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I am looking to buy a used import from Japan. A friend mentioned that I need to be careful about any radiation contamination of vehicles from Japan. Is that something I need to get checked, and if so, how. My thoughts are surely NZ officials would not let those vehicles into NZ. Am I being over cautious.

This is not a concern. As soon as the tsunami hit and radiation was evident in some parts of Japan, the local unions in Japan stepped in to ensure no goods or vehicles would enter the wharves in Japan, therefore testing is done before the cars are handled by Japanese watersiders.

This is an interesting question. If somebody imports a car themselves, would that mean it is possible to have purchased something that cannot be exported? Or are radiation checks done before the cars go to auction?

Yes, I guess in theory what you are suggesting is possible (ie; you could buy a car that wouldn't be accepted onto the wharf in Japan). However, our sources tell us that while there was a small window in time when a very small number of cars were contaminated, the risk is now miniscule.
I'm not aware of any checks done by the Japanese auction houses.