DRAFT FOR BUSINESS AND LEGAL REVIEW – DO NOT PUBLISH AS FINAL LEGAL TERMS WITHOUT REVIEW

Proposed version: NV-AUCTION-BID-TERMS-2026-08-v1
Proposed effective date: To be confirmed
Operator: NIPPON JIDOSHA GODO GAISHA / Nippon Vehicles, Japan
Contact: nv@nipponvehicles.mom

1. Purpose

These terms apply when a customer asks Nippon Vehicles to submit a bid or purchase request for a vehicle offered through a Japanese vehicle auction or related trade source.

Nippon Vehicles acts as the Japan-based purchasing/export partner. The customer is not granted direct membership of, or direct access rights to, any auction house.

Submitting an inquiry alone does not obligate Nippon Vehicles to bid. A bid becomes active only after Nippon Vehicles has reviewed and accepted the request, confirmed the maximum bid in writing, confirmed receipt of the required security deposit, and issued written bid confirmation.

2. Vehicle information and condition

Auction information, grades, diagrams, inspector comments, photographs and other records are prepared by the relevant auction/source and may contain errors, omissions, translations or differences from the vehicle’s actual condition.

Auction grades are not warranties. Unless Nippon Vehicles expressly agrees otherwise in writing, auction vehicles are purchased in their existing condition and are not supplied with a mechanical warranty.

The customer is responsible for reviewing the available auction information and asking questions before confirming a bid. Additional inspection may be requested where available and may involve additional fees.

3. Maximum bid

The customer must provide a maximum auction bid. Nippon Vehicles will not intentionally bid above the maximum amount confirmed in writing.

Unless expressly stated otherwise, the maximum bid is the maximum auction vehicle/hammer price only. It does not include auction fees, inland transportation, exporter/service fees, inspection, repairs, storage, freight, insurance, bank charges, taxes, customs duty, port charges, destination clearance or delivery.

Nippon Vehicles may reject, reduce, pause or decline a requested bid because of timing, deposit coverage, vehicle condition, auction restrictions, customer verification, payment risk, import restrictions or other reasonable operational concerns.

4. Security deposit

An auction security deposit is required before Nippon Vehicles confirms an active bid.

The standard deposit policy is:

• Staff-approved bid value up to USD 5,000: USD 500 minimum deposit.
• Staff-approved bid value from USD 5,001 to USD 50,000: 10% of the approved bid value, rounded upward to the next USD 10.
• Above USD 50,000: manual approval and an alternative deposit/payment method may be required.

Nippon Vehicles calculates the deposit from the staff-approved bid value, not from an unverified estimate entered by the customer.

The deposit is security for the customer’s authorized bid and payment obligations. It is not an additional vehicle charge. If a vehicle is successfully purchased and the customer completes the transaction, the deposit is credited toward the applicable invoice.

5. Multiple bids

A deposit covers only the number and combined value of vehicles expressly approved by Nippon Vehicles.

If the customer requests bids on several vehicles but authorizes the purchase of only one, that instruction must be confirmed in writing before bidding. Nippon Vehicles will make reasonable efforts to stop later bids after a successful result, but auction timing and system limitations can make immediate cancellation impossible.

If the customer authorizes Nippon Vehicles to win more than one vehicle, the customer must maintain sufficient approved deposit coverage for the combined bid limits.

6. Stripe and other payment methods

Nippon Vehicles may provide a secure Stripe-hosted Checkout page for an approved deposit. Card information is entered directly into Stripe’s hosted payment environment and is not stored by Nippon Vehicles.

High-value, unusual or higher-risk deposits may require bank transfer or further verification.

A Checkout success screen does not by itself confirm that the deposit was received. Payment is confirmed only after Nippon Vehicles verifies the payment through its payment system.

The customer is responsible for any currency-conversion charges, card-issuer charges, bank charges or other third-party charges applied by the customer’s payment provider.

7. Bid confirmation and deadline

Payment of a deposit does not guarantee that a bid will be placed or that a vehicle will be won.

A bid is considered accepted only when Nippon Vehicles provides written confirmation identifying the vehicle and approved maximum bid.

Late requests may not be processed. Nippon Vehicles may set a cut-off time based on the auction schedule, inspection requirements, staff availability and payment confirmation.

The customer may request withdrawal or amendment before the applicable cut-off, but Nippon Vehicles cannot guarantee that a bid can be changed or cancelled after submission to the auction system.

8. Successful auction purchase

When a bid is successful, the purchase is binding, subject to applicable law and the auction/source rules.

Nippon Vehicles will issue a quotation, proforma invoice or other payment request showing the purchased vehicle and remaining balance. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the remaining balance must be paid within 48 hours after the invoice is issued.

The security deposit will be credited toward the purchase invoice in the same currency paid or converted according to the exchange-rate policy shown on the invoice.

Shipping, export preparation and document processing begin only after the required payment and information have been received.

