購入の流れ — The process
Buying a car you can't stand next to, from a country you're not in, through an auction you can't attend, is an act of trust. So here's the whole thing written down — including the parts most importers leave off their website.
Either through the request form or a phone call. We want the chassis code, the trim, how original you need it and a realistic all-in budget. If your budget and your car don't match, we say so on that first call rather than three months in.
Nothing is charged at this stage and nothing is signed.
We confirm the car is federally importable — 25 years from the month of manufacture — and check your state's registration position. If your chassis isn't legal yet, we tell you the exact month it opens and put you on a watchlist rather than taking money for something that can't land.
Roughly 130,000 cars a week cross Japanese auction blocks. We watch USS, TAA, JAA and HAA for anything matching your brief, plus dealer stock and private consignments that never reach a public lane.
Common cars appear in days. A Bayside Blue V-spec II Nür under 40,000 km might take a season. We update you weekly whether or not there's news.
Translated inspection sheet with every damage code explained, the auction house photos plus any extra shots we can get of areas the sheet flags, our own written read on the car, and a landed cost calculated to your city.
We also tell you what we think it will actually sell for, which is often above the auction's estimate.
If you want the car, you confirm a maximum bid by email. That number is a hard limit — we cannot and will not exceed it. You also place a $2,500 deposit into a client account, credited against the purchase.
If we win: you get a call within the hour and a full invoice within 24 hours. Funds are due within five business days so the car can be released.
If we lose: most bids lose, and that's normal. Your deposit rolls to the next candidate automatically, or comes back in full if you'd rather stop. We don't charge for a miss.
Payment to the auction house, collection, de-registration, and the export certificate. If you've asked for pre-shipment work — a fresh service, a return to standard, extra photography — this is when it happens.
Roll-on/roll-off out of Nagoya or Yokohama in most cases, container if the car warrants it or you ask. You get the vessel name, booking number and a tracking link the day it sails.
Our licensed customs broker files the entry with the DOT and EPA exemption declarations, pays the 2.5% duty on your behalf, and clears the car. Delays here are usually random inspection rather than anything wrong.
Enclosed or open transport to your address, or collection at the port if you'd rather drive it home. You receive the export certificate, customs entry summary, bill of lading and a translated service history — the paperwork your DMV will ask for.
No small print
Funds go to a segregated client account at our bank, not a personal account and not straight to a Japanese exporter. We pay the auction house from it and every disbursement is itemised on your invoice.
Nothing is charged. Your deposit rolls to the next car or is refunded in full within five business days. Most hunts involve at least one miss — plan for it.
Auction grades are third-party assessments, not warranties, and we say so plainly. If a car arrives materially different from its sheet, we run the auction house dispute on your behalf — a real process with real timelines that we've won before.
7% of the winning hammer price, minimum $2,500. Freight, duty, clearance, transport and pre-shipment work are passed through at cost with receipts. There's no margin hidden in the shipping line.
No, and anyone who does is guessing. The hammer price is unknown until the lane closes and the yen moves daily. What we guarantee is a ceiling you set and a breakdown you can audit.
No. You're welcome to — several clients have come to an auction with us — but the whole process works remotely and most of it happens while you're asleep.