US - SPEC 997s ?
Discussion
I assume that everyone has seen how cheap '05-'07 997s are in the Home of the Brave and the Land of the Free.
(As opposed to the Home of the Sucker and the Land of the Rip Off)
Are there any critical spec or performance differences between european and US spec cars? I see there a couple of curious bump features on the rear number plate mounting but I imagine it would be short work to remove those.
I'm no expert but I will be in the States later this year and I plan to look into this, assuming the current exchange rates hold.
Surely US tax depends on the State - some are very low - and in the UK we are only looking at VAT and that only if the car has done less than 6,000 miles.
Prices from main dealers are very attractive, to say the least. In UK by contrast I noticed in the Sunday Times some clown was asking £48000 for an '04 996 C2 on a private sale. That will buy you a new 997 in the States.
Surely US tax depends on the State - some are very low - and in the UK we are only looking at VAT and that only if the car has done less than 6,000 miles.
Prices from main dealers are very attractive, to say the least. In UK by contrast I noticed in the Sunday Times some clown was asking £48000 for an '04 996 C2 on a private sale. That will buy you a new 997 in the States.
I am always interested in this subject as the prices are so low - esp. 996 Turbos!
One mechanical difference is that the US cars tend to have massive ride height as standard (check out the Orange Boxster thread!)
Handy if you live in San Francisco or have to navigate a huge ramp between your house and road worse than an decent Channel Ferry but not something that would be prohibitively expensive to change on an non PASM car. Not so sure of the costs involved in changing a PASM car. I suppose it's too much to ask that only the springs would need to be changed and not the whole struts???
US cars also have had a microswitch under the clutch pedal to make it impossible to start the car unless the pedal is depressed - not sure but is this now standard worldwide? Not a biggie though...
One mechanical difference is that the US cars tend to have massive ride height as standard (check out the Orange Boxster thread!)
Handy if you live in San Francisco or have to navigate a huge ramp between your house and road worse than an decent Channel Ferry but not something that would be prohibitively expensive to change on an non PASM car. Not so sure of the costs involved in changing a PASM car. I suppose it's too much to ask that only the springs would need to be changed and not the whole struts???
US cars also have had a microswitch under the clutch pedal to make it impossible to start the car unless the pedal is depressed - not sure but is this now standard worldwide? Not a biggie though...
I had wondered why Caymans are like that. I previously assumed that it was to prevent you overstressing the starter motor but a sage whose name I don't instantly recall commented previously that it was to prevent doughnuts starting the car in gear and leaving the garage via the back wall.
Incidentally I checked the orange boxster thread but didn't see any reference to ride height. Presumably a clued up Porsche engineer could resolve that. I haven't got PASM on my Boxster incidentally and I don't miss it in any way.
Now, I checked out the following :-
You can buy a new GT3 with no options (what would you want - rhinestone encrusted headrests? Satnav system is $3000 extra)for $106000. Do the maths as they say. Specify factory collection and you dont even have to ship it from the States. Sound tempting?
Incidentally I checked the orange boxster thread but didn't see any reference to ride height. Presumably a clued up Porsche engineer could resolve that. I haven't got PASM on my Boxster incidentally and I don't miss it in any way.
Now, I checked out the following :-
You can buy a new GT3 with no options (what would you want - rhinestone encrusted headrests? Satnav system is $3000 extra)for $106000. Do the maths as they say. Specify factory collection and you dont even have to ship it from the States. Sound tempting?
Edited by cardigankid on Thursday 10th May 12:41
Edited by cardigankid on Thursday 10th May 12:52
The factory collection option sounds incredibly tempting but I might assume that it is *impossible* otherwise everyone would do this all the time.
Not sure how they can make it impossible legally but I'm not surprised as they have more than enough lawyers on the payroll!
You could always just buy a used US-GT3 which will presumably be available for less than list for it....
Not sure what the ride height on a US spec GT3 is (it may be the same as Euro spec) but the regular models are half way between Euro Spec and Cayenne Spec! Check out this one...
Not sure how they can make it impossible legally but I'm not surprised as they have more than enough lawyers on the payroll!
You could always just buy a used US-GT3 which will presumably be available for less than list for it....
Not sure what the ride height on a US spec GT3 is (it may be the same as Euro spec) but the regular models are half way between Euro Spec and Cayenne Spec! Check out this one...
my favourite pasttime is looking on us ebay...porsches are amazing value...my 964 speedster cost me 50%less than i would pay if bought in germany..dealer was very professional,but shipper took nearly 3 months..996 gt3s look very attractively priced when you consider 1999/2000 lhd gt3 in uk are beenn quoted at 40k,its cheaper to have an 04 car with next to no miles for same money
OK but its got to be cheaper to bring in a second hand car. I tell you what else I've noticed. A lot of used Porsches in the States seem to be unusually low mileage.(With the exception of C4/C4S models - which may lend themselves more to everyday use by the old lady) So either they are kept as garage princesses or they are a nation of rampant clockers. I suspect the former, which may not be a bad thing either.
I'll have a little chat with the nice people from the C&E and see what they have to say.
No doubt though, we are being horsed here, and it makes some of the prices people expect for 3 or 4 year old models in the UK look farcical imho.
As far as the Satnav is concerned could you not just get used to shopping in San Francisco.
I'll have a little chat with the nice people from the C&E and see what they have to say.
No doubt though, we are being horsed here, and it makes some of the prices people expect for 3 or 4 year old models in the UK look farcical imho.
As far as the Satnav is concerned could you not just get used to shopping in San Francisco.
Edited by cardigankid on Friday 1st June 15:03
Gassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff