Nov 21, 2006 12:53:29 PM
- easy_rider911
- Rennteam VIP
-
- Loc: London , United Kingdom
- Posts: 22190, Gallery
- Registered on: Nov 8, 2004
How I bought my new car in Germany
LEGAL DISCLAIMER: THIS ACCOUNT OF MY PURCHASE PROCESS IS FOR INDICATIVE PURPOSES ONLY. IT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE DEFINITIVE ADVICE AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS SUCH.
Some of you have asked me to outline what I did to import my car from Germany into the UK. From memory, these are the steps I took:
I visited my local Porsche dealer in London to have test drives and to decide upon which model I wanted to buy (i.e. 911 Carrera S) and my specification.
I then contacted the European dealers. I found out the contact details of the authorised Porsche dealers in Germany through the German Porsche website. According to my country comparisons, Germany worked out cheapest for me. I considered Belgium (the Flemish part where dealers speak good English), Holland & Finland as well but Germany worked out cheaper for me. I knew I would buy from a country only in the EU for 'type approval' and VAT reasons. (Basically, Porsche provides an EU Certificate of Conformity which means one doesn't need to get a Single Vehicle Type Approval test done by the UK DVLA). Unfortunately, Norway is not in the EU (which would cause administrative and tax headaches), Denmark isn't in the Eurozone (and I didn't want the hassle of buying Danish Krona which may fluctuate in value over the months until delivery more than a major currency like the Euro) and Switzerland is only in EFTA (which would cause tax bureaucracy for me).
As a practical issue, I preferred to narrow my list of countries down to those which are in the EU, where the dealers speak good English and where there are plenty of dealers (so that I could get the best discount by making them outbid each other since they are competing for my business). I used the e-mailing system on the German Porsche website to contact them all individually stating my order details, the fact that I am from the UK and that I want a C16 UK RHD car. I asked what discount they would offer. I was not too shy to ask this bluntly!
Many did not even bother to reply. Some replied stating that they don't sell cars for export to the UK. Others offered no discounts. Some offered good discounts but would not sell tax free because other British buyers had bought tax free in the past from them and then they had fraudulently not paid VAT in the UK so that the German dealer was stuck with the tax bill. As a precaution, those dealers wanted me to pay tax in Germany and then after I had proved that I had paid tax in the UK as well, then they would refund me the tax I had paid them in Germany. No way was I going to do this! (Why is the UK car business so inherently full of dodgy people? I wish British people would just obey the law so that we aren't all tarnished with the same brush. Otherwise we all lose out!)
Anyway, I found some dealers who were happy to sell me a C16 UK RHD car tax-free and who were offering really excellent discounts. I negotiated very hard and secured a 7% discount on both the car and all the options (including the cost of the C16 RHD conversion which is expensive at 5065 Euros exc tax). The discount could not apply to the cost of the factory collection (400 Euros exc tax) since this has to be paid in full by the dealer to Porsche AG. Nor could the discount apply to the 2 weeks German temporary registration since this is paid by the dealer to the local German authorities.
I also targetted smaller dealers in smaller towns since they have fewer customers. They have to offer juicier deals to help use up their monthly allocation so I deliberately chose a dealer in a 'piddly' little German city for this reason! The major advantage with Germany is that there are so many dealerships there. They are virtually forced to undercut each other. Suited me just fine!
Once I had decided which dealer I wanted to order the car with, I decided upon my specification. I compared the EXACT standard specification of cars in the UK with those in Germany noting the (few) differences. {Full leather, PVTS ('preparation') and tinted windscreen are all standard in the UK}. I added those items to my order to make my car identical to a UK car. {The PVTS tracking device itself has to be bought separately from a UK dealer for GBP985 inc VAT and installation plus an annual fee of GBP176 to Cobra}. I compared the specifications using the German & UK price lists and the German & UK car configurators. The German configurator also lists the Porsche Exclusive options with photos. Very helpful! I used the Google language tool to translate anything I didn't understand from German to English. I then signed the contract, faxed it to the dealer and wired a 20% deposit. They often require a higher deposit for cars to the UK since they are RHD and would be harder for them to sell if I pulled out of the deal before taking delivery. I knew I was not going to pull out of the purchase so it made no difference to me what % deposit I paid. (Just a bit of lost interest from the bank).
When my order was placed, I was given a Commission Number and a production week 'slot' for a particular model). One can always add/take away/change options until one's order becomes 'locked'. NB: changing to certain 'special' colours (e.g. Slate Grey) and ordering some special options (e.g. X51 powerkit) can delay production.
