Advantages:

  1. Price
    You will get the best price, especially if you are patient. Exporters, Japanese car dealers all buy from the auctions for their stock as that is the cheapest place to purchase a vehicle in Japan. It is purchasing at the wholesale rate, rather than the retail rate as through a dealers stock page.
  2. Large Selection of Vehicles to Choose From
    The larger the selection of vehicles there is to chose from the better it is for the buyer. Getting 10 vehicles the same colour with a variety of kms on the clock means you have a variety of prices being sold and hopefully finding the one that fits into your budget. Having the same model in a variety of years also helps to gain the right vehicle into your budget. For example a 2005 Toyota Estima is the same model as a 2006 Toyota Estima, though with all other factors the same, the later will sell at a higher price in the auctions. Basically the more to choose from, the better the vehicle will be.

Diadvantages

  1. Time frame
    Because we can only see the vehicle 2 or 3 days before it sells, the time frame to decide whether to purchase or not is limited.
  2. Photos
    Most auctions only show 2 or 3 photos of a car before it sells, often these are at a distance. Compare this to a dealers stock, where he may have up to 20 photos of a vehicle on his stock page.

A lot more has to rely on the auction sheet when purchasing from the auctions.

So there are the advantages and disadvantages for purchasing from the Japanese car auctions. For price and variety, definitely the auctions. If convenience is a strong value of yours over savings then your best bet may be to purchase from a dealer stock page.