Japan car history check: what the records can tell you, and what they can't

A "Japan car history check" usually means a paid report that you run from the car's chassis number. Behind any report sit a few kinds of record that do exist in Japan: the registration record, odometer readings taken at the roadworthiness test (shaken), whether servicing was recorded at that test, and maker recalls. Most of these the seller can get for you directly. None of them tells you what the car is like today. Records are written when something is filed. Rust, wear and unreported damage are never filed.

Every check starts from the number on the car

A history check is only as good as the number you type in, so take that number from the car, not from the advert. The chassis number is stamped into the body, and many Japanese cars also carry a model plate with it on, often in the engine bay. Where they are depends on the model. This is the plate on our own car, a Toyota Prius α.

What the boxes are:

• MODEL: the model code. On ours it's DAA-ZVW41W-AXXGB. The ZVW41 part is what the chassis number should start with.
• ENGINE: the engine model and its capacity in millilitres.
• FRAME No.: the chassis number. This is the number a history check works from, and it should match the certificate and the stamping on the body.
• COLOR and TRIM: the maker's codes for the paint and the interior.
• PLANT: the maker's plant code.
• TRANS./AXLE: the transmission and axle codes.

The colour code is worth a second look. None of the official records on this page lists the paint colour. If the code doesn't seem to match the paint in the photos, ask the seller why.

What a history check is built from

Before you rely on a report, it helps to know which records exist in Japan at all:

• The registration record. Japan's transport bureaus keep a record of each registered car. The detailed version covers past entries as well as the current ones.
• Odometer readings at the shaken. The odometer is recorded each time the car goes through the roadworthiness test. We cover these on our page about what a Japanese chassis number can tell you.
• Servicing recorded at the shaken. The national inspection data now also notes whether the car was serviced when it was tested, and whether that was written in the service record book.
• Recalls. Makers keep track of which chassis numbers a recall covers.
• Auction records. If the car went through a Japanese auction, there may be an auction sheet and photos. If it didn't, there's nothing to find.

A report may use some of these and not others. That's why it's worth asking any provider where its data comes from.

What the records can tell you

The detailed registration record lists each registration event with its date. New Zealand's transport agency publishes a sample of one in the manual its vehicle inspectors work from. In that sample you can see the car's first registration in Japan, a change to the user's details, a transfer of ownership to a new owner in another city and, last, its deregistration. Each entry shows the registration number and who the owner and user were at the time. From a record like this you can usually tell:

• when the car was first registered in Japan
• how many times it changed owner, and roughly where it was kept
• whether the owners were companies or private people (in the sample, the first owner is a leasing company)
• when it was taken off the road

The inspection data adds what the odometer read at recent tests and whether servicing was recorded. If the reading has ever gone down at a test, for example after a meter was replaced, the record keeps the highest reading and the date it was set. If the reading went down at a test in or before December 2017, no highest reading is kept.

Recalls can be checked against the chassis number. Japan's transport ministry says its own recall search shows each recall as a range of chassis numbers, and that a range can include cars the recall doesn't actually cover. So it sends owners to the maker, and notes that the main makers let you enter the chassis number on their own sites.

The service record book is meant to stay with the car. Under Japan's Road Transport Vehicle Act, the user of a car has to keep its service record book in the car and write each periodic check and service in it: the date, the result and what was done.

Whether it was a rental car is something a dealer has to tell you. Under the Automobile Fair Trade Council's code, a member dealer has to show whether a used car was used privately, commercially, as a rental car or otherwise.

What the records can't tell you

Every one of those records is about events. None of them describes the car. A history check can't tell you:

• How much rust there is underneath. Corrosion on the floor, the sills or the strut tops isn't filed anywhere.
• What's under an anti-rust coating. No record says what the underside looked like before it was coated, and the coating itself hides it. We explain why on our page about rust on Japanese cars.
• Damage nobody reported. A knock that was repaired privately, or never repaired, leaves no trace in the registration record.
• Bodywork that doesn't count as repair history. In Japan, "repair history" on a listing only covers the body structure. A replaced bumper or a repainted door doesn't count. See repair history and flood cars.
• How the car was driven or kept. A clean ownership record says nothing about how the car was used.
• Whether recall work was actually done. A recall lookup tells you whether the car was covered. Whether the work was carried out is a question for the dealer or the maker's dealer network.

The records tell you where the car has been on paper. To know what it's like now, someone has to look at it.

A clean record and a sound car aren't the same thing. If the record is fine but you'd still like someone to look underneath, send us the listing. We'll say up front which parts can be seen at the dealer and which can't.

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How to check it yourself

Most of this costs you nothing but a few emails to the seller.

1. Ask for a photo of the model plate and of the shaken certificate, or the export certificate if the car has been deregistered. You need the chassis number and the model code from both. Ask the seller to cover the user's name and the registration number.
2. Ask the dealer or exporter for the detailed registration record (shosai toroku jiko to shomeisho). It has to be requested in person at a transport bureau office in Japan, with ID that shows the requester's name and address, and a stated reason. It costs ¥1,200 for the first sheet and ¥400 for each extra sheet. The requester needs the full registration number and the last seven characters of the chassis number, or the full chassis number on its own. In practice, someone in Japan has to get it for you. The record names past owners, so ask them to cover names and addresses before they send it.
3. Ask for photos of the service record book, every page with an entry. Check that the dates and odometer readings run in order and match what the listing says.
4. Check for recalls on the maker's own site with the chassis number, or ask the dealer to. Then ask whether the work has been done.
5. If you buy a paid report, ask the provider what its sources are and what years they cover. If the car never went through an auction, there may be no auction record to find.
6. Put the readings side by side: the odometer photo, the service book and any inspection readings you have. They should only go up.
7. Last, ask for photos of the parts no record covers: the underside from both sides, the strut tops and the rear wheel arches.

If the car is already outside Japan, keep its export certificate: the remarks box lists earlier odometer readings with their dates (see Japan export certificate). The detailed registration record can still be requested in Japan with the full chassis number, but someone there has to apply for it.

If a seller won't send the certificate or the record book, it's worth asking why.

Questions buyers ask

How would I spot that an import's mileage went down after it left Japan?

Ask for the Japanese readings before you buy. The export certificate's remarks box lists earlier readings with their dates, and while the car is still in Japan the inspection record holds the last two. Japanese readings are in kilometres (1 mile is about 1.609 km). Convert them and compare with the odometer. A reading that's lower than an earlier one is a question to ask before you pay.

Written by Yoshiaki Sagara, a paintless dent repair and detailing technician in Japan. He looks at cars for overseas buyers through Ninja Desk Japan. About us

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