION PROCESS

• Vehicle Has Inspection - All vehicles must be first inspected by the auctioneer before they can be auctioned. Because the reputation of an auction house is in its accuracy of assessing a vehicle's condition, they strive to give fair inspections. When they inspect, they use a form called an 'Inspection Sheet' which shows:
• Vehicle's Data (registration, chassis number, etc.)
• Any structural damage.
• Any cosmetic damage.
• Any mechanical damage.
• The vehicle's Rating (eg. 4.5)
• The vehicle's Equipment (eg. alloy wheels)
• Assessor's Notes (written in Japanese - you should get them translated)
• Vehicles are listed for auctioning if pased through the inspection
• Exporting Methods - Automobiles which will be exported from Japan must be prepared before shipping. This includes (among other things) deregistering the vehicle with the government, getting an export certificate, and cleaning the car from Biosecurity risks.
• Exporting vehicles is made easy with using a Japanese exporter:

o             Vehicle export agents are more practical and better value for low-volume exporting than doing it yourself.

o             They have knowledge and experience specializing in vehicle exporting/importing.

o             They are able to move your vehicle faster and cheaper than doing it yourself

o             They know Japanese.

o             Importing agents are useful if your country has complex rules or you don't want to spend time importing yourself.

o             It is much cheaper if you use an importing agent rather than an importer, Importers own the vehicle whereas importing agents act on your behalf.