The Eagle (4S) has landed...

[Whytar]

So as some of you guys may know from Insta etc, after a long and tormenting 3 month process I collected my 997.2 4S on Saturday morning. As others have done before me, I thought I'd write up a short story about the process and experience of personally importing a car from the UK (for those who may be considering doing the same, or just have nothing else to read right now).

First, a couple of pics to keep the ADD sufferers in play...

And of course the inaugural visit to Palm Beach so she knows not everywhere has grey skies and drizzle...

Going back about 18 months is when this all began. My wife and I, once discovering what our return date to Australia would be, began the hunt for a pristine Gen 2 997 and after shortlisting about 4 cars, settled on the white 4S. At the time of purchase the car had done just over 19,000 miles and was in pretty much immaculate condition. It had only one previous owner who lived in Windsor just outside London. So after a comprehensive PPI (which the car breezed through) the deal was struck and we drove her into storage straight away, only covering about 2000 miles in the 12 month period before exporting. The car never saw rain from the day I bought it.

Needless to say, I was pretty nervous about knowing I'd have to leave the car with the shipping company once it was time to drop her off, but I had to just suck it up and let fate deal with that. But before putting her on the boat I wanted to have a couple of things done to the car in preparation for life in Oz. The key one for me was to change over the dials from MPH to KPH so that everything would be as it should be downunder. After a bit of research I found Reap Automotive who have specialised in designing and making dials for both factory and aftermarket Porsche applications for over 2 decades. I checked out his work and then commissioned him to make me up a set of gauge faces in white (rather than the standard light silver) which were fitted about a month before shipping. These are handmade by Julian at Reap Automotive and the quality is actually as good if not sharper than the OEM item. (And you can order them in almost any colour you want).

In the background to the prep work I was doing on the car, I worked with a local Australian import specialist who was handling all the Australian-side paperwork and application process for me. Dominic as personalimport.com.au was great to deal with and knows the personal import process like the back of his hand. He manages the whole process from end-to-end and I didn't pay him anything until the car was in-country and being complied. A big shout out to Dominic, and I'd recommend his services to anyone thinking of importing a car.

Once drop off day rolls around, all you need to do is have the car delivered to the shipping dock...

This is however where things get a bit nerve-wracking for the car lover. The guys at the shipping company very much treat your car like a piece of freight and no special quarter is given. The guys at the dockyard I used asked me to park the car in this tiny space next to a clapped out, rusty transit van in the middle of a busy walk way where it was going to remain for several days before being loaded into a container. I wasn't happy but couldn't do anything about it. The guy basically said if I wasn't happy to take my car and drive away.

Anyway, I walked away and knew I wouldn't see my car again until it arrived in Australia, so I just adopted the attitude that whatever happened to it I could fix and I left it at that.

The only other thing I had to do at this point was inform the DVLA in England that I was deporting the car so they could update the details on their database.

Fast-forward 8 weeks and in mid- November I received and email from Dominic saying that the car had docked in Sydney and was being unpacked. The car would then sit in quarantine for about 2 weeks before being inspected. Some of the things they will check is the roadworthy condition of the car, any damage and write up a condition report, and of course check the car for any 'illicit' cargo.

Word of Warning - ALL cars fail the Customs cleanliness inspection and are directed to have a cleaning service go over the car. I have heard this is a massive scam by customs and they all pocket a slice of the $300 they hit you up for, regardless of the condition of the car (I had my car detailed and steam-cleaned underneath before shipping).

Despite this, my car arrived in great condition and headed of to Brookvale so that the compliance engineers could check the car over, cut flaps in the rear parcel-shelf carpet (to expose the child restraint anchor points) then fit the 'little yellow sticker' that reads 'Personally Imported Vehicle'.

The only negative in the whole process was that some Einstein in customs decided that because the battery had gone flat while in transit, that he's just pull the bonnet release a bit harder to get to the battery (probably expected to see the engine up front). Of course he did the same to the engine cover release too.

So I sourced a new unit for the buttons and fitted that the day before collection (thanks to Julie for letting me in the workshop to work on the car). The car was rego'ed on Friday on my behalf by the workshop and my only job was to collect it early on Saturday morning and head off for Palm Beach.

And there it is. I now have a pristine, low km's 4S on the road in Aus after dreaming about it ever since I found out I'd be moving to the UK back in 2013. And I have to say I was able to get the car on the road for vastly less than what the equivalent would cost me here in AUD. So was it worth it. Absolutely!  Overall, the amount of effort required is minimal but there are some considerations that should be made before embarking on the import journey.

