Excellent, Good, Fair — here's exactly what our inspectors look for and how we ensure consistent, reliable grading.
Every lot that goes live on Cars Auction has been through our condition grading process. We grade three categories — exterior, interior, and mechanical — on a three-point scale: Excellent, Good, and Fair.
Here's exactly what each grade means.
Exterior
Excellent: No paint defects visible under normal lighting at arm's length. Panel gaps are factory-consistent. Glass is free of chips and cracks. No evidence of prior bodywork.
Good: Minor cosmetic wear consistent with normal use — light swirl marks, small stone chips, or a single door ding measuring less than 2cm. Nothing that affects structure or requires professional attention before retail sale.
Fair: Visible damage that a buyer should expect to address: a repaired or unrepaired impact, mismatched paint from prior bodywork, or crack in a glass panel. All specific damage is photographed and noted.
Interior
Excellent: No visible wear on high-contact surfaces. Seats, steering wheel, and shift knob show no cracking, staining, or significant wear patterns. All electronics and controls function.
Good: Normal wear on high-contact surfaces consistent with the vehicle's age and mileage. No damage that would concern a typical buyer.
Fair: Visible damage to trim, upholstery, or electronics. Specific items will be listed in the lot notes.
Mechanical
Excellent: No warning lights. No fluid leaks observed at time of inspection. All mechanical systems function normally on a test drive or cold-start assessment.
Good: No critical faults. Minor items may be noted — a slightly soft tire, a windshield washer fluid warning — but nothing that affects driveability or immediate safety.
Fair: A known mechanical issue is present. This will always be explicitly described in the lot notes. Vehicles with significant mechanical issues are never graded higher than Fair regardless of exterior or interior condition.
What we don't grade
Wear items — brakes, tires, wiper blades — are noted but don't affect the grade unless they represent a safety concern. We don't grade for the specific make's reliability reputation or known model-year issues; that's for the buyer to research.
All condition photographs are taken by our inspection team on-site, not supplied by the lender. What you see is what we saw.