They play with your deposit as long as it is beneficial to them!
I bought two cars through JapanCarDirect and things went reasonably well. One was grossly delayed and on the other, they had the car shipped from the auction site to one port (of their choice) which I paid for and then charged me once again for another "alleged" move from one port to another. After the two purchases, I consulted with them, based upon the assurances given to me, I agreed to have them sit on my deposit so that I could bid at all times on any further cars that might perk my attention. In 2025, a car that I was particularly interested came up. I asked for their assistance with information with a few days notice and they did not respond. The car sold for less than what I had previously bid on a similar car and was prepared to bid now. Their inaction meant that I missed out on a car I had been looking for for many years. When I mentioned my disappointment (without getting in any way angry), they blocked me from placing bids on their website. They claimed that they could not find my deposit. This after sitting on it for close to 4 years! I was required to do all the research with the financial services partner that they requested me to use, this going back the 4 years to prove that they did have my money. Even after providing transaction numbers and everything, they claimed that they did not have records going back far enough, a statement that clashes with Japanese legal retention requirements, which call for a minimum seven years. After a week, they finally found the deposit money. Mathew Matusiak unilaterally decided that they were refunding the deposit and I could only bid through them if I set up a new registration after increasing my deposit by over 40%. The refund that then was returned to me was 20% less than what I had paid four years earlier, with them claiming undisclosed fees and charges that do not appear anywhere in their terms and conditions. Do not count on them to respond to information requests, do not count on them to be transparent, do not count on them to repay your full deposits. My experience seems to precisely reflect the experience of the other negative commenter, the one that Japan Car Direct claims to never had any dealings with. When two people experience the same thing, it is hard to believe it is mere coincidence. My rating would have been 3 stars after the two purchases, but is definitely only one star in the last month, so I feel I am being generous with a two star rating.
