Japanese used car listing terms: what they mean in English, and what they don't tell you

A Japanese used car listing packs a lot into a few short lines: a total price, a repair history line, "one owner", "non-smoking", "record book", a shaken date. Some of these a dealer has to show by the industry's own rules. Others are the dealer's description. None of them tells you what the underside or the strut tops look like. That's still a job for photos you ask for, or for someone standing next to the car.

What a dealer has to show

Japan's Automobile Fair Trade Council runs the industry's own advertising code. A dealer who is a member has to show these items on a used car on display, and in online and printed adverts that give a price:

• the make and main specification
• the year and month of first registration
• the price (since October 2023, as a total price, explained below)
• the mileage
• whether the car was used privately, commercially, as a rental car or otherwise
• when the shaken (roadworthiness certificate) expires
• whether the previous user's service record book comes with the car
• whether there is a warranty
• whether periodic maintenance is included before handover
• whether the car has repair history

An advert that gives a price also has to show the colour and the chassis number. The code is the industry's own rule for its members, so a dealer outside it isn't bound by it.

The terms, one by one

Japanese	Romanised	In English	What it means	What it doesn't tell you
支払総額	shiharai sōgaku	total price	The vehicle price plus the minimum costs of buying it: compulsory insurance, taxes, and registration fees. Since October 2023, members have to show prices this way, with the vehicle price and the costs listed separately.	It's the price for registering the car in the dealer's own area and collecting it from the shop. Delivery, registration elsewhere and options cost extra. Buying for export is a different deal, so ask for the price on that basis.
車両価格	sharyō kakaku	vehicle price	The cash price of the car itself, including consumption tax and anything already fitted. If the car is sold with maintenance or a warranty, that cost is included here.	The costs above, which are in the total price.
修復歴 あり／なし	shūfuku-reki ari / nashi	repair history: yes / no	Whether the body structure has been repaired or replaced, under a standard the industry shares.	Damage to outer panels, small damage, or anything about how the car is now. See repair history and flood cars.
ワンオーナー	wan ōnā	one owner	Carsensor's definition: the car has had a single previous owner.	Carsensor itself notes the registered name on the certificate may still have changed several times through sales between dealers.
禁煙車	kin'en-sha	non-smoking car	Carsensor's definition: no signs of smoking in the cabin. It says this is the dealer's judgement.	Whether you'd agree. Carsensor suggests checking the smell of the cabin and the air conditioning in person.
記録簿／定期点検記録簿	kirokubo	service record book	The book that comes with the car, where periodic checks and servicing are written in.	What's in it. Carsensor notes the entries vary a lot from one previous owner to the next.
車検 2年付／1年付	shaken ni-nen tsuki	shaken: 2 years included	Carsensor's explanation: the servicing needed for the shaken is included in the price.	The taxes and compulsory insurance for the new shaken period, which Carsensor says are paid separately.
車検残	shaken zan	shaken remaining	The time left until the next shaken, shown as an expiry date.	Anything about the car's condition. A shaken date is about roadworthiness rules in Japan, not about a buyer abroad.
定期点検整備 付き／なし	teiki tenken seibi tsuki / nashi	periodic maintenance: included / not included	Whether the dealer does the periodic maintenance before handing the car over. Since 2023, members show it in these words.	What will actually be done. Ask for the list.
保証 付き／なし	hoshō tsuki / nashi	warranty: yes / no	Whether the car comes with a warranty from the dealer.	Whether any of it applies to a car that's leaving Japan. Ask.
自家用／営業用／レンタカー	jikayō / eigyōyō / rentakā	private / commercial / rental	How the car was used. Members have to show it.	How hard it was used.
コーティング済	kōtingu-zumi	coated (paint coating applied)	The dealer's description: a protective coating has been put on the paint.	When it was applied and what with, unless there's a certificate for the work. In my experience you can't check it at the dealer either: you can't exactly pour water over a car on someone's forecourt.

What the listing can't tell you

Every line above is either a rule about what to show or the dealer's own description. None of them is somebody looking at the car for you.

And some of the papers behind the lines may never reach you. In my view, some dealers won't show you the service record book, and the same goes for the shaken certificate. So "record book: yes" tells you the book exists. It doesn't mean you'll get to read it.

What no listing line covers:

• Rust, on the floor, the sills, the rear arches or the strut tops
• Bodywork that doesn't count as repair history, such as a replaced bumper or a repainted door
• How the cabin smells to you, rather than to the dealer
• How the engine starts and runs

If the listing reads well but you want to know what the lines leave out, send us the link. We'll tell you which of those can be checked at the dealer and which can't.

Send us the listing link

How to read a listing from abroad

1. Match the line to this page's table, rather than trusting a general translator. "One owner" and "non-smoking" have narrower meanings than the English suggests. If you're not sure which line is which, ask the dealer to tell you in writing.
2. Ask for the price on an export basis. The total price is built for registering the car in Japan.
3. If it says "record book: yes", ask for photos of the pages with entries. If the dealer won't send them, note that.
4. Ask whether the warranty applies once the car has left Japan.
5. Check the repair history line against the photos, and ask in writing which part was repaired if it says yes.
6. Then ask for photos of what no line covers: the underside from both sides, the strut tops and the rear wheel arches.

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

Send us the listing link