1- May 2015 and above models are relatively safer to buy. But since its a machine you can never know when something fails. (small, regular maintenance is a part of having a used vehicle)
2- they're caused by both. But mostly its due to poor maintenance and not understanding the nature/working of the vehicle. Been following the vezel WhatsApp group since my purchase in 2015 and I've seen, maybe 1 or 2 out of a 100+ vehicles develop the gearbox related issue. And there are zero battery complaints even with vehicles driven 120k+.
3- Make sure you get a vehicle that has a proper auction sheet with it, preferably a 4.5+ Grade vehicle that has been driven here for more than a year; since recently a lot of flooded vehicles have arrived, and I bet no matter what the mechanics do they'll never be problem free in the long run. Just make sure to test drive it, get it scanned at workshop having Honda support software and di check if anything on the gearbox has been replaced/changed.
4- it has had a decent resale for a jdm. I can't exactly comment on how it's doing right now, but until about 6 months back it was a desirable jdm, probably came second to only vitz.
5- From what little I've seen online, fixmycar Islamabad seems like the safest bet and one that can handle vezel queries a little professionally
