true i know the only way of telling is to ring vw customer services but wouldnt the value of the car be less because the cars been bought cheaper in the first place plus i know people that work at honda and subaru main dealers and they wont touch imports for any serviceing or repairs not 100% sure of the reason why though
There is a big difference betweem the Jap imports and EU imports.
For instance, my Golf is EXACT UK spec. It was ordered as a UK car, but via a Scandinavian dealer. Is is a UK car. Only difference being that it had 2 years pan Euro warranty, not the third year that is backed by VW Uk dealers. Was serviced by UK dealers as per normal and warranty could have been extended as per a car sold via UK dealer. My car is also registered with VW UK as a car in the UK.
Jap imports are a different story as they are often non UK models, have diff parts, diff emission regulations, bodywork, need SVA etc - Nightmare to insure because they have unique parts that are not widely available in the UK. Also dealers won't have the training or diagnostic equipment. Having said that, if you are in to Jap rockets and modding, the imports can make sense as they are often loaded with tuning kit - and cheaper...
I bought a 206 GTi in Holland in 1999, and sold it to a dealer 1 year later - was offered same price. A significant % of cars came from EU then asd they were 20-40% cheaper. All the large car supermarkets sell imports, usually pre registered. Dealers did try to scaremonger (import = bad) for obvious reasons, as this was taking a huge chunk out of their sales. less of an issue now sterling has weakened against the Euro. But in the main, the warranty was the only issue.
There are some minor anomolies with the Golf. The 2.0 gti imported from the EU are badged 2.0 on the boot as they are called 'highline' models in Europe, not GTI. In some markets an alarm wasn't standard and most Dutch cars seem to come with cruise control.
So long as it is at least UK spec and out of warranty anyway, I don't see an issue. Have a go at bashing the price down because of it though! but not when I sell mine in a few weeks time/./

(01 met black, climate, red recaro, 6 disc, FSH, 75K, 3dr, BBS split rim £5,450)