Two ways to buy a car at Japanese Auctions

Comprehensive 26-Minute Tutorial on Navigating Japanese Car Auctions

5:30 min - Auctions, 9:57 min - Price, 11:15 - Calculator, 14:36 min - Placing Bid,  15:40 - Electronic Office, 16:25 - Searching Auctions, 20:14 - Sales Statistics, 20:28 - Bidding, 25:08 - Deposit

˚Updated: Service fee $1000 to $8000
our Car Japanese Auctions

HOW TO PLACE A PRACTICE BID: 

- Open the lot number you'd like to bid on
- In the top right corner, find the “Bid Request” field and enter your bid amount
- In the text section, feel free to ask any questions you may have
- Click the “Enter a Bid or Request Info” button
- Click a second time "I agree with terms" button
- You can click on the "Thank you. Your bid has been successfully submitted" message, and view all your Practice Bids there.
- This completes the bid process. We will receive your bid request and respond with the auction list translation and our advice.

Enter your bid amount in Japanese yen. Ask any questions you may have. Use the Importing Calculator to determine how much yen to bid.
Click on "Enter a bid or request info." 
Click on "I agree with terms."
This is a test bid only, you will need to confirm your bid directly with us afterward.
Your bid has been submitted for our review. You can click on the "Thank you. Your bid has been successfully submitted" message to access your Electronic Office and view your other placed bids.
All your bids, our communications, and the auction list translations can be found in the Electronic Office.

How to Use Our Auction Platform and Place Bids

In this 25-minute explainer video, we walk you through everything you need to know to import a car from Japan to New Zealand using our service. Here’s what you’ll learn:

 • How to navigate our auction platform and find the right car
 • How to check average selling prices
 • How to use the Importing Calculator
 • How to place bids and request translations for auction lists
 • How to turn your practice bids into live bids

Our goal is to make importing easy and accessible. Visit our website www.importyourcar.co.nz to register, place your practice bid, and let us help you win your dream car. Register, bid, and win – we import your drive!

After you've placed a bid

- The Auction List Translation will be sent via email and updated in your Electronic Office
- We will also provide our opinion on the car and advice on the bidding amount
- Together, we finalize everything, and if all checks out, we’ll make your bid Live

- All communication takes place through emails and phone calls 
- Your bids don’t become live immediately, we manually approve each bid after discussing it with you
- This approach ensures safe bidding and allows you to explore the auction system comfortably

BEST PRACTICES:

Even if you see that the average price exceeds your bid amount, it's still a good idea to keep placing practice bids. This allows us to evaluate and give you advice on pricing, as final auction results can sometimes be lower than expected.

We can provide guidance and recommendations on the most effective bidding strategies to help you successfully win a vehicle within your specified price range.

Sometimes it does happen at Japanese auctions that cars get sold for much lower prices than anticipated. It’s not often, but it does happen. That’s why we recommend participating in an auction, to be in to win.

The most effective bidding technique we like to use is bidding on multiple cars every day. If there are 10 cars on a given day, why not place bids on all of them. That’s a sure way to win a car at a good price.

You can place multiple bids, but we’ll purchase only one car. Once we win the first car, all other bids will be automatically canceled.

Placing bids on multiple cars is the most effective strategy you can use. We review all your bids, and if we find a car that isn’t suitable to proceed with, we’ll cancel it on our end. This ensures it’s safe for you to cast a wide net by placing multiple bids.
This approach increases your chances of winning a car at a great price.

PRACTICE BIDDING: 

Test or practice bidding is a safe way to explore auctions, understand current prices, get familiar with the process, and prepare for live bidding.

After you've placed your practice bid, we will provide you with the following updates:

- Whether the car can be imported
- Suggest other lots for similar cars
- Auction list translation, including the car's features and specs.
- Recommend a realistic bid amount to increase your chances of winning
- Update you for how much did the car sell after the auction
- If needed, you can cancel your bid up to 1 hour before the auction starts.
- If everything checks out and you decide to proceed, make a deposit and confirm your bid
- We will make your bid LIVE only after you confirmation

Key Distinctions: Japanese Car Auctions vs. Local Listings

  • FREQUENCY: Locally, car listings can stay active for several months, whereas in Japanese auctions, cars are usually listed just 1-3 days before the auction begins. This quick turnaround is a stark contrast to the extended visibility of local listings. Once the auction starts, each car typically sells within about 20 seconds.
  • ​VOLUME: For example, on Trade Me, approximately 30,000 cars are listed at any given time. In Japanese car auctions 30,000 to 70,000 cars auctioned daily! This significant difference in volume highlights the massive scale and rapid turnover compared to the more static nature of Trade Me listings.  
  • YOUR ATTENTION: Locally, you can take a week or two to make a decision about purchasing a car. At Japanese auctions, it's essential to check the listings daily and make decisions the same day, reflecting a much faster-paced process.