9. Unsuccessful bid

If no vehicle is successfully purchased under the approved request, the customer may:

1. Keep the deposit as auction credit for another approved bid; or
2. Request a refund to the original payment method, subject to these terms.

Auction credit is not automatically transferable to another person or company. Transfer to another bid request requires approval and must be recorded by Nippon Vehicles.

10. Refunds and third-party charges

Refund requests are processed after Nippon Vehicles verifies that there is no successful purchase, outstanding bid, charge, liability or unresolved payment dispute connected with the deposit.

Stripe, card networks, banks or other payment providers may retain original processing charges or impose refund/transfer charges. Any non-refundable third-party charge that Nippon Vehicles intends to deduct must have been clearly disclosed before payment and must be shown in the refund calculation, subject to applicable law.

Nippon Vehicles will not silently deduct an undisclosed fee.

After a refund is initiated, the time required for the funds to appear depends on the customer’s bank, card issuer and payment method. Card refunds commonly require several business days and may take longer in exceptional cases.

Currency movements can cause the amount received in another currency to differ from the customer’s original local-currency cost. Unless otherwise required by law, Nippon Vehicles refunds in the original transaction currency and is not responsible for exchange-rate differences or card-issuer conversion charges.

11. Customer cancellation or default after a successful bid

If the customer cancels, refuses payment, fails to pay within the agreed period, initiates an unjustified payment reversal, or otherwise defaults after Nippon Vehicles has successfully purchased the authorized vehicle, the deposit may be retained and applied toward actual costs and losses, subject to applicable law.

Such costs and losses may include auction cancellation or re-entry charges, difference between purchase and resale price, auction fees, inland transportation, inspection, repair, storage, handling, banking, currency-conversion, legal/collection and administrative costs.

Where legally enforceable, the customer may remain responsible for actual losses exceeding the deposit. Any amount recovered by resale will be accounted for when calculating the remaining loss.

This clause must be reviewed under applicable law before publication and must not be used as an unlawful penalty.

12. Auction result and reserve price

The highest submitted bid does not always guarantee purchase. A seller may set a reserve price, withdraw a vehicle, reject the result, move the vehicle to negotiation, or otherwise act under the auction’s rules.

Nippon Vehicles is not responsible for failure to purchase when a bid is below reserve, rejected, not accepted by the source, submitted too late because of circumstances outside reasonable control, or affected by auction-system interruption.

13. Additional costs and import responsibility

Estimates can change because of auction location, vehicle size/condition, non-running status, special transport, storage, port availability, freight rates, inspection requirements, exchange rates or other circumstances.

The customer is responsible for confirming import eligibility, age limits, steering-side rules, emissions requirements, inspection, duty, tax, registration and destination charges in the importing country.

Nippon Vehicles may provide guidance but does not act as the customer’s destination-country customs or legal adviser unless expressly agreed in writing.

14. Communications and authority

The customer must provide accurate contact and payment information and promptly review messages from Nippon Vehicles.

Instructions sent from the customer’s registered email, secure status page or verified communication channel may be treated as authorized. The customer must immediately report suspected unauthorized access.

Nippon Vehicles may request identity, business or payment verification before accepting or continuing a bid request.

15. Privacy and payment data

Nippon Vehicles processes customer information to review bid requests, communicate, collect deposits, perform purchases, prepare export documents, prevent fraud and comply with legal/accounting obligations.

Stripe or another payment provider separately processes payment information under its own privacy and service terms. Nippon Vehicles does not receive or store full card details through Stripe-hosted Checkout.

Financial and auction records may be retained for accounting, fraud prevention, dispute handling and legal compliance.

16. No guarantee of purchase, condition or resale value

Nippon Vehicles does not guarantee that a vehicle will be won, that the auction/source information is error-free, that the vehicle will require no repair, that import approval will be granted, or that the vehicle will have a particular resale value.

Nothing in these terms excludes rights or liabilities that cannot legally be excluded.

17. Changes to a bid request

Any material change to the vehicle, maximum bid, number of vehicles, deposit, payment method or terms requires renewed written confirmation. A higher bid limit may require an additional deposit before the amended bid becomes active.

Old or superseded Checkout links may be cancelled or allowed to expire.

18. Governing terms and conflict

These auction bid terms supplement Nippon Vehicles’ general website, payment and export terms. If there is a conflict, the vehicle-specific written confirmation and invoice apply to the extent expressly stated, subject to applicable law.

The governing-law, jurisdiction, complaint, cancellation and mandatory-consumer-rights provisions must be finalized with qualified legal advice before publication.

19. Customer acknowledgements

Before paying a deposit, the customer must actively confirm that they:

• Identified the correct vehicle.
• Reviewed the available auction information.
• Understand the confirmed maximum bid.
• Understand which additional costs are excluded.
• Understand the deposit and refund policy.
• Understand that a successful purchase is binding.
• Can pay the remaining balance within the stated deadline.
• Accept the version of these terms displayed before Checkout.

The system must store the accepted terms version and timestamp.