‘What I wish I knew before buying a BYD’

Chinese car maker BYD arrived in Australia only four years ago, but has since become a familiar presence on local roads, courtesy of skyrocketing sales not seen since Holden's heyday.

RELATED: BYD is the new Holden, and Toyota needs to start worrying

Known for its high-tech, budget-friendly, electrified offerings, BYD offers an appealing alternative to more established brands – but plenty of consumers still have questions about the ongoing ownership experience.

Recurring questions in both Google searches and Drive's email inbox include: 'Are BYD cars reliable? Is BYD a good brand? Are BYD cars easy to repair or expensive to insure? How much range do BYD electric cars have?'.

While our reviews speak for themselves, we thought we'd go one step further and speak to local BYD owners about their experiences with the brand so far.

Prior to purchasing his BYD Sealion 7, Clyde was a self-proclaimed fan of premium cars from European brands, having owned both a Porsche Macan and Porsche Taycan.

But after purchasing a holiday property in Queensland, Clyde decided to invest in a more affordable runabout for beach trips and happened upon one of BYD's showrooms.

"I initially thought I’d just get a second-hand Tesla, but then we happened to be going past a BYD dealer and they just seemed like such great value for money cars," he tells Drive. "I placed the order and picked it up within two weeks."

Twelve months later and Clyde is a convert. "I’ve always been a fan of the Porsche Macan, but I don’t think I can ever buy another one because these cars have everything the Porsche has except the price tag. When I bought the BYD I was pleasantly surprised, it had all the performance of the higher-priced luxury cars, it had the comfort, the build quality seems to be very good and the tech is probably better," he says.

"There’s only one thing it doesn’t have compared to the Macan and that's driving performance. It’s fast but cornering and suspension are not quite as good. But do I want to spend another $100,000 for that?"

Clyde describes his BYD ownership experience so far as "seamless", and comparable to "buying a new iPhone".

"You go and have a test drive if you want but it’s very systematic and process driven. You don’t have the same level of colour choices, and variety of customisation is not anywhere near as good, but you can still get what you want."

Post-sales communication has also been good, he adds. "One time I couldn’t work out how to turn off the lane-keep and I just did a phone call and they quickly told me how to do it," he recalls.

Clyde says the Sealion 7's ongoing costs have also been a welcome departure from that of his luxury cars. "Everything to do with the Taycan is expensive, whereas the insurance for the BYD was cheap ... and the first service was just $160," he says.

His only regret? That he didn't see the Zeekr 7X before he bought the BYD. "I’d say the BYD is a fabulous car, but I’ve seen this Zeekr 7X that I think looks even better – I’ve put my name down but there’s a wait."

Sydneysider Ami has owned her BYD Atto 1 for only six weeks, after making a quick decision to buy it based on pricing and availability.

"I've got a couple of larger Mazdas but I wanted a day-to-day commuting car," she explains. "I wanted to buy a fully-electric vehicle but I was convinced the price was going to be prohibitive.

"I started off looking at the BYD Dolphin but there was a three-month wait on the Dolphin and Atto 2. I like unusual-coloured cars and the salesperson mentioned the Atto 1 comes in this pine lime yellow-green, and the colour meant that not many people want it and it was actually available."

So far, Ami says she loves the car, but says she's had a "mixed" experience with BYD's customer service.

"The dealership where we did our test drives, we were helped by a brand-new salesperson and she was absolutely outstanding. Knowledgeable, open and honest," Ami says.

"Then our leasing company took over and sourced the car from a different dealership and the service we received was atrocious. There was delay after delay and they weren't apologetic."

Thankfully, the car has proven to be worth the hassle. "In terms of the car itself I'm pretty impressed with it, the price for the quality that you get – I feel like it looks like I've paid a lot more than I did," Ami says.

Ami's commute is a sizeable 25km round trip from western Sydney to the Blue Mountains and back again, and she says the Atto 1 is perfectly capable of doing the trip.

"It drives really well, it takes off well, I was worried it wouldn’t be reliable when merging or overtaking but it is so quick. I drive every day up a pretty steep hill and it’s never faltered once," she says.

"They said you'll get 300km to a full charge and I was worried I wouldn't, but so far it's been 100 per cent accurate."

Ami says prospective buyers should be aware they might have to purchase a fast charging cable if they want to speed up their charging times. "We spent about $380 to get a fast charging cable – they tell you how long it takes to charge it, but they don't tell that if you get a different cable you can speed it up," she says.

