Decode the 6-to-R grade scale, damage symbols and repair-history box on a Japanese auction sheet — plus a free AI tool that translates one instantly.
Last updated: August 2026
A Japanese auction sheet is a one-page condition report an inspector fills out before a car is sold at auction. It carries an overall grade (6 down to R), an interior grade, a diagram of body damage, and a repair-history box — together they tell you more about real condition than any photo can.
You don't have to learn Japanese to read one. Every listing in our live Japan stock includes a free AI-powered "Scan sheet & translate to English" button that reads the sheet for you and reports the grade, repair history, registration date and shaken status in plain English. This guide explains what that translation is showing you, and how to sanity-check it yourself.
What exactly is a Japanese auction sheet?
It's a standardized inspection report produced when a car is consigned to a Japanese domestic auction house — USS, TAA, JU, CAA and others all use a shared grading approach rooted in criteria published by the Japan Auto Appraisal Institute (JAAI), the foundation established under Japanese ministry guidance to standardize used-car appraisal. An inspector examines the car in person, grades its exterior and interior, marks a body diagram with any damage, and records the odometer reading and paperwork status. Dealers bidding at auction rely on this sheet alone — they rarely see the car before buying it. That's why the sheet is written to be blunt: it exists to prevent disputes, not to flatter the car.
How does the overall grade scale work?
The headline number in the top corner of the sheet is the single biggest signal of condition. It ranges from S (better than a 6, reserved for brand-new or near-zero-mileage vehicles) down through R and RA, which flag accident-repaired cars rather than describing cosmetic wear.
| Grade | What it means | Typical condition |
|---|---|---|
| S | Brand-new or virtually unused | Effectively showroom condition, negligible mileage |
| 6 | Excellent | Very low mileage, almost no visible wear |
| 5 | Very good | Minor age-related wear only, no notable defects |
| 4.5 | Good | Light wear, a few small marks consistent with normal use |
| 4 | Good, more visible wear | Small scratches or dents typical of a car several years old |
| 3.5 | Average | Noticeable cosmetic wear, still mechanically sound |
| 3 | Below average | Multiple defects or heavier wear, priced accordingly |
| R / RA | Repaired (accident history) | Structural repair has occurred — grade replaces cosmetic score |
Note that R and RA are not "worse cosmetic grades" — a car graded R can look cosmetically fine (even 4 or 5 on the surface) but still carry a repair-history flag, which is why the repair-history box on the sheet matters more than the number itself.
What does the interior grade tell you?
Separately from the overall score, the inspector grades the cabin — seats, dashboard, headliner, odors — typically on a letter scale running from A (clean, like-new) down to C or D (heavy wear, staining, or smoke odor), though the exact bottom letter used varies slightly by auction house. A car with a strong exterior grade but a low interior letter usually means one thing: it was a daily driver, not a garage car. For buyers importing for resale or personal use, the interior grade is often the more honest indicator of how the car was actually treated.
What do the map symbols on the diagram mean?
The car outline on the sheet is annotated with small letter-and-number codes marking exactly where damage sits. You don't need to memorize the full set — these four cover most of what you'll see:
- A1 — a small scratch
- U1 — a small dent
- W — a repair wave (filler or bodywork repair visible on close inspection, not necessarily structural)
- XX — a panel that has been replaced entirely
Higher numbers after the letter (A2, A3, U2, U3) generally indicate larger or more numerous marks of the same type. None of these symbols alone should worry you on a car graded 3.5 or 4 — some surface marks are normal for any used vehicle. What changes the calculus is volume and location: several XX marks clustered around one corner, for instance, is worth asking about.
Which kanji boxes actually matter?
Most of the sheet is safely skippable if you're relying on a translation, but four boxes carry the information that changes a buying decision:
- 評価点 (hyouka-ten) — the overall grade discussed above.
- 修復歴 (shufuku-reki) — repair history. This is the single most important box on the entire sheet. Under JAAI's definition, this flag is only triggered when one of eight core structural components (frame rails, pillars, etc.) has been repaired or replaced — cosmetic bumper or panel work does not trigger it. If this box is marked, treat the car as accident-repaired regardless of how clean it looks.
- 走行 (soukou) — the odometer reading in kilometers, sometimes with a note if the reading is unconfirmed or the odometer has been replaced.
- 記録簿 (kirokubo) — whether a service record book was presented with the car at inspection. A present, unbroken service history is a meaningful trust signal on top of the grade itself.
Why do the dates on the sheet look wrong?
They're not wrong — they're just written in Japan's imperial era calendar rather than the Western calendar. The current era is Reiwa (令和), which began in 2019, so Reiwa 1 corresponds to 2019 and each subsequent Reiwa year adds one: Reiwa 8 is 2026. Older cars may show a Heisei-era date instead, where Heisei 1 corresponds to 1989. A first-registration date on the sheet reading something like "R3年" means the car was first registered in 2021 — worth knowing if you're checking a destination country's vehicle age limit before you buy.
How does our free sheet-scan feature help?
Reading all of the above from a raw scanned sheet, in Japanese, under time pressure, is exactly the kind of task that produces mistakes — including expensive ones, if a repair-history flag gets missed. Every fixed-price listing in our Japan stock carries a "Scan sheet & translate to English" button next to the vehicle's photos. It reads the original sheet and returns the overall grade, repair-history status, registration date and shaken (roadworthiness certificate) expiry in plain English, at no cost, before you commit to anything. It doesn't replace judgment — but it removes the language barrier that causes most auction-sheet misreadings, and it's the same document a Japanese dealer would be reading to decide whether to bid.
Frequently asked questions
Is a grade 4 car a good buy?
Yes, for most buyers. Grade 4 means light, typical wear with no repair-history flag — a solid, usable car. Check the interior letter and repair-history box before deciding rather than relying on the number alone.
Does an R grade mean the car is unsafe?
Not necessarily unsafe, but it means a structural component was repaired after an accident. Many R-grade cars drive normally, but they should be priced and inspected accordingly, and disclosed to your destination country's authorities if required.
Can I trust the mileage on the sheet?
The 走行 (soukou) figure is the inspector's recorded reading at the time of auction, cross-checked where possible against the 記録簿 service book. It's more reliable than a mileage claim with no documentation, though no auction sheet can fully rule out prior tampering.
What's the difference between R and RA?
Both flag structural repair history under JAAI's definition; RA is generally used for a lighter degree of repair than R, though exact severity is best confirmed by reading the inspector's written notes on the sheet itself.
Do all auction houses use the same grading scale?
The overall numeric grade (S/6/5/4.5/4/3.5/3/R/RA) is broadly shared across USS, TAA, JU, CAA and other houses. Minor details, like the exact bottom letter on the interior scale, can vary slightly between them.
Can I bid at Japanese car auctions through you?
Not directly — wicarexport.com sells live fixed-price stock you can buy immediately, with no bidding and no risk of losing a lot. If you specifically want to bid at USS and other dealer auctions, our export partner Washin Auto handles auction access, bidding and pre-bid sheet checks.
Take the guesswork out of your next import
An auction sheet is the closest thing to an independent condition report you'll get on a used car from Japan — once you know which four boxes to check, it takes under a minute to read. Browse our live Japan stock and use the free sheet-scan on any listing to see a plain-English translation instantly. For a deeper look at what the total landed cost looks like once you've picked a car, see our guide on how much it costs to import a car from Japan in 2026.
