Refundable Security Deposit
When your ready to start bidding on and buying cars from Star Japan pay the security Dealer Deposit or Down Payment by credit card or PAYPAL, you can also use a bank transfer to send to our bank. For first time clients and luxury units with a bid price over $10,000 USD please send your bid amount upfront as a Down Payment. For dealers/wholesalers setting up business accounts for continuous bidding on more economical units with bids under $10,000 USD, send $1,000 USD or 100,000 JPY refundable bidding Dealer Deposit by Bank Transfer, Credit Card or PayPal.
There are two types of Deposit Payments;
Dealer Deposit which is held as long as buyer continues to purchase vehicles with STAR JAPAN this is for Buyers who will be buying continuous vehicles.
Down Payment which is used for final payment on a vehicle, this is mainly for individual buyers wanting to buy a single vehicle.
Both the Dealer Deposit or Down Payment can be fully refunded anytime if no payments are due or a vehicle has not been purchased yet.
For First Time Buyers, only one vehicle(s) can be bought until STAR JAPAN has received payment in full. After STAR JAPAN has received full payment Buyer can continue bidding on more vehicles.
Deposit can be refunded before purchase minus Bank and Administration costs. Bank and Administration costs are a bank transfer fee of 7,000 JPY.
If after bidding and winning a vehicle Buyer cancel Buyer purchase STAR JAPAN has the right to Re- Auction the vehicle and invoice Buyer for all Re-Auctioning expenses.
In case Buyer defaults on any purchases and or payments STAR JAPAN has the right to recover any expenses from the buyer’s deposit or down payment.
Auction Costs and Fees in Japan
All costs in Japan are charged at cost please visit our calculator after registering in our Auctions. * Are optional costs if you need inspection, insurance or are shipping by container.
- Vehicle Price
- Auction Fee
- Inland Transport
- Forwarder
- Star Japan
- Freight
- * Inspection
- * Insurance
- * Container Loading
STAR JAPAN Service Fee
We aim to ship out within 1 – 2 business days. A team member will reach out to you via email to let you know if any delays in shipment.
- 100,000 JPY one off purchase
- 65,000 JPY buying 1 – 9 cars a year
- 55,000 JPY buying 1 – 9 cars a month
- 45,000 JPY buying over 10 cars a month
Optional Inspections
We can take care of inspections for all countries that require a inspection for import
Main Inspections
- Jamaica
- New Zealand
- Tanzania
- Kenya
- Australia
- Odometer Inspections
- Vehicle Roadworthy
Payment Policy
Deposit is needed before Buyer can place a bid with STAR JAPAN Co., Ltd.
From the Date of purchase payment or balance is due within 5 days.
If payment is not received by the 9th day from the date of purchase, Buyers bidding rights and all vehicles export related procedures are stopped. Buyer can No longer buy any vehicles.
If payment is not received by the 12th day from the date of purchase, vehicle is returned to the Auction and Re-Auctioned. Client is contacted by email and / or phone.
Late payments over 12 days from the purchase date will be charged at a daily interest rate of 0.1%.
STAR JAPAN has the right to use debt collection agencies in the buyer’s country to return any late payments over 30 days from the purchase date.
All Re Auctioning costs are liable to the Buyer and charged to the Client by invoice after successful sale of the vehicle.
Once payment is received, export related procedures will proceed and vehicle will be booked on next available shipment and then shipped from Japan to the Buyers chosen port. Buyers bidding rights are continued, Buyer can buy vehicles within their credit limit.
If payment has been received and the vehicle has left Japan by ship only then will all documents be sent to the buyers notifying party. Documents include; Bill of Laden, Export Certificate, English Translation of Export Certificate, Signed Commercial Invoice and any other documents that the buyer has stated to receive in the STAR JAPAN Sales Agreement.
Banking and Payment Details
The Buyer is responsible for all receivers and senders Bank Fees when paying in YEN only. When sending YEN payment, buyer must pay receivers and senders charges; this is an option that is selected on the Buyers side when sending payment.
If buyer does not select to pay receivers charges STAR JAPAN Co., Ltd. will credit the buyers account with the payment received minus receiver’s bank fee. The usual amount of bank fee is 1,500 JPY. If the buyer’s bank uses another bank or agent to do the international transfer you may receive 2 bank fees. Buyer is responsible for all bank fees and should check, Buyer should check with Buyers bank when sending TT payments.
Example Buyer Sends 650,000 JPY without selecting to pay receivers charges. Buyers account will be credited with 650,000 (amount sent) – 1,500 (Bank Fee) = 648,500 JPY.