Ami says she has also encountered some difficulties getting a windscreen chip repaired. "It wasn't a big stone but it's cracked the whole windscreen. I went through my leasing company's insurance and they said the car was too new so they didn't have the code for the replacement," she explains.

"Now it's been three-plus weeks with a broken windscreen because they couldn't source one – but it's booked in for next week!"

Overall, Ami says she's is also impressed by the Atto 1's interior space, technology and connectivity. "I've been impressed with the BYD app too – you can lock and unlock remotely from really far away," she explains.

Most importantly? It has plenty of room for her dog and her family has come up with the perfect nickname for the car: "The tennis ball!".

Daniel, a finance professional from Melbourne, has owned his BYD Dolphin Dynamic since 2023.

"I was an early adopter, which is a bit out of character for me – I went a bit rogue," he tells Drive. "I always have owned Toyotas, so it was a bit out there to go with a car company that was still relatively new, but I had friends that had bought one and had researched things pretty thoroughly so I was happy to jump on board!"

In the time since Daniel purchased his Dolphin, plenty has changed for the brand.

"The original customer service wasn’t amazing, it was pretty basic, but I think they’ve upped their game," Daniel says.

"Last time I went along [to a dealer] the customer service was pretty strong. I came on the wrong day [for a service] and the guy just made it work."

Daniel says he was initially attracted to the BYD for its low purchase price, as well as the Fringe Benefits Tax exemption for electric cars, but the ongoing maintenance costs have also been affordable.

"The maintenance costs are really low, I've only had to replace two tyres after two years or so – those tyres that come with the car are not necessarily the best quality tyres," Daniel says.

Boot space, technology and creature comforts have also been major benefits for Daniel and his family of six, who use the Dolphin as a runabout alongside their main family car, which is a Kia Carnival.

"I think next time we'd look at a bigger BYD like a Sealion, but boot space is good and I can fit two child seats comfortably. I’ve had three kids in the back and one in the front and it's squeezey but works," he says.

Three years after buying the Dolphin, Daniel says the electric range of the car is now less than originally advertised.

"If you charge the car to 100 per cent battery it will say it has about 415km of range, but I'd say it's not really that much and it's more in the 300s than the 400s. When I drive with the heater on, it's a lot less, and driving uphill drains the battery too," he explains.

"However, the range doesn’t bother me at all because it’s a commuter car," he adds. "I get more into the battery each night than I’m using each day just by charging with a normal power outlet."

For Suzanne Rath, a leadership consultant and speaker from Cairns, her BYD Sealion 7 could not be more different from previous cars she's owned... in a good way.

"It's a big deviation – I previously owned a Mitsubishi Triton because we are outdoorsy and need to carry bikes and dogs, but now I don't like driving the Triton," she admits.

"There’s nothing about the BYD that annoys me – it drives reasonably close to a normal car, I don’t find it too chatty like some of the newer cars that are constantly beeping at you, it's super comfortable, and big enough I can put the seats down and put my bikes in and big dogs in."

Initially, Suzanne admits she took some convincing. "I wanted a Tesla but I don't like Elon so that turned me off, and the 'build your dreams' [BYD's slogan] gave me the ick," she laughs.

The price and features on the Sealion 7, however, won her over. "My only criteria was that it has to have Apple CarPlay, but now I’m like, 'Oh it’s got all this stuff!' I love the ambient lights – although my husband gets in a turns them off – and it's got karaoke!"

There have been a few small challenges, most notably getting someone on the phone at the dealership, but Suzanne says their in-person service has been helpful.

"They don't answer the phone, but that's no different to any other dealership I've dealt with in my area. A lot of the things on the car I'm still working out how to find, but I just talk to the car and it does it for me," Suzanne admits.

"Interestingly, I have an accent and I've test-driven cars before and they don't understand my accent, but the BYD understands my accent," she says.

The only major "gremlin" she's experienced so far occurred when the car required a software update.

"It was about a month after I got it and half the functions just stopped working and the screen went off. The dealership told me how to do a hard reset," she explains.

Otherwise, she says she's recommend a BYD to anyone who is considering it – with one crucial exception.

"Having lived remotely – I lived in Katherine in the Northern Territory – I still don't know that I'd get anything other than a Toyota, but I feel comfortable enough living in Cairns to [recommend a BYD]," she says.