JDM Knowledge Platform

How to Identify a Vehicle's Grade or Package From a Japanese Auction Sheet or Listing

GuideBy JDM Knowledge Platform Editorial TeamPublished 8/17/2026Last reviewed 8/17/2026

Direct answer

A Japanese auction sheet contains two completely different kinds of "grade," and confusing them is the single most common mistake buyers make:

  1. The condition grade — a number or letter (S, 6, 5, 4.5, 4, 3.5, 3, 2, 1, R, RA) assigned by the auction house's inspector, describing the vehicle's physical condition. This is usually printed prominently, often top-right of the sheet, sometimes paired with a separate interior letter grade (A–E).
  2. The trim/package grade — the manufacturer's own name for that specification level (Z, G, X, Executive Lounge, and so on), printed as text in the vehicle description section alongside the model name, chassis code, and registration date.

These are unrelated. A "4.5B" Alphard tells you the car is in very good physical condition with a slightly worn interior — it tells you nothing about whether it's a Z or an Executive Lounge. You need both pieces of information, read separately, to actually understand what you're looking at.

Explanation

The condition grade

Assigned by the auction house at intake, this is a standardized (though not universally identical between auction houses) scale describing exterior and interior condition:

  • S / 6 — under approximately 12 months old at first registration; effectively new condition
  • 4.5 — very good condition, only very minor imperfections, often with maintenance history
  • 3.5–4 — the common range for a sound car of typical age; normal wear, no major issues
  • 3 and below — increasing degrees of wear or damage
  • R / RA — the car has a recorded repair history (structural/accident repair), regardless of how good it looks cosmetically

This numeric/letter grade is usually followed by a second letter (A through E) rating the interior separately — so "4.5B" means condition grade 4.5 with a B-rated interior. Structural repair history (修復歴) is recorded as a separate yes/no field on the sheet, not folded into the condition number — a car can carry a decent condition grade and still have a repair history, so check that field independently rather than assuming a good numeric grade rules it out.

This condition grade says nothing about specification. It applies identically to a base grade and a flagship grade of the same model.

The trim/package grade

This is Toyota's (or the relevant manufacturer's) own name for the equipment level — the same kind of information covered in this platform's grade and package pages. It's written as text, generally in the vehicle description area of the sheet alongside the model name, chassis code, and first-registration month, not as part of the condition-grade scoring at all.

Trim grades are not standardized across manufacturers or even across generations of the same model — see Toyota Alphard Executive Lounge: what the grade actually includes for a case where the same grade name spans two different generations with materially different specifications. The auction sheet won't tell you that; it will just say "Executive Lounge," and you need to know (from the registration date, or the full model/chassis code) which generation that refers to.

Practical examples

Example 1 — reading the two grades together: A sheet showing condition grade 4.5B for a vehicle described as ALPHARD EXECUTIVE LOUNGE with a 2023 first-registration date tells you: this is a well-kept 40-series Alphard Executive Lounge, cosmetically very good with a slightly-worn-but-decent interior, no recorded repair history (assuming the separate repair field is marked negative). It does not, on its own, tell you the drivetrain (2WD vs E-Four) — that typically requires checking the full chassis code.

Example 2 — where confusion happens: A buyer sees "grade 4" on a sheet and assumes that's a low-spec trim level, when it's actually a good-to-very-good condition score on whatever trim the car actually is. The trim information is elsewhere on the same sheet, described in words, not the number.

Relevant terminology

  • 修復歴 (shūfuku-reki) — repair/accident history flag; check independently of the condition grade
  • 年式 (nenshiki) — model year / registration year, needed to determine which generation a grade name refers to
  • 型式 (kata-shiki) — the chassis/type designation code, the most reliable way to confirm exact generation and drivetrain when the grade name alone is ambiguous
  • グレード (gurēdo) — literally "grade," used in Japanese for the manufacturer trim/package level (the second kind of "grade" described above) — context (numbers vs. named text) is what distinguishes it from the auction condition grade in casual conversation with a seller or agent

Common mistakes

  • Treating the auction condition grade as a proxy for specification level. It isn't — it's a condition score, completely independent of trim.
  • Assuming a named grade (e.g. "Executive Lounge") means the same specification regardless of model year. As covered in the linked grade explainer, it frequently does not.
  • Relying on the grade name alone without cross-checking the chassis code or registration date when the distinction (drivetrain, engine, generation) actually matters to the purchase.
  • Assuming a good condition grade rules out repair history. It doesn't — check the separate repair-history field.

How to verify information

  1. Read the condition grade and the trim/grade name as two separate pieces of information — don't let one substitute for the other.
  2. Cross-check the registration date/model year against which generation the named grade actually belongs to, especially for models (like Alphard) where a grade name has been reused across generations.
  3. Where the chassis code is provided, use it to confirm drivetrain and engine rather than inferring these from the trim name alone.
  4. If a listing or sheet is ambiguous or the two pieces of information seem to conflict, treat it as unconfirmed rather than resolving the conflict by assumption — ask the seller/agent for clarification or the full chassis code.

Related resources

Sources

These sources are export/import industry secondary references, not a single official auction-house standard — the condition-grade scale (S/6/5/4.5/4/3.5/3/2/1/R/RA and the A–E interior scale) is described consistently across all of them, which is why this guide states it with confidence; individual auction houses may vary slightly in exact presentation, which the guide notes rather than glosses over.

Author / editorial information

Written and compiled by the JDM Knowledge Platform Editorial Team. House byline; no individual author credentials attached, per docs/EDITORIAL_STYLE.md §9.

Published: 17 August 2026. Last reviewed: 17 August 2026.

Sources