You, whether you are a dealers or end-user, you will want to purchase cars from Japan at wholesale prices. You don’t want to pay expensive retail prices... You want the largest choice of cars and trucks to choose from. You want to be able to choose from the largest stock of vehicles available; the Japanese car auction market. Here, you will be purchasing from the same stock base as that car exporters. You want access to the bargains and buy vehicles below market price. With our help, you can purchase directly from the Japanese used car auctions.
Car dealers purchasing more than one vehicle, need to learn the skills of purchasing from auctions. To have success, you need to understand the whole process of purchasing through the Japanese used car auctions. You need to understand the average auction prices, the grading system and know the available auction halls in Japan. You need to understand the whole process from purchasing to export to arrival at your port of destination. Understand the benefits and costs of roll-on roll-off shipping compared with shipping your vehicles inside a container, and understand the extra costs involved when shipping by container. You stand not alone, Akebono Japan shall run you through the whole process, assist you, provide inspection sheet translations, and calculate the most cost-effective transportation costs with you, so that you will be able to obtain vehicles at prices lower than your competitors.
BENEFITS OF AUCTIONS
When buying a vehicle from auctions, consider how you will buy: from the auctions stock (Fixed price) or through live auto auctions. Live auctions (or simply AA) is often more advantageous because they:
• Save you time on searching – the biggest selections available.
• Are a safe way to buy - you're getting accurate and independent reviews of cars conditions • Give much more competitive prices – you buy directly from the source at the start from the supply chain
• Verifiable pricing of the real cost
AUCTION PROCESS
Here are some guidelines of what happens at auto auctions, and what you should do to purchase vehicles from them. Knowing what will happen will help you avoid pitfalls and make better decisions when searching, bidding, and purchasing during auctions.
Vehicle Has Inspection
All vehicles must first be inspected before they are auctioned. Japanese Auctions houses have a high reputation of accurate vehicle assessing, done through independent experts. When inspected, an 'Inspection Sheet' will be created. On this sheet you will find the detailed condition of the car including:
• Vehicle's Data (registration, chassis number, etc.)
• Any structural damage.
• Any cosmetic damage.
• Any mechanical damage.
• The vehicle's Rating (eg. 4.5)
• The vehicle's Equipment (eg. alloy wheels)
• Assessor's Notes (written in Japanese – only AKEBONO provides translation free of charge)
Vehicle Is Listed for Auctioning
After inspection, vehicles are assigned an auction date and are added to a database for members to view. AKEBONO is an official member of all auction halls in Japan and will notify you of possible candidates according to your wishes.
Buyer Picks a Vehicle
There are several ways to find vehicles but before you begin, you must choose who will search. Most agencies will charge you extra for finding a car for you. AKEBONO will provide this service to you for free. We will need to know what you want and how flexible you are. Or, you can of course search by yourself so that you have full control.
If you choose to use an agent to search, you must express exactly what you're looking for and clearly. Many agents in Japan don't really know English very well. Communication can be difficult if your bidding agent doesn't speak English very well. Luckily, AKEBONO provides full bilingual services in multiple languages, which takes away the confusion and trouble to convey your own terms.
When you are looking for cars, there are two common ways to locate a car:
• Browsing - look through a provided list of options. -or-
• Searching -Akebono has a search engine to narrow down results according to your wishes
Important things to watch for when considering a car:
• Mileage
• Ratings (Overall, Interior)
• Manual or Automatic Transmission
• Gas or Diesel
• RHD or LHD - if not mentioned, it is RHD (Right Hand Drive - driver sit on right side of vehicle). o Some LHD (Left Hand Drive) countries require conversion. It is possible to convert, but it will add additional costs as well.
• Year - it can be the production year or first registration year. Knowing both can be beneficial during import. o Check production year by chassis number. o Or check by asking Akebono.
You should find a few vehicles which you like before you stop searching. With a few choices to choose from it will be easier and quicker to get you a car. Try to get a selection narrowed down to about 3-6 cars. If you use a search function, it's possible to narrow and widen your choices to what is most appropriate.
Buyer Prepares a Bid
Once you find what you like, contact us to place a bid. Each car may have a different bidding method depending on the vehicle and auction hall. Advanced automated bidding system over networks, simple email and fax is still being used in Japan.
At the time of placing a bid, you usually must either deposit 50% or pay 100% in advance. Both charges are common among exporters and import agencies. At Akebono, we will only ask a flat $1000 initial deposit down payment. (Unless it is an expensive unit) If your bid fails, you will be can bid on another unit or have your deposit refunded. Another common fee by agents is to charge around a minimum of ¥1000/$10 for a failed bid because this is what is charged by the auction house to enter bidding. In our case, AKEBONO will only charge the auction fee upon successful purchase. This means that you can bid unlimited times for without paying extra.
Do remember that you are simply bidding; it is not the same as purchasing. When you are buying a car through auctions, first you place your bid. Only after your bid won you can begin purchasing.
PURCHASING AFTER A SUCCESSFUL BID
At this stage, you'll be required to pay the remaining outstanding balance. Additionally, depending on the agreement if you are using FOB, CFR / C&F, CIF, the cost for freight will be included in your payment to Akebono,
Most exporters will use only wire transfer (often called Telegraphic Transfer or TT) for payments. Buying by credit/debit card is usually not feasible due to large fees the buyer must pay to the banks. Akebono does also accept PayPal. Once everyone is in agreement, you will receive a purchasing agreement and an invoice.
For any questions feel free to contact us:
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+81-70-4406-5965
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