How to Read a Japanese Auction Sheet (Kei Truck Buyer’s Guide)

Disclosure: this page contains referral links, marked where they appear. Everything else links to primary sources.

Every vehicle that passes through Japan’s dealer auctions is examined by a licensed inspector who records what they find on a standardized condition report — the auction sheet. It is the most honest document in the used-vehicle world: the inspector doesn’t work for the seller, doesn’t know the buyer, and writes down every scratch, dent, rust spot and warning light because their license depends on it.

If you are importing a kei truck, this sheet is your eyes. You will probably never stand next to the truck before it ships — but the inspector did. Most buyers rely on their agent’s translation, which is fine until the day a detail gets summarized away. Fifteen minutes with this guide and you can check the sheet yourself. I research Japan’s used vehicle market from Sapporo, and this is the same system I read every week — explained for someone buying a 25-year-old work truck, not a show car.

The 60-Second Read: Five Zones

A caution most guides skip: sheets are not identical across auction houses — USS, TAA, JU and CAA each print their own layout, and grading strictness varies between venues. The logic below is broadly consistent everywhere, but treat it as a map, not a template. Five zones tell you almost everything:

1. The overall grade (top corner, big and boxed): the inspector’s one-symbol summary of body condition — S down through 6, 5, 4.5, 4, 3.5, 3, and the repair-history grades R and RA.
2. Interior letter (and on some sheets, a separate exterior letter): the cabin is rated A–D independently of the body grade, and some auction houses add an exterior letter as well — because a straight body can hide a rough cabin, and vice versa.
3. Mileage plus a trust symbol: the odometer reading, with the inspector’s own flag on whether that number can be believed.
4. The history line (車歴): how the vehicle spent its life — private use, lease, rental, company fleet.
5. The body diagram and handwritten notes: a top-down outline of the vehicle where every flaw is marked with a letter-number code, plus the inspector’s free-text notes — the section most worth having translated word for word.

Now each zone, in the order they should influence your bid.

Overall Grades: What S Through RA Actually Mean

Grade	Meaning	Kei truck reality check
S	Nearly new: registered within ~12 months, under ~10,000 km	Does not exist in the 25-year-eligible pool. If you see either on an old truck, someone is inventing paperwork.
6	Like new: registered within ~36 months, under ~30,000 km
5	Excellent; tiny flaws at most	Vanishingly rare on a quarter-century-old work vehicle.
4.5 / 4	Good, clean condition; minor cosmetic flaws	The collector tier. Exists, and priced like it — this is the top of the price ranges I measured in the import guide.
3.5	Average; visible scratches/dents, presentable	The kei truck sweet spot. An honest farm truck that worked for a living and was maintained.
3	Below average; multiple flaws, may need work	Buy only with a forensic read of the diagram — the difference between “ugly” and “rotten” lives in the codes.
2 (and a rarely used 1)	Poor / heavily deteriorated	Parts trucks. Not import candidates for road use.
R / RA	Accident repair history (RA = minor)	On a $25,000 sports car, a well-repaired R can be a bargain. On a $2,500 kei truck, the discount rarely justifies the verification work. I pass.

(The age and mileage thresholds above are the commonly used industry conventions; exact definitions shift slightly between auction houses, which is one more reason to read the diagram rather than shop by grade alone.)

Two things the grade is not: it is not a mechanical inspection score (a grade 4 can still need a timing belt — see the first-week checklist in the import guide), and it is not comparable across auction houses with laboratory precision. Treat it as the inspector’s summary, then verify the details in the diagram.

Here is the honest picture of the 25-year-eligible pool: it is heavy with 3s, 3.5s and Rs, because these were working vehicles. That is not bad news. It means a 3.5 with honest codes is the rational target — you pay hundreds less than the collector-grade 4, and dents on a truck that will haul firewood cost you nothing.

Damage Codes: The Letter-Number System on the Diagram

The body diagram marks every flaw with a letter (the type of damage) and a severity number — typically 1 to 3, with some codes and houses extending to 4. A1 is a faint scratch; U3 is a deep dent; rust and corrosion (S and C) top out at 3, where a C3 means rust has eaten through the metal.

