Your car. From Japan.

Three reasons. It keeps our time for serious buyers: every live search means watching the auctions, translating auction sheets and checking VRT with Revenue. It costs you nothing when you buy, because the full €25 comes off our fee. And you are covered if we can't find your car: no suitable car matching your brief within 30 days and we refund the €25 in full.

If you buy a car through us, the full €25 comes off our fee. If we can't find a suitable car matching your brief within 30 days, we refund it in full. If you decide not to go ahead once we have started searching, it isn't refundable. The details are in our terms.

After paying, you send us your brief (car, years, budget and must-haves) and within 24 hours we contact you to confirm it. Then we search live auctions and send shortlisted cars with photos, translated auction sheets, a full cost breakdown to Irish plates with Revenue's VRT figure, and the emissions documents. You also get a direct WhatsApp line to us for your search.

Our instant estimate and price assistant answer most questions straight away, from nearly 900,000 real Japanese auction results. To keep our time for people who are ready to buy, our team works one-to-one with search clients: the €25 deposit is credited in full against our fee when you buy, and refunded if we can't find a suitable car matching your brief within 30 days.

It suits you if you can wait 2.5–3.5 months from winning bid to Irish plates, and you want a car Ireland doesn’t stock: a rarer colour, a higher trim, or genuinely lower mileage. It doesn’t suit you if you need a car this month, or you want to sit in the exact car before paying. Instant estimates are free, and our “Is it worth importing?” tool will tell you when buying in Ireland works out cheaper. Live auction searches start with a €25 deposit, credited in full against our fee when you buy.

You see the independent auction inspection sheet, translated and explained, along with the auction photos, before anything is bid on. We usually point you to cars graded 4 and above. Nothing is bid on until you approve both the car and your maximum bid in writing. An auction grade is an inspector’s professional opinion, not a warranty.

Four stages:

1. Deposit when you approve a car and a maximum bid — €1,500 for cars under €10,000 at auction, or 30% of your maximum bid at €10,000 and above.
2. Car balance within 10 working days of a winning bid.
3. Shipping, customs duty, VAT and VRT as they fall due.
4. Remaining fee before handover.

Our concierge fee starts at €1,250 under €6,000 purchase price, and €1,500 from €6,000. It covers sourcing, bidding, Japanese auction and export fees, shipping coordination, customs and Irish registration. The NCT and any NCT-related work (such as tyres, a rear fog lamp or tint) are extra, and always quoted before any work is done. Third-party costs are passed through at cost and itemised.

Our fee is fixed once quoted, and your quote is valid for 45 days. Two things can move: the euro–yen rate until the car is paid for, and VRT, which Revenue charges on their own market value (OMSP). Our VRT figure is an estimate using Revenue’s method — their assessment is final. Any additional cost is discussed with you and approved before it is incurred.

Yes, and it’s free. Tell us your total budget in Ireland, how many seats you need, your typical journeys and any must-haves. We’ll come back with a shortlist and a landed-cost estimate for each.

Typically 2.5–3.5 months from winning bid to Irish plates, depending on when we catch the shipping schedule from Japan. Cars land at Dublin Port, with delivery available nationwide from there. Before committing, it’s worth confirming an Irish insurer will cover the exact vehicle and specification.

Before a car is won: if we don’t win a bid for you and you decide not to proceed, your funds are returned in full. Once a car is won under your bid approval it is bought in your name, and it isn’t refundable. The deposit is your guarantee of commitment, and is forfeited if the remaining payments aren’t made.

Proof of your Irish address dated within the last six months: an original P60, bank statement, credit card statement or utility bill — or two online statements. We handle the NCTS/VRT inspection, plates and NCT from there.