Japan Recon or Locally Used — Which Actually Costs Less by Year Five?

Every buyer with a few million rupees to spend hits the same fork: pay full import duty on a Japan-recon car with a known auction grade and low genuine mileage, or buy something already on Sri Lankan roads for less money but with a service and accident history you can't always verify. Recon buyers say the grade sheet and clean mileage are worth the extra lakhs — you know exactly what you're getting, and it hasn't been through our roads, floods or workshops yet. Locally-used buyers say that premium is priced in twice: duty was already paid once when the car was first imported, and a well-kept 5-year-old local car can match a recon for a third less, serviced by a mechanic who already knows its full history. If you've owned both types, which one actually broke down first, and which held its resale value better when you sold it? ජපානයෙන් ආපු රෙකන්ඩ් එකක්ද, නැත්නම් දැනටමත් ලංකාවේ පාරේ ගිය එකක්ද — ඔයාගේ අත්දැකීම මොකක්ද?