What I always try to recommend for people is that if a dealer / seller says anything about the vehicles "grade" that they should walk away. That means it was an auction vehicle. Nothing is known about it. It sits on a lot, drives into a room, a few photos are taken and a person walks around it and they give it a grade. Then it gets auctioned off. Yes you can get a great deal that way sometimes but typically with 0 information. Just because it's grade 4 doesn't mean it runs great, that just means it LOOKS great.
What I usually do is show people how to search on goo-net or kurama, but my favorite is Yahoo auction.
Yahoo auction is not specifically an auction site. It's more like a combination of craigslist and ebay. Sellers and dealerships alike can list things for sale. But what you get there, are pictures and sometimes so much information.
For example (according to the owner) the Pajero I just purchased is something he owned since it was new. He took quite a few photos showcasing how pretty he kept things. He is giving me service records from forever ago. He says occasionally it feels tired. And when it's cold sometimes it smokes, and a big list of everything he could think good or bad about it. So I'm excited to see it when it gets to port because I already feel like I know exactly what to expect.
On the other hand, I also purchased a 4wd turbo diesel nissan homy / caravan from a dealership. While I didn't get a lot of info about it's history, the dealer did do all fluids, a new alternator, and had the car impressively detailed. And the best part is they took over 100 photos of it showing every nook and cranny - even the undercarriage. So just like the pajero, I feel like I already know the car because of just how many photos I got to see.
Stateside Dealers and sellers alike will not give you the info from where they got it in Japan quite often, because if it's an auction car they have none.
TL;DR = avoid sellers who do auction cars and always ask if they can show you the pictures from the seller overseas. I like to let people choose the car they want and then I do the legwork for them. Or show people cars and purchase for them. I don't know if yota does actions and am not saying they are good or bad. Just information to consider.