EXAMPLE

On Trade Me, you might find around 10 Audi A6 models listed for an entire month. In contrast, at Japanese auctions, there may be no Audi A6 models available initially, but over the course of a month, as many as 80 could come up for auction. With new lots being added daily, it's important to regularly monitor upcoming auctions.

For Japanese auctions, it's crucial to check them daily, even multiple times a day, as new cars are added constantly. If the car you're looking for isn't available immediately, check again later. Once you find a suitable car, be prepared to make a decision that same day. Ensure you place your bid in our system early to receive timely translations and advice.

Do you have any questions?
CALL US 
09 8893885 - Chris - 11 AM to 9 PM
In the mornings we are busy with bidding. 
EMAIL 24/7 
info@importyourcar.co.nz
Tips for succesful bidding
  • Check the auctions in the evening to find lots for the next day, as most of the cars are added during evening time, 8-11 pm NZ time.
  • ​Auctions are best viewed on a computer or tablet, rather than a phone, for a better experience.
  • ​​Check auctions in the morning and throughout the day as well - some cars get added on the day.  
  • ​In the top right corner of the auction page, find your User Name, click on it, and then select “Electronic Office".
  • ​​We use the Electronic Office and emails for communication - all your bids and translations will be displayed there.
How to IMPORT A CAR FROM JAPAN
QUICK OVERVIEW VIDEO

AFTER THE AUCTION:

- We will update you with the auction results. If we don’t win, get ready to place your bids for the next day.
- When we succeed and win a car, we will email you a tax invoice. Make the payment to our ANZ account, and then you can sit back and relax as we handle everything for you, including updates on the arrival date and pictures from the port, as well as importing, freight, customs clearance, and compliance.
- Once the car is ready, simply register it under your name at the nearest VTNZ or AA station and enjoy driving it.

In reality, all you need to do is place practice bids, make a deposit when you're ready to buy, and we’ll handle the rest.

Simply Put
Practice BID & WIN
We do the rest
ACTUAL PRICE OF THE CAR
WILL DEPEND ON:
  • TIME OF THE DAY.  Evening auctions tend to sell for less. We still bid during the day. 
  • DAY OF THE WEEK.  On Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays cars tend to sell for less. We still bid during the week. 
  • NUMBER OF CARS GETTING AUCTIONED PER DAY.  The more cars are going for auction on a given day, the less they sell for. If there are 2 cars for the day - might sell for a higher price. If 15 same cars getting auctioned on the day, and we use a Numbers Game technique - we can win one for a good price. 
         Usually it will take 1-3 weeks of active bidding before we win a car.
APPLY FOLLOWING
 BIDDING TECHNIQUES:
  • NUMBERS GAME.  Bid on many cars per day - we will stop bidding after won one. Many place 5-10 bids per day, and win one car for a good price.
  • SAME DAY BIDDING.  Some cars appear at auction on the day. These cars are unnoticed by other bidders and sell for less. Check auctions during the day, and email us newly added auctions. If we act fast - we win for good price.
  • SECURE THE CAR BIDDING TECHNIQUE.  Like a car a lot - place a higher bid. We always bid gradually in small amounts, and have a chance to win for less than your high bid. But if bidding gets busy - we secure a car with your higher bid. Good technique for cars with low mileage, 4.5 or 5 grade cars with many features like sky-roof or performance package. 
Use all of the above bidding techniques to secure a car for a good price.
ABOUT AVERAGE PRICE
There are two places where you can find for how much car might sell at the auction. 
AVERAGE PRICE in the top right corner.
And in SALES STATISTICS - see the icon.

Average Price is just an indicator.
In reality, we have won many cars way lower than Average Price.