Code	Meaning	On a kei truck…
A	Scratch	A1–A2 everywhere is normal farm wear. Ignore, and enjoy the price discount it creates.
U	Dent	Bed and tailgate dents are cosmetic on a work truck. Cab or panel U2–U3, look closer.
W	Repair wave (previous bodywork visible)	W1 is common and fine. W2–W3 on structural areas: ask why it was repaired.
S	Rust (surface)	⚠ The code that matters most. See below.
C	Corrosion (rust that has eaten metal)	⚠⚠ C2 or worse on frame or underbody: walk away, whatever the price.
X	Panel needs replacement	Factor a body shop bill into your maximum bid, or pass.
XX	Panel already replaced	Evidence of past damage. One XX on a fender is survivable; several tell a story.

Why rust codes outrank everything else on a kei truck

Most 25-year-eligible kei trucks lived in farming regions, and many lived in snow country — where roads are salted all winter. Cosmetic damage is honest and visible; corrosion is structural and spreads. A truck covered in A2 scratches with a clean underbody is a better buy than a shiny truck with C2 on the frame rails. When you instruct an agent, say it explicitly: “Reject any S3, or any C at all, on the frame or underbody — regardless of grade.” That one sentence does more for your outcome than any amount of grade shopping. It is also the argument for kei-specialist sellers who photograph the underside as a habit, a point I score in the exporter comparison.

Interior Grades and the Combined Notation

The cabin is rated separately, A through D: A is clean and fresh, B has light wear, C has visible stains or wear, D is torn, heavily stained or smells. You will often see the two ratings written together — 4B means a grade-4 body with a B interior; 3.5C is an average body with a tired cabin.

For a work truck, a C interior is a negotiating lever rather than a dealbreaker — seats and mats are cheap; twenty-five years of a farmer’s dog is just history. The exception is a D with a noted smell — odor is the one interior problem that tends to survive new seat covers.

Mileage — and the Symbol That Tells You Whether to Believe It

Next to the odometer reading, the inspector adds a mark that functions as a built-in fraud check: an unmarked reading is one the inspector considers consistent with the vehicle’s condition and records; star or hash marks flag a reading the inspector cannot vouch for. Conventions vary by house, but the usual scale runs from a single mark (a documented discrepancy or replaced meter — the true distance may still be knowable) to multiple marks (the reading cannot be vouched for at all — treat the number as fiction). A marked odometer on a cheap truck is not a discount opportunity. It is the sheet telling you the one number everyone shops by is fiction.

One kei-specific caution: remarkably low readings on 1990s work trucks are a recurring debate on importer forums, and not always resolved in the buyer’s favor. Farm trucks genuinely can log few kilometers — short daily runs for decades — but when a 27-year-old truck shows city-car mileage, let the inspector’s symbol and the service history arbitrate, not your optimism. If you are buying from dealer stock rather than auction (where you may not get a fresh sheet), chassis-number history services such as CARVX (referral link) exist to pull a vehicle’s past auction records; and any legitimate seller can produce the original sheet, as covered in the scam checks of the import guide.

The History Line (車歴): How the Truck Spent Its Life

Notation	Meaning	Read it as
自家用 (private use)	Privately owned	The default for farm kei trucks, and the best case.
ワンオーナー (one owner)	Single owner from new	Strong. Often comes with a full service booklet.
リース (lease)	Leased vehicle	Fine — leases enforce maintenance schedules.
社用 (company use)	Fleet vehicle	Maintained but worked hard. Check the diagram twice.
レンタ (rental)	Ex-rental	Many drivers, more wear per kilometer. Price it down.

Tires, Equipment and Transmission Codes

Tire tread: the 0–10 numbers on the diagram

Each tire is scored out of 10 for remaining tread, written next to the wheel on the body diagram. Below 2 is a safety item; 5 or above is fine for most buyers. Three notations matter extra on kei trucks from snow country: スタッドレス means studless winter tires are fitted (common on northern farm trucks — and a hint about the salt exposure that makes the rust codes above worth re-reading), スペアレス means no spare is supplied, and 社外アルミ flags aftermarket wheels. Either way, plan on tires: as covered in the import guide’s first-week checklist, the original 12-inch Japanese tires usually get replaced after landing anyway.

