The SAS Auction Site allows SAS Members to view and purchase cars, trucks, buses and commercial vehicles directly from any of the auctions in Japan.

Simply because you have a much larger selection to choose from. On any given auction day, you can choose from thousands of cars at the auctions, or over 100,000 units every week. Even the largest exporters will only stock a fraction of what is available at the auctions.

Sugiya and Sanjai, the owners of SAS, both have over 25 years of experience purchasing cars from the auctions and exporting them around the world. We have been able to survive in this industry through the years because we always strived to build long term business relationships with our customers. We understand that this can only be achieved through good communication based on honesty, integrity and mutual respect. We guarantee you professionalism and transparency. We have no hidden fees, we will ship your car on the fastest possible vessel and we will keep you informed every step of the way. We will provide our Members with our professional opinion as well as our advice based on invaluable knowledge and instincts accrued over 25+ years of buying from the auctions.

Not necessarily. But, you can always get the largest selection of vehicles at the auctions. Sometimes, the prices can be cheap but it is not always cheaper than vehicles in an exporters’ stock. The price of any vehicle at the auction will vary depending on the year, condition, kms, and other features of the unit. The price will also vary depending on how many other buyers are bidding on the same vehicle.

You can register to the SAS Auction Site by one of the ways listed below…
1) Log into the SAS website (www.sas-japan.com) and go to the “SAS Auction Site” tab and then click on “Login to SAS Auction Site”. Then click on “Registration” on the top right, OR
2) Send us an email at auction@sas-japan.com and we will create an SAS Auction Site account for you and email you your UserName and Password. You can change the Password for your protection.

Yes, we require a minimum deposit of 100,000 yen (or US$1,000) or 10% of the FOB value of the vehicle you wish to purchase, whichever is greater. Once the amount is confirmed into our account you have earned the right to bid. A deposit is necessary to confirm that you are serious about purchasing a car from the auction.

If you are unable to win a bid, the deposit will automatically be used for your next bid. If SAS is unable to purchase your vehicle in due time, your deposit can be refunded to you. Or, you can use the deposit to purchase an SAS stock car. When refunding the deposit to you, bank charges will be deducted from the deposit.

We do not charge any fees for unsuccessful bids. Our goal is to help you buy the car of your choice at the best possible price without adding any extra charges.

The owner of the vehicle being auctioned off sets a “reserve price”. The reserve price is the price the seller is willing to sell the vehicle for. Nobody other than the auction and seller knows what this reserve price is. Almost all the auctions in Japan are now computerized so the bidding is very quick. The whole bidding process for most vehicles will last less than a minute with some units being sold in a matter of seconds. Once the bid starts and the price goes over the reserve price, the highest bidder will own the vehicle.

You can use either Japanese yen (JPY) or US$, whichever is better for you. But, please keep in mind that all cars in Japan are sold in yen and all costs in Japan are in yen. So, if you wish to pay in US$, we will convert the yen into US$ using the exchange rate of the invoice date.

If you are going to pay for the freight at the destination (freight collect), then give us an FOB price for your bid. If you want SAS to pay for the freight (freight prepaid), give us a C&F or CIF price for your bid. Please note that certain destinations such as most African ports, do not accept freight collect. In these circumstances, you will have to provide us with a C&F or CIF bid price.

The FOB price includes all the costs until the car is loaded on to the vessel. It includes the actual price of the car bought at the auction (auction price), fees paid to the auction, transportation to get the car from the auction to the port, custom clearance/documentation fees, and SAS’ commission. FOB price does not include the ocean freight from Japan to the destination port.

The C&F price is the total cost of the vehicle to the port of destination. The C&F price includes everything mentioned above in the FOB price plus ocean freight to the destination port. If your country requires a pre-shipment inspection by an authorized third party inspection agency (e.g, JEVIC, QISJ, INTERTEK, JAAI, EAA, etc.) then this fee is also part of the C&F price. The C&F price does not include marine insurance.

Yes, we can provide you with a price quote for marine insurance if you want it. When you add marine insurance to C&F price, it is referred to as CIF price. Marine insurance is optional.

Auction Fees: 10,000 yen to 30,000 yen (depends on which auction the car is purchased from) Transportation from Auction: 5,000 yen to 50,000 yen (depending on where the car is located) Custom Clearance/Documentation/Storage: 20,000 yen

SAS will reward Members who pay quickly since fast payment helps our business grow smoothly. So we have developed a commission structure based on the amount of deposit we receive. There are no hidden fees. The quicker you pay, the less you pay.

Basic SAS commission for cars with auction price of maximum 1,000,000 yen is 50,000 yen + 5% of the auction price. SAS will waive the “5% of the auction price fee” if full payment of FOB value is made prior to bidding.

For example, at the time of bidding, if SAS received a 100,000 yen deposit and we buy a car at an auction price of 500,000 yen. In this case, SAS commission will be 50,000 yen + 25,000 yen (500,000 x 5%) = 75,000 yen. Total FOB price would look something like this…

500,000 (auction price) + 10,000 (auction fee) + 15,000 (transportation) + 20,000 (custom
clearance, etc) + 75,000 (SAS commission) = 620,000 yen

In this case, if we had received a deposit of 700,000 yen, you would qualify as having paid 100% of the FOB value of the car so SAS commission would drop from 75,000 yen to a flat rate of 50,000 yen and your total FOB price will be 595,000 yen.

