Get past Japan Auction info and km history for most imports

[Prestige Motorsport]

Get past Japan Auction info and km history for most imports

Hi All, just a quick one. Thought we would let you know about this site www.japancarhistorycheck.com which has recently been recommended to us for getting hold of past auction records including pictures and actual sale price in Japan going back to 2009.

We've seen a few reports from those who've had checks done and in some cases it has saved them from an expensive mistake.

This can be really handy for anyone who already owns an import or has their eye on one for sale, as you can find out the real condition it was in and the kms before it left Japan. With the high incidence of odometer tampering on imports by sellers, it's hard to know what's genuine these days.

Most cars exported from Japan have gone through auction, as that's the cheapest source, so odds are they'll be able to track down the auction info for your car if it left Japan in the last 7 years.

They can also supply the km readings at every re-registration going back to new in some cases which will give you a full Japan odometer record.

There are a couple of other sites around where you can get hold of an export certificate copy but this will only give you the last two odo readings. Much better to have the auction report plus official Japan Transport Authority records going back as far as possible. They also have a quick turnaround time if you need the info fast before you buy.

Anyway, we are all for services like this which help the consumer avoid being ripped off, so you might like to check it out if you need to do some detective work on a Japanese import to find out if it's the real deal. Cheers.

[Peache07]

I can vouch for these guys,

I contacted them last week to get a report and they definitely delivered on service, Easily one of the friendliest and most helpful companies.
Don't be hesitant on spending the money for "just a couple of pieces of paper."

A report on a car you're hoping to purchase or have already purchased is the most important thing to have and you'll be kicking yourself if you don't get one.
even if the report opens a can of worms for your car, It's always good to know the facts.
Don't be naive and think you wont be affected by dodgy dealers, If you do, It can and will bit you in the arse, just like it bit me.

A report is not only for a KM check, It will tell you a lot you didn't know about your import. EG Repairs and Structual Damage.

[GTR-N1]

Do you find that quite a few desirable cars coming up for auction recently have seemingly very low Kms? Should one be quite suspicious about these figures and thus, use your services  (or some other), especially when service history appears incomplete?

[GTR-N1]

And have you found that a few cars coming up for auction have had fudged Kms?

Is this practice common or uncommon in Japan?

[niZmO_Man]

Well apparently some of the car mileages are rolled back then registered a couple of twice (gives time to repair damages) then put through auction?

Also it seems like a dangerous job (history check). Apparently one of the first groups to offer the services stopped because of death threats?

[Dark26]

How long have Japanese Car History Check been running for? Haven't heard of them until today. But it is good that full KM can be retrieved.

[Prestige Motorsport]

We've had some other feedback like the experience Dylan has had above, where they have been very quick and helpful. So it's good to see a service out there like this.

As niZmO_Man says, it can't be easy to operate considering the number of people out there who don't want this information to be available to the end user... particularly the actual auction sale price in Japan. Regarding cars being registered twice, this would probably be to reset the kms on the Japanese Export Certificate which only shows the last two registration intervals, there's an article here on why that happens and also a few other ways the Export Certificate can be faked to trick a buyer which is interesting: http://japancarhistorycheck.com/japanese-export-certificate-what-is-it/

Dark26 - we are not sure how long they've been operating, a reasonable time we think as we've had quite a few people comment to us about their service and how impressed they were in terms of speed and info provided. We've also used them for a couple of checks ourselves recently.  Some auction reports have been provided back within the day. They also seem well priced compared to other services which can take weeks to provide any info at all -- not much good if you have your eye on a car and need to make a quick decision before someone else snatches it. If anyone else uses them please report your experience for the benefit of all.

Terry_GT-R34 - from our perspective we have been sourcing cars now since 1999, we find the kms at auction in Japan are very reliable, since Japan has a system in place to track the kms at auction and also at every re-registration inspection, it's virtually impossible to get away with odometer tampering in Japan as the buyer will know virtually right away. The auctions note inaccurate kms and also odometer replacements and the agents we use for inspections also check the condition matches the kms. In all these years we have never had a problem with kms, so our opinion would be that winding back kms happens at the request of the importer after they've bought it and before the car leaves Japan, or when it arrives in another country. There's a bit more about this in our FAQ.

Japan Car History Check have some info here as well: http://japancarhistorycheck.com/odometer-repair-or-replacement/ and here: http://japancarhistorycheck.com/odometer-tampering-or-winding-back-the-kms/, plus some other articles in their News section.

[GTR-N1]

Thank you for clarifying expeditiously!

[Prestige Motorsport]

haha, no worries Terry !

