As someone who has owned both European cars, and Japanese, I think the decisions comes down to how long you want to keep the car for. If you are disposing of it within the warranty/ free servicing period, which can be between 3-5 years, then I would consider buying a euro. But expect heavy depreciation when selling. Japanese cars NZ new, tend to hold their value better from my experiences when it comes to reselling. IMO you should get more bang for your buck buying a Japanese, but it may not have the same 'exclusivity' that some car owners want, as there are so many one the road.