Before wiring anyone a deposit, you check the company: Polish buyers google phrases like "stradale classics opinie" or "arkam cars opinie" around 1,800 times a month combined. Yet the results contain not a single independent page that puts these companies side by side: only their own channels. We are filling that gap, and our cards are on the table: this comparison was written by the Karasaki team, and we import cars from Japan ourselves, so we are an interested party. That is why every claim about another company rests on a dated, public source, and where data is missing we say so plainly: no public data.
We looked at the four brands people ask about most: Stradale Classics, Arkam Cars, Carfactor and Sakura Motors, plus a smaller fifth one, US&JDM Cars, because it is the only company that publishes its full Japan import fee on its own site. At the end we show how our own payment terms compare, including the one item where we are more expensive.
Japan car import companies in Poland: how this comparison was made
The Japan car import companies Polish buyers ask about most are Stradale Classics, Arkam Cars, Carfactor and Sakura Motors. None of the four publishes a complete price list for importing from Japan: the closest to full transparency are Carfactor, with a public cost calculator, and Sakura Motors, with published deposit rules. At Karasaki our fee is flat: 8,000 PLN, paid after the car is delivered.
We compare only what the companies publish themselves: price lists, purchase procedures and deposit rules, as of 18 August 2026. Each company's registration was checked in the official KRS registry, customer ratings were read on public platforms with the access date noted, and brand interest was measured in Google Ads data on the same day. Prices and terms change, so before signing anything, ask each company for its current conditions in writing.
The criteria are the same for everyone, ourselves included: fee transparency, deposit size and refund terms, the moment the fee is due, and access to the auction sheet before bidding. The starting point is the same for everyone: Japanese auction houses admit only licensed intermediaries to bidding, so from Poland you always buy through an intermediary company. We described how that market works from the inside in our guide to Japanese car auctions.
Stradale Classics: the biggest brand, no public price list
Stradale Classics sp. z o.o. (KRS 0001094657, based in Falenty Nowe near Warsaw) is the most recognizable brand in this comparison: 14,800 branded searches a month as measured on 18 August 2026, more than the other three companies combined. Interest in the phrase "stradale classics opinie" peaks in winter, at up to 1,300 queries a month.
The service model combines auction purchases with buying outside the auction system. On its import page the company declares that it buys at auction houses, on the local market and directly from collectors, and that it bids on the client's behalf within an agreed maximum budget. The company's focus is above all classics and collector cars.
Payment terms: the website gives neither the fee, nor the deposit amount, nor the refund conditions; total import costs are worked out in an individual consultation. In video content published on its social channels, though, the company quotes a fee of 10,000 PLN (its own declaration, August 2026), and in a February 2024 money.pl interview the founder described the earnings model as a margin of around 2-3% on cars worth millions of euros; that second quote concerns selling luxury cars, not an import-service price list. That is not an accusation, just a description of the sales model. The practical takeaway: before paying anything, ask in writing for the fee, the deposit refund terms and the auction sheet.
Reviews: the company site has no customer-rating section, and we found no independent, dated review profile complete enough to quote numbers from (read on 18 August 2026). That is a data gap, not a verdict. The import page also says nothing about whether the auction sheet is shared before bidding.
Arkam Cars: a public price list, but an American one
Arkam Cars publishes the most concrete numbers of the four: a flat fee of 3,690 PLN gross and a deposit of 10% of the agreed bidding amount. The catch is the context: the published purchase procedure describes American auctions (payment for the won vehicle goes directly to the USA), because the company's main business is importing from the USA and Canada.
Japan appears in that procedure only as a separate phone contact, and the site's Japan page is a guide to freight costs and paperwork with no service price list. As of 18 August 2026, the public 3,690 PLN applies to the American route and cannot be automatically carried over to imports from Japan. If you talk to Arkam Cars about a car from a Japanese auction, ask for the Japanese price list in writing.
Reviews: the site shows no customer ratings, and we found no independent review profile that could be unambiguously tied to this company (read on 18 August 2026). The Japan page explains what an auction condition card is, but does not say whether the client sees it before bidding.
