Guide · updated Oct 2026

How to read a Japanese auction sheet

A car bought at a Japanese dealer auction comes with an inspection sheet written by the auction house. For a buyer in Canada or the US, that sheet is the closest thing to seeing the car in person before you commit.

This guide explains what each part of the sheet means: the grades, the damage map, the era dates and the short Japanese notes. It also covers where auction houses differ, what changes for modified sports cars, and how to check that a sheet is genuine.

What an auction sheet is

The auction sheet is a one-page condition report made by the auction house when a car is entered for sale. It records the basic details, an overall grade, interior and exterior grades, a body diagram and the inspector’s notes.

At USS, the largest auction group, sellers deliver cars by the morning of the day before the sale. USS says its own employees, who must pass its inspector certification, inspect every car and score it on a 10-step scale. The results and photos go into a database that member dealers can search.

Only auction members can bid and see the full data, so an overseas buyer works through a member exporter. Members can look over a car in person on sale day, but most export buyers rely on the sheet, the photos and the exporter’s reading of both.

The sheet is a snapshot from one inspection, done quickly on the auction floor. It is very useful, but it is not a full mechanical inspection or a guarantee, and inspectors at different houses do not grade identically.

USS states that all its inspections are done by USS staff. Some exporter guides describe inspectors as third parties; this varies by auction group.
USS runs a claims and arbitration process for successful bidders, which is one reason inspectors are careful about what they record.

The fields on a typical sheet

Layouts vary by auction house, but the same core fields appear on nearly every sheet. Numbers and codes are usually in Latin letters; the notes are in Japanese.

Field	What it shows	What to check
Lot number	The car’s number in that day’s sale.	With the auction name and date, it lets an exporter pull the original sheet.
Model name and chassis code	The model, plus the chassis (model) code and chassis number.	The chassis number must match the export certificate and the car itself.
First registration date	Year and month the car was first registered in Japan, in Japanese era years.	Convert it to a Western year, and remember it is not the build date.
Shaken expiry	When the current Japanese roadworthiness certificate runs out.	Matters only inside Japan; it lapses once the car is exported.
Mileage	Odometer reading, in kilometres.	Look for a *, $ or # next to the figure, and divide by 1.609 for miles. Older five-digit odometers roll over after 99,999 km.
Engine size	Displacement in cc.	Check it matches the engine the model should have; a mismatch can mean a swap.
Transmission and drive	Codes such as F5 or F6 (5- or 6-speed floor manual), FA or FAT (floor automatic), CA (column automatic), plus 4WD where fitted.	An enthusiast car listed as automatic is usually a different variant from the manual you want.
Colour and colour code	The body colour and, on many sheets, the factory colour code.	If the paint on the photos does not match the code, ask about a repaint or colour change.
Equipment codes	AC (air conditioning), AAC (climate control), PS (power steering), PW (power windows), SR (sunroof), AW (alloy wheels), AB (airbag), カワ or 革 (leather).	AW on many sheets means alloy wheels of any kind; aftermarket wheels are often noted separately.
Doors and seats	Body type such as 2D or 4D, and seating capacity.	Should match the model; a changed seat count can indicate a cage or seat removal.
Overall grade	A number or letter summarising condition, e.g. 4.5, 3.5, R.	Read it together with the notes, never on its own.
Interior and exterior grades	Letters, usually A (best) downwards. Where both appear, exterior is often on the left and interior on the right.	A low interior letter on a sports car may reflect modifications rather than wear.
Damage map	A top-down drawing of the body with letter-and-number codes on each panel.	Look for XX (replaced panels), W (repair waves) and S or C (rust).
Inspector’s comments	Short handwritten notes in Japanese on faults, repairs, modifications and equipment.	Get a full translation; the most important information is often here.

Transmission codes are not standardised: one guide lists FAT/AT for floor automatics, another AT/FA. Ask your exporter if a code is unclear.

Overall grades

The overall grade sums up the car’s condition for its age and mileage. It is a broad band, not a precise score, and the same number can mean slightly different things at different auctions.

In Japan, “repair history” (修復歴, shūfuku-reki) has a fixed meaning. The Japan Auto Appraisal Institute (JAAI), the Automobile Fair Trade Council and the Japan Auto Auction Association use one shared standard: damage to, or repair or replacement of, frame parts such as the cross members, side members, inside panels, pillars, roof, floor or boot floor. Bolt-on panels do not count, and since April 2019 damage smaller than a credit card (8.5 × 5.4 cm) is not treated as repair history.

