Buying a car through Car From Japan: what's checked, what isn't, and what to ask before you pay

Searching "is Car From Japan legit" usually means two questions: is the company real, and is this particular car what the listing shows. The first can be checked from public records, and we set those out below. The second is harder. Car From Japan's FAQ says its cars are kept in private yards that visitors can't enter, and that it doesn't normally provide extra photos beyond the standard set. Photos show less than you think, so the standard set is worth reading closely before you pay.

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

Who runs Car From Japan

	What the public pages say
Company	Car From Japan Co., Ltd., Tokyo
Established	2014
Capital	45.23 million yen (paid in)
Representative	Enam Eftekhar, CEO
Head office	Tojiki Building 7F, Iwamotocho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Licence shown on the site	"Japanese Government License No. Tokyo 305561505308" (site footer)
Corporate number	7011401018284 (site footer)

A Japanese corporate number can be looked up on the National Tax Agency's Corporate Number Publication Site, which shows the registered name and address. Neither the number nor a licence tells you anything about a specific car.

Who you're buying from

This is worth understanding before you buy. Car From Japan's FAQ says the purchase contract is between you and the seller of the car, and that "generally, Car From Japan is not the seller". It describes itself as your representative in the deal. Its Conditions of Use also say that some products are sold by third-party sellers, whose policies may differ.

So it's worth asking, for the car you're looking at, who the seller is.

How buying works

Car From Japan's How to Buy page describes five steps:

1. Choose a car and send an enquiry. Picking your delivery location shows the delivery price and whether the car matches your country's import rules.
2. Receive the details by email and in your account.
3. Confirm and get an invoice. The page says to check the car from the pictures and description, and to ask questions if you have any.
4. Pay and send proof of payment. By bank transfer (full amount), or by PayPal, including card payment through PayPal. The buyer pays all bank charges, and payment must be in the invoice's currency.
5. Receive the car. After payment they book the ship, send the Bill of Lading copy, then post the original documents you need at the port.

The car is held for you as long as you meet the payment deadline: 48 hours from the invoice to send proof of payment, and 120 hours for the money to reach their bank. The FAQ says there are no extra charges from their side beyond the CIF price (car, freight and insurance to your port), except any inspection you ask for. Import tax in your country isn't included.

Cancelling, according to the FAQ:

• before you pay, you can cancel at any time at no cost
• after they receive your money, the fee is 50% of the invoice or 2,000 US dollars, whichever is higher, and the rest is refunded at your bank's cost
• once they've sent you the shipping schedule, cancellation isn't accepted

What Car From Japan checks

• Photos. Each car goes through a standard procedure that includes taking the necessary pictures.
• Quality ratings. The FAQ says Car From Japan "tries to put" a quality rating on each car, based on a physical inspection by professional authorities in Japan. A separate help page explains how to read Japanese auction grades and inspection reports.
• Shipping. The FAQ says it guarantees shipment of purchased cars, inspection by third parties and support throughout the process, and a 100% refund of the dollar amount you sent, with the bank cost on them, if your money is received but the car isn't shipped.

What it doesn't do

All of these come from Car From Japan's own FAQ and Conditions of Use:

• You can't see the car in person. The FAQ says the cars are in private yards that are off-limits for security reasons.
• Extra photos aren't a standard service. To keep prices low, it has decided not to provide them as a rule, because its cars are spread all over Japan. You can ask if the existing pictures are very few or very poor, but it says it may not be able to help.
• Ratings may not be on every car. The FAQ says it "tries to put" a rating on each car.
• Claims on condition. The FAQ says sales are basically on a no-claim, no-return basis, that conditions are described as honestly as possible, and that the buyer can't make a claim on the car's condition on delivery. Its Conditions of Use add that if a product isn't as described, it will look into it neutrally and tell you its decision on the claim, return and refund. Ask which applies to your purchase before you pay.
• Descriptions. The Conditions of Use say it doesn't warrant that product descriptions are accurate, complete or error-free.

None of this is unusual for buying a car from a distance. It means the questions have to be asked, and answered, before the money moves.

Because Car From Japan says its yards are closed to visitors, viewing one of its cars isn't something we can offer. If you're comparing a Car From Japan listing with a car at a Japanese dealer that does accept visits, or you're not sure where a car is, send us the link and we'll tell you whether there's anything useful we can do.

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Read the standard photos for what isn't there

Ask our founder what decides a car and he'll put the underside and the strut tops well ahead of the exterior, and those are views a standard photo set rarely includes (what dealer photos miss explains why).

When extra photos aren't a standard service, the photos on the listing are most of what you'll see before you pay. So go through them looking for what's missing, not just what's there. Is there any view of the underside? Of the strut tops in the engine bay? Of the rear arches and the sills? If the answer is no, that isn't proof of a problem. It's a gap, and you should know it's there before you decide.

What to check before you pay

1. Ask who the seller of this car is, since the FAQ says Car From Japan is generally not the seller.
2. Ask whether this car has a quality rating or an inspection report, and if so, who did it and when. Read the auction grade guide if the car has an auction sheet.
3. Go through the standard photos for the spots that matter to you. For example: the underside, both strut tops, the rear arches and sills, and the boot (trunk) floor. If the photos are very few or poor, ask for more, knowing the answer may be no.
4. Ask which rule applies if the car isn't as described: the FAQ's no-claim, no-return basis or the Conditions of Use's review of claims.
5. Know the cancellation rules before you pay. Free before payment, a fee of at least half the invoice after it, no cancellation once the shipping schedule is out.
6. Get the full cost in writing. The CIF price, any inspection you request, your bank's charges including intermediary fees, and import tax and clearing costs at home.
7. Check your own country's import rules with your own government. The Conditions of Use put this on the buyer.
8. Pay only to the account on your invoice, in the invoice's currency, within the deadline.

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 decision stays with you.

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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