Can you order and register a RHD Porsche in the US

Is it possible firstly to register a RHD car in the US for a duration of 1-2 years? If so, is it then possible to order a foreign delivery vehicle through a US dealer? The main reason I ask this is alligned with the possibility of relocating to the US for a short period of time. If so I would like to order an Australian delivery and drive it in the US. This means I can therefore buy a turbo for what I sell my C2 for It also means I can bring it back to Australia without any issues at the end of the stay. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Arthur: I went to high school with a guy that used to drive a retired Post Office vehicle that was RHD so, at least at one point, they could be registered. I strongly doubt you'd be able to buy an Australian configured car thru PCNA though. I'd suggest asking a dealer in Australia if there's any way they think they could arrange a US delivery but I expect that'll nullify the cost savings you're hoping for.

Our mail carrier drives her own car...a RHD Subaru which she ordered through the local dealer. It's registered in her name and carries private plates. Now whether she had some kind of waiver or not I don't know, and can't ask her 'cause we're not home. Registration rules obviously a state issue. You might check with them. Purchase of a RHD ROW car might be an emissions/DOT issue.

In a previous trip to So Cal last November I spoke to a salesmam in The Porsche Dealer at Menlo Park (Can't recall the name of the Dealer). Anyway I asked him if it was possible to order a RHD car via them. He said no problems so long as it is registered to a US address. He said "what you do with it after that is your business". It's the same here in Europe. We can order left or right hand drive on the continent. In fact many propestive Porker owners travel over to Stuttgart to pick up their RHD car. The bottom line "money talks" I lived in Sydney for 10 years. I am half an ocker. I know thru experience that a Porker in OZ is like gazillions of dollars. Especially a 996! Best of luck with it.

Scouser: The trick may not be so much what side the steering wheel is on but the safety equipment and emissions approvals are attached to the vehicle. In Europe the various countries probably recognize each other's specifications for those areas. Here in the US the DOT and EPA seem to be certain that their duty is to have rules different from the rest of the civilized world.

Thanks for the info guys. Even if the car is US spec it wouldnt matter as long as it was RHD. I believe Australia will accept an American spec car without issues apart from some minor changes - like flashing side markers. I will research it further too and see what I come up with. This is probably the only way I can justify owning a turbo unfortunately. I love my cars but US$280,000 is a fair amount of money for one car in Australia. I would rather invest it into another property. Once again thanks!

But also keep in mind that you will have to pay import duty when bringing the car back to Oz. And IIRC the duty amount will be based on the value of the car IN OZ and not what you paid for it overseas. Nevertheless, with the A$/US$ appreciation over the past 2 years the numbers may still make this worthwhile for you. Good luck

No duty to pay in OZ on it if he can prove he owned it in the US for at least 1 year. Arthur said he will be relocating to the US for a period.

David, The rules of importing a vehicle have changed in October last year. If you reside overseas for a period greater than a year preferably 2 then you have the potential of bringing the car back without duties and taxes. If it is for a lesser period you pay the duties and taxes of the depreciated purchase price not local price. This is still a killer but livable. When I bought my car I saw the invoice (including dealer margin) and I died. The car was US$100,000 and the other US$60,000 was duties and taxes. Now for me it is worth buying the car in the US and taking the risk upon return on the duties and taxes. At the end of the day, the worse case scenario means I pay virtually the same for a C2 but I get to keep the turbo. In Australia that is a US$75,000 saving. Unfortunately I live in a country that taxes people who want to work hard in life. Once you exceed US$50,000 you are instantly on the highest tax bracket of 48.5%. Apart from that we then pay a consumption tax of 10%. Effective tax rate of 58.5%, nice isn't it. Apart from that a luxury car is considered anything over the US$40,000 mark and that then attracts a 45% luxuary car tax for the value above the US$40,000. Sorry I hate our tax system if you haven't figured that out yet. Sorry for the rambling. Still got to be greatful I can afford to buy a C2.

Hmmm...didn't hear about the change in rules. A friend of mine wanted to bring his 993TT from Hong Kong to Sydney about a year ago and the import duty made it uneconomical. He had the car for about 2-3 years and it would have been impossilble to find similar car in Oz. He wound up selling the car and now regrets it...he won't be happy when I tell him about this change! With the depreciation of the US$ a lot of people have been buying Porsches/Ferraris/Mercedes in Hong Kong and sending them home to Oz and the UK.

David, Get your friend to talk to DFAT and get the "book" sent to them. It outlines the rules for importing cars from overseas. The changes were made to combat the grey market import of japanese cars into Australia. They killed it for all of us when they did that unless you reside overseas for a period of x months. The only thing I have not found out yet is what happens when you come back into the country for a visit or work. Dont know if the clock resets again.

Arthur, Bit of a math error... "Once you exceed US$50,000 you are instantly on the highest tax bracket of 48.5%. Apart from that we then pay a consumption tax of 10%. Effective tax rate of 58.5%, nice isn't it." Since you only have 51.5% of your income left to be taxed at 10%, you pay another 5.15% in taxes for a total of 53.65%.

