How it Works
This export business over the past 20 years has evolved and is now one of the largest industries contributing to Japan’s economic growth. In this new computer era of vehicle exporting, purchasing a vehicle from Japan has never been easier. The days of having to make frequent trips to Japan to buy your own vehicles, is now a thing of the past. With our online auction services customers can now view over 180,000 vehicles weekly with access to over 60 auctions. This makes finding those “hard to find” vehicles a lot easier and means that you are buying fresh stock at today’s market price. The need to carry a large amount of stock like in past years has decreased dramatically and now customers can chose the vehicles they want a lot easier through this new technology.
TERATERA will also assist buyers who come to Japan. We work with one customer at a time so advance booking of your trips to Japan is required. We can also arrange the booking of your accommodation and free pick up and drop off at the airport or train station. We are native English speaking and fluent in reading and writing Japanese. We give full personal attention to all your needs while you are in Japan and make the vehicle purchasing easy and hassle free assuring a successful trip every time. During your stay you will attend auction daily with an TERATERA representative and also get to go to various dealers and wholesalers. Where we beat all our competitors is with our experience of being able to describe a vehicle properly so you can feel comfortable purchasing vehicles when you are not in Japan.
Once a customer decides on the vehicles they are looking for you can access our available stock and confirm the vehicles through our stock list. If there is nothing in our stock for you then we can try and purchase it online. Contact us by phone or email and get us working for you today. We attend auctions regularly and have indicated on the online auction site as to which auctions we have people checking vehicles. We have people in attendance to check the vehicles at the majority of the auctions. For the auctions where there is no one attending and a computer bid is required we would first check the auction sheet to make sure that there are very few deficiencies before going ahead with a bid. We recommend that you only purchase Grade 4 or above in these cases as this will limit the chances of making a mistake. For peace of mind please understand that all vehicles are exported from Nagoya port and the vehicles are ultimately inspected prior to shipping
in these cases. The notion that you should never buy vehicles without checking them first is understandable but you should keep in mind that a lot of good vehicles can be purchased without checking them at the auction. A good example of this would be a Grade 5A vehicle, which requires very little repairs if any at all. If there are any discrepancies from the auction sheet when purchased and when finally inspected TERATERA will inform the customer prior to shipping. If there are any problems TERATERA Co. will dispose of the vehicle for the customer instead of exporting it to them.
Vehicle Grading at the Auction
Exterior Grade
■Grades 8, 9, and S: These grades refer to new vehicles with delivery mileage only. Note: Often these vehicles are not equipped with audio or floor mats.
■ Grade 6: These vehicles are as new condition with very low mileage. Note: Normally under 2,000 kms.
■ Grade 5: These vehicles are in excellent condition and require minor or no repairs.
■Grade 4.5: These vehicles are in excellent condition requiring minor repairs.
■Grade 4: These vehicles are in good condition requiring some repairs.
■Grade 3.5: These vehicles are average condition cars that will require repairs and can also have a minor accident repair history.
■Grade 3: These vehicles require extensive repairs and should be checked thoroughly before being purchased.
■Grade R or A: Indicate accident repaired vehicles and need to be checked for structural damage.
■Grade R1 or A1: These vehicles are apparently minor accidents with good repairs but these also must be checked closely.
Interior Grade
■Grade A: These vehicles indicate like new inside. It is rare to find a Grade A interior in a vehicle that has traveled over 10,000 kms
■Grade B: These vehicles are in very good condition inside and require a cleaning only
■Grade C: These vehicles are requiring slight interior repairs such as cigarette burns or small tears, and perhaps wear showing on steering wheel and seats.
■Grade D: These vehicles require lots of work in the interior and are in usually poor condition.
TERATERA Co. purchases only quality vehicles and we do not buy accident repaired vehicles or anything that requires major reconditioning. With that said try and keep your grading to minimum 4 B and above. All auctions do grade vehicles differently and sometimes a Grade 3.5 or a C grade interior can be in good condition. The grading system does vary from auction to auction but generally speaking the grading is accurate. We always recommend that the vehicle be pre-inspected by an TERATERA staff member prior to purchase. All TERATERA stock will be graded with the above guidelines. Often with other companies accident grade vehicles magically turn into grade 4 or 4.5 vehicles so beware and make sure the person who sells you the vehicle knows how to check a vehicle properly.