So an R car may have had a structural repair that was done well, while a 4 car can have several replaced bolt-on panels marked XX. The grade tells you which category a car is in; the map and notes tell you what was done.

Grade	What it means
S or 6	New or nearly new, typically very recent first registration and very low mileage. Some auctions also use 7, 8 or 9 for new cars.
5	Excellent, close to new, with low mileage.
4.5	Very good, with only minor marks for its age.
4	Good, solid car with normal light wear; usually under about 100,000 km.
3.5	Average: higher mileage or several marks and dents that need tidying. Very common grade.
3	Rough or very high mileage; noticeable body and interior work needed, possible mechanical faults.
2	Very poor, often with corrosion holes or serious faults.
1	Usually a heavily modified car (engine or transmission swap, aftermarket turbo) or a car with flood or fire-extinguisher damage.
R	Repair history: a frame or structural part has been repaired or replaced.
RA	Minor repair history: structural repair, but limited in extent.
A	Used by some auctions for repair history, broadly like R.
0	At some auctions, repaired or unrepaired accident damage, or a car that cannot be graded normally.
*** or blank	Not graded: sold as-is with little condition information, sometimes because the car does not run.

Mileage bands differ between guides. BE FORWARD ties 5 to under 50,000 km and 4.5 to under 100,000 km, while other exporters describe 4.5 as a car with up to a few tens of thousands of km.
RA is described as a minor repair by BE FORWARD and Prestige Motorsport, but some guides treat it as a more serious category. Check the notes rather than the letter.
The meaning of 0 and *** varies: BE FORWARD lists 0 as an accident car and *** as accident-damaged or non-running, while Integrity Exports describes *** simply as ungraded and sold as-is.
Exporters agree that grading strictness differs by auction house, so a 3.5 at one auction may not equal a 3.5 at another. We could not find published house-by-house rules from TAA, JU, HAA, CAA, Aucnet or Arai.

Interior and exterior letter grades

Most sheets add an interior letter, and some add an exterior letter too. They are judged relative to the car’s age and mileage.

Grade	Interior	Exterior
A	Very clean, above average for age; only slight flaws.	Close to new; slight flaws or a minor repair trace.
B	Average; a few minor marks, small stains or burns.	Some visible flaws, such as small chips or cracks in glass or lights.
C	Below average; several defects needing minor repair, such as tears or burn holes.	Several obvious defects, noticeable dents or poor earlier repairs.
D	Clearly worn or damaged and in need of repair; on sports cars often a sign of a stripped or modified interior.	Defects needing repair, noticeable corrosion.
E	Poor; major parts such as the dashboard, headliner or seats need replacing.	Many defects, possibly heavy corrosion.
F	Worse than E (used by some auctions).	Worse than E (used by some auctions).

Most guides give an A–E scale; BE FORWARD and Integrity Exports list F as well.
A B on a 25-year-old car is not the same as a B on a five-year-old car, because the grade is relative to age and mileage.

Damage map codes

The body diagram uses a letter for the type of damage and a number for its size. The number usually runs from 1 (small) to 3 (large); a few auctions go to 4.

In practice, A1 is a light scratch you could polish out and U1 a ding about the size of a thumb. A 2 is more visible; BE FORWARD describes a B2 as roughly palm-sized. A 3 usually means the panel needs proper bodywork and paint.

Several XX marks on one side or end of the car suggest an impact there, even when the overall grade is not R. Damage that is not drawn on the map may still be described in the notes.

Code	Meaning	Scale
A	Scratch	A1 small, A2 medium, A3 large
U	Dent	U1 small, U2 medium, U3 large
B	Dent with scratch	B1–B3
E	Small dimple or ding	E1–E3 at some auctions
W	Repair wave or repair mark (sign of bodywork and paint)	W1 very slight, W2 medium, W3 large
S	Rust: surface discoloration	S1 mild, S2 medium, S3 severe
C	Corrosion: metal flaking away	C1–C3; C with the kanji for hole means a corrosion hole
P	Paint damage	P1–P3
H	Faded paint	H1–H3 at some auctions
X	Panel needs replacing (at a few small auctions, X means already replaced)	Sometimes X1–X3
XX	Panel has been replaced	No number
Y	Crack or tear, mainly in bumpers or plastic trim	Y1–Y3
G	Stone chip in the windscreen	No number
D	Crack	D1–D3 at some auctions
F	Paint peeling	At some auctions
T	Cut	At some auctions
L	Misaligned panel (or a cracked lens on some sheets)	At some auctions
O	Pushed in	At some auctions
R / RX	On the windscreen: repaired crack / repaired but needs replacing	No number

Codes differ between houses: some use E and D, others not, and the meaning of X versus XX changes at a few smaller auctions.