At times, SAS will try to fill the Member’s order even though the car sells at the auction for higher than the Member’s bid price. If we buy the car for more than the Member’s bid price, we will deduct the difference from our commission so you will not pay more than what you committed to pay. So, don’t be surprised if you see that the SAS commission on the invoice is less than 50,000 yen. That means we want to work with you, even if it means a smaller commission for SAS.

When you log into the SAS Auction Site and search for a car, you can see the average price in Japanese yen (JPY) of how much similar cars have sold for in the past. This average price can be a guideline but keep in mind that price can vary greatly depending on mileage, condition of the car, and any extras the car may have (e.g., alloy wheels, aero body kit, sun roof, leather seats, etc.). An SAS staff can also assist you in this process so you don’t put in a bid that is too high above market value or too low that you will not have a chance to buy the car. It is important to provide SAS with the highest price you are willing to pay for the vehicle to give yourself the best chance of owning the unit. If SAS buys the vehicle for less, the savings will be passed on to you. Remember, we’re looking for long term business relationships!

Yes. When you search for a car on the SAS Auction Site, you will be able to see the “Start price” of the bid in Japanese yen (JPY). Please make a habit of looking at this start price because no car at any auction will sell for less than the start price. For example, if a start price of a car is “100,000 JPY” there is no way to purchase that car for less than 100,000 JPY.

No. The start price only tells you what price the bidding will start from. It does not give you any indication of what the car will sell for. For example, a car with a start price of “0” can sell for more than 1,000,000 JPY. Another car with the same start price of “0” can sell for 50,000 JPY.

No. Nobody knows how much a vehicle will sell for. A vehicle’s sell price is determined by the seller’s reserve price and what price other bidders are willing to pay for the same unit. You can see the average price of how much similar units sold in the past. But, past data should only be used as reference since it does not guarantee what the vehicle will sell for in the future.

YES! We will guarantee that whatever price you provide us is the maximum price you will pay. If we overbid, then that’s our fault and you will not be charged any extra. You may be able to buy the car for less than the bid price you provide us but you will NEVER pay more.

Generally, there is no negotiation involved at the auctions. In order to buy a vehicle at the auction, you must be willing to pay a higher price for the unit than any of the other bidders who are also bidding on the same vehicle. The only time negotiations are possible is when a car doesn’t sell because the highest bid price did not meet the seller’s reserve price.

The information of the vehicles will be available on the SAS Auction Site as soon as the auctions make it available. Some vehicles can be seen up to 6 days prior to the auction day while other vehicles can only be seen the night before the auction. To make sure you don’t miss out on any vehicles, please check the SAS Auction Site regularly for the most updated information. You can also save your search criteria and get email updates. (see next question)

YES. There is no need for you to spend hours every day searching for your car. Just save your search criteria on the SAS Auction Site and you can receive email notifications twice a day. The email notification will show you a list of cars that meet the specifications of the car you are looking for. For details on how to set up the email notifications, please click on “How To Use” in the SAS Auction Site tab.

All the photos provided by the auctions will be visible on the SAS Auction Site. The number of photos visible will vary depending on the auction. Some auctions do not provide any photos of the interior of the vehicle.

Yes, once the car arrives into the SAS yard, we will inspect the vehicle, clean the vehicle’s interior and exterior, and then take detailed photos of the unit. SAS will send you a link to the full details and photos of the vehicle.

SAS will inform you by email when your deposit has been confirmed in our bank account. As soon as we receive your deposit, you will be able to place a bid for your car.

All bids need to be placed before 8AM Japan time of the day of the auction in order to allow our staff to confirm the information prior to bidding. SAS cannot guarantee that we can act on any bids placed after 8AM Japan time of the day of the auction.

Yes, you can place a bid for as many vehicles as you like. However, if we have only received a deposit for one purchase, we will stop the bidding as soon as one successful purchase is made. We will bid in the order the vehicles appear at the auction unless we receive specific instructions from you stating otherwise. The order in which the vehicles will come up at the auctions is not known until the night before the auction.

Yes, as long as SAS has received a deposit for the number of vehicles you would like to purchase. For example, if you want to purchase two vehicles and your maximum FOB bid price for the units are 300,000 yen and 500,000 yen, SAS would need to have received a total of 200,000 yen deposit (100,000 yen per unit) for you to be able to purchase both vehicles.

SAS will inform you the result of your bid in writing by email. We will inform you before the close of business on the same day the auction is held. If your bid was unsuccessful, we will also inform you what the vehicle sold for.

SAS will invoice you within 24 hours after your successful bid. If you are making payment in JPY, your remaining payment is due within one week from the day of the auction. If you are making payment in US$, you may be requested to pay the balance immediately to avoid exchange rate losses. Your deposit can be used as part of your payment for the purchase or you can keep it as a deposit for your next purchase.

On a case by case scenario, SAS can offer some payment terms such as 50% within one week of purchase and the remaining 50% due as soon as the car is shipped and we email you a copy of the BL. This payment term is aimed to offer some protection for the buyer and to create a business relationship based on mutual trust. For specific terms of the 50-50 payment and whether you qualify, please contact an SAS staff.

SAS can provide an estimate time of departure (ETD) and an estimate time of arrival (ETA) to your destination port. The timing of departure will vary depending on several factors including which auction the car was purchased from, availability of vessels to your destination port and how soon we receive your payment.