On the roof of USS Nagoya

[Sastrad]

Hi all,
I was at USS Nagoya on Jan 28. I took a video of being on the roof of the 5 story parkade. Sorry for the wind noise!
http://youtu.be/cDF2--XgbUA

Cheers
Steve

[RawRock]

Cool shot, thanks for sharing! Do you know how many cars go through the auctions per week?

[Sastrad]

Hey there,
Well, between 4500-6000 on average. It all depends on the season. I can't recall exactly how many went through last week.

[Kingsoup]

Pretty interesting!!! so many delicous cars....need a bigger yard!

[Speed Stick]

Ya those auctions looks like so much fun! Walk around and check out all the sweet cars coming up in auction

[Sastrad]

Originally Posted by Speed Stick

Ya those auctions looks like so much fun! Walk around and check out all the sweet cars coming up in auction

I used to go down and just walk around. The novelty has worn off (a bit). Its a very busy time on auction day. Trying to get a seat after noon if my reserved seat was snagged, so I had to be in the hall before noon. Lots of dealers want to sit alone, so they put a "card" in the bidding computer next to them to make it look like someone is sitting next to them. More than once I've looked at a dealer, and said is anyone sitting here, and they reluctantly remove the "bidding card" which ends up being a gold credit card (bidding cards are gold colour). I fart and make noise and in about an hour the dealer has moved...lol.
Going to view cars on the Thursday before is recommended. Much fewer people and the battery boosters are easier to get. Its quieter and no one looking at you thinking "what did I miss" if they are also interested in a car. When I was buying a lot of mini trucks, USS Nagoya does have many so on auction day there were often more than 1 person looking at the same truck as me. So going on Thursdays was better because I could view in relative privacy.

[Mark - Brave Auto]

Six floors in total including the ground floor, believe me, I walk every inch of this place most Friday's. 1,000 vehicles per floor (except the ground) although what is kept in the multi story is only half of the vehicles on offer for the day.


As Steve says in his vid, during winter the top floor is freezing and is sometimes good for ice skating, from the 3rd floor up the place is like a wind tunnel on some days.

However, it is a vast improvement, back in the nineties the multi story was half the size and the floors were mesh steel (a lot of the small auctions are still like this). When it rained, it did not matter what floor you were on, you defiantly knew it was raining. Then there would be the vehicle on a floor above you with an oil leak, drip, drip on your head etc. It would be nosy as hell in there with people above and below you starting and revving vehicles.

The only problem going the day prior is the fact you cannot inspect the "locked cars" interior and engine wise as the keys are only available on the day of the auction. There are many cars that are locked and there is nothing worse than walking for miles looking for your target car to then find it is locked or not where you think it will be going by lot number, it use to do my head in. Also, the auction map (location of the vehicles) is not available the day prior so it can be a bit of a guessing game where the vehicles are. Some vehicles are easy to find as most agents know where certain lot numbers will be located (always in the same place each week) but a lot of the times they will be in a locked area (different location) and not in their normal lot allocation area.

Mini trucks are easy for the day prior checking, most are across the road and unlock. I know what Steve means about other agents interested in what vehicle "you" are looking at on the day. Agents will watch other agents that they know chase the same market vehicles and will also watch and look out for them in the auction hall. If there is a certain vehicle coming up for auction like a 1996 STi, you watch to see if the other agent comes into the auction hall and sits down just before that vehicle goes through. You then know…… they are bidding on it as well………game on. Some agents will even bid (push the price up) on the vehicle that they are not really interested in just to annoy the other agent who is trying to buy it.

I purposely never wear any clothing with Brave written on it and if anything, I look like some homeless man in a pair of overalls walking around, a lot of the Japanese agents wear dress pants and shirts with the odd tie here and there. I never speak to anyone (except close friends) while at the auction, I do not like to advertise who I am and what company I am from when there. Some think I am from Russia and buying for Russian market….lol.
Never talk to the security on the gate (between the main auction house and across the road), if you do never give them too much details, they are the gossip kings, if you ever what to know who is who, you ask them lol.

But each agent has their own way of doing things, some like going the day prior, some go on the day and some go when others are still sleeping. I have never seen you Steve at USS but now I know why, we go at completely different times and I do not bid from the auction hall. It use to be different in the old days, I loved going to the auction and spending all day there, it was like a social thing with the Western agents, we would all meet up, chew the fat and then inspect the cars. We would even workout between us "ok, you bid on lot *** and I will bid on lot*** etc. This saved us bidding against each other which was pointless back then as there were enough vehicles each day do to go around. But today, completely different, most of the old school Western agents have gone and today it is a bit cut throat in my opionion and everyone is out for their own. The internet does not help either, when you bid on a vehicle today, you are now bidding against people in different areas of Japan who bid from other USS auction houses (if on the same day) or from their office etc.

I made a video early last year of USS Nagoya from the time I leave home until I finish at the auction, it was kind of a walk around showing the size of the place. I have never displayed it (only a couple of people have seen the original video) it was over 1hr long (after editing) and my poor old computer struggled when processing it so it cuts a lot of the talking out (where it is not meant to) where I have tried to edit it etc. I was going to delete the video last year but have kept it for when I am old and in a retirement home, something for me to look back on….lol.
I tried editing it again last week down to about 45 minutes but I personally think the video is not very good but I might post it up, you guys might find "some" parts of it interesting I guess.

Cheers

MB.

[JZZ30_driver]

Interesting thread, thanks for sharing.

I tried editing it again last week down to about 45 minutes but I personally think the video is not very good but I might post it up, you guys might find "some" parts of it interesting I guess.

If you would be so inclined to post it, I would definitely give it a watch.

[Sastrad]

Don't get me wrong, I am hardly down there any longer, except when to view vehicles, but no longer would go on an auction day. Too many things to worry about on auction day.