How to Read a Japanese Auction Sheet: Abbreviations and Symbols Explained

A Japanese auction sheet is a standardized inspection report filled in by the auction house's own appraiser, and it is the single most valuable document when buying remotely. The headline figure is the overall grade, typically running from around 5 for near-new down through 4, 3.5, and lower, with R or RA marking a car that has been repaired after an accident. Letters A through D usually grade the interior separately, so a 4B car is mechanically solid but worn inside.

The most useful part is the car diagram, a small map of the body covered in symbols. An A means a scratch, a U means a dent, a W means waved or repainted panel, and an S means rust, with numbers from 1 to 3 indicating severity. A circle around a number tells you how serious the damage is, so learning just these few marks lets you picture the bodywork without seeing a photo.

The corners of the sheet carry abbreviations for equipment and notes. AAC for air conditioning, PS for power steering, PW for power windows, and SR for sunroof are common, while shifts are noted as AT or floor and column variants. The appraiser's handwritten comments, often in Japanese, may flag oil leaks, warning lamps, or aftermarket parts, so a good exporter will translate them on request.

Treat the grade as a starting point, not gospel, and always ask your exporter to translate the inspector's notes and zoom into the diagram. When a deal looks unusually cheap for its grade, the explanation is almost always written somewhere on the sheet.