Maximum bid
How much can I bid?
The landed-cost calculator run backwards. Enter the car and the most you will spend all-in, and get the highest hammer price in yen that keeps the estimate inside it, a safe bid that allows for Revenue’s valuation, and where every euro goes. Know the price already? Use the landed-cost calculator.
Your maximum bid
It appears here as you type.
Still needed: Make, Model, First registered, All-in budget, Irish market value (OMSP).
- The taxes and fees that do not depend on the price come off the budget first
- What is left buys the car, its fees, transport, duty and VAT
- The answer is the highest price that still fits, to the nearest ¥10,000 or £100
- And a safe bid that allows for how sure you are of the Irish value
Under the hood
How the bid is found
The same engine as the calculator, searched for the highest price that fits. Nothing is estimated twice.
- 1Fixed costs first
- VRT is a percentage of Revenue’s Irish valuation, not of what you pay, and the NOx levy, the Irish-side costs and our fee are the same whatever the hammer price. They come off the budget before it buys anything, which is why a cheap car can still be a bad one.
- 2What is left buys the car
- The hammer price, the Japan-side fees, freight and insurance make the customs value; duty (10%, or 0% with a Statement on Origin or under heading 9705) and 23% VAT are charged on it. Every one of those grows with the bid, so the engine searches for the highest bid whose total still fits.
- 3The safe bid
- The estimate carries a range that depends on how sure you are of the Irish value. The safe bid keeps the top of that range inside the budget, so a valuation that comes in high at the NCTS does not push you over.
- 4Rounding and the rate
- Bids are rounded down to ¥10,000. The exchange rate is the ECB reference rate of the day with a 2% buffer against you, or the rate you type; the copied link pins it so the recipient sees the same number.
Questions people ask
For what happens at the auction itself, read negotiating prices in Japan and the auction sheet.
Why does the bid not rise in step with the budget?
Because the fixed costs are charged first. On a €20,000 budget for a car whose VRT is €4,000 and whose Irish-side costs and fee are €1,700, the first €5,700 buys nothing; after that, every euro of budget buys about 79 cents of car once the 23% VAT and the Japan-side fees are accounted for.
Should I bid the central figure or the safe one?
The safe one, unless you have checked comparable Irish prices and set the confidence to high. Revenue’s valuation is the line that moves at registration; the safe bid is the central bid less the amount that movement could add.
Does the bid include the auction house and exporter fees?
No. The bid is the hammer price. The exporter’s fee, inland transport, deregistration and export documents are the Japan-side fees, which the calculator adds on top using the default in the engine or the figure you enter under Advanced.
What if no bid fits?
Then the taxes, the Irish-side costs and the fee already exceed the budget on this car. The page shows that figure. Lowering the Irish value only helps if the value you entered was wrong; the usual fix is a car in a lower band, a car over 30, or a bigger budget.
Can I bid without the sourcing fee in the budget?
Untick the fee box under the form and the bid rises accordingly. The rest of the arithmetic is the same whether or not we are involved.