Converting Japanese era years

The first registration date on a sheet is given in the Japanese era calendar. Add 1925 to a Shōwa year, 1988 to a Heisei year and 2018 to a Reiwa year.

Two years are split. Shōwa 64 lasted only from 1 to 7 January 1989, and Heisei 1 began on 8 January 1989. Heisei 31 ended on 30 April 2019, and Reiwa 1 began on 1 May 2019.

The date on the sheet is when the car was first registered in Japan, not when it was built. For Japanese-made cars the two are usually close, but a car registered in January or February may have been built the previous year.

That matters at the border. Transport Canada counts its 15-year exemption from the month and year of manufacture. In the US, a vehicle that is at least 25 years old by its production date can be imported without meeting FMVSS, and the entry filing needs the month and year of manufacture. Confirm the build month before you bid on a car close to either line.

Era year	Western year
Shōwa 60	1985
Shōwa 61	1986
Shōwa 62	1987
Shōwa 63	1988
Shōwa 64	1989 (1–7 January only)
Heisei 1	1989 (from 8 January)
Heisei 2	1990
Heisei 3	1991
Heisei 4	1992
Heisei 5	1993
Heisei 6	1994
Heisei 7	1995
Heisei 8	1996
Heisei 9	1997
Heisei 10	1998
Heisei 11	1999
Heisei 12	2000
Heisei 13	2001
Heisei 14	2002
Heisei 15	2003
Heisei 16	2004
Heisei 17	2005
Heisei 18	2006
Heisei 19	2007
Heisei 20	2008
Heisei 21	2009
Heisei 22	2010
Heisei 23	2011
Heisei 24	2012
Heisei 25	2013
Heisei 26	2014
Heisei 27	2015
Heisei 28	2016
Heisei 29	2017
Heisei 30	2018
Heisei 31	2019 (to 30 April)
Reiwa 1	2019 (from 1 May)
Reiwa 2	2020
Reiwa 3	2021
Reiwa 4	2022
Reiwa 5	2023
Reiwa 6	2024
Reiwa 7	2025
Reiwa 8	2026

Provincial and state rules still apply after the federal age test.

Common phrases in the inspector’s notes

The handwritten notes are where structural repairs, odometer problems and modifications are recorded. These are terms worth recognising.

Japanese	Meaning
修復歴あり (shūfuku-reki ari)	Has repair history to the frame or structure; usually means an R-type grade
交換 (kōkan)	Replaced (a panel or part)
修理跡 (shūri ato)	Traces of repair
サイドメンバー / クロスメンバー	Side member / cross member (chassis rails); damage here counts as repair history
ピラー	Pillar (roof support); a repaired pillar counts as repair history
スポット打ち直し	Spot welds redone, a sign a welded panel was replaced
改造車 (kaizōsha)	Modified car
社外品 (shagai-hin)	Aftermarket part (not made by the car maker)
ノーマル	Stock, as it left the factory
エアロパーツ	Aero parts or body kit
マフラー	Exhaust (muffler); often noted when aftermarket
ターボチャージャー / ターボ	Turbocharger; a changed turbo is a major modification
ロールケージ / ロールバー	Roll cage / roll bar
ドリフト仕様	Drift-spec car
エンジン載せ替え	Engine swapped for a different engine type
構造変更	Structural change registered with the authorities after modification
走行メーター交換歴 (meter kōkan)	Odometer or meter has been replaced (shown with $)
走行距離減算 / 改ざん	Odometer wound back / tampered with (shown with *)
走行距離不明 / 疑義	Mileage unknown / doubtful
実走行	Genuine mileage
記録簿	Maintenance record book
錆 (sabi)	Rust
腐食 / 腐食穴 (fushoku / fushoku ana)	Corrosion / corrosion hole
焦げ穴 (koge ana)	Burn hole, usually from cigarettes

Handwriting is often hard to read and machine translation struggles with it. Ask for a human translation of every note.
Comments such as “rust underneath” give no extent, so assume the worse case on high-mileage cars or cars from snowy regions.

