USS, the largest used-car auction group in Japan, took 1,887,810 cars on consignment at its 19 sites between April and September 2026 and sold 1,226,652 of them, a 65.0% contract rate (USS monthly data). That is the pond every JDM importer fishes in. Our view: the auction house you pick matters far less than the auction sheet you read and the agent who reads it for you.
Below are the auction networks, how a US buyer actually bids, the paperwork Japan issues, and what US customs charges when the car lands. Information current as of October 2026.
USS runs 19 sites from Sapporo to Kyushu, each with a fixed weekly auction day, and only members bid in its lanes (USS). Consignments in September 2026 ran 19.2% above September 2025. For a mainstream 90s car, a Skyline, Supra, RX-7 or Silvia, we would start here: it is where your agent finds the most choice and the deepest price history.
Beyond USS, Japan has other auction groups, among them the JU dealer-association auctions, TAA and CAA. The headline car rarely hides there, but a clean, unmodified example sometimes does, because fewer export agents watch those lanes. Your agent's memberships decide which of them you can bid at, so ask for the list before you send a deposit.
A US resident cannot walk into a USS lane. Bidding runs through a Japanese export agent who holds the memberships. The sequence is short:
Step 2 is where the money is. The overall grade is one number; the damage diagram and the inspector's handwritten notes say where the rust and the repairs are. We would rather pay for a full translation on three cars than win the wrong one cheaply.
When the agent deregisters the car, Japan issues an export certificate in place of the registration. US customs and your DMV will both ask for it, along with the bill of sale. The 25-year clock runs on month of manufacture, not model year, so get the build month in writing before you bid, not after the car is on the water. Our 25-year rule guide has the details.
On a car entered at $25,000, that comes to $3,125 in duty, $86.60 in MPF and $31.25 in HMF: $3,242.85 before freight. We would put that number into the maximum bid, not discover it at the port. More in what duties you pay today on classic car imports.
A sealed container is our default for an auction car: it suits non-runners, and spare parts can travel with the car within carrier rules. Air works when a show date is fixed, though the documents, not the flight, usually set the pace. Ports and routes are in our Japan to USA shipping guide, and the full budget is in our Japan import cost guide.
Not directly. Auctions like USS sell to members, so US buyers bid through a Japanese export agent who holds the memberships and bids within the limit you set.
USS, with 19 sites. It sold 1,226,652 cars between April and September 2026.
Cars 25 years or older by month of manufacture. In October 2026 that means cars built in October 2001 or earlier.
12.5% of value for a Japan-built car 25 years or older entered since July 24, 2026, plus the Merchandise Processing Fee and, by ocean, the Harbor Maintenance Fee.
The Japanese export certificate, the bill of sale, the bill of lading, NHTSA form HS-7, EPA form 3520-1 and the CBP entry.
Found the car on a USS sheet, at a dealer in Tokyo or at a show overseas? Read how we import a car from Japan and how we ship a collector car. We ship door to door, by ocean or air, with our own warehouses in California, Florida and New Jersey covering all of the US for imports and exports. Our own team loads every car and handles every document. Price your lane with our car import calculator.
It's your dream car. Let's bring her home.