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I've bought my last 2 cars without seeing or touching them.

Both were imported from Japan, inspected and purchased by professional buyers at Japanese auctions, with communications, importation, paperwork etc arranged by a professional broker. Selection of the vehicles was made based on photographs and inspection reports sent via email.

Ultimately a very simple and successful operation which I will almost certainly do again.

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<<purchased by professional buyers at Japanese auctions>>

How did you find these buyers? Are these just auto brokers (e.g., these guys are popular in SV: http://www.hammerauto.com/) or is this something different?

The buyers conduct inspections, supply photos and place bids at the request of the broker. I pay the broker for their contact with professional buyers and their knowledge of the imports process (ie, paperwork, shipping contacts, etc).

I never had any contact with the buyers themselves - they may not actually speak english.

If I had to guess, I would say the buyers work for many different brokers.

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