A Japanese used car dealer has suggested to me that I can get good deals if buy direct from the auctions.

Has anyone got any experience with Japanese used car auctions?

i did afew years ago, used papera. saved roughly 1000$. buts ensure the grade is good. but its abit risky. you may get a car with plenty of dents and/or engine issues.

No idea about this and therefore keenly watching the responses. Others you may try include Delight Japan: http://delights.jp/db2/stock.php (mileage for cars tend to be over 100,000) and IBC Japan: ibcjapan.co.jp

I have used ibc japan in 3 occassions. There cars are better and sub-100K mileage. However they charge a fee and you need to deposit 100,000 yen to be able to go live on the auction. They facilitate all the paperwork required on their end. The fun of auction is that you get what you want and you can place a bid offer if you see your match. If your bid win IBC staff on the auction will verify the car and if acceptable they take it to their yard for further checks! Note: for a good bargain you need to invest say 4 weeks on the auction as you will lose some bids for being low but when successfull you save btw $1000 -1500 depending on the model and your luck.

in the alternate guys could check this site for uk auctions http://www.british-car-a.../default.aspx?page=11293