Vehicle Sources

Japan has a MASSIVE auction network where cars are auctioned by industry companies as well as individuals, there are auctions up each day of the week, excluding Sunday. J-Spec has combined cars from over 90 auction houses throughout Japan and typically has access to around 140,000 cars each week from these sources. Signed up customers with access to our members section can search through and view all of these cars, and if a car looks like it may be of interest they can request J-Spec to find more information. We will provide a translation of the auction report (a document provided by the auction house outlining the condition of the car) and where possible we will also have someone look at the car in person and report to us on details about the car. If a customer is happy with the information on the car they can nominate an amount they would like to bid, if the car is not what they want we will let it go and try again as more cars come up.

J-Spec is happy to look at several cars each day for customers and we will not stop until we have found you a car you are happy with... our service fee covers our continual searching and supply of information until the car you want is found, even if it means looking at many cars to get there.

Buying from auction has 2 main benefits, first is that there is a large selection of cars to choose from which is constantly updated every day, and second the prices at auction are usually quite keen.

Auction bidding is by proxy so even if you bid a large amount, you will only pay just over what the next highest bidder was willing to pay. If on that particular day the car you are bidding on has no serious interest by any others or there are not any high bids by anyone else on it, you get that car at a bargain price, and it is not uncommon for this to happen. Although the information we get on auction vehicles is thorough and reasonably detailed (everything important a prospective buyer would want to know is covered), some people feel uncomfortable buying a car based on a condition report and 2 small auction photos. This is the biggest drawback to buying from auction and although there are often savings in price to be made, some people (especially those new to importing) prefer to buy from sources where more information and photographs are available, which we can also accommodate.
Further information about auctions in Japan
Vehicles coming up at auction now

Like any country there are a large number of used car dealers in Japan from which we can source vehicles. Buying cars from dealers and taking their word on condition is VERY unwise, and it constantly amazes us that our competitors are willing to do this and let their customers take this risk. While most are trustworthy, some dealers will naturally talk up a car or may have different definitions of what a "good condition" car might be. In some circumstances cars may have problems that even the dealer is not aware of, and on some occasions they will straight up be dishonest. To combat this J-Spec has the ability to have almost ANY car in Japan with a dealer inspected by one of our representatives prior to purchase to ensure condition is as promised, the inspector (who is completely unbiased and is not paid any commission) will come back with a written report outlining anything a prospective buyer would want to know, and anywhere from 100 - 300 photos. As such you will have a very good idea of the condition of a car after this.

Since the inspectors travel to meet the car (and often have to travel several hours to get there) they cannot inspect the car in their workshop or on a hoist. As such a compression test is not possible, and on occasions where a car is not registered it cannot be test driven on the street, but will be driven at low speed in the yard/parking area where it is being inspected.
Further information about Japanese dealer cars
Further information about J-Spec's inspection service
Vehicles available with dealers now

There are businesses in Japan who purchase cars (typically from auction) and then offer them for sale at a fixed price with further information and photos. Some export agents will make profit on the sale price of the car itself, while some will sell the car at the price they bought it and only make money on their FOB fees, in which case the price is no different to if you had bid on it at auction yourself. As a market leader, many export agents ask J-Spec exclusively for recommendations on what cars to buy as we are always up to date with market trends and what prices are competitive, and as such many cars available with export agents are desirable examples.

J-Spec ONLY deals with export agents we trust, and avoid the MANY which are out there who are less reputable. Since J-Spec keeps a database of the millions of cars which are at auction each year the chances are we can find information on any car an export agent has from when the car was at auction, and we can see if the information provided is misleading compared to the auction report or if the mileage has been altered. This ability to check this information means that you don't ONLY have to take the export agent's word for it, we know about a car before they even tell us, and it is by this means that we have found (and ruled out) the many, many unscrupulous export agents who are out there that other importers continue to deal with.

Click here for our Featured section, some of the cars listed here are from export agents. We are also regularly in contact with export agents to see if they have cars matching what our current customers are searching for, and they are informed of what we currently need so that they may also work for us in searching for the right car.
Featured vehicles, which may include export agent cars

Similar to Dealers in Japan, J-Spec can source cars which are being sold by the private individuals who own them. A common example of where these cars can be found is Yahoo! Auctions Japan, which is a service very similar to eBay. Again, buying these cars based purely on the seller's description is fraught with danger, and so a full inspection can be arranged for these cars prior payment to ensure the condition of the car is as described.
Further information about Yahoo! Japan
Further information about J-Spec's inspection service
Featured vehicles, which may include private vehicles for sale

There are networks setup throughout Japan for the wholesale advertising of cars. Similar to the daily auctions, these networks are provided to typically sell cars to dealers and in most cases you must be in the trade to subscribe to these networks. Cars from these sources are sometimes priced to sell very fast. As such, while they are cheap, these cars often sell quickly so they are not around for long, and we cannot request additional information on cars as they know the car will probably sell regardless of if they go to this extra effort or not. To counter this the condition reports from wholesale networks are usually excellent and detailed, and normally around 10 photos are provided. Inspections of these cars can take place after a car is purchased and if the condition is not as we were promised a claim can be made with the wholesale network, giving you an extra buffer of protection against ending up with a poor condition car.
Further information about Wholesale networks
Vehicles available with wholesale networks