Guide
Japanese Auction Sheet Photos: What the Diagram Actually Shows
Short answer: The diagram is a map of the car's body where the inspector marks each fault with a letter code and location — so a symbol on the left rear door tells you exactly where and what kind of damage was recorded.
New buyers often expect a Japanese auction sheet to come with photographs of the car, the way a local classifieds listing would. It doesn't — what you get instead is a simplified line diagram with codes marked at specific points. Understanding what that diagram is (and isn't) trying to tell you avoids a common source of confusion.
The Diagram Is a Map, Not a Picture
The standard auction sheet diagram shows a car outline from above, sometimes with a side profile included, divided into panel zones: bonnet, roof, doors, guards, boot, and bumpers. Where the inspector has found something worth noting, a code is marked at that location — a letter (A for scratch, U for dent, W for repaired panel, and others) placed on or near the relevant panel.
It's a locational shorthand, built for speed during an inspection process that covers hundreds of vehicles a day. It tells you where something was found and broadly what category it falls into. It does not tell you how large the mark is, exactly how deep a dent goes, or what a repair actually looks like up close.
What the Diagram Doesn't Capture
A few things routinely get lost in translation between the physical car and its diagram:
- Severity within a category. A single "A" code could mean a barely visible scuff or a more noticeable scratch — the code doesn't distinguish.
- Colour matching on repairs. A "W" (repaired panel) code confirms work was done, not whether the paint match is good enough to be invisible.
- Anything outside the inspector's standard checklist, such as minor interior wear that didn't move the interior grade, or an aftermarket part that wasn't flagged as notable.
This is exactly what the inspector's written comments are for — they exist to capture nuance the diagram's fixed vocabulary can't.
Why Real Photos Still Matter
Because the diagram is deliberately simplified, actual photos of the car — whether supplied by the seller, taken by an agent at the auction yard, or captured on arrival in Australia — remain an important complement rather than a redundant extra. Photos show you paint match, real damage extent, and interior condition in a way no coded diagram can. If a seller can't or won't provide current photos of a car alongside its auction sheet, that's worth asking about directly.
Reading the Diagram Correctly
Treat the diagram as a starting point for questions, not a final verdict. If it shows a "W" on the front-left guard, that's your cue to ask for a close-up photo of that panel and to check whether the comments section says anything about repair quality — not to assume the panel is either fine or ruined based on a single letter. Combined with genuine photos and the written comments, the diagram becomes a useful part of the picture rather than a source of false confidence on its own.
Ready to check a car? Pull the original Japanese auction sheet and your Australian PPSR & NEVDIS check in one report — verify an auction sheet.