M A G A Z I N E
Used vehicles: What is a car
car auction sheet auction sheet?
TIPS TO UNDERSTAND A
L
ooking forward to purchasing a second-
hand Japanese vehicle? Not eager to get
lost between paperwork and technical
details? L’expressCars breaks down the
Japanese car auction sheet to help you stay on
top of your purchase to make the best choice.
It is the proof that the used car has been
professionally evaluated and graded by
an inspector on a number of checkpoints
before being exported or sold to agents. If
you pay enough attention to it, it can reveal
a lot about your future purchase to ease
your decision-making.
Grading code: Other codes:
6 and A are the best you can get .
Composed of one number from 0 - 6 S means that the car is brand
new (like an “A” -graded one
in some cases)
A-D , this indicates the overall condition of R means that the vehicle has
been repaired
In short
and one or two letters in some cases from
the vehicle (the additional letter is sometimes
used to grade the body of the car).
xx
indicates a damaged car
Age of the vehicle:
The meaning of the grade always
varies according to the age of the
vehicle.
A “C” will be the general standard
expected of a 10 year-old car, but
will be a bad sign for a 2 year-old
car for example.
N
E
I C M
Important sections:
Additional Features will indicate the
transmission mode, as well as air
cooling options with abbreviations
E
SP
such as “FAT” for Floor-Shift
Automatic Transmission or “AAC”
for Automatic Air Conditioning.
Do not neglect:
Additional
Accessories
will indicate any further options
and accessories in the vehicle,
ranging anywhere from
“PW” for Power Windows
to “SR” for Sun Roof.
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MAR 2019 N o 6
Any report of a car crash history,
traces of rust, corrosion, or severe
defect highlighted in the auction
sheet.
Check the section of the report
describing the inside of the car to
make sure it would be a great buy.