How to buy from Japan car auctions
6 clear steps — from free registration to your car on the water. Each step below has a real screenshot, and further down the whole journey sits on one timeline anchored on auction day (Day 0).
6 steps
Each step with a real screenshot, so you always know exactly what happens next.
STEP 1. Register
Create your free account in about 3 minutes to unlock direct access to 120+ auction houses and every weekly listing.
STEP 2. Pay deposit
Pay a refundable bidding deposit (from ¥150,000) right inside your user.japanauc.com dashboard — fully refunded if you don't win.
We accept PayPal, Wise and Bank Transfer — PayPal adds a 4% handling fee (paid by the buyer), and Bank Transfer usually takes longer to clear. We recommend Wise — it arrives fast and has low fees.
Bank Transfer 
STEP 3. Search lots & place a bid
Browse 150,000+ weekly lots with translated auction sheets — our AI Translation turns every auction sheet into clear English, so condition notes and inspector remarks are easy to read before you bid.
Set your maximum price and our team bids for you — going up to ¥20,000 above it only if needed to win.
You can use the Group Bidding feature to bid on several alternative lots while capping how many of them you actually want to win. For example, group A-1 means that, out of all the bids in group A, you want to win only one car.
STEP 4. Win the bid & move to yard
When you win, we arrange inland transport to the export yard first — about 7–10 days. Once it arrives, we send you real yard-in photos and the balance invoice.
STEP 5. Pay invoice
Only after you've seen the yard-in photos do you pay the balance — within 48 hours of the invoice, to our official Japan account. Clear breakdown: hammer price, commission, auction & inland fees.
You can review every payment you've made anytime in your user.japanauc.com dashboard.
Bank Transfer 
STEP 6. We arrange export
We handle de-registration, export documents, vessel booking and shipping — and keep you updated until the car reaches your port.
All of your car's documents are also available anytime in your user.japanauc.com dashboard.
Bid terms
A few conditions apply to every bid you place. Please read these before you submit.
- 1 The deadline for regular bids is 9:00 Japan Time.
- 2 All bids (including supplementary bids) must be submitted at least 1 hour before the start time.
- 3 The bid price is the maximum price, but we may exceed it by up to ¥20,000 if necessary.
- 4 Cancellations, price changes and other requests are only accepted through the auction system.
- 5 If you wish to cancel your order for your own reasons after your car has been purchased, we may claim a portion of the deposit as compensation.
The same journey on a timeline
Anchored on auction day (Day 0).
Timeline is indicative — inland transport and sailing schedules vary by auction location and destination.
Two payments, no surprises
1 · Deposit refundable
A minimum of ¥150,000, paid before you bid (Step 2) right in your user.japanauc.com dashboard. It secures your bidding access, and is fully refunded if you don't win — or credited towards your car if you do.
Bank Transfer 2 · Balance invoice
Covers hammer price, our commission, auction & inland fees. Shipping is billed per your destination. Due within 48 hours of the invoice by bank transfer.
All payments go only to our official company bank account in Japan — never a personal account.
Ready to start? Step 1 takes 3 minutes.
Register free — no obligation, cancel any time before you bid.