AUS Delivered vs Import

Hi All, After 6 months of Boxster ownership I am seriously considering an upgrade to a late model 996 or early 997. Love the Boxster but my wife wants a four seater so who am I to argue!! I have a few cars "saved" on Car Sales but noticed a 997 S for similar prices to the 997 but this one was a private import. https://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Porsche-911-Carrera-2005/SSE-AD-5517774/?Cr=58 I assume that being from the UK and their penchant for salting roads in winter, rust may be an issue (a PPI will be done on any car I buy) but what about down the track when I inevitably want to upgrade again. Will this be an orphan? In the air-cooled 911s this import stuff seems to make less of a difference but not sure for modern ones. Should I keep this import on the list or stick to AUS delivered? p.s If anyone knows of someone who wants a 2003MY Boxster with 114xxxkms FSH, with recent new clutch and IMS replacement, PM me!!

If no rust issues (and will let others chime in about whether these will be picked up on a PPI) a UK import should be fine. You just need to factor in that it will be harder to sell when the time comes and you will be selling at a discount to what others are selling for. But as long as you build that into your buy price should be ok

Thats a good question. I have imported cars from UK, USA & Japan - UK cars were by far the worst. Just one winter there is enough to start the rot. Its not so much the body shell (which is galvanised) its the ancillaries that get affected.

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Yeah, that's the killer...resale potential as I know I will be upgrading again in the future. I had two months in the US driving in winter and even the 12 month old rental car was showing early signs!!

IMO buying that over an Aust car should have a 25- 30% discount to a similar Aust one. Because they sit for sale so long and are hard to move and you'll have to discount it that amount on the other end when you sell it. Only buy it if you get a killer price. That's in no way even a good price.

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Thanks mate. I think I'll strike it from the list unless I can grab it for $60K ?

Mines a 996.1 UK import.  Agree with the comments about the ancillaries being the main concern over body work and that UK cars deserve a downgrade over their Aust equivalents - but it depends on what you are prepared to compromise for the $.  I have had all the brake lines (hard and soft) replaced, all the exhaust manifold bolts drilled out and replaced with studs, replaced the brake caliper bolts and rotors.  Wheels can also get salt damage - easily visible as cobwebby appearance - and there is an area behind the inner arch covers in front of the rear wheels which collects dirt and crud and doesn't dry out easily that needs to be checked out for nasties and repainted if necessary to protect the bodywork there.  The underside seam on the muffler boxes also cop it harder than Australia and start coming apart after 10 years or so in UK. If those things are done (the above cost me about A$7k including an IMS change and new variocam solenoid) then that should cover the main concerns.  There is a brake line going over the engine which is a major job to replace if its in bad shape. The above car... personally I would compromise on getting an Aust non-S over a UK S at that price.  For example: https://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Porsche-911-Carrera-2005/SSE-AD-5323084/?Cr=1

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Thanks @Avon coming from someone who has done it. The 997 you linked to is on my list. There is also a black one I'm a bit keen on. Please no-one buy this until I l(hopefully) ook at it next week

I had a 997 C2 and found the back seats were vestigial at best. Others will disagree I believe , but you "could" fit very small people in there for a very short time. That time is limited by how quickly they grow of course.  I went back to the mid engined format and use the other car for backseat folk... I would go for AUS delivered as you can get a local inspection at the very least.

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My son is 15 this year and he is 5ft 9 now, so soon will be 6ft and tower over me. My wife is 5ft 4, so she could always sit in the back ? .

'OK. Fair enough. I guess I am also tall and had the front seat well back.  No one that tall could have fitted in my rear seat behind me without a touch of Houdini's genes.

It's not like Porsche built cars here. So the whole import malarkey is pointless. They are all imported. Who cares. Get the car you want and enjoy it.

We all live near the coast right ?    Salt sea spray is an issue right ?    You would need to be 50km from the coast to be safe from the sea salt haze surely ?

