Buying a car from BE FORWARD: what's covered, what isn't, and what to ask before you pay

If you're searching "is BE FORWARD legit", there are really two questions: is the company real, and is this particular car what the listing suggests. The first can be checked from public records, and we set those out below. The second is harder. BE FORWARD sells mostly by photos: its FAQ says it provides up to 30 pictures of a car, and that it doesn't let anyone into its storage yard (you can visit the office by appointment). Photos show less than you think, so what you ask before you pay matters more than anything else on this page.

We don't rate sellers, and we don't use or work with BE FORWARD. Everything about the company here comes from its own pages and terms, checked on 2 October 2026.

Who runs BE FORWARD

	What the public pages say
Company	BE FORWARD CO., LTD., Tokyo
Founded	10 March 2004
Address	Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, Minato-ku, Tokyo (company profile). The site footer and the warranty terms give an office in Chofu City, Tokyo
Staff	298 employees as of December 2025 (company profile)
Business	Sale and export of used vehicles, and of new and used auto parts
Secondhand dealer licence	Tokyo Metropolitan Public Safety Commission, No. 308942418095 (shown in Japanese in the site footer)
Office hours	Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 19:00 Japan time, closed at weekends and over Japanese holiday periods

A secondhand dealer licence is required in Japan to trade used goods, including cars, and it's issued by the prefecture's Public Safety Commission, which oversees the police. It tells you the company is registered. It doesn't tell you anything about a specific car.

How buying works

BE FORWARD's How to Buy page describes four steps:

1. Order. Either "Buy Now", which reserves the car as soon as you pay, or "Get a Price Quote", where staff reply by email and you negotiate. Either way you receive a proforma invoice. Local offices and agents in some countries can also take the order.
2. Payment. You pay the invoice and upload proof of payment. The FAQ says payment is by bank wire, mainly in US dollars, sometimes in yen, in one payment, and that the buyer pays the bank fees. The How to Buy page also mentions paying online after Buy Now.
3. Shipment. Once payment arrives, they send the shipping schedule, then the Bill of Lading and the other papers by courier.
4. Delivery. You collect the car at the agreed port and clear customs, usually through a clearing agent. In some countries they offer delivery to a nearby city.

The price shown on a listing (FOB) is the price of the car only. Freight is added, and port charges, import duties and taxes in your country are yours to pay.

While someone has made an offer but hasn't paid yet, the car shows as "Under Offer". If the offer is rejected or expires, it goes back on sale.

What BE FORWARD covers

Photos. The FAQ says it provides "up to 30 detailed pictures" of a car to help with your decision.

BF Warranty. This is BE FORWARD's own cover, and the price calculator on its listings lets you choose whether to include it. According to its warranty page and terms:

• it covers partial damage, breakage, bending and dents, engine, transmission and electrical problems, and missing items
• it runs during shipping, until you or your agent collect the car at the port or agreed delivery point, or 30 days after the ship arrives, whichever comes first
• you have to report a problem within 2 days of receiving the car, with photos, video for mechanical problems, a written repair quote from a professional garage and their damage report form
• BE FORWARD decides the repair method and the amount, with a cap that depends on the car's FOB price (set in US dollars in the terms: for cars priced at 4,001 dollars or more, the cap is 4,000 dollars)
• it pays money towards a repair; it doesn't supply parts

What it doesn't cover

All of these come from BE FORWARD's own FAQ and warranty terms:

• You can't see the car in person. The FAQ says nobody is allowed into the storage yard, for security reasons. You can visit the office by appointment.
• Photos may not show every fault. The warranty terms say the buyer accepts that the seller "may not fully photograph all malfunctions" before shipment.
• Rust isn't covered. The warranty terms exclude rust, corrosion and discolouration of the body or frame.
• Suspension parts count as wear items. The list of exempt "expendable" parts includes suspension springs, shock absorbers and suspension mounts, along with brakes, tyres (tires), batteries, belts and rubber parts. Oil and fluid leaks are excluded too.
• Faults disclosed before you buy aren't covered, and nor is damage judged to have happened before purchase and shipment.
• The year of manufacture isn't guaranteed. The FAQ says it comes from a third party.
• Refunds. The site terms say BE FORWARD isn't liable for refunds except under a warranty it has expressly stated.

None of this is unusual for buying a car from a distance. It means the most useful work happens before you pay, while you can still ask questions and walk away.

BE FORWARD's own cars sit in a yard that, by its own FAQ, visitors can't enter, so a viewing isn't something we can offer for those. Some listings are labelled as coming from other sellers. If you're unsure where a car is kept, or you're weighing a BE FORWARD car against one at a dealer in Japan that does accept visitors, send us the link. We'll tell you plainly what we can and can't do for that car.

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The parts that matter most are outside the cover

When our founder looks at a car, the underside and the strut tops come near the top of his list and the paintwork well down it, yet those are the parts listing photos rarely show (what dealer photos miss).

Put that next to the warranty terms and a pattern appears. Rust on the body or frame is excluded. Springs, shock absorbers and suspension mounts are excluded. Those overlap with what he says matters most, and they're the things you'll have to find out about before you pay, not after the car lands.

What to check before you pay

1. Ask for photos of the spots that matter to you, beyond the standard set. For example: the underside as far as it can be seen, both strut tops, the rear arches and sills, and the boot (trunk) floor with the mat lifted. Name the exact spots; general requests get general photos.
2. Ask whether the car is BE FORWARD's own stock or listed by another seller, and where it's kept.
3. Ask for a short video of the engine starting, with the exhaust in view, and whether the engine was already warm. What to watch for in a start-up video covers what it can show and what it can't.
4. Read the BF Warranty terms before you decide whether to add it. Note what's excluded, and that the claim window is 2 days from receiving the car.
5. Ask how they confirmed the year of manufacture, since the FAQ says that information comes from a third party.
6. Get the full cost in writing. The FOB price, freight, insurance, any pre-export inspection your country requires, your bank's fees, and your clearing agent's charges and import taxes at home.
7. Check your own country's import rules with your own government. BE FORWARD's FAQ points buyers to their own authorities for this.
8. Pay only to the account shown on BE FORWARD's own bank information page and your proforma invoice. The site carries a notice warning about fake BE FORWARD information.

Anything you learn about the car before paying is yours to weigh. Anything you learn after, the warranty terms decide.

If you're still choosing where to buy

We're based in Kuwana, Mie Prefecture, and mainly cover Aichi, Gifu and Mie. If you're looking at a car at a Japanese dealer that accepts visits, we can make an appointment, look at the car in person and send you photos, video and a plain-English report that separates what we saw, what the dealer told us, and what we couldn't check. See how a viewing works.

For a car at a dealer anywhere else in Japan, a Remote Check is a phone call to the dealer in Japanese: your questions, the extra photos you're missing, and a translation of the paperwork.

We don't tell you whether to buy, or where. That's your call.

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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