996 from the US?

does anyone have any experience importing from the US? Are they the same in terms of engines etc etc. I know that the US pumps have lower octane fuel, are the engines adapted to this and will they be happy drinking the 95/98 octane fuel here in the UK?

Th US fuel rating is not the same as over here. The fuel is roughly the same - so no problem there. There was a thread recently on the subject of 996 imports from the USA - I'm sure it is in this (o996) area of the forum...

I think it mainly a question of type approval, see http://www.vca.gov.uk/ Importing from the EU is fairly straightforward, as a Certificate of Conformity is usually readily available. From outside the EU there are more pitfalls. Specialist importers are around who can arrange shipping and do all the paperwork.

Mechanically they are the same. Porsche are supposed to have the same engines everywhere. They don't tune them differently; the Euro 4 emissions requirements are not so different to the US requirements. What does differ is the spec though (including what side the steering wheel is on[ ]) So you need to check things like mats, windscreen tint, rear wiper, sat nav, electric seats, amount of leather interior, etc. The standard spec here is slightly higher I believe, however, most of the cars I have seen there (based on a sample of 10) seem to be well specced.

I was wrong about the thread -it was in the General forum and about 997's http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=91320&mpage=1 Might help though...

Hi Mark, thanks for the thread link, it was helpful to some extent (now I feel like buying a 997 ) I know that the "porsche certified used warranty" does NOT carry over the the UK or anywhere in Europe for that matter and neither does the new car warranty. This is because the US dealerships have been getting a lot of interest from Europe about their cars with the US$ being low against both the sterling and euro. I had a chat with a dealer when I was there in January and he double checked with Porsche USA. I think it might just be well worth it if you can save at least £5k off prices in the UK (all costs included), but that's just me i guess......

One thing to be aware of is that the imobiliser is a different setup on the US cars. They may not be to insurance requirements. Some other differences in US specs: No dash mount headlamp adjustment. No key fob operated cab tops. No M030 suspension system unless putchased aftermarket. Computer set to US settings (mph/gallons difference etc)....can easily be changed. Sat Nav operates on different system (tuned for different satelites). Not changeable. Emmisions are not as stringent as Euro spec (depending on state but mostly all). May have rear bumper plugs fitted (not that it is a problem just ugly). Take care that holes are not drilled in the bumpers for different number plate size. Powertrain is exacty the same (engine, gearbox, etc).

That does not sound right to me... The sat nav uses the network of satellites launched by the US Department Of (ahem) Defence. It is the same all over the world? http://www.pocketgps.co.uk/howgpsworks.php

Internal headlamp adjustment may be a problem, as I believe it might be a legal requirement these days. M030 is available in the US, but it is softer than European M030 Computer and dash settings MAY NOT be a simple matter, and they may use a different computer in the instrument instrument cluster. It would certainly need recalibrating for Imperial gallons. SatNav uses the GPS system, so you shouldn't have a problem. Try this link: http://www.import-car.info/modifications.shtml

Aren't US gallons same as gallons here? And they count speed in miles as well over there...am I missing something? I will definitely bare in mind the headlamp adjustment. Not really looking at sat navs, but if i do, i'm sure it is just a matter of the CD/DVD that it maps against.

1 US gallon is 4/5th of an Imperial Gallon. It's because we have 20 fluid ounces per pint, and they only have 16. Just about the only thing that is smaller in the US than the UK!! Miles are, of course the same. Certain elements of the OBC can be changed and calibrated with the PST2, but I have a feeling that you might not be able to convert US gallons to Imperial. There was a thread about this recently on www.renntech.org http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=4228&st=0&p=20578&#entry20578

hmmm..but i guess that is just FYI anyway as petrol in this country is sold in litres!!! quite ridiculous isn't it? i think it is just a scam to confuse people....spped in miles, petrol in litres? so apart from cosmetic and not having an imperial gallon counter, they are the same....oh yes, of course the steering wheel is on the left too

Encomium, can I ask what the attraction of buying from the Us is, if you are saving £5k you will likely loose a lot more than that come re-sale time, if the car isn't C16 Uk spec. The 996 US engine outputs are generally slightly lower on many models, around 5-6 bhp less according to Porsches official figures. the standard specification is also lower, it didn't include full leather interior, metallic paint, top tint, multi-cd preparation, rear wiper etc on the standard 996 models, suspension settings are also slightly less sporting, although there are clearly spec. variances within the US (e.g. California even has it's own factory build code of C03, rest of US is C02)! With UK secondhand prices so attractive why go to the US? Regards Grant

well, it is just something i thought was interesting to look at because i have seen a nice fully loaded C4S going for approximately $50k (that is less than £30k). I agree with you if it is a "standard" spec 996, but that was pretty cheap. Also, I have family and residency in the US and if I buy a car and keep it there for more than 6 months, it might just be well worth importing it if i dont have to pay duty or tax.... All this is just speculation right now, unless I find another nice C4S [ ] I have a contact at the Porsche OPC in Pasadena California so I try and get info on their clearence cars (they try to get rid of cars on their floor for more than a month, knocking off up to 5k)