"Import" isn't a problem in itself - Porsches are all made "overseas" and as has been said before, they're all imports.  The problem is - where have they lived after they left the factory?  If they've lived in a climate where the roads are icy in winter and are treated with salt and have been used under those conditions, pass...  For vehicles constrained to transport duties on a small, densely-populated island, formerly a British colony, for example, my concern would be clutch and gearbox wear and carbon build-up from slow running.  If faced with a choice between the former and the latter, I'd always take the latter - rust never sleeps!

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Said it before. My oldest lives at Banora pt maybe 2k inland on the hill overlooking the ocean outside. Last time I had his car on the hoist 12mnths ago I told him I never want to see it again. It wasn't rusty when I had it 6yrs ago. Ancillaries as mentioned. ? Location location location. As Tony the gdeek say. It's harder to sell, easy to buy.

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Yet, we still have the Government levying a Luxury Car Tax on us, originally designed to protect local constructors.

Indeed, how stupid is that since we don't have a local manufacturer anymore.

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That would be rational, but even South African imports carry the same stigma. We are probably the only country in the world that cares as much about where the car was originally delivered.

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Maybe because, in the early days of importing cars, the UK was our main source of RHD cars and the resulting stigma persisted...

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The stigma for South African imports is real. There is no snow but the SAf cars rust like crazy. Maybe they don't galvanise them there? BMWs MBs Citroens Lancias - I have seen lots of these rust away to nothing; & its a real pity as the mechanicals are usually very good. I think we worry about this more than other countries cause we keep our 'interesting' cars for much longer than other places.

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Don't those in the US worry about what state the car lived in?

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Yes, they worry about where it lived, but not where it was delivered new. I have seen plenty of rusty Aussie cars. The blanket irrational fear of imports in Aus is real and it is reflected by the prices. To me, I care more about a cars condition than where it was sold, so I would quite happily enjoy the savings of buying a quality import, and let everyone else pay more for the same car with a different country on a piece of paper

My car is Japan delivered. It snows across most of Japan in winter, (however I'm not sure if they are salting roads or not - I would assume they aren't) They also get typhoons, high humidity, etc, etc.  The car has been in Australia for 12 years now and you would think that if rust was going to appear on the car, it would have done so by now. I'm still yet to locate any rust on the car in any form.... other than the bolts on my exhaust... and I've been underneath the car a lot!

After buying and selling a numner of cars I have learnt that the only thing that matters is the condition, condition and condition of the car. Ultimately, this is what  will determine whether you are going to have a happy or heartbreaking ownership experience. Where it is from is irrelevent. For example, here is a photo of the underside of my Japanese source 964 RS. Perfect.

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Guessing you don't drive that beauty much!?!

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It has done 57,000 kms and I have put around 2,000 kms on it in the last 12 months including a road trip for a feature story with Total911 magazine. After each road trip I get my cars inspected, cleaned etc to keep them in tip top condition...because I know if I don't....when the time comes, my ability to sell quickly, and at a good price, will suffer.

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Ironically some amercans will shy away from ‘grey’ imports from Europe, even though they typically have better engines.  Main stigma is that they weren’t as well equipped and dodgy conversions to US standards (wasn’t just the ugly bumpers).  A ‘clean title’ is the game, and some imports have a question mark.  To be fair, that is also some of the stigma in Oz, because many imports lose their history in the journey. But yes, California car and all that, but not just lived there for a while.

Go the Australian Delivered. I did a lot of research before purchasing my 997 and was tempted at a few UK imports, as they were an easy 20% less expensive. Every one I had inspected 'looked' like an import and had small corrosion issues, not bodywork, but ancillaries were obvious that it had spent time on salted roads... as well cleaned as they were ! You are talking a 10-13 year old car with a series 1 and if it has the books stamped as Australian delivered the biggest difference will be your own resale. Buy 20 % less now, expect at least the same or more if you ever need to move it on. If you buy well, and I'd be more worried about low rather than high mileage, a good example will likely appreciate. Looking at asking prices mine has at least held it's value over the last three years and many are asking $20-$30K more than I paid... although they are garage queens and you wonder what they really sell for. Enjoy the chase : )