Purchasing via Auctions
Japan Used Vehicle Auctions take approximately 30 seconds from start to finish for each individual vehicle and follow the open ascending price auction system. STAR JAPAN Co., Ltd. bids using the buyers submitted max bid price against other Auction Members, with each subsequent bid 1,000 – 10,000 JPY higher than the previous bid. The auction ends when the reserve price has been passed and no participant is willing to bid further, at which point the highest bidder pays their bid. Alternatively, if the seller has set a minimum sale price in advance (the ‘reserve’ price) and the final bid does not reach that price the item remains unsold.
STAR JAPAN and our website acts as the Auction agent to purchase vehicles direct from the Japanese Used Vehicle Auctions. All Vehicles are inspected and scored by Trained and Certified Japanese Inspectors. Example; TAA Auction is Toyota Auction and the vehicles are inspected by Toyota Japan and HAA Auction is owned by Honda Japan and Honda Inspectors Grade all their vehicles. Auctions Score the vehicles using the following grading description.
All Japanese Auction houses are regulated by the Japanese Government and are all strictly licensed. The Scoring of Used Vehicles by Inspectors is strictly followed by all Auction Houses in Japan.
All Japanese Auction Vehicles have an inspection sheet which is written in Japanese. STAR JAPAN can help Buyer translate the inspection Sheet and also reads and checks what is written on the Inspections Sheet when the buyer is bidding via Pre Inspection Bidding
Bidding and Pre Bidding Inspection
Bidding refers to the buyer bidding using the STAR JAPAN Auction Site and the buyer is completely responsible for all all vehicle details like Model, Year, Transmission, Engine Size, Drive train etc. Star Japan will only be responsible for the overall condition of the vehicle. All cars inspection sheets are checked prior to bidding by STAR JAPAN. STAR JAPAN will cancel bids on vehicles which have Engine Problems, Oil Leaks, Transmission Problems or Major Body Rust when written on the Inspection sheet unless buyer request they are okay with bad condition vehicles when bidding in the message box.
Maximum Bid Price is bid into the buyers “Your Bid Box”. Star Japan will use this price as the Maximum amount we can bid until. Because of the open ascending price auction system the vehicle can sell less than the buyers Bid Price giving savings to the buyer. Example buyer Bids Maximum 500,000 Yen on a vehicle with a starting price of 200,000 YEN. During the 20 second bidding process the following steps usually happen as a example only.
- 200,000 YEN Start
- 205,000 – 400,000 YEN Japanese participants push a button or mouse sending the price up in increments of 5,000 Yen
- 400,000 YEN Reserve Price is met and vehicle goes into sell mode, the last bidder must purchase the car.
- 440,000 YEN Second last Participant stops pushing
- 445,000 YEN Start Japan pushes button and becomes highest bidder. No other Participants bid so Star Japan Wins and Buys this vehicle
- 445,000 YEN Buyer will be invoiced at the real selling price saving 55,000 JPY under their 500,000 YEN Bid Price
Pre Bidding Inspection; means the buyer places the bid and in the message box requests Inspection with any details of what they would like inspected. Star Japan will send an inspector to the vehicle to manually re-inspect the vehicle. Star Japan will contact the buyer with inspectors condition report. An invoice for 2,000 Yen will be sent to customer to be paid by credit card.
Responsibilities, Claims and liability
Any Claims are processed by STAR JAPAN within 5 working days. Buyer will receive notification with a decision by email within 5 working days.
If Marine insurance policy is taken the first 100,000 JPY shall always be deducted from the settlement unless damage is caused by the vessel being stranded, sunk, burnt or in a collision. Marine Insurance is not available for all countries; the following are some of the countries that do not allow insurance Pakistan, Tanzania and Dominican Republic. STAR JAPAN uses AIU Insurance Company for all vehicle insurance.
STAR JAPAN will not place bids on vehicles which have Engine Problems, Oil Leaks, Transmission Problems or Major Body Rust when written on the Inspection sheet. Pre Inspection Bidding Buyers will receive notification by email if the vehicle has any of these problems. The Pre Inspection Bidding Buyers can resubmit bid stating that they understand the vehicle has the stated Problem and they would like to purchase the vehicle. STAR JAPAN is not responsible for any Problems with vehicles that have been purchased via resubmitted bids.
Claims can be made if the vehicle is scored S, 6, 5, 4.5, 4, 3.5,has less than 100,000 km mileage and If there are any major problems that were not stated on the Auction inspection sheet. Buyer must submit a claim by email within 6 days from the purchase date regarding Vehicle condition.
