What a Japanese auction grade is
Most used cars exported from Japan are first sold at dealer auctions run by houses such as USS, TAA, JU, CAA, HAA and Aucnet. Before the sale, an inspector working for the auction house looks the car over and records the result on the auction sheet. The overall grade, called 評価点 (hyōka-ten, evaluation points) in Japanese, is the headline of that record.
The grade weighs the body and paint, the interior, the mileage for the car's age, any accident repair, and faults the inspector notices. It sits in the grade box with the interior letter beside it, written as 4/B or as two separate boxes. Some houses also give the exterior its own letter.
The inspection is short. It is a check by a trained inspector at the auction site, not a workshop diagnosis, so the grade should always be read with the rest of the sheet. For the whole sheet, see how to read a Japanese auction sheet.
Japanese auction grade chart
The chart shows how each overall grade is generally understood at the large auction houses. The wording and the thresholds belong to each house, so use it as a guide and check the legend of the house that sold the car.
| Grade | General meaning | What you can expect to see |
|---|---|---|
| S, or 6 and above where used | New or nearly new | A very recent car with delivery mileage or very low kilometres. Few or no marks. |
| 5 | Excellent | Low mileage for the age, almost no marks, no repairs. |
| 4.5 | Very good | Light signs of use, usually a few small marks such as A1 or U1. No accident repair. |
| 4 | Good | Ordinary wear for the age and mileage. Small scratches or dents, perhaps a touched-up panel. No accident repair. |
| 3.5 | Average | Visible scratches and dents, often on several panels, or a panel that needs paint. Higher mileage is common. |
| 3 | Below average | Noticeable damage or wear, several panels needing paint or repair, possibly rust. |
| 2 | Poor | Heavy wear, corrosion, rust holes or many damaged panels. |
| 1 | Very poor or a special case | Often used for flood or fire damage, or for a heavily modified car, such as one with an engine swap or an aftermarket turbo. The notes say which. |
| R, RA (A at some houses) | Repair history | The car had accident damage to its frame or structure that was repaired. A separate category, not a point on the scale. |
| 0, *** or blank | Not graded | No normal grade was given. Reasons include unrepaired damage, a car that does not run, flood damage or a car sold as is. |
In exporter listings, 3.5 and 4 are the grades you see most often. Grades move in half steps in the middle of the scale, and a half step is a judgement call: two inspectors can grade the same car half a point apart.
Grade 5 vs 4.5 vs 4
These three grades cover the cars most careful buyers look at. What separates them is mostly the number and size of the marks, the mileage and the age.
- A 5 is rare on a car more than a few years old. It needs a body with almost nothing to record and low mileage for the age.
- A 4.5 allows a few light marks, usually level 1 codes such as A1 or U1, and normal mileage.
- A 4 allows more small marks and a panel or two that has been touched up, but no repair to the frame or structure.
- Mileage counts. A clean car with high kilometres is unlikely to get a 5, and may grade 4 or 3.5 for wear alone.
Look at the diagram to see what the half point is made of. A 4 with three A1 marks and a 4 with a W2 on the roof are graded the same and are not the same car. More examples are in grade 5 vs 4.5 vs 4.
Grade 3.5 and 3
A 3.5 is a used car with visible wear: several scratches and dents, or a panel or two that need paint. A 3 has more of the same, or rust that needs attention. Many cars that are mechanically sound grade 3.5 because of cosmetic wear alone.
A lower grade tells you how much cosmetic work the car needs. It does not on its own say whether the car is sound. Where the marks are matters: scuffs on bumpers and door edges are a different matter from rust on a sill or a wavy pillar. See grade 3.5 cars for what to look at.
R and RA auction grades: repair history
R and RA replace the number when the inspector finds that the car has had accident damage repaired. They are a separate category, not a low score. An R car can be in better cosmetic order than a car graded 3.
In the Japanese trade, repair history (修復歴, shūfuku-reki) generally means damage to the car's frame or framework that has been repaired or replaced: a pillar, the floor, the roof, a cross member, the radiator core support and similar parts. A replaced bolt-on panel such as a door, bonnet or wing does not count on its own. That is why a car with an XX on its door can still carry a number grade, while a car with a straightened pillar gets R or RA.
Houses word the two grades differently. A common reading is that RA marks a smaller repair and R a larger one. Some houses add a number, such as R1 or RA2, and some use A for a repaired car. Published guides disagree on the details, so the legend of the house that sold the car is the authority. Read the diagram, the notes and the photos to see what was repaired.
Flood and fire damage are not usually recorded as R. Look instead for a grade of 1 or 0 and notes such as 冠水 (kansui, flooded). More on this in R and RA grades explained.
Grade 0, *** and ungraded cars
Some sheets show 0, *** or nothing in the grade box. This means the house did not give the car a normal grade. Reasons include unrepaired accident damage, a car that does not run, flood or fire damage, a heavy modification, or a car sold as is without a full inspection. Some houses also use 0 for a repaired car. The notes usually say which, and an ungraded car is an unknown until you know the reason.
