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I see some cars called differently depending on the which country they were sold/made.

I am planning to buy a Honda Jazz(NZ) or Fit (imported).

Other than its name & being imported from Japan, what are the difference especially in terms of servicing or mechanical repair? I guess they will use same parts?

Esther

From the "Ask Jack" archives - 8 November 2009

This is a very good question and you could be excused for thinking a Jazz and a Fit are the same.

It is not unusual for Japanese imports of many different makes and models to have slightly different technical specifications to comparable vehicles sold new in NZ. The Japanese domestic models are often built to a specification level best suited to their market and life expectancy which is traditionally a lot shorter than vehicles exported or assembled for markets such as NZ.

You need to be very careful with the Fit if it is fitted with a Constant Variable Transmission (CVT). These transmissions are known for their problems and are not quite the same as the NZ new Jazz.

Even the pre 2009 NZ Jazz can have their transmission issues but you have a better chance of getting it sorted at a reasonable cost (or under warranty) from a Honda dealer than if you purchased a Honda Fit.

There are a number of different modifications and repair methods and some are more expensive than others.

For me, I would play safe and only buy late model NZ new.