Disadvantages of buying a non-Japanese car

7 comments

1. Maintenance and parts, as you say. If your Toyota breaks, every corner garage has parts and knows exactly how to fix it. With a foreign car, garages willing and able to work on it may be few and far between.

   I live on Okinawa. An acquaintance has a Porsche. Nice car. However, he scratched the underside at one point (the road clearance isn’t great), so it had to be checked up and the scratch repainted. That meant putting it in a container, ferry it by boat to Kyushu, then shipped on a trailer to the closest service center. When done it was packed up in a container again, and spent another week being transported back here. Not exactly practical.

   I’ve heard Tesla owners here have to do the same thing; most places won’t touch a foreign electric car for even very simple things.

2. Wife wanted the Cayenne so we got one of those. Great car but maintenance wise, it is a challenge like you imagined and also more expensive. We’ve only owned it for a year so I am sure we will experience more issues along the way when it comes to maintenence & parts, etc.

3. Pros: Purchase in costs are much cheaper. Better car for less buck. Better quality in general).
   Cons: unless you find a store that works on your car (BMW, Mercedes, etc.) they use special parts for taking off oils filters etc. and most gas stands and autobacks will not work on your card. The good news is there are plenty of private dealerships that will, and they do a good job for a good price.

   In the end after xx years and xx cars, I any glad I bought European.

4. I drove a German car for 12 years. I felt safer in a German car especially at highway speeds compared to a domestic car.

   Make sure that the electronics are all working properly, especially with a European car. Almost everything, including the folding mirrors are computer controlled. Headlight auto-leveller malfunctioning? Replace the computer. Remote door locks dodgy? Replace the computer.

   Generally, you can get a shaken cheaper at an auto parts store or even a gas station, but they often charge extra for an import. or will refuse to work on it.

   Service at dealers is very good, but you will pay a lot for it, and they will increase costs mercilessly due to “exchange rate fluctuations.”

5. Had a mid 90’s Benz for a few years. Do not recommend!

6. I had a Beinz before… new. but many many problems..

   now have an Audi and it’s been pretty smooth..

   you need to find a reliable mechanic… you don’t want to take it to the dealer for repairs.. insane

7. Basic maintenance is super expensive, parts are super expensive, and personally I think Japanese-made cars are generally way more reliable.

   We had a BMW X5 for a while (my wife wanted one… I caved, haha) and everything was so expensive I ended up selling the bastard on the principle of it. Bought a Mazda SUV, fully loaded with all the bells and whistles, fraction of the price and the thing has been great. YMMV but anyway.