Ask an expert

Looking at getting a 2001 Subaru Legacy. It has a relatively recent numberplate, when i checked its history it has been imported a few years ago from Japan. Art there any downsides to a car being recently imported after having been used overseas?

Cheers
Matt

Imported used cars from Japan are a major part of the New Zealand motoring landscape, accounting for roughly half of all first time registrations currently. From the era you are referring to, the Subaru Legacy was the number 1 used import by volume, so it's difficult to find a NZ new Legacy from the late '90s into the 2000's.
The main downside to buying an import is that most of them have no service books, so the service history is unknown. Obviously, it's preferable to have a NZ new example with a known full service history, but when a car gets to this age, it's more about the condition, mileage etc, rather than where it was sold new.