[R33gtst2016]

Is there any way to check there Australia sales history and kms check after they have been imported and been in Aus for more than 10 years?

[Prestige Motorsport]

Hi R33gtst2016. As far as we are aware, there are no searchable records kept for vehicle kms in any State which is really odd. Japan requires cars to be physically checked for re-registration every two years after the first 3 year period from new, so at that time they note the kms. All Australia has is a box on the transfer form when you sell, to enter the kms at the time. Who knows what each State does with this data but it's certainly not available publicly. IMHO it should be added to the registration paper under Odo History.

In Australia you should search the PPSR (Personal Property and Securities Register) which will tell you the details of the owner and any money owing etc. which is critical before you buy any local car (if you buy a car with money owing on it, it could be repossessed and you will lose everything). It costs about $4 per check and make sure you use the proper Govt. site at that price not some automated reseller website at a high mark-up. This can sometimes tell you which State the car was registered in and when, which can also be useful.

The other thing you can do for imports is to get the name of the compliance workshop from the compliance plate, then contact them directly (if they are still around). Under SEVS they are required to hold the original Export Certificate on file for the vehicle, this may have some km records on it depending on the year exported from Japan.

[R33gtst2016]

Carhistory.com.au does non imported one for $30 odd but they said they can't do any on imported vehicles and they said there are companies them at do but they couldn't tell me.. but yes I think it is just at what is taken off the transfer papers so then you can atleast check if it has been changed or not but thanks that's good to know too does the jap one cost or is it free service?

[sin-]

There's also https://carvx.jp/ 

[Prestige Motorsport]

That site looks OK sin-, haven't heard of that one before but they don't seem to offer the auction report / pictures which I think is probably the most useful info. Most cars go through auction just prior to export from Japan so it can be very eye-opening to see the condition it was bought in (and find out the auction price as well). Good for checking whether your import agent is telling you the truth as well !

[sin-]

Yes. They are available here http://autopatrul.ru/report for $10 USD. Goes back 7 years apparently.

[R33gtst2016]

For Australian imports that have been here 10 or more years are there any options?

[Steve85]

Over 10 years becomes a real pain. You will need to try to find out who complied the car abd track them down to see if they have any details or paperwork.

I managed to do this for a car iwas looking to buy. The bloke who complied it couldnt remember it and was no longer running the business. It took.me about a week of searching the internet to find who brought it in. I wad lucky though because someone had written about the car online a long time ago and in got most of my info from there.

[Steve85]

TLDR: it's a hell of a long shot.

[Platinum Import Garage]

Always good to get a JEVIC done, they actually bench test the odometer and forensically inspect the speedo then cross check all year or production numbers etc. They then double check with Japanese Dept of Transport history & kilometre reports.

www.jevic.com

we use them on all our imports and they have found in the past 12 months 4 vehicles with altered odometers which we do not import but RTV to Auction.

Always good to only buy from a licenced dealer who commits to showing you the reports, auction cert, export certificates etc. If the importer or broker cant show you these walk away.

Attached are some examples.

170126_S500P-0051700.pdf

[Ty1]

On 10/18/2016 at 6:08 PM, Prestige Motorsport said:

Get past Japan Auction info and km history for most imports

Hi All, just a quick one. Thought we would let you know about this site www.japancarhistorycheck.com which has recently been recommended to us for getting hold of past auction records including pictures and actual sale price in Japan going back to 2009.

We've seen a few reports from those who've had checks done and in some cases it has saved them from an expensive mistake.

This can be really handy for anyone who already owns an import or has their eye on one for sale, as you can find out the real condition it was in and the kms before it left Japan. With the high incidence of odometer tampering on imports by sellers, it's hard to know what's genuine these days.

Most cars exported from Japan have gone through auction, as that's the cheapest source, so odds are they'll be able to track down the auction info for your car if it left Japan in the last 7 years.

They can also supply the km readings at every re-registration going back to new in some cases which will give you a full Japan odometer record.

There are a couple of other sites around where you can get hold of an export certificate copy but this will only give you the last two odo readings. Much better to have the auction report plus official Japan Transport Authority records going back as far as possible. They also have a quick turnaround time if you need the info fast before you buy.

Anyway, we are all for services like this which help the consumer avoid being ripped off, so you might like to check it out if you need to do some detective work on a Japanese import to find out if it's the real deal. Cheers.

I can vouch for this site too. bit the bullet and paid $100US and got the full background check on my r33 for curiosity sake. They got back to me in 3 days. It included the auction price, accident/repair details (if any) location of auction and previous Japanese registration details. Unfortunately mine didn't come with auction pictures as It was imported into Aus back in 2007 and their full records only go back 7 years.