NAMA grading explained: grades 1 to 5 and U.

What a NAMA grade is, and what it is not

NAMA is the National Association of Motor Auctions. Its grading guide gives the UK remarketing trade a shared scale for cosmetic condition, so a buyer who has not seen a car can read one figure and know roughly how much work it needs. Grade 1 is the best condition on the scale and grade 5 the worst; U, unclassified, is for a vehicle whose damage goes beyond grade 5.

A grade describes cosmetic condition. It is not a mechanical inspection, a valuation or a history check, and i‑Appraisal does not let age or mileage move it. An old car with light scratches is graded on its scratches; its age and odometer reading are shown beside the grade as context and nothing more.

The published NAMA guide is the authority on what each grade means. What follows is our implementation of it: the rules i‑Appraisal applies, written out so that a disputed grade can be checked against them. NAMA does not verify or endorse i‑Appraisal.

From footage to findings

An appraisal starts with a guided walkaround filmed on a phone. The footage is analysed into findings, one defect each. A finding is recorded against a panel, with a severity, a size in millimetres where the footage allows one to be measured, and the second of video it was seen in.

The grade is then worked out from those findings by written rules, and the same findings always produce the same grade. Reading damage off footage is judgement, and judgement is sometimes wrong, which is why a finding cites its frame, and the report says when there is none. Grading the findings is arithmetic, and the arithmetic is what this guide sets out.

How each finding is classified

Before anything is counted, each finding is placed in exactly one category. The grade 1 tolerances decide most of them: a defect inside its tolerance is minor, and one outside it is not.

Minor defect

Inside the grade 1 tolerances: dents up to 30 mm, scratches and paint defects up to 25 mm, glass chips up to 10 mm, bumper scratches up to 100 mm, scratched or corroded wheels at any size, and light scuffing or wear inside the cabin.

Major paint defect

A scratch or paint defect over 25 mm, a glass chip over 10 mm, a bumper scratch over 100 mm, or a paint defect recorded as major or severe whatever its size.

Large dent

A dent over 30 mm, or a dent recorded as major or severe.

Structural damage

Damage to a structural member of the vehicle, such as a chassis rail or a pillar.

Missing exterior part

A component that is absent, broken off or detached from the outside of the vehicle, from a badge to a lamp unit. A lens that is cracked but complete is damaged, not missing.

Missing interior component

An absent cabin item, such as a headrest, a trim panel, a load cover or a key. Counted separately from exterior parts, for the reason given further down.

Two categories carry far more weight than the rest. One structural defect puts a vehicle at grade 5 on its own, and so does one missing exterior part. Neither is therefore inferred from the wording of a description. The analysis states, for each finding, whether it is structural and whether a part is missing, and the grade uses that statement. A sentence that rules damage out, such as “no parts are missing from this vehicle”, is never counted as the damage it denies.

When a defect cannot be measured

Every size limit is a comparison with a measurement, so a defect nobody measured would pass every limit and read as the smallest defect possible. i‑Appraisal does not allow that. When the footage does not let a defect be scaled, the finding says so, and it is graded on its recorded severity instead: major or severe counts with the major paint defects, minor or moderate with the minor ones.

Scratched or corroded wheels and light cabin wear are the exception. Grade 1 accepts them whatever their size, so they are counted as minor with or without a measurement, even when recorded as major.

The grades, and what moves a car between them

With every finding in a category, the counts are compared with the thresholds below, starting from U and working down. A vehicle takes the first grade whose conditions it meets. The published NAMA wording counts panels; i‑Appraisal counts findings, each recorded against one panel.

1. UGrade U · UnclassifiedTwo or more structural defects, four or more missing exterior parts, more than eleven major paint defects, or more than eight large dents.
2. 5Grade 5 · PoorOne structural defect, one to three missing exterior parts, eleven major paint defects, eight large dents, or at least eight major paint defects with at least five large dents.
3. 4Grade 4 · Below averageSix or more major paint defects, four or more large dents, at least four major paint defects with at least three large dents, or more than fifteen minor defects.
4. 3Grade 3 · AverageThree or more major paint defects, two or more large dents, at least two major paint defects with at least one large dent, or more than ten minor defects. Currently also any missing interior component (interim rule, see below).
5. 2Grade 2 · GoodAt least one major paint defect or one large dent, or more than five minor defects.
6. 1Grade 1 · ExcellentNothing outside the grade 1 tolerances, and no more than five minor defects.

What grade U means

U is not a verdict that a car is scrap, and it is not reached by age. It means the damage recorded goes beyond what grade 5 describes, so the scale stops being a useful summary of the vehicle and the findings themselves are what a buyer should read. Neither age nor mileage ever produces a U in i‑Appraisal.

Missing interior components: a rule awaiting sign-off

An absent cabin item is not treated as a missing exterior part, so one missing headrest or key does not put a vehicle at grade 5 the way a missing lamp unit does.

i‑Appraisal currently sets grade 3 as the best grade a vehicle can receive while it has a missing interior component, reading NAMA's grade 3 wording on trim and parts being required. Whether a single absent headrest or key meets that wording has not yet been signed off by the person who owns our grading policy. Treat this as i‑Appraisal's interim rule, not as NAMA text.

Cars and vans

The NAMA grade does not depend on vehicle class: the same findings give a car and a van the same grade. What does differ by class is BVRLA fair wear and tear, whose tolerances are set per class. i‑Appraisal reports a BVRLA verdict on each finding alongside the NAMA grade, as a separate judgement against a separate guide.

Checking a grade you disagree with

Start with the frame. Each finding names the second of video it came from, so the first question, whether the damage is there and is the size recorded, is settled by looking at the still. If the findings are right, the grade follows from the thresholds above and can be worked out by hand. If a finding is wrong, it can be corrected on the appraisal; the correction becomes part of the record and the earlier version stays readable.

If you believe a rule in this guide departs from the published NAMA guide, the published guide is the authority, and we would like to hear about it at hello@iappraisal.co.uk.