Guide
How to Verify an Auction Sheet Matches the Actual Car on Arrival
Short answer: Compare the chassis number, mileage and the sheet's damage map against the actual vehicle. A mismatch in any of these can mean the sheet belongs to a different car, or the car was altered after sale.
Most advice about verifying an auction sheet focuses on the pre-purchase stage — confirming the document is genuine before you buy. Just as important, and far less discussed, is the check you should run once the car itself has actually arrived: does the physical vehicle in front of you match the sheet you were sold on?
Why This Check Is Separate From Pre-Purchase Verification
A pre-purchase check confirms the sheet is genuine and unaltered. It can't confirm, on its own, that the car eventually delivered to you is the exact vehicle that sheet describes — that's a separate question, answered only once you can physically inspect the car, and it matters most in situations involving less established importers or agents where oversight is thinner.
Step 1: Match the Chassis Number First
Before anything else, locate the chassis number on the physical vehicle and confirm it matches, character for character, the number printed on the auction sheet and export certificate. This is the single most important check — everything else on the sheet is only meaningful if it's describing the car you're actually looking at.
Step 2: Check the Damage Diagram Against the Real Panels
Walk the car alongside the sheet's diagram, panel by panel. Where the diagram marks a code — a scratch, a dent, a repaired section — look for it on the actual vehicle. Genuine, matched sheets should broadly line up with what you can see, allowing for the time that's passed since inspection and any deterioration or minor new marks picked up during transport.
Step 3: Confirm the Interior Matches the Interior Grade
Sit in the car and assess it against the interior grade on the sheet. A sheet claiming a B interior grade should show a reasonably well-kept cabin — if what you're looking at feels notably worse than the grade suggests, that's worth raising with the seller or importer before you sign off on delivery.
Step 4: Check the Mileage
Compare the current odometer reading against the mileage recorded on the sheet, accounting for the fact that some distance will naturally have accrued between inspection and shipping (yard movement, loading, and similar). A gap that's larger than that reasonably explains is worth investigating rather than dismissing.
Step 5: Note and Document Any Discrepancy Immediately
If something doesn't match — a scratch not on the diagram, an interior grade that seems generous, a chassis number discrepancy — photograph it and raise it with the seller or importer straight away, while there's still a paper trail connecting the sale to the sheet you were shown. Waiting weeks to raise a discrepancy weakens your position considerably.
Why This Step Gets Skipped
By the time a car arrives, buyers are usually excited to finally see it and eager to get it on the road, and a methodical panel-by-panel comparison feels like a chore after months of waiting. It's a short check, though, and it's the last opportunity you have to confirm the sheet you paid for actually describes the car you received.
Ready to check a car? Pull the original Japanese auction sheet and your Australian PPSR & NEVDIS check in one report — check the auction record.