The deregistration notation system was changed.

When I export a car
I send a deregistration paper to the importer by Express Mail Service.
There is information about the car on the deregistration paper.

From this month, it contains a written description of the mileage.
This is good news for most importers.

Before, importers couldn't get the mileage information
without the maintenance records,
so some exporters camouflaged the speedometer.

They didn't mind the mileage when they bought the car at an auto auction,
because they could easily change it.

For example, Toyota Landcruiser prices were always high,
even with the mileage at more than 150,000km.
I think some importers must have thought
Japanese cars were bad for the mileage.

But for the future those exporters can't attempt to defraud.
I think this legal change is good to protect the Japanese car brand image.

The sources

I think we have 4 sources.

1. People who are thinking of doing trade-ins.
2. Car shops.
3. Yahoo auctions.
4. Auto auctions like in the USS.

Obviously, the cheapest way is #1.

Some time ago, I made a Japanese website
that advertises buying cars from people who
want to do a trade-in at a car dealer to buy a new car.

I got some responses,
but I found out it didn't work out,
because the people who are thinking of doing trade-ins
don't want to bother to do things like arranging
an appointment to let me check their cars.

They want to change their cars into money cheaply,
so it's hard to get cars from ordinary people directly.

Also I think I shouldn't buy from a car shop
because they are too expensive,
even I can get them at the wholesale price.


On Yahoo auction,
if yahoo auction sellers are privateers,
there might be bargain cars.
However recently most sellers are car shop guys
and they get their cars from auto auctions,
so the prices are a little bit expensive compared with auto auction prices.

Also some of them sell cars in good condition at their car shop, rather
than the bad condition of cars on Yahoo auction
to maintain their shop reputations.
I don't want to buy from Yahoo auction for this reason.

So I have only one option, buying from an auto auction like in the USS.

But now I'm scrambling to find cars in good condition even from this source.

Landcruiser and Safari

Now, I'm looking for a more than 15year old Toyota Landcruiser and Nissan
Safari to export to Canada.
I've often been to auto auctions to get them,
but I couldn't find any in good condition.
Most of them had a mileage of more than 150,000km, many scratches and dents and the insides were very dirty.

40th TOKYO MOTOR SHOW 2007

Now, I'm in Tokyo to enjoy Tokyo motor show
and to go to USS Tokyo.

I took many photos.

I'm looking for business partners.

I sometimes post notices on some bulletin boards to find business partners who live in Japan.

I believe if I want to earn the buyers' trust before I send them vehicles,
I need to meet them, but it's impossible to meet all the buyers all over the world.

So I came up with an idea.
Even in Japan, there are many foreigners.
It's easier for them to earn the trust of their home country's associates than me,
and it's also easier for me to earn the trust of foreigners living in Japan than abroad.
I think it's a good idea to have middle agents in Japan.

Some foreigners contacted me, then I met some of them.
I'm surprised to know that many foreigners living in Japan have an interest in exporting(importing) Japanese cars.

This method isn't a quick way to make money,
but I don't need to go abroad to arrange a business operation,
and more than anything else, having meetings with them is good English practice for me.

Grape hunting

We went to Miyoshi in Hiroshima for Grape hunting.
Recently I've been very busy, so I went away for a change of air.

Trade car view

I went to a presentation meeting for "Trade Car View" last Sat.
http://www.tradecarview.com
Trade Car View is a kind of bulletin board on which car shop guys can upload
their stocks.

These days many car importers look at the site more and more,
so having use of the site is becoming popular among Japanese exporters.
Actually thousands of car shop guys use the service.

It costs JPY52,500 ($450) a month to be a member.
First, I thought it was too expensive,
but many exporters say if you can sell a car a month with Trade Car View it will pay off.

I think the most important thing for exporters is selling their stocks on their website,
but ignoring the service is the same as throwing money away so I'm thinking of joining Trade Car View.


I saw many car shop guys at the presentation meeting.
We had a question time there.
I wanted to know about income summary etc,
but the main subject was about communications.
most attendees seemed not to like English.
They were concerned about communication with foreign buyers.

I also didn't like English once,
but when I wanted to get into the exporting business,
I studied very hard with an NHK radio English program.

Now I believe that keeping up with studying is a kind of ability but
I don't know whether the car shop guys will study hard for success.

I think the fact that most Japanese don't like English is an advantage
to those of us who study English.

Ho to see the auction sheet

All vehicles are evaluated by the grading system into Grades.
They give indications of the condition.

S
Brand new or rarely used.

5
Vehicle is like new. All original body parts. No repairs needed on vehicle. Usually only given to vehicles less than 3 years old.

4.5
Vehicle is in excellent condition. No slight scratches or dents.

4
Vehicle in good condition, few scratches/dents due to normal wear as you would get with any normal vehicle.

3.5
Vehicle has a few scratches or dents visible. This grade is usually given to a vehicle in average condition.

3
Various scratches or dents, some paint blemishes.

2
Better than rough condition, modifed cars, sometimes cannnot pass regular test
(depending on country of import)

1
Rough condition

R
A vehicle which has been in an accident where some parts have been repaired or replaced.

RA
Vehicle has been in MINOR accident. It has been repaired to an acceptable standard.

RA2
Accident-repaired (not a good repair)

RA3
Accident-repaired, but in good condition now.

RA3.5
Accident-repaired, but in excellent condition now

***
Accident damaged vehicle however has not been repaired. Vehicle may have engine problems.


Auction inspectors see a car in minutes, and they check thousands of cars a day. So the above grades are just indications.
There are some descriptions at the lower left. I think these are the most important things to check on the auction sheet.
Sometimes they mention very serious problems like “Engine doesn’t work.”

How reliable the auction sheets are.

I don’t trust the auction sheets at all, because when I was a member of I-auc(I-auc is an auction agent), I couldn't directly go to auction houses,
all I could do was check the auction sheets on the website and make limited orders a day before the auction day.
I only got the cars that car shop guys, who checked the cars at auction yards, had given up on because they found they weren't in good condition.

I think there are 3 types of car shop guy who don't go to auction yards to make their own inspections there.

Type1: Can’t go there.
People who are members of only AS-net of I-auc.
(People who can’t become individual auction members.)

Type2: Repairing cost < Time consuming cost
The guys who have their own repair yards and know the cost of repair is cheaper than their time consuming cost to check the car's condition at auction yards.
These type of guys have large-scale car shops and they don't have time to go to auction yards because they bid on many cars in a day.

Type3:Auction agents.
They don’t need to be concerned about the car's condition because they are just agents.
They throw the weight of responsibility on their customers.

auction sheet

Before I go to auction houses, I always check the auction sheets on the website of AS-net.
AS-net is the agent of most auctions.
I also can bid on the website (AS-net), but I don’t use it to bid.
I get access to the AS-net to check the cars in advance.
For example, I go to USS Kyushu every Sat.
I can see the auction sheet of Sat cars from Thursday on AS net.
I decide which car to check on Sat until Friday night,
and I print out the sheets and bring them to USS Kyushu to jot down the detail of condition on them.
Then I decide whether to bid or not. If I want to bid, I decide on a price impassively.
I often see vehicles which, contrary to how they are represented in their online auction reports, are infact, in very bad condition.
The vice versa.
I never believe the auction sheet.
It’s predicable that auction sheets are just indicator.