Japan is a right hand drive (RHD) country along with the UK and countries that used to be in the British Empire. However, in Japan there is a certain status associated with LHD (left hand drive) cars – probably because it accentuates their foreignness, making them seem more exotic.
Although there are far more RHD cars in car auctions in Japan, there are still a good number of LHD cars available. Here we will look at what kinds of LHD cars you can expect to find in Japanese car auctions, and how you can quickly find LHD vehicles to bid on.
Two rules of thumb for LHD cars
Rule 1: LHD cars are almost always foreign-manufactured
If you are looking for LHD Toyotas, Nissans, Hondas and Mazdas, you probably want to try the US auto auctions. That is not to say that there are absolutely no LHD cars by Japanese makers in the car auctions in Japan. However, these are usually imported into Japan from the US, and can be quite pricey due to their rarity in Japan.
The LHD cars you will find in good numbers in Japan are from non-Japanese manufacturers, such as Mercedes, Ford, Ferrari and other brands. You will even find good numbers of LHD cars from British brands, such as Jaguar – even though the UK is an RHD country like Japan.
Rule 2: The more expensive the foreign car, the more likely it is to be LHD
Check out the lower levels of the model range and you will find mainly RHD cars. However, as price increases, cars made outside Japan are more and more likely to be left hand drive.
To give you a concrete example, a VW Golf is almost certainly going to be RHD, whereas at the other end of the spectrum Lamborghinis are all LHD. Then, in the middle range – such as the BMW 5 Series – you will find a mixture of LHD and RHD cars.
Finding LHD cars at car auctions in Japan
Unfortunately, it is not as easy to do this as it should be. The reason is that not all of the car auctions in Japan include LHD / RHD information in their data. Obviously, our system can only figure out which is which if it has this data to hand, so we have decided not to include this as a search option -- since relying on it would result in you missing out on a lot of LHD cars.
So how can you find LHD cars to bid on?
Some auctions have interior photos, so these cars are very obviously LHD or RHD and you can tell right away. Take a look at the image on the left, and you will see what I mean. Other car auctions only have exterior photos. But even with these, it is usually not a problem to spot which side the wheel is on. Very occasionally you may find that you are not be able to see the position of the steering wheel clearly in the photos either. This could simply be due to the angle of the windscreen causing a reflection just where you would expect to see the steering wheel.
You won’t be able to figure out whether these cars are LHD or RHD right away, but don’t give up hope! The Japanese notes on the auction inspection report about the car will clearly state whether it is LHD or RHD, even if you cannot see the steering wheel in the photos.
Integrity Exports provides a professional-quality translation service for customers which will ensure you know which side the steering wheel is on before you bid on the car – so there is no risk of getting caught out. In fact, you don't even need to ask for a full translation right away. You could just ask whether the car is LHD or not, and we will check for you.
As a final safeguard, as we get to know you as a customer we will get to know your preferences. For example, if you are in New Zealand and are bidding on an LHD BMW, we will double-check with you, as LHD is probably not going to work for your market. Similarly, if you are in Germany and bidding on an RHD Jaguar, we will enter a message in our online system alerting you to this just in case you made a mistake.
We find that the most successful importers really understand how it all works - from the auction to the ship and beyond. Don't get left behind!
