Japanese Auction Sheet Guide: How to Read USS Grades and Damage Marks

Why the auction sheet matters more than photos

Listing photos at Japanese auction are useful but incomplete. They show angles the seller wants you to see. The condition sheet (出品票, shuppinhyo) is the legal condition summary the auction house stands behind. It records odometer status, accident history, rust, panel work, interior wear, and inspector notes. Misread the sheet and you overpay for hidden damage. Read it well and you win clean metal at fair market price.

As a JDM import team Vancouver enthusiasts work with, we treat sheet translation as core service on every package tier. Still, educated buyers make faster decisions when we send candidate cars.

Anatomy of a USS auction sheet

While layouts vary slightly between USS, TAA, CAA, and smaller houses, most sheets share the same building blocks:

• Header block: auction date, lot number, model, chassis code, color, transmission
• Odometer reading: kilometers with tampering flags if present
• Overall grade: single number or letter summarizing condition
• Interior grade: letter grade for cabin wear
• Body diagram: scratches, dents, rust, and repair marks on a vehicle outline
• Inspector notes: handwritten or stamped Japanese comments

Understanding overall grades

USS uses a numeric scale for overall condition on many passenger cars:

Grade 6 and 5

Essentially new or near new. Low mileage, minimal wear. Rare on 15 year plus JDM imports. Expect premium pricing.

Grade 4.5

Very clean daily condition. Light stone chips or minor scratches acceptable. This is the grade many buyers target for driver quality sports cars.

Grade 4

Average used car wear. Visible scratches, wheel curb marks, interior scuffs. Can still be structurally solid. Read the diagram carefully.

Grade 3.5

A solid, common grade on older JDM stock. The car may have touch up paint, faded trim, light prior panel work, or normal interior wear, but it is still a good buy when the price and diagram back it up. Most 15 year plus imports land here. Read rust and structural marks carefully, not the number alone.

Grade 3

Heavier cosmetic wear: possible respray across multiple panels, interior fading, or noticeable exterior damage. Not automatically a reject, but budget for paint and trim work and verify there is no hidden structural damage behind the cosmetics.

Grade R and RA

R means repaired after accident. RA indicates minor repair history. Accident history is not always a dealbreaker, but it must be priced in and verified with inspection photos.

Grade *** or 0

Modified vehicles, significant unknowns, or non standard condition. Proceed only with eyes open and expert review.

Interior grades (A through D)

• A: like new cabin, minimal seat wear
• B: normal use, small stains or bolster wear
• C: visible wear, tears, or sun fade
• D: heavy interior damage or missing parts

For RHD import Canada daily drivers, we weigh interior grade heavily on long commutes. A clean grade 4 with interior B often beats a grade 4.5 with interior C for the same money.

Reading the body diagram

The diagram uses codes for damage type and severity. Common marks include:

• A1, A2, A3: scratch depth (A1 light, A3 heavy)
• U1, U2, U3: dent size
• W1, W2: wave or poor paint repair
• S or rust marks: corrosion, often on rear quarters, rockers, or hatch seams on Skylines and similar
• X or XX: panel replacement or major repair
• Y: hail or pin dent damage

Rust on the diagram is the biggest red flag for Canadian buyers. Our roads use salt. A car that already shows rear quarter corrosion in Japan will not improve here. We pass on most sheet flagged structural rust unless the client explicitly wants a project.

Odometer and history flags

Sheets may show replaced odometer, unknown mileage, or auction house verification status. Japanese shaken (inspection) history sometimes appears in notes. Turbo engine cars may list boost or oil leak comments. Automatic transmission models may note shift flare. None of this replaces a live inspection, but it tells us where to look first.

Translation: what machines miss

OCR and auto translate tools help with individual kanji but miss context. Inspector shorthand, regional slang, and damage combinations change meaning. Example: a single U2 on a bumper is cosmetic. U2 combined with W2 on the same panel suggests prior bodywork worth probing.

Every BLI import includes human translation of the full sheet before you approve bidding. We also explain which notes are cosmetic versus structural so you can set a max bid with confidence. For cost context after you win, see the JDM import cost Canada breakdown.

When to demand inspection before purchase

We require inspection evidence before bidding on behalf of clients. That means current photos, video, or third party inspection at the auction yard. Sheets are static; cars move in and out of lots. If grade and photos disagree, trust the photos and walk away.

1. Any grade R or RA with unclear repair scope
2. Rust marks on structural panels
3. Odometer tampering flags
4. High performance engines with oil leak notes
5. Low grade with high start price (seller fishing)

Putting it together for your import

Learning auction sheets makes you a smarter buyer. Pair that knowledge with flat fee brokerage and you avoid commission driven upsells on rough cars. Start with the step by step import guide, confirm eligibility via the 15 year rule article, and browse model guides for Skyline, Supra, Evo, and kei trucks. Questions on a specific lot? Send the link through WhatsApp or the contact form.