Japanese car auction grades explained

The grading system is the reason importing from Japan works at all. An independent inspector examines every car before it crosses the block, and gives it an overall grade plus separate grades for the interior and exterior. It is not marketing. The inspector does not work for the seller.

Learn the scale and you can buy a car you have never seen, from a country you have never visited, and know roughly what will come off the boat.

The overall grade scale

The interior and exterior letter grades

Alongside the number, you get letters. The exterior grade is usually shown first, and the interior grade second.

• A — excellent, little or nothing to fix.
• B — good, light wear consistent with age.
• C — noticeable wear. Stains, tears, scuffs, burns.
• D — poor. Expect to replace or retrim.

This is where people get caught. A grade 4 car with a C interior is a perfectly sound car with a scruffy cabin, and the photographs on the auction listing rarely make that obvious. If you are buying something you intend to keep, the interior letter matters as much as the number.

What R and RA really mean

R means the car has been in an accident and repaired. It is not automatically a reason to walk away, because Japanese standards for what counts as accident damage are stricter than most UK buyers expect. A replaced wing panel gets a car marked R.

What matters is what was repaired. Panel and bolt-on repairs are usually fine. Chassis rail, floor pan or pillar repairs mean structural work, and those cars should be much cheaper and are harder to sell on.

The inspector's diagram on the sheet shows exactly which panels were touched, which is why reading the sheet matters more than reading the grade. R cars do sell for noticeably less, so if you are buying to keep rather than flip, a well-repaired RA can be good value.

Grade is not the whole story

Two cars can both be grade 4 and be worlds apart. A grade 4 car with rust marked on the underside diagram is a very different proposition to a grade 4 with a few parking scuffs, and a grade 4 with 180,000km is not the same as one with 60,000km.

The grade tells you the overall standard. The auction sheet tells you the detail: the mileage, the shaken expiry, the inspector's written notes, and a diagram covering every panel. Learning to read the sheet is the difference between buying well and gambling.

We translate the sheet for every car we bid on, and we send it to you before you commit a penny. If the sheet says something we do not like, we will say so and find you another car.

Common questions

What is a good auction grade for a Japanese car?

Grade 4 or 4.5 is the sweet spot for most buyers. Grade 4.5 means minor marks only, and grade 4 means normal wear with nothing structural. Both offer good condition without the premium attached to the rare grade 5 cars.

What does grade R mean at a Japanese car auction?

Grade R means the car has been in an accident and repaired. RA indicates a lighter repair. Japanese standards are strict, so a replaced wing panel can earn an R grade. What matters is which panels were repaired: bolt-on panel work is usually fine, while chassis or pillar repairs are structural and should be reflected in a much lower price.

What do the letters A, B, C and D mean on an auction sheet?

They grade the exterior and interior separately. A is excellent, B is good with light wear, C has noticeable wear such as stains or tears, and D is poor and likely needs retrimming. A car can have a good number grade and still have a C interior.