You also need to carefully consider the car you want to import, the buy-price in the UK versus the buy-price here, and carefully calculate the import costs to work out whether this is the right (economical) path for you.

A final word - don't be put off by all the 'chatter' around personally imported car values in Australia. If you are going to keep the car long-term (as I am) it's not really that relevant, and if you want to flip the car to make money, just buy very carefully and make sure you have enough margin built in to your cost model. The range of cars in the UK is amazing (and vast) and their are some real fanatics and collectors, so great cars can easily be sourced for a life in the sun. :-)

See you out there somewhere.

[Niko]

There is nothing like a good love story..   Congratulations, great looking car, it deserves to see some good Aussie sunshine and blue skies.

 

[red clubbie]

Good work on the dials....

Just a question. Was the speedo and odometer recalibrated to kilometres?

Before I bought my GT3, I was looking at an imported special edition Lamborghini Gallardo and it was been recalibrated from miles to kilometres by a local Lambo Dealer.

Are the 997.2's similar?

 

Cheers,

Geoff.

[Raven]

Good work on the dials....

Just a question. Was the speedo and odometer recalibrated to kilometres?

Before I bought my GT3, I was looking at an imported special edition Lamborghini Gallardo and it was been recalibrated from miles to kilometres by a local Lambo Dealer.

Are the 997.2's similar?

 

Cheers,

Geoff.

I am pretty certain you can do the digital speedo  your self via the on board computer . 997 has many DIY adjustments that can be made ..

[Mike737]

Great looking car Whytar. Glad to see we can at least get a couple of decent younger imports into the country now and then.

Where did the little yellow sticker go on the car? Does it go with the chassis vin plate under the bonnet?

[Mike-S]

The yellow sticker is meant to go on the bulkhead (or firewall, whatever you call it), Ideally but not necessarily next to the VIN plate. The instructions it comes with say it's to be on a fixed part, in other words if the car's damaged in the front then the sticker is likely to survive. The one on our Spitfire I put on the bulkhead next to the chassis plate, on my Range Rover it's on the front slam panel as there's nowhere else visible to put it, so I ended up putting it in plain sight. 

The sticker is a one shot deal, if you cock it up then tough shit you have to live with it. I sneezed while putting it on the Spitfire and that was enough to pull a small piece of the silver backing off, luckily I managed to get it on without further mishap (or sneeze No2, which normally follows sneeze No1!)

[911sies]

First, a couple of pics to keep the ADD sufferers in play...

It had only one previous owner who lived in Windsor just outside London.

 

Previous owner from Windsor eh?. Hmmm. - Harry after just getting rid of the Porker for the "right" price - 

 

Nothing productive to add, but thanks for the pics, she looks right at home. 

Cheers (an ADD sufferer)

[Whytar]

Thanks guys. 

To answer a few questions. The dials are calibrated in their design. Ie - when the car is doing 60kph, that's where 60 is on the speedo. It's simply a replica of the OEM speedo. Nothing mechanical is recallibrated. 

The import sticker is inside the door jam just under the door shut. It's not a bad location. Clearly visible when the door is open. Invisible otherwise. 

 

[FZP]

If anyone is considering a UK car, don't be put off by the rust demons. I've recently had my car for a chassis tune here in the UK which involves removing all the underbody panels.

When I purchased my car, I got it at such a cheap price that even though the PPI came up sweet, I always expected to find "something" with the car

So whilst getting the geo done, it was a great opportunity to have a good nosey under the car and to my surprise, the 997.2 was in immaculate condition. My car is no garage queen and gets driven in all weather. The only two areas that need a look is the drive shaft and the tandem pump cover which are both cosmetic.

So the stigma of the UK car syndrome may be a thing of the past. A full PSH along with a PPI done by a recognised specialist here will net you a great car. My 2 cents worth.

Seeing pics of Whytars car by the beach makes me somewhat jealous. Well played mate

 

[npvpositive]

Great story, congrats!   

I wonder whether you could have stuck some doorshox or similar on the side of the car before you left it at the docks?  I believe you can get some good ones now with magnetic backing.  Then again, if the UK warfies are anything like ours they would have stolen the protection or put a dent in the car just to be bloody minded!

http://www.doorshox.com/car-door-protection/doorshox-valet/