Are imported cars less reliable?

[Kaz_ 0]

Hey all, I've had a question looming that I haven't been able to find much about, so here it goes - are BMW's less reliable if they have been imported, as oppose to NZ new ones. I heard it whilst meeting a seller for an M2 who swears that NZ new cars are generally more reliable than the imported ones.  

In theory It makes sense as Japan for example has a different climate to NZ - but are manufactures using different parts to cater to different regions around the world?

 

Cheers, K.

[Vass 830]

I think the main factor is the climate. Singaporean imports are notorious for electrical issues due to higher humidity and are worth steering clear of in general. UK & Japanese (depending on region of origin) imports can suffer from rust due to salt on the roads etc. Beyond that I wouldn't read much deeper into it. Both NZ-new and ex Japanese/UK cars can be equally as pampered or neglected when it comes to maintenance, all very much subjective and dependent on the particular car and its owner/s. I guess NZ-new cars are more likely to come with comprehensive service histories as most the paperwork generally get lost during the import process, on purpose or otherwise, but heaps of NZ cars come with zero information as well so... I'd steer clear of any overarching generalizations.

[Harper 547]

Not something I'm ever very concerned with when buying a car tbh, I more base the decision off condition. I have had good luck with Japanese imports though, and of the cars I've owned the NZ new ones tend to have been treated the worst to be honest, could just be coincidence.  

[Neal 543]

My old e46 m3 was a Japanese import.

Owned that one for 11 years. Needed the usual M3 servicing. Wasn’t any better or any worse that my NZ new counterparts owned. Brought it at 48,000km and sold it at 189,000km

My F80 M3 is a UK import. Seems normal, done 22,000kms

E36s were a different story

NZ New 325i , no issues, just needed servicing to 220,000 km

Imported 328i , auto transmission issues at 120,000 km

Imported 318i aka the lemon. Auto transmission issues , most things actually. Suspect the dealer had had the speedo reversed and the car was built by British Leyland workers on a Friday after the pub.

Edited April 21 by Neal

[Neal 543]

Only thing with Jap import M2 is the idrive and connected services takes a bit more programming to sort.

Make that part of the sale process or get either local company or these Guys to do the usual NZ maps and change country code , FM tuning etc.

 

eg

https://bimmer-remote.com/products/region-change-for-bmw-nbt-evo-id5-6?pr_prod_strat=jac&pr_rec_id=f83b476b8&pr_rec_pid=6269099049134&pr_ref_pid=4480593395767&pr_seq=uniform

 

 

Edited April 21 by Neal
New link

[Olaf 3317]

I think the Singaporean thing is luck of the draw.  My friend ran an ex-Singapore Volvo 855 for ~16 years with zero issues, other than the car-audio install.  Other friends have had Audi, BMW, Mercedes and said "never again!".   I've heard a theory that they're left engine-running, aircon-on while in shopping mall parks to keep interior cool.  Loads of time idling.  So although the car may have a low mileage, number of hours corresponds with nearer 100-160k kms.

Ex-Japan?  not much different to NZ - plenty suffer 'deferred maintenance' at end of ownership, irrespective of Japan or NZ.  It seems that when cars come to end of warranty cover, some items may 'escape notice' and cost the owner $$.  It's all down to the individual car. 

NZers are notorious for only getting their car maintained when a WoF fails; why this would make an NZ-New BMW more attractive than a used import from Japan, I don't know.  OP @Kaz_, your seller is talking up a notional point of difference on his M2 for sale, in an attempt to dissuade you from other examples in the market and net himself a sale.  It's a load of horse manure.

If you're buying a recent M-Car, get a pre-purchase inspection done at a BMW Dealer or BMW Specialist.  You need to determine if it's been driven spiritedly, or simply thrashed.

HTH

[Neil McCauley 394]

Singaporean cars should have an engine hours gauge rather than an odometer, for the reasons Olaf mentioned.

[treone 648]

I was once told that buying any second hand car is a lottery regardless of age, kms or if nz new or imported. If you can, view for condition, check any maintenance history and perform due diligence to make an informed decision - trying to somewhat mitigate the risk. 

Edited April 22 by treone

[Eagle 1662]

Given the same condition and price id always take NZ new over import but that's probably not a likely scenario in used car market.

My main issue with imports (usually Japanese and Singapore stuff) is the region specific electronics, body panels, sometimes odd things like Jatco transmissions etc. Less of an idea what sort of life its had\no history. Not really applicable to an M2 but the worst cars ive owned and problematic ones i see on a daily basis are typically low k~100,000km imports, mostly entry level models that have usually been imported way later in life as opposed to a few years. NZ new cars do seem to be generally cosmetically worse eg stone chips and have higher k's, but usually some sort of service history with BMW's and more of an insight of it life.  

[Driftit 2078]

8 hours ago, Olaf said:

NZers are notorious for only getting their car maintained when a WoF fails; why this would make an NZ-New BMW more attractive than a used import from Japan, I don't know.  OP @Kaz_, your seller is talking up a notional point of difference on his M2 for sale, in an attempt to dissuade you from other examples in the market and net himself a sale.  It's a load of horse manure.

This. And that most BMWs I'm interested in are poorly specd. Or grandad colours.

So imports that have been owned by a NZer could be even worse than a fresh import. 

Total lottery. 

[Neal 543]

One thing I did notice on my Japan imports was they seemed to have more options than NZ equivalents. My e46 almost had every option available.

On the other hand. British ones often have a lower spec such as low end stereo amp/ speakers , no HUD or high beam assist, speed sign recognition but ironically it can self parallel park 

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

On 4/22/2024 at 10:58 AM, Olaf said:

  OP @Kaz_, your seller is talking up a notional point of difference on his M2 for sale, in an attempt to dissuade you from other examples in the market and net himself a sale.  It's a load of horse manure.

100% this, just trying to re-iterate the myths about imports to make his car look better.

Imports got a bad name when the less scrupulous dealers used to wind them back to get more $$s and then they had issues. Not a problem with a recent M car that would have all the servicing data in the iDrive.

There are not a huge number of recent imports of newish cars, due to exhange rates and increased transport costs, so not massive numbers around now as there might have been in the past.

Just look out for the Aussie imports that were hail damaged, other than that treat each car on its own condition and specs.