Reading sheets for sports and modified cars

Enthusiast cars break the assumptions behind the grading system, so the overall grade says less about them than about an ordinary used car.

Modifications pull grades down. A heavily modified car, for example one with a different engine or transmission or an aftermarket turbo, is often graded 1 even if it is well built. Interiors with removed trim, aftermarket seats or a roll cage often get D or lower. A low grade on a tuned car can therefore mean “not standard” rather than “badly worn”.

The reverse is also true: a low grade does not clear a car. Flood and fire-extinguisher damage can also produce a 1, and corrosion holes usually mean a 2. Read the notes to learn which kind of low grade you are looking at.

R and RA grades are common on older performance cars that have been driven hard. An R car can be a sound buy if the repair is described, limited and well done, but structural repairs need photos and a careful look at panel gaps, XX marks and W marks before you bid.

Instrument clusters are often swapped on cars such as the R34 Skyline, during repairs or to fit a different gauge set. A replaced meter is marked with $ when there are records of the change; without records the auction may use * or treat the mileage as unknown. On these cars, judge condition and service history rather than the odometer figure.

An ungraded (***) car is sold as-is. Costs can climb quickly if it does not run or cannot be moved, so treat it as a project unless an exporter has looked at it in person.

Integrity Exports places heavily modified cars at grade 1, while BE FORWARD reserves 1 for disaster (flood or extinguisher) cars and describes 2 as low commercial value. Houses and exporters do not agree on where modified cars fall.

Altered sheets and mileage tampering

Altered or invented auction sheets exist, most often to hide accident damage or lower the mileage. A few checks make them much harder to pass off.

Ask for the original sheet image from the auction system, with the auction name, date and lot number. Auction data is held by the auction house and can only be pulled by members, so a reputable exporter can supply it directly.

Match the chassis number on the sheet to the export certificate and to the number stamped on the car. A real sheet for a different car is a common trick, so this is the first check.

For mileage, Japanese auctions share odometer data. The Japan Auto Auction Association set up a database in 2001 that records chassis numbers and mileage for cars entered at auctions across Japan; auctions use it to spot rolled-back odometers and check flood and repair history. Mileage is also recorded at each shaken inspection, which makes sudden drops visible.

After purchase, an independent odometer inspection and certificate is available in Japan from JEVIC at extra cost. A service record book that shows mileage spread across the car’s life adds confidence.

Commercial lookup sites that sell copies of auction records by chassis number exist, mainly for the South Asian market; treat them as a cross-check, not a replacement for the original from your exporter.

Japan’s Fair Trade Council asks dealers to mark a replaced meter with $, a wound-back odometer with * and doubtful mileage with ?. Car exporter guides describe # for unknown mileage, so the exact symbol varies.
Industry reports say odometer tampering fell sharply after the shared database began, but cars sold outside member channels carry more risk.

Questions

Auction sheet questions

Is a grade 4 car always better than a 3.5?

Usually, but not always. Grades are broad bands and strictness differs between auction houses, so a strict 3.5 can be a better car than a generous 4. Compare the damage map, the interior letter and the translated notes, and look at the photos, before deciding which car to bid on.

Should I avoid R or RA graded cars?

Not automatically. R means a frame or structural part was repaired or replaced, and RA usually means a smaller structural repair. A well-repaired car can be a sound buy at a lower price. Ask where the repair was, check for XX and W marks around it, and avoid cars with poorly described or extensive structural work.

Does the year on the sheet tell me whether a car is old enough to import?

No. The sheet shows the first registration date in Japan, which can be a month or more after the car was built. Canada and the US both measure age from the month of manufacture, so confirm the build date before bidding on a car that is close to the 15- or 25-year line.

How do I know the sheet I was sent is real?

Ask your exporter for the original image from the auction system with the auction name, date and lot number, then check that the chassis number matches the export certificate and the car. Watch for odometer marks such as * or $, and ask about mileage history from the shared auction database.

See a full condition report

The sheet translated line by line, plus the diagnostic scan and mileage checks, in one report you can verify.

Open the sample

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Sources