Best Approach - place many bids - we will shortlist best cars to bid on, and communicate with you to finalise on what bids to make live. 

Example - Average Price is 6,190,000 yen. But Sold for 6,075,000 yen.

Click to view

How to Buy, Bidding, Importing Calculator, Navigation & Sales Statistics
If you are importing for the first time, it might seem like a new thing. But after reading and browsing auctions and placing trial bids, you will start to get a very good idea of the way Japanese Auctions work. Go slowly and be patient. Reward will be a right car for best price, and good story to tell to your friends. 

AUCTIONS BROWSING MANUAL
Auctions Browsing
Use search filters to find a car you like. Select:
Car Make & Model.
Year & Mileage. 
Auction grade & Auto or MT. 
Click Search.

To Open Auction List - click on the Lot Number, like 5023.
PRACTICE BIDDING MANUAL
In the top right corner of the auction find a Bid Request Form.
- Choose JPY 
- Enter JPY amount you are willing to bid on the car.
- Add any message with your bid. Here you can ask anything about car condition, price, auction time, etc.
- Click on "Translate Auction List"
We will get it translated for you. 

- We will receive your bid in seconds and follow up on it. 

- You can click on it to see all your prctice bids. 
- Click "Enter a bid or request information" and then click "I agree with terms."

Don't worry - it does not mean you are buying a car. We have to approve your bid first. Bids get accepted if:
- We have a deposit
- Translation is good
- Your bid amount is right
- We check car meets NZ Standards


We will review your bid.
Update you with translation. Check/advice on bidding amount. 
If we approve your bid, we will go into actual bidding. 
Because we are bidding for the car in Japan - they display START PRICE, SOLD PRICE AND AVERAGE PRICE in Japanese Yen.
Finding the total cost to import in NZD is very simple. 

Enter JPY amount into our IMPORTING CALCULATOR first. Enter yen amount in C3 cell. All costs associated with importing will be displayed. 

Then when you are happy with the total price - place bids in JPY.
Navigation and Search Manual
Use search filters to find a car you like.

Shortlist it by choosing Make and Model, Year and Mileage, Engine size and Auto or Manual

You can see auctions date and time too.
Make sure to choose Auction Grade 4 or 4.5, sometimes 3.5 is ok too. 
Grades R or RA are for cars with some damage and therefore not recommended. 
Search through the list of cars. You can see:
- Lot Number
- Auction Date & Time
- Car year and chassis number
- Engine Size and Automatic FA or Manual
- Car mileage and Auction Grade
- Start price & Sold price if auction is over
- Average Selling price in JPY

When you find a car you like, click on the LOT NUMBER to see more info about the car.

What Auction grade to choose.

Consider cars with Auction Grade 3.5, 4 and 4.5. 

We do not recommend cars below those grades.

In some cases, grade 3 is ok if you don't mind. 



2. How to check Sales Statistics. 

When on the Auction List which displays the car:

- Click on Sales Statistics button

Check for how much similar cars have been selling before. Prices are in Japanese yen, so open Importing Calculator and enter JPY amount to see Total Cost to import.  


Also, in Sales Statistics, you can look at the crossing point of Auction grade and the mileage. This will give you a closer estimation of the possible price.


3. Use our Importing Calculator to see how much the car will cost you in NZ dollars. 
Enter the average price in JPY there, and you will see the total price in NZ dollars which includes all the importing costs, on-road is included as well.

Keep in mind the AVERAGE PRICE is indicative only. We can bid 100,000 to 200,000 JPY less than Average Price and still buy the car!


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How to Find Car Price and Place a Bid
The best way to learn something new is by actively doing it.
To help you understand how the auction system works, we encourage you to place Practice Bids. When you engage in test bidding, we don’t purchase the car immediately. Instead, we first provide you with an auction list translation, share our opinion about the car, and advise you on the appropriate bidding amount.
To purchase a car, make a $1000 deposit. This allows us to approve your Practice Bids and turn them into Live Bids.
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Monday to Saturday 
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Inquiry Email 24/7:
info@importyourcar.co.nz
CONTACTS
Inquiry and bidding: 
11 AM - 8 PM - 098898095 - Julian
9 AM - 8 PM - 021950789 - Nick  
11 AM - 9 PM - 09 8893885 Chris 

Already bought the car:
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• Vehicle Compliance


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