I wrote about my own service problems and owners from other countries replied. Two described much the same thing I had. One described genuinely excellent service, and explained why: the dealership’s parent company already specialised in imported brands, so its technical centre had experience with unfamiliar cars.
That is the conclusion, and it is not “BYD is bad”. The car is the same everywhere. Whether anyone near you knows how to repair it is not, and that is the thing to check before buying.
Why I asked
I had spent five years and 50,000 km assuming my experience was mine alone: a warranty claim refused, a cabin filter returned fitted against its own airflow arrow, a working door handle that came back replaced with a flat 12V battery.
Then I posted about it and other owners replied, and the replies were more informative than my own story. Their words, paraphrased, with attribution to the threads at the end.
Portugal: a second owner, the same shrug
An owner in southern Portugal replied to say they had their own stories from their local service centre and were looking for somewhere more competent.
Their summary is the line I keep coming back to: the cars are so good, and the service has been among the worst they have experienced, across a lot of different brands.
What struck me was the lengths they were considering. Not just a different city, but crossing the border into Spain, on the theory that anywhere is worth trying. They also suggested that for simple jobs like filters an owner is better off finding resources online and doing it themselves, which is exactly the conclusion I had reached independently and from the opposite direction.
I have deliberately not named the service centres they mentioned. Their account is their account, and repeating specific allegations about named businesses is not mine to do. If you want their words, the threads are linked below.
Belgium: the brand arrived faster than the skills
An owner in Belgium made the structural point.
Most dealers there had been selling BYD for less than a year at the time of writing. Training, hands-on experience and parts were all, in their description, missing. They added a detail I had not considered: on top of that, some cars in the market are imported Chinese versions rather than the international ones, which is its own complication.
Their position was hopeful but wary. They expected the problems to ease as the network matures, and in the meantime were hoping not to need any servicing before the two year mark.
That is a reasonable read, and it reframes the whole thing. A dealer network that started selling a brand last year has not had time to become good at repairing it, whatever the brand is.
Japan: the counterexample that explains everything
Then an owner in Japan described the opposite experience, and this is the comment that changed how I think about it.
Their service has been, in their words, nothing short of great. Maintenance takes hours rather than weeks. Someone will collect the car from their house and return it the same day. It comes back with the interior vacuumed. When the car needed repair after being rear-ended, parts arrived quickly and the work was flawless. The one issue was a minor airbag harness recall with an intermittent error afterwards, which was traced to cabling under the seat and has not recurred.
They were the first to acknowledge this is probably the exception. And they offered the explanation themselves: the dealership’s parent company specialises in dealerships for imported brands, so the technical centre was already experienced in working on less common cars and repairing imports.
That is the whole thing in one sentence.
So what is the actual variable?
Not the badge on the bonnet. It is whether the organisation servicing your car has met a car like yours before.
| What owners described | |
|---|---|
| Portugal | poor service, considering another region or another country to find competence |
| Belgium | dealers under a year into the brand, training, experience and parts all short |
| Japan | excellent service, from a group that already specialised in imported brands |
Every failure I have had was a competent person applying the wrong model of the car. Charge the 12V by running the engine. Jump it with a booster pack. Fit a battery of the right size. All three are correct on the cars most European mechanics have worked on for twenty years, and all three are wrong here. The Japanese case is what happens when that gap does not exist.
One of the Portuguese comments put it more bluntly than I would have: these cars sell themselves and they are good cars, but service has never been the strong point in western markets, and a new brand in those markets makes it worse for a while.
What to do about it, practically
Ask local owners before you buy. Not reviews from another market, including mine. Find the forum, the subreddit, the Facebook group, the owner WhatsApp group in your own country, and ask the dull questions: how long did your last repair take, did the parts arrive, did they arrive correct, what happened when you brought in a fault the manual does not cover.
Ask the dealer whether their organisation has experience with imported or less common brands. After reading the Japanese comment I think this is a better predictor than anything on the price list. Worth noting: multi-brand alone is not the answer. Mine sells other imported marques and it made no difference. The question is depth of experience, not breadth of signage.
Learn the simple jobs. Both the Portuguese owner and I arrived at the same place from different directions. The cabin filter takes no tools and two minutes to check, and checking it yourself also tells you whether the last person got it the right way round.
If you have a BYD outside these three countries, I would genuinely like to know which pattern you are in. And if you are in Portugal and know an independent who can properly diagnose EV electrics, I am still looking.
Sources
Both threads on r/BYD, where the comments quoted above appear in full and in their authors’ own words:
- 5 yrs / 50k mileage with BYD Han
- BYD cabin filter: does your dealer actually know how to install it?
FAQ
Is BYD service reliable in Europe?
Based on what owners have told me, it varies by market rather than by brand. Owners in Portugal and Belgium described poor service and missing training, experience and parts. An owner in Japan described excellent service from a group that already specialised in imported brands.
Why is BYD service better in some countries than others?
The most convincing explanation came from an owner in Japan: their dealership’s parent company already specialised in imported brands, so the technical centre had experience with unfamiliar cars. Where a network is new to the brand, the customer absorbs the learning curve.
Do dealers in Europe have BYD training?
An owner in Belgium reported that most dealers there had been selling the brand for less than a year and that training, experience and parts were all short. In my own case it became clear the service centre had no real BYD training or documentation.
Is a multi-brand dealer better for a BYD?
Not on its own. Mine sells other imported marques and it made no difference. What appears to matter is whether the organisation has genuine depth of experience with less common or imported cars, which is worth asking about directly.
Should I travel to another country to service a BYD?
One owner in southern Portugal was seriously considering crossing into Spain to find someone competent. Whether that is proportionate depends on what is near you, which is exactly why asking local owners first is worth the time.
Which jobs can I do myself?
The cabin filter needs no tools and takes about two minutes to check. Two of us reached that conclusion independently. Checking it yourself also reveals whether the last person to service the car fitted it the right way round.
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