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Importing RHD 997 from Germany to UK

997Fever

Member
Joined
26 Jun 2019
Messages
5
Hello,

Curious if anyone here has any experience with this - I'm currently living in Germany with a RHD 997 that I'm in the process of trying to sell, since im relocating to the US. It was imported around 2017 from the UK via RJS with a Hartech rebuild.

It seems the German market is NOT a fan of RHD cars (big surprise, although the car has been nothing short of automotive heaven for me) - are RHD cars brought in from Germany viewed as a hassle not worth dealing with for a prospective UK buyer? I assume taxes arent an issue, etc.

Any tips on selling the car from Germany?
 
I would assume that you'll have to re-register the car in the UK, ensure that you have secured all exemptions from car tax, duty and VAT (as may be applicable, I don't know, it might be easy), ensure that it an MOT certificate, UK spec lighting and such, and that you can verify your ownership properly so as to show a prospective buyer good title, no outstanding finance etc. to selk in the UK.

In other words, do a full private import. And then sell it.

It'll be too much of a faff for anyone else, unless you suddenly find an Australian or Japanese looking to import from the EU. Which might be possible, if you can advertise in the enthusiast magazines/internet sites.

You might want to move quickly...
 
Thanks for the tip, it does sound like a bit of a pain for the average buyer. Although I would take that into consideration on the price.

In my case, I do have MOT paperwork that was valid until 2018, and I do have the original RHD Xenon Headlights as well, which was the only thing changed. German paperwork is pretty straight forward and in my name. I've got copies of the original UK ownership docs.

I'd import it myself, but I'm not sure I can do that as a non UK resident (or citizen).

I may reach out to some dealerships in the UK and see if the consignment is an option.

Of course if any of you are interested feel free to PM me (Not sure what the rules are on selling in the forums).
 
When I lived in Germany, the only RHD cars that sold were the ones that were substantially cheaper than their LHD equivalents. And by that I mean around 40%.

I personally don't have any issues with driving an RHD car on the continent or an LHD in the UK (I do both frequently). But the market just doesn't like them, as I'm sure you've found.

A while ago there was a guy out in Germany who sold his RHD 997 via facebook on one of the owners groups (can't remember which one now). It was also a rebuilt car in lapis blue. The price was right and it sold in a manner of days.

He offered to deliver the car to the UK to the right buyer IIRC. That could be something you consider, as you can 'abmelden' your car in Germany and get the red 'Exportkennzeichen' to bring it over to the UK.

Again, I think money will talk in this case, as there are plenty of cars available on the UK market that don't come with the perceived hassle of importing.

I'd be quick as well if I were you as Brexit could throw a big spanner in the works in terms of importing and exporting cars from what will then be outside of the EU. In Germany, you pay 10% Einfuhrumsatzsteuer plus 19% MwSt. on cars imported from outside the EU. Not sure how it will work the other way round though.

Good luck with the sale :)
 
Yeah, 40% is right on the money and pretty much how i've valued it. I see the same car here for 40K+ EUR. Some in fair condition don't go under 38K. That's without IMS Fix, etc. I'm asking 25K GBP.

And i'm totally with you regarding driving RHD/LHD. This was my first RHD car and I was driving it normally after about 2 minutes. Completely used to it within days. Actually I get a huge kick out out of people's reaction seeing a RHD Porsche here. I've even had an elderly woman ask me "Warum ist das Lenkrad auf der rechten Seite??" at a red light. Please note I am in a very rural part of Germany :lol:

I will definitely be open to delivering the car, and discussing the price. But this car is just too damn clean to let it go for toomuch of a discount. I'd almost rather keep it here.

PS. How serious is the Brexit threat to Importing used autos? I'd figure there would be some warning/grace period until import taxes take effect? Or is it really one big question mark?
 
do an ad here in the classified section.

Have you spoken to RJS? If they know the car, they might be recepive to a commission sale.
 
What's the spec, mileage, etc.?

I don't doubt that a fully rebuilt Hartech car would fetch £25k in the UK. In Germany however, it could be a little tricky though, as potential parties will probably expect to haggle a fair bit. And 'ATM' or Austauschmotor is one of the reasons. I know it's rebuilt and not exchanged. But when I was over there, 911s with engines replaced under warranty were valued lower than ones on the original engine.

If memory serves me correctly, the rebuilt 997 that sold on facebook last year was £20k.

I don't think anyone knows what will happen with Brexit. But I'd hope for the best and plan for the worst.

If the UK leaves with no deal in October, then importing a car from the EU to the UK would theoretically be similar to importing from, say, Japan. The same would go for importing cars to Germany from the UK - they'd be treated as 'outside of the EU' cars and subject to 29%.

I'd seriously doubt there would be any grace period if things end acrimoniously.
 
Captain Lockheed said:
do an ad here in the classified section.

Have you spoken to RJS? If they know the car, they might be receptive to a commission sale.

Posted an ad here and am in active contact with RJS - Thanks for the tip.
 

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