Carfactor: the most complete public cost calculator
Carfactor sp. z o.o. (KRS 0001035657, Jeziorzany near Krakow) publishes the most extensive public cost breakdown in this comparison: every line of the Japan import bill, with five worked examples from a Toyota Aqua to a Lexus GS 350. It also publishes a guide to reading auction sheets, from the grading scale to damage codes; whether you see the card of a specific car before bidding is not spelled out on the public pages.
The fee is set case by case but disclosed before bidding: the company states that its margin is communicated openly and calculated per car, depending on its value. It also declares plainly that it charges no fee for taking part in bidding as such, and that the deposit is refundable with no "attempt fee". The deposit amount is not published. The general service price list on the same site does put numbers on the stages, though: car search 599 PLN gross (the terms give a 1,000 PLN variant), inspection from 1,300 PLN net and a purchase fee from 4,000 PLN net, depending on the car's value; for imports from Japan the company describes the fee as set case by case.
Reviews: when we checked on 18 August 2026, Carfactor's Trustindex profile showed 4.6/5 across 89 reviews, including 76 top ratings and 6 at the bottom of the scale. Among the latter is a detailed, publicly visible account of a 2022 dispute over a BMW X3 purchase. That ratio is typical of an intermediary with a real transaction history; read the extreme reviews in full, together with the company's replies. Carfactor is also the only one of the four brands for which we found an independent, dated review profile complete enough to quote; for the others it is a data gap, not an absence of complaints.
Auta z Japonii aktualnie na aukcji
Sakura Motors: the fastest-growing brand in the niche
Sakura Motors (an office on Górczewska Street in Warsaw) is the breakout story of the past year: in our measurement, searches for the brand grew from 320 to 5,400 a month, seventeenfold in twelve months. The phrase "sakura motors opinie" is growing too, though from a low base.
Of the four, the company describes its deposit rules most precisely: at least 10% of the estimated bidding amount, no less than 5,000 PLN. A lost auction means a refund within two working days or, on request, the deposit stays available for further attempts; a won auction means the deposit counts toward the fee. The rules page also carries a downloadable agency contract template. The fee amount itself is not published, and after a win the Japanese costs (car price, the Japanese intermediary's fee, transport to port) are paid within two working days directly to Japan.
Reviews: there are no dated customer ratings on the rules page, and we found no independent profile for the company (read on 18 August 2026); growing searches measure interest, not quality. The rules page does not mention auction sheets; the company does offer an additional inspection of the car in Japan on request.
US&JDM Cars: the only published Japan fee
US&JDM Cars is the smallest brand in this comparison: around 340 brand searches a month in our measurement of 19 August 2026, with most of its search visibility built on US-import phrases. In this comparison it is the exception, though: its home page states outright 3,000 PLN as the fee for cars imported from Japan (and from the USA above 25,000 dollars), with 2,460 PLN for cheaper American cars.
Instead of a percentage deposit the company uses fixed tiers: 4,000 PLN for a car up to 2,000,000 yen and 7,000 PLN above that, refunded within 24 hours after a lost auction or carried over to the next car; after a win the FOB invoice is paid within 48 hours. The company declares that it checks every car against the auction sheet, but does not describe whether the client sees it before bidding; we found no fee-payment moment and no dated reviews on the site (read on 19 August 2026).
Comparison table: fee, deposit, when the fee is due
| Company | Fee | Deposit | When the fee is due | Auction sheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stradale Classics | 10,000 PLN (stated in the company's video content); none on the website | no public data | no public data | no public data |
| Arkam Cars | 3,690 PLN gross (US route); Japan: no public data | 10% of the bidding amount (US route) | on handover of documents (US route) | guide to the cards; pre-bid access not described |
| Carfactor | from 4,000 PLN net (general price list); for Japan set case by case, stated before bidding | refundable, amount not published | no public data | public guide to reading the cards; access not described |
| Sakura Motors | amount not published | min. 10%, no less than 5,000 PLN, refund within 2 working days | settled from the deposit after a won auction | not mentioned on the rules page |
| US&JDM Cars | 3,000 PLN (Japan and USA above 25,000 USD) | tiers: 4,000 PLN up to 2M JPY, 7,000 PLN above; refund within 24 h | no public data | sheet-based checks declared; client access not described |
| Karasaki | flat: 8,000 PLN | 10% of the starting price, min. 8,000 PLN, fully refundable | after the car is delivered | visible with the car in our catalog |
What the service covers is much the same everywhere: bidding, sea transport, customs clearance. The differences play out in the four criteria columns of this table. If those are your yardstick, below we show how we do on each of them.
