Been awhile since my posting as we have been crazy busy moving to South Korea (from NJ) and working:
1. The mover took our household items and my 987 on Jan 6
2. The car arrived on Mar 27
3. Picked up today on Apr 1 (they are not open on weekends)
4. No issues with the Korean customs but the battery was drained - as I expected
5. I included an instruction to 1) leave the frunk unlatched, and 2) how to open the frunk when the battery is drained (with pictures from the manual) - ALL IGNORED
6. Luckily, I had "just enough" battery power to open the frunk and jump the car - lucky
7. Got the "temporary" license plate at the customs but Koreans use the "European" style license plates (the "elongated" one) - the font was fine but we had to be "creative" for the rear
8. Once I clear the customs, then I drove 40 min in order to formally "register" with a DMV-equvalent authority - they meticulously examined, measured the weight, review all docs again, etc. (the picture above is actually from the DMV) - and performed various testing; the place seemed very high-tech (e.g., visual fluid inspection, ABS testing, speedometer / RPM testing, exhaust, etc.) - but costs about $100 USD
9. Then they "rejected" my vehicle for 3 reasons - 1) the Fabspeed exhaust tip protrudes slightly further than the bumper (this is against Korean regulations) 2) "un-approved / unauthorized LED bulbs for the fog lights (even though Porsche ECU does not throw any warnings), etc) 3) tinted tail / headlights
10. #2 and #3 were easy fixes as I had OEM halogen bulbs and simply ripped off tint films
11. However, #1 was a challenge and took the car to a local place close to the inspection facility - after trying to banging on the tips with a hammer etc...the local place owner simply said "oh, what don't we just remove the tips" and I said "is that legal?" - and when I call the authority (who remembers my car) he simply said "yeah, that's fine" - I came home with the tips removed (4:30PM ish) and the local shop guy said "oh, no need to pay...just pay me later whenever you come back"
12. When I came home and frantically searched and unpacked our belongings to find OEM halogen lightbulbs (ordering OEM parts from Korea can take awhile) and replaced them so that I can go back to the inspector and show him everything is fixed (by 6PM local time) - but it was too late to go back the same day / today - the traffic in Seoul is on-par with NYC esp during commuting hours.
13. Now I have 10 calendar days to conform to the Korean regulations.....I think I am almost there but some of the regulations may be ridiculous - e.g., "unapproved" LED, protruding exhaust tips, etc.
Now I am driving around with a temp license plate for next 10 days (per regulation - and I need to be compliant within next 10 calendar days...
Stay tuned....
Great that your car arrived in good condition and the battery had enough juice to open the frunk.
My Fabspeed tips were adjustable to some extent. It seemed to me there was less drone when I extended them past the bumper, but found out the hard way what a hot tip does to your shins when loading cargo while wearing shorts.
What are you going to do about the rear license plate. No way it will fit between the bumperetts. As picky as the inspectors are, I can't believe they will let you leave it mounted in the hardtop window. Surely they require it to be illuminated at night. Can you retrofit an EU style bumper?
Luckily Korea also issues a US type. The inspectors don't care about the plate though
On a side note, Korea issues license plates on the spot at a local municipal office. They give you 10 choices (of different #, letter combo) and you get to choose one. Will post what I get...hopefully ending with 9871 but not likely
All good to go!! When I tried to insure (before the pick up) via an app, I was asked to call the rep. When talked to the rep "are you sure your car in 2005 and NOT 2025?" as older cars are rare in Korea.
1. Went back to DMV on Apr 3 with LED / tint films removed, and the tips removed
2. Took 5 mins, "passed" and got the paperwork to register
3. Since the car was under my wife's name, she registered and got a perm license plate on Apr 6 (Mon)
4. Feeling great and parked the car in our apartment complex HOWEVER,
5. The apartment and the office parking complex didn't fully recognize my license plate and asked me to pay like $300 for parking when I tried to exit
6. In Korea, most parking lots use this "Amano" system where the camera reads the license plate # (with a gate)
7. While the license plate # was successfully changed from the temp one (in the system), the parking fees were not cleared out
8. Had to make a few calls over a day or two to fully clear out the parking fees and now good to go from both office and residential gates / parking
Although I rarely drive the car now, I feel "weird" driving this around central Seoul when I need to go into the office on weekends - it is like someone living in NJ suburb and suddenly moved to NYC / Time Square and driving the car around....strange. Found a group of old 987 owners who gather around 4, 5 AM on weekends to drive out of the city..will see......
it may not be necessary to buy another bumper. When I had my rear bumper off, I removed the bumperetts (4 nuts) and used 1/2" hole plugs from the hardware store (which I painted to match) to cover the 4 holes in the bumper. Much less expensive.
