Morning Rich.
I wouldn't buy a used car from Italy. Period. Let's just say their reputation proceeds them....
Yank stuff, on the whole anything old and aircooled that's lived in the sunshine state is going to be in far better condition (from the perspective of corrosion) than something that's been exposed to 40 years of English rain and road salt ! ! sure the dash 'll be cracked and the interior waaaay past its best, but I'd rather replace the interior than just about every panel in and around the floor pan !!
But you're right about the US lights and stuff, the few CGT owners that imported cars from the States when the exchange rate was in our favour and the cars were cheap anyhow, had to pay some big chunks of cash to get the correct Euro lights.
So true about Japanese cars, their calendar is different to ours (it starts when The Emperor died as I understand it) so ROW dates mean nothing, but worse still, apparently they don't actually like having their service books stamped, preferring to keep them unsullied and virginal rather than rammed full of service stamps. What a difference in culture !! Over here a service book with 10,20,30 stamps in it is something to be cherished, over there it's ruined !!
Good point about sand /dust ingress in Saudi etc, I'm sure it must wreak havoc on moving parts.
Cyprus is an interesting one, it's very hot in the summer, is it high humidity too ? Or do temperatures plummet during the night and thus produce a cycle that leads to heavy condensation ?