Interior grades A to E
The interior gets its own letter, written beside the overall grade. It covers the seats, carpets, headlining, dashboard, door trims and smells such as smoke. It says nothing about the engine.
| Interior grade | General meaning |
|---|---|
| A | Excellent. Very clean, little or no sign of use. |
| B | Good. Clean and tidy, with light wear. |
| C | Fair. Visible wear, small stains or marks, perhaps a small burn. |
| D | Poor. Stains, tears, burns or smells that need cleaning or repair. |
| E | Very poor, worse than D. Used at some houses only. |
A car can score well on one scale and poorly on the other. A 4/C has a good body and a cabin that will need cleaning or repair, and a 3.5/A has a worn body and a clean cabin. Some houses grade the exterior with a letter on the same A to E scale. See interior grades A to E for more.
How auction houses grade differently
The scale is broadly shared, but each house writes its own rules and trains its own inspectors. A 4 at one house and a 4 at another are close, not identical. We do not rank houses by strictness, because published comparisons contradict each other.
| Auction house | What to know |
|---|---|
| USS | The largest auction group in Japan, with venues across the country. Its sheets show the overall grade with separate interior and exterior letters. |
| TAA | An auction network associated with Toyota. It grades to its own legend. |
| JU | Auctions run by regional used-car dealer associations. Rules are set at association level, and sheets can look different from venue to venue. |
| CAA | A regional group often mentioned for venues in central Japan. Its own sheet and legend. |
| HAA | Known for its Kobe venue. Sources describe its corporate ties differently. |
| Aucnet | An online auction. Cars are inspected at the seller's premises rather than at a central yard, and the report comes with photos. |
Find the house in the sheet's header before you read the grade, and compare grades within one house where you can. See Japanese car auction houses explained.
Worked examples
These are illustrative sheets, not real cars. Each shows how the number, the letter, the diagram and the notes fit together.
- 4.5/B, 2019 hatchback, 38,000 km
- The diagram shows A1 on the rear bumper and U1 on the left rear door. A very good car with two small marks, which fits a 4.5. Next, compare the mileage with earlier readings for the same chassis number.
- 4/C, 2017 SUV, 92,000 km
- A2 on both front doors, U1 on the tailgate and W1 on the front bumper, with a note about worn seat bolsters. A good body with some touched-up marks, and a cabin that shows its use.
- 3.5/C, 2015 saloon, 140,000 km
- Many A1 and A2 marks, U2 on a rear quarter panel and S1 by a wheel arch. Average condition, with cosmetic work to budget for and rust to look at in person.
- RA/B, 2018 hatchback, 55,000 km
- XX on the bonnet, W1 on the front wing and a note about repair to the radiator core support. The front of the car was repaired after an impact. The notes and photos show where, and an inspection in person shows how well.
- *** with a note 冠水
- No grade, and the note says the car was flooded. A clean-looking cabin in the photos does not cancel that note.
Common mistakes when reading auction grades
- Reading the number without the letter. Inside, 4.5/D and 4.5/A are very different cars.
- Comparing grades across auction houses as if the scales were identical.
- Treating R or RA as a low score instead of a repair record, or ignoring it because the body looks clean.
- Assuming a high grade means no mechanical problems. The grade is not a mechanical inspection.
- Trusting a grade quoted in a message or an advert. Ask for the full sheet, then check it against the original record.
- Forgetting time. The grade describes the car on the auction day. A car can be auctioned more than once, with a different grade each time.
- Skipping the notes. Rust, flood, odometer and modification remarks are often only in the Japanese text.
What an auction grade cannot tell you
- The mechanical condition. Inspectors note faults they find, but the grade is not an engine or gearbox diagnosis.
- Anything after the auction. Damage in transit, repairs abroad and later mileage are not on the sheet.
- Repairs the inspector could not see, such as good bodywork under fresh paint.
- Service history, or accidents that were never inspected or recorded.
- The price on its own. Model, year, mileage and demand also decide what a car sells for.
How to check the grade a seller gives you
Get the chassis number from the car
Read it from the car, not the advert. See how to find the chassis number.
Ask for the full auction sheet
The auction house, sale date and lot number should be visible.
Compare the copy with the original record
Grade, mileage, date and damage marks should match the original auction record for that chassis number.
Look for other sales of the same car
Each auction sale has its own sheet and grade.
Have the car inspected in person
Especially when the grade is R, RA, 0 or below 3.5.
A CarTrust report shows the original auction sheet and auction photos when they are recorded for the chassis number, along with accident, damage and theft history, recalls and more. Mileage history is in the Silver and Gold reports, not Bronze. See the sample report and what each report includes.
If the seller's sheet and the record differ, how to tell if a Japanese auction sheet is real explains what to ask.