Guess: Which country is New Zealand's size, but with 120,000,000 people living on 30% of the land, because the remaining 70% are mountains?  

This country has 80 million vehicles in use and produces a third of all cars globally.

Yes, it is Japan. Land of cars and high-tech.

The question is - to where this massive overflow of cars is going? Yes - to the Auto Auctions.

And why car prices are so low?

1.  Cars are produced right there in Japan - with no added costs.

2. Competition is fierce. Car manufactures are keeping prices low, and win on volumes. 

Let me share my personal story: 

Everyone talked about the great selection and how cheap cars are in Japan. So I decided to see it for myself.


Back in 1998, I went to Japan for the first time, on my father's cargo ship as a passenger. With an idea to buy a car. My father is a commercial sea captain, so I had a free ride. 

After a few days of sailing, I saw the Islands of Japan. It was a mesmerising feeling, to visit a foreign country for the first time, not only as a tourist but with a mission - to find and buy a car. 


On the first day, we went to the Toyama city car yards. Vast areas packed with thousands of cars, and no fences. It was surreal. No one around, open cars, with keys inside. Prices are written on the windscreen. Yes! $5000+ less than the prices in my hometown! 

It was a moment of revelation. 

At that time, I got only two cars. One for myself, 1994 Mazda MX6 2500V6 in red, manual 200HP.

And one for resale - Toyota Caldina TZ 1992 2L-4WD - which we ended up sending by train to the buyers in Moscow, 9000 kms journey. It was back in 1998. 

Then I swapped MX6 for the Toyota Crown 24TwinCam Supercharge. But it's another story. 

It was my first car dealings. Since then I knew there will be more.

Then was buying, deregistering, loading on the boat, coming back home, going through customs clearance, registering. It took me two weeks all up. It was an adventure. I saw Japan for the first time and got two cars. It was back in 1998, and everything had to be done manually. I was back in Japan around 10 times!

In 2006, I discovered that online auction systems had appeared which allowed to select cars right from the Auctions using internet! 

It was a second revelation! No need to travel to Japan anymore! 

Seat at home and search for cars in Japan online. Brilliant!  

But I realised it’s not that simple. So I learned everything: about rules and regulations, shipping, customs, compliance etc. 

And in 2009 I opened a company, and keep importing cars from Japan to New Zealand ever since. 

Then I noticed how often people asked me about finding special cars in Japan. And in 2014, I created a service of Importing a Car From Japan. IMPORT YOUR CAR. 

 

Since then our team helps people who are looking to buy a car directly from the Japanese Auctions and we import it for them.  

Importing is kinda like buying a car online from another city and getting it delivered to you. Also, some learning is involved which we provide. We do 90% of all work for you though. You do the shopping, starting with practice bidding. Your Practice Bidding is essential for us to start helping you.

Everyone will be buying a few cars in their lifetime. But often car you want not even available in your area. Or if it does, we all know that low mileage, sought after cars are selling for a premium price.

Does the concept of importing a car sounds new to you? 

Even though Japanese auctions is from where most of the cars come in the first place, auctions are still a mystery for many.  

Hardly anybody is talking about importing. But when you learn it and use it, you will see a huge difference in selection and prices. 

If you want to settle for a mediocre car or overpay, it’s your choice. 

But if you open to a new opportunity - then importing might be just right for you. 

Our customers buy cars like 2018 Mitsi Outlander PHEV Hybrid Premium for $42,000. Or 2020 Nissan Leaf E+ with 62kw battery for $60,000, or Benz AMG C63 V12 for $40,000. Exclusive cars for those who know what they want - directly from the source. (*prices are for years 2020-2021). Now when you are reading it, cars with were produced in big numbers are cost even less. And rare cars like JDMs or exotics are only going up in price. You still can buy, because next year your rare car will only appreciate. Or is you've imported a mainstream car, still have a few thousand buffer for depreciation, so when you sell, not much lost or you can even get the same what you've paid for it. 

 

Our company helps you to buy a car directly from Japan's auctions and get it imported. 

We ship to Auckland, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch and Dunedin. Can transport to any other city if needed as well. Like literally to anywhere nationwide. You can buy a car in Japan and get it delivered to your door-step, all done by us for you. 

Follow the steps to learn how to import a car from Japan, without any prior experience, and save $3000 to $15,000++ and get it done right. 

1.  Register and view auctions. Observe and make up your mind.

2. Check the HOW TO BID page, watch our training videos.  

3. Please PRACTICE BIDS, so we see what car exactly you like. 

4. Keep in mind our service is semi automated at the beginning. We wait for you to do the homework, and place practice bids. But often our team might email you with more info about availability and prices. Especially if you provide all car details correctly.   

5. We will translate auction lists, tell you the market price, offer similar cars to bid on. 


When you see a car you really like and want to buy, make a deposit to our ANZ account. 

Spend 30 minutes on a computer to go through the steps. And watch the training video. 

Very important - place Practice Bids. Try it out. Your Practice Bids helps us to understand what type of car you want, so that we can help you better.

See you in the auctions! 

You do not need to be experienced in Japanese Auctions to apply for our Importing Service. We have a gradual system, which automatically guides you through. 

So that we can attend to realistic inquiries better, please provide as much information as possible about your desired car during application. 

Our importing service is very popular, and we are getting a lot of inquiries. We simply need to know ample information to gauge importability of your desired car at our first point of contact. This helps us to serve realistic inquiries better.

Please Note: We value dedicated customers willing to learn and put in the time necessary to import a car from Japan. Your first contact with Japanese Auctions through our website should take 30 minutes to 1-hour minimum. It includes registering, watching the training video and browsing auctions and placing practice bids. Then coming back to check our replies on your Practice Bids. We might not be able to answer on all inquiries, but we always reply to your Practice Bid - we reply both by email and in the Electronic Office where your every practice bid is saved. 

It's a car you want to import and save thousands. So it's in your interest to invest your time and attention into auctions and place practice bids.  

Most of our customers' self-complete Stage 1, and then avail the Senior Importing Specialist time for realistic bids.

Start with the application, and whilst waiting for Stage 2 to start, you can complete training videos and the Practice Bidding part.