Checking Out a LHD Import

[jons]

Interesting forum - hope someone can help with my query?

I'm in the process of buying a 2 year old LHD 996 Turbo and would like to check its history prior to parting with the cash. The dealer is reputible but not authorised Porsche so I'm having AFN check the car over before purchase. One outstanding point is that I'd really like to check whether there is any outstanding finance etc on the vehicle. I've checked the chassis number with Porsche and they confirm it is a German car first registered in 2000. The question is are there any companies in Germany offering a service similar to HPI that I can use?

Final question - what documentation should I be seeing from the dealer on a <2 year old German origin car.

Thanks

[domster]

Checking German provenance is tricky, but if it were stolen or still financed, then I would imagine that any civil or criminal action would be taken against the 'english' owner, ie the person you are buying from. I doubt they could take the car away from you if you purchased in good faith (they would most likely claim the purchase money from him).

You should however, see the German Fahrzeugbrief (log book) upon sale, which shows the previous owners etc. So why not get a german speaking friend or colleague to speak to them after looking them up on international directory enquiries?

Unfortunately, with imported cars, it is much more difficult checking provenance and history. Fact of life. I could have put any chassis number/mileage I wanted in the form when I applied for an English log book on first UK registration of my Lotus Carlton, as they didn't check it against my car. Relies on a certain honesty from the importers...

[jons]

Thanks for that advice.

I feel a bit more comfortable about the car having made a few phone calls. I spoke to the original Porsche dealer in Leipzig who sold the car new. It also turned out that he bought the car back after 1 year from his customer and sold it on to a UK dealer who then imported it. He confirmed the mileage and its (good) history. The dealer who brought it back then sold it on to the dealer I'm purchasing from. Since the official Porsche dealer sold the car its just done about another 1000 miles most of it the drive back from Germany.

[domster]

Snap it up, sounds great. And you can't argue with a 996 TT really!

All the best and tell us about the beast when you get it.

Rgds
Domster

[Bodo]

If there are any doubts left, you could query the German Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (similar to DVLA/DVLC) www.kba.de for an Unbedenklichkeitsbescheinigung, which means, you will get proof that this vehicle is not stolen in Germany. This is eg.obligatory to register a car in Germany.

Unfortunately there is no explanation in English and costs are EUR10,20+3,32. I wonder if they will accept queries from abroad, because I am not sure if all German authorities are informed about the existance of other countries than Germany

If you would like to try something else, try www.eucaris.net/ which seems to be more international...