Winovin, Are you sure you don't work for Peter Costello (Australian Federal Treasurer)? I'm sorry I over stated the tax by 5% (mind you I didnt include the private health cover 1% surcharge for making more than $100,000 per annum) That makes it 4%, oh **** I have yet to add the stamp duties on assests and insurance premiums. Hell lets tax the taxes and take more off the people. Whichever way it is sliced or diced the tax rate in Australia is insane. I believe it was recently published as the 4th highest taxed country in the world? I could be wrong but they calculated the TRUE effective tax rate at the highest marginal rate at 62.5% nice balance No I am not bitching about it just annoyed and venting my frustration. I wouldn't change Oz for anything. I have travelled a bit and Oz still IS a nicer place to live than most places in the world. We just need a new tax system.

Arthur, what,s the chances of picking up a used RHD in the states ? If you take a look at my thread on the 996 forum I to am thinking of ordering a new RHD 996 in the states for export to UK, sadly the numbers dont seem to add up, it's cheaper but only by about �5k or so by the looks of it. Whats the price in Japan / hong kong ? I have bought several new cars in europe for export to the UK, trouble is they now hit you with a RHD premium of about �4500, I guess that the US dealers will do the same. Have you thought about buying UK to take home ??? Regards Paul

Paul, The issue here is the price of the car in Australia. Here are the prices for base cars in Australia: C2 Coupe US$146,000 C2 Cab US$160,000 Turbo Coupe US$245,000 Turbo Cab US$262,000 If I am in the States for at least 2 years then I can buy a new Porsche for half the price of Australia (give or take some thousands). Now I am not interested in importing the car whilst I live in Australia, that is not allowed under the rules change. Unless you live with the car overseas you can not bring a car into the country that is sold here. There are exceptions to this rule and Ferrari does fall under this rule - but I am not a fan and have never wanted one. Therefore my aim would be to order a car whilst living there and return with the car. Even if I could not sell it now I could in 10 years and I still wont have dropped as much if I bought the car in Australia. A 993TT sells for the same amount as a new 996 C2 Coupe even though it is nearly 8 years old - but still a favourite of mine. So I thought if I am going to relocate then I gotta get something out of this move! And thus my interest.

Arthur, what part of the states? Maybe I'll see you at a local event. Good luck.

Yes understand the problem, my only thoughts were that I know with europe if the car is more than 6 months old and more than 6000 miles it is classed as second hand, hence you do not pay VAT (tax) at 17.5% when importing to the UK because the car has had tax paid in whatever the country of original registration, (ie France) just thought it may be a lophole for you !! And I thought our prices were a rip off .......... well they are, but not as bad as yours eh ! All the best Paul

Arthur, I am an Aussie so am familiar with the intricacies of the Australian tax system - I don't disagree with the relative price of Porsches in Australia making it more attractive to import one. I voted with my feet and now live in the USA. The US is no bed of roses either - the headline federal marginal rate looks great, but add state tax, city tax, AMT (alternative minimum tax), taxes and charges explicitly passed on by other service providers (e.g. check out an American phone or cable bill, and there are lots of taxes and ancillary charges). On the bright side, Aussie car prices are getting better, and the rally in the A$ should improve the picture in the future. Remember when Australia had a 57.5% import duty on cars? Plus a 30% sales tax (if I recall correctly). Things are brighter than ever on the car front. I still get my Wheels and Motor sent to me from Oz, and read the Sydney Morning Herald online, plus the biannual visits keep things in perspective vs the US. I think the real crux of Australian prices vs the US is that the US has a very strong level of price competition for products - this is for several reasons, including size of market, and also because it allows a manufacturer to achieve economies of scale, and then premium price in other markets. The UK is the worst when it comes to soaking people for buying products. I think you will find that a 911 costs around GBP 56,000 which is about $136,000, but they have (or did have) waiting lists, and I don't think it is taxes that bulk up the price. The flip side is that food and service prices and lower in Australia than the USA - in my experience, the cost of living in Australia is higher than the USA. Net disposable income may be higher, but medical/drug costs are higher - you can buy anti-histamines for less OTC in Australia than the US insurance co-payment - they cost about 6 times as much in the US... Anyway, I digress - good luck getting your car. Once you know when/where you are going, I might be able to give you some USA tips.

Oops! I meant that the cost of living in the USA is higher than in Australia. I can also recommend a very good salesperson for you if you get to that point.

AC, if we move it will be to Detroit. If we move it will be due to my wife not me. I run my own consulting business but she works for a large US car company. So unfortunately it will be to Detroit for us. At least I get a 2 year holiday Imagine the damage you can do on your bank balance with that kind of free time on your hands Winovin, totally agree. Human nature always likes what it thinks is rosier. I am not deluded that the situation in the US is not that much better once you take everything else into account. If anything it turns out the same. The unfortunate thing is that our government thinks by imposing a 45% luxury car tax on cars over US$40,000 it means you will go buy local. What a crock. They are not protecting the local car industry just filling their pockets. If I can take advantage of the potential situation to my benefit I will, if I can then I will continue filling their pockets