I took my time finalising the exact factory fitted options and Porsche Exclusive options I wanted. When I was completely sure, I asked my dealer to give me a printout of my order from the computer which they use to place orders with the factory (the IDCS printout). I wanted to make sure there would be no mistakes in my order.
In the meantime, there was a price rise due to the MY2007 change. I also checked the MY07 changes to see if there was any change in my specification. Nothing significant.
I contacted the DVLA to get their 'Import Pack'. It contains all the forms I would have to fill in later (including the forms for the HM Revenue & Customs).
I found the easiest way to gather enough Euros together was to open a Euro denominated foreign currency account at my UK bank. That way, I could convert money from GBP to Euro whenever I thought the exchange rate was favourable.
About a month before production, my dealer confirmed to me which week the car would be made. I sent (by Royal Mail 'international signed for' post) my UK passport to him and a signed 'agent' letter authorising him to arrange German temporary registration of the car for me. Once the car was built, Porsche AG sent him an invoice with the vehicle details. He then invoiced me. I paid the remaining 80% of the purchase price by electronic bank transfer. He then registered the car locally with German temporary registration valid for 2 weeks. He sent me by DHL courier my UK passport, the German temporary registration document, the EU Certificate of Conformity, a German green card basic insurance document, a Swiss green card insurance document, a letter confirming my authorisation to collect the car from the factory, my German export number plates and a black plastic rear number plate holder.
I arranged my UK Certificate of Insurance with a green card before going to Germany starting on the date when I would collect the car from the factory.
I had booked my one-way flight on German Wings from London Stansted Airport to Stuttgart and a one-way ferry ticket from Calais to Dover on P&O ferries. You can read a full account of my Factory Collection trip on this thread:
http://www.rennteam.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Board=997&Number=290478&page=0&fpart=all
When I returned to the UK with the car, I took a number of documents to the DVLA which I had filled in before going to Germany:
Form V55/4 (to register the car in the UK as a new car on first registration)
Original EU Certificate of Conformity (for type approval purposes)
German temporary registration document
Original purchase invoice
Original UK Certificate of Insurance
Original ferry ticket to prove date of the car's arrival in the UK (the HM Revenue & Customs need to be notified within 7 days of this date)
Flight bookings, hotel bookings and petrol receipts (to prove I imported the vehicle personally)
V267 Declaration of Vehicle Newness (to prove 'reasonable delivery mileage' only)
VAT Form 415 (notification to HM Revenue & Customs so they can calculate the VAT due)
Extract from a newspaper from the day after purchase showing the GBP/Euro exchange rate on the date of collection which I wanted them to use (plus a covering letter explaining this)
A cheque for GBP248 (GBP210 road tax, GBP38 first registration fee)
My Certificate of Entitlement to a personalised UK number plate (purchased from DVLA previously)
Original birth certificate (to prove my name)
Original bank statement (less than 3 months old) (to prove my address)
Factory collection document (to prove to the UK DVLA the date when I took delivery of the car since I needed to register the car in the UK within 14 days of collection)
I went to my DVLA Local Office to do this. The next day I went back to the DVLA Local Office to collect my original documents and my road tax disk.
I received a V5C Registration Certificate from the DVLA in Swansea within 5 days. I am now waiting for a VAT demand notice from the HM Revenue & Customs for the VAT I have to pay.
I also went to my local Porsche dealer in London to have a PVTS tracking device fitted. They programmed the automatic locking and relocking functions for me.
I contacted Customer Service at Porsche Cars GB Ltd to inform them of my purchase. They added my details to their database and will inform me of any recalls etc. They also confirmed my pan-European Porsche Assistance so that I can call a UK freephone number (and speak to an English speaking person) if I have a problem (and not the German telephone number). They also arranged for 2 years complimentary subscription to Christophorus magazine.
Since I did not buy the car in the UK, I have not paid for the Porsche Driving Experience training. I can always get this later.
I had some UK number plates made which I have also fitted to the car.
So, that's what I did to save many thousands of pounds. Easy!
Long live the EU!! 
having moved over to the Odenwald from Blighty in the summer. I can confirm that they are a friendly bunch and seem to have good reputation. I'll let you know how I get on. 
to hear about the higher UK Warranty price which has now increased to 895 GBP against other sensible pricing from Germany and other EU countries.