How Karasaki compares
We hold ourselves to the same criteria, so we start with the point where we come off worse: our minimum deposit is higher than Sakura Motors's, 8,000 PLN against 5,000 PLN.
In return, we simplify everything that shows up as an unknown in the table above. The fee is flat and public: 8,000 PLN, the same for an everyday car and for a supercar. A flat fee does not make us the cheapest (US&JDM Cars publishes a 3,000 PLN fee); our side of this bargain is the payment moment, and judging by public price lists that is rare: Sakura Motors settles its fee from the deposit right after a win, and Arkam Cars on the American route collects it on handover of documents.
Two rules every deal starts with
- The deposit comes back in full. You pay 10% of the starting price, minimum 8,000 PLN; if we fail to win the car, you get every zloty back.
- The fee is paid last. The flat 8,000 PLN is settled only once the car is at your door, not at contract signing and not after a won auction.
What the fee actually covers
- Selection and auction sheets. We shortlist candidates and read hundreds of auction sheets a week; cars with a repair history, corrosion or a rolled-back odometer drop out before you ever see them.
- Inspection and bidding. Before bidding the car is inspected (paint-depth measurement, photos); if its condition does not match the sheet, we do not bid. We bid up to a ceiling agreed with you.
- Shipping and customs. We arrange ocean shipping and customs clearance, for a private person or a company.
- One rate. No search fees and no fee for an attempted auction; the real import costs (car price, freight, duty, VAT, excise) are shown separately in your quote.
The second pillar is price transparency. Our auction catalog is public and shows the starting price of every car, from JDM icons like the Nissan Skyline or Toyota Supra to European supercars. To be clear: these are starting prices, not sale prices, because the auction data available to us ends at the opening price. With the cars you will also see the independent condition sheet issued by the Japanese auction house. If you want to go through your first import with someone who bids at these auctions daily, see how the whole process works step by step or write to us. And if your model is not at auction right now, set an alert in the catalog: we will let you know when it appears.
FAQ
Can you buy a car at a Japanese auction without an intermediary?
No. Japanese auction houses admit only licensed local trade members to bidding, so a buyer from Poland always acts through an intermediary company. That applies to every brand in this comparison, ourselves included. The differences between companies begin with the fee, the deposit and how much you get to see before bidding.
How large is the deposit when importing a car from Japan?
The market standard is 10% of the planned bid. Sakura Motors takes 10% of the estimated bid, no less than 5,000 PLN, refunded within two working days after a loss; at Karasaki the deposit is 10% of the starting price, minimum 8,000 PLN, fully refundable. Arkam Cars lists 10% for its American route, while Stradale Classics and Carfactor publish none.
Which Japan import company has the most transparent pricing?
Carfactor publishes the most (a cost calculator plus a price list from 4,000 PLN net), with Sakura Motors next (full deposit rules plus a contract template). Only US&JDM Cars states a full Japan fee on its own site: 3,000 PLN. Stradale Classics quotes 10,000 PLN in videos; we publish ours openly: 8,000 PLN, paid after delivery.
How do you check reviews of a Japan car import company?
Look for date-stamped reviews on independent platforms and read the extreme ones in full, together with the company's replies. Check the legal form in the KRS or CEIDG registry, ask for the contract and deposit refund terms in writing, and for the auction sheet before bidding. Refusing to state the fee in writing before you pay is a warning sign.
Summary
The Japan import market has no single price list, because most companies price the service individually. Instead of going by brand recognition alone, put the same four questions to every company: what is the fee and when is it due, how large is the deposit and on what terms does it come back, will you see the auction sheet before bidding, and what exactly does the contract say. The full import bill is worked through in our guide to what importing a car from Japan costs, the container-or-RORO choice is covered in container vs RORO, and the most common misconceptions are sorted out in facts and myths about importing from Japan. We will update this comparison when any of the companies publishes new terms.