Transmission and equipment abbreviations

The spec block uses compact codes. The ones that matter on a kei truck:

Code	Meaning	Kei truck note
F5	Floor-mounted 5-speed manual	The classic kei truck spec, and what most buyers want.
C5 / F4 / C4	Column or floor 4–5 speed manual	Older or utilitarian variants; fine, just know what you bid on.
AT / FAT	Automatic	Rarer and slower in the 25-year pool; some buyers pay a premium for it anyway.
AC / AAC	Air conditioning	Check for this. Plenty of 1990s farm trucks left the factory without it, and a US summer will make you care.
PS / PW	Power steering / power windows	PS is a comfort you notice at parking speeds; PW is rare and unimportant.
4WD	Four-wheel drive	The single biggest value driver on kei trucks (see the Acty guide for what 4WD is worth in yen). Confirm it in the notes, not just the listing.
AW / SR / TV / ETC	Alloys / sunroof / TV / toll reader	Mostly irrelevant on work trucks; ETC is a Japan-only toll device.

The Sale Details: House, Lot Number and Hammer Price

The sheet also records the transaction itself: the auction house (USS, TAA, JU, CAA and others), the lot number identifying that exact sale, the auction date, and — on records your agent or a history service can pull — the hammer price in yen. Two practical uses:

• Reality-check the asking price. If a US listing says “recently imported, auction grade 4” and the history shows a ¥350,000 hammer price, you know precisely what the margin is. Combine that with the Japan-side market medians in the import guide and you are no longer negotiating blind.
• Spot the re-run. A chassis that appears at auction several times in a short span is a warning: buyers inspected it and walked, or it is being re-presented hoping for a better grade day. Ask your agent to check for repeat listings before bidding.

The Inspector’s Notes: Where the Real Information Hides

Below the diagram sits a free-text field where the inspector writes whatever doesn’t fit the codes: warning lights, engine noise, air-conditioning condition, 4WD engagement, recall status, odors. On an old kei truck this section is gold — codes describe the body, but the notes describe the machine.

This is also where translation quality decides outcomes. A summary like “some notes about minor issues” is not a translation. Ask your agent for the notes verbatim, and treat any reluctance as an answer in itself. The three instructions worth giving on every kei truck bid:

1. “Translate the inspector’s notes word for word, not summarized.”
2. “Reject any S3, or any C at all, on frame or underbody.”
3. “Confirm the 4WD note if the listing claims 4WD — engagement is tested and noted.”

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Japanese auction sheet?

The standardized condition report issued for every vehicle sold through Japan’s dealer auctions, completed by a licensed inspector independent of the seller. It records an overall grade, exterior and interior ratings, verified mileage, usage history, a damage diagram and free-text mechanical notes.

What does grade R mean on an auction sheet?

Accident repair history — the vehicle has had structural or accident-related repair (RA marks the lighter version). On inexpensive kei trucks I recommend passing: the discount rarely covers the cost of verifying the repair was done properly.

What does 4B or 3.5C mean?

Combined notation: overall body grade plus interior letter. 4B = good body, lightly worn interior. 3.5C = average body, tired cabin. For work trucks, the second letter is usually the cheapest thing to fix.

What is a good auction grade for a kei truck?

Grade 3.5 with clean underbody codes is the value target; grade 4+ exists but is priced as collector stock. Below 3, you are buying a project. And at kei truck prices, the verification work on an R costs more than the discount saves — so I skip R entirely.

Can auction sheets be faked?

The sheets themselves are controlled auction-house documents, but what reaches you can be doctored, cropped or “summarized.” Defenses: demand the original sheet (never a retyped version), have the notes translated verbatim, and for dealer-stock vehicles use a chassis-number history check. A seller who cannot produce the original sheet for an auction-sourced vehicle is answering your question.

The Short Version

Grade tells you the summary; the diagram tells you the truth; the notes tell you the machine. On a 25-year-old kei truck: target 3.5 with honest cosmetic codes, treat rust codes as the veto, believe the mileage symbol over the mileage, and make your agent translate the notes word for word. Learn this once and every listing — auction, exporter stock, or a US dealer’s “recent import” — becomes readable.