No Claim can be made If the vehicle is scored 3, 2, 1, 0, R, A, XXX, any other score or has over 100,000 km mileage. STAR JAPAN will not be liable or responsible for the vehicles condition in any way.
STAR JAPAN is responsible for the vehicle from the moment of Purchase in Japan until the vehicle(s) have arrived onto the Buyers Port.
STAR JAPAN is responsible for the following
A) Purchase of Vehicle
B) De registering and Making Export Certificates within 14 days.
C) Collection of vehicle from Auction.
D) Delivery of vehicle to Shipping Company for further shipment arrangement to the buyer’s port
E) Sending all documents and inspections to buyer by Courier
The average time the vehicle spends in Japan is 30 days from the date of buyer’s payment for the vehicle. The vehicle should be booked and should have left Japan after 30 days from the date of buyer’s payment for the vehicle. If the vehicle has not left Japan after 30 days from the date of buyer’s payment for the vehicle and it is due to responsibilities of STAR JAPAN the buyer can submit a Claim.
Damage to the vehicle shipped by RORO; when receiving cars shipped by RORO buyer should inspect the cars as soon as unloading starts, if any damage is found then contact the shipping company and shipping agent to report damage and lodge a claim. Buyer must take photographs of any damage to the cars before they are removed from the shipping compound if possible and must receive a report from shipping company or shipping agent. The buyer must immediately contact buyer’s insurance company to arrange a survey report. Any claim should be sent to STAR JAPAN within 5 days of receiving vehicles.
Shipping companies, Insurance companies and STAR JAPAN cannot be held liable for the theft of accessories and or parts from vehicle(s) in shipment, transshipment or when the vehicle(s) are at port in Japan, transshipment Port or the Buyers Port.
Damage to the vehicle shipped by Container; when receiving containers the buyer should be with the container when it is first opened and unloaded. Buyer or Buyers representative must take the following photos 1). Close up of Seal of the container before it is broken 2). Close up of seal once it has been opened. 3). View of opened container with view of all cars before unloading begins. Inspect the cars before unloading starts, if any damage is found then do not remove the vehicles; contact the shipping company and shipping agent to report damage and lodge a claim, if possible only continue with removing the vehicles once a representative from shipping company or shipping agent is on site. Buyer must take photographs of any damage to the cars before they are removed from the container, take detailed photographs of the damage and the way the cars are hanging in the container. Remove first car and then inspect the 2nd car, if second car is damaged then take photographs before you remove the second car. Buyer must continue this way and must receive a report from shipping company or shipping agent. The buyer must immediately contact buyer’s insurance company to arrange a survey report. Any claim should be sent to STAR JAPAN within 5 days of receiving container.
Once the car has arrived in the buyer’s country. The buyer has 5 days to submit a mechanically survey report with photos if they would like to claim on the condition of the vehicle. Only Vehicles which have had a STAR JAPAN inspection and have a score of S, 6, 5, 4.5, 4, 3.5 and less than 100,000 km mileage can be claimed.
STAR JAPAN is not responsible for customs or any government regulations in the buyer’s country. The Buyer is responsible for knowing the customs regulations of their country.
Re-Auctioning Vehicles
If payment is Not received by the 9th day from the date of purchase, vehicle is returned to the Auction and Re-Auctioned.
All Re Auctioning costs are liable to the Buyer and charged to the Client by invoice after successful sale of the vehicle. The vehicles selling price at Re – Auction will be calculated as a credit to the Client in the Re- Auction Invoice.
STAR JAPAN and buyer agree on a minimum selling price. Both Parties must sign a Re-Auction Application Form. If any disagreement of the minimum selling price, STAR JAPAN has the final decision on the minimum selling price.
From the Date of Re- Auction Invoice being issued to the buyers STAR JAPAN Online account, payment is due within 5 days.
If payment is not received by the 9th day from the date of the Re- Auction Invoice being issued, Buyers bidding rights are stopped and all vehicles export related procedures are stopped. This includes all de registration and shipping.. Buyer can No longer buy any vehicles.
If payment is not received by the 12th day from the date of the Re-Auction Invoice being issued purchase, Buyers accounts are frozen and STAR JAPAN Sales Agreement is forfeited. Deposit is confiscated and used as part payment against any loss. After calculation on the Clients account against unpaid Re- Auction Invoice any Credit to the Clients account with be refunded to Client minus bank and admin fees of 7,000 JPY.
Once payment is received, any stopped export related procedures will proceed. Buyers bidding rights are continued, Buyer can buy vehicles within their credit limit.