Buying and importing car from Germany
- Thread starter Guest
- Start date
Bought my current 964RS from Thomas at Hermanns & Schmitts, Telgte Germany. Was very straight forward. At the moment though with the current pound to euro it makes less sense for us brits to go to Germany to buy. Especially as there are a number of good cars over here and normally cheaper. Also some dealers in the UK have a good relationship with H&S.
There are various ways of buying the car if you intend to buy the car from Germany, some expensive and some less so. The way I did it was to Fly to Germany after doing some extensive telephoning and emailing of paperwork, pictures etc to satisfy myself the car was worth travelling over to look at. I had a bankers draft made out for a pre arranged sum. Once there I took a real good look at the car. I would suggest you get an inspection before you bother to fly out. Once I was happy that the car was ok the bankers draft changed hands and Thomas sorted out the German paperwork. Including registering the car on temporary german export plates and german insurance to enable the drive back to England. This was all done next day so we had a very nice stay in a hotel recommended by Thomas , who also kindly drove us to the hotel and picked us up in the morning to finish the paperwork.
We then drove the car back to the uk via Eurotunnel on the German export plates and insurance. This may have changed but at the time you could not get fully comp cover from a UK broker for the trip back. Only when the car is UK registered will the insurance companies cover you. Then you fill in the paperwork which you obtain before you go at your local VRO and also obtain a certificate of conformity from Porsche to prove the car is of suitable design for UK roads, this was about £50from Porsche reading HQ.Also keep all your recipts from your trip back with the car to prove you have imported personally. Basically MOT the car then register it and tax it, the dvla will then send you a nice V5 and issue you with a number plate number. For uk law you should have the correct dip beam pattern so I changed both headlight units you should also have a speedo capable of showing MPH. On the 993RS I'm not sure how this is achieved 993's with computer can have software swop to read in digital MPH i believe and the lights may be switchable from the headlamp unit. If not expect a resulting cost.
I don't have the figures at hand but doing it the way I did the tunnel crossing was £150 the flight out was £80 the overnight about another £100, taxi to airport £50 taxi to H&S £50 fuel £60 registration in Germany about £200 and in Uk there is tax £160 and mot £40 and probably a few othewr bit's I have forgoten. There are cheaper ways but that's the way I did it. Hope this helps.
There are various ways of buying the car if you intend to buy the car from Germany, some expensive and some less so. The way I did it was to Fly to Germany after doing some extensive telephoning and emailing of paperwork, pictures etc to satisfy myself the car was worth travelling over to look at. I had a bankers draft made out for a pre arranged sum. Once there I took a real good look at the car. I would suggest you get an inspection before you bother to fly out. Once I was happy that the car was ok the bankers draft changed hands and Thomas sorted out the German paperwork. Including registering the car on temporary german export plates and german insurance to enable the drive back to England. This was all done next day so we had a very nice stay in a hotel recommended by Thomas , who also kindly drove us to the hotel and picked us up in the morning to finish the paperwork.
We then drove the car back to the uk via Eurotunnel on the German export plates and insurance. This may have changed but at the time you could not get fully comp cover from a UK broker for the trip back. Only when the car is UK registered will the insurance companies cover you. Then you fill in the paperwork which you obtain before you go at your local VRO and also obtain a certificate of conformity from Porsche to prove the car is of suitable design for UK roads, this was about £50from Porsche reading HQ.Also keep all your recipts from your trip back with the car to prove you have imported personally. Basically MOT the car then register it and tax it, the dvla will then send you a nice V5 and issue you with a number plate number. For uk law you should have the correct dip beam pattern so I changed both headlight units you should also have a speedo capable of showing MPH. On the 993RS I'm not sure how this is achieved 993's with computer can have software swop to read in digital MPH i believe and the lights may be switchable from the headlamp unit. If not expect a resulting cost.
I don't have the figures at hand but doing it the way I did the tunnel crossing was £150 the flight out was £80 the overnight about another £100, taxi to airport £50 taxi to H&S £50 fuel £60 registration in Germany about £200 and in Uk there is tax £160 and mot £40 and probably a few othewr bit's I have forgoten. There are cheaper ways but that's the way I did it. Hope this helps.
Make sure you get it PPId.
It may be a little more difficult buying privately if the seller does not know what to do regarding obtaining export plates and insurance. The guy I bought the car off was very organised which made the process quite painless. First, the car has to be deregistered in Germany and the car transferred in your name. You will have to obtain the export plates and obtain insurance cover whilst driving in Europe and you will have to go to a local insurance company which if I am correct ONLY COVERS 3RD PARTY SO IF YOU HAVE AN ACCIDENT THEN YOU ARE IN TROUBLE. You can arrange for the car to be covered fully comp as soon as it hits UK - prearrange with the insurance company using the chassis no.
Other than that it is just a matter of driving from Germany to UK. Is the RSCS you are getting the red one in mobile.de which is on sale at 59700 Euros? It looks awfully cheap for a low mileage one so I would definately get a PPI if it is that one since a H&S have one for considerably more.
Harry
It may be a little more difficult buying privately if the seller does not know what to do regarding obtaining export plates and insurance. The guy I bought the car off was very organised which made the process quite painless. First, the car has to be deregistered in Germany and the car transferred in your name. You will have to obtain the export plates and obtain insurance cover whilst driving in Europe and you will have to go to a local insurance company which if I am correct ONLY COVERS 3RD PARTY SO IF YOU HAVE AN ACCIDENT THEN YOU ARE IN TROUBLE. You can arrange for the car to be covered fully comp as soon as it hits UK - prearrange with the insurance company using the chassis no.
Other than that it is just a matter of driving from Germany to UK. Is the RSCS you are getting the red one in mobile.de which is on sale at 59700 Euros? It looks awfully cheap for a low mileage one so I would definately get a PPI if it is that one since a H&S have one for considerably more.
Harry
hmmm Andy I'm sorry I did'nt realise the Road Vehicles (construction and use) regs 1986 had been amended. This by the way has nothing to do with the mot which can be passed with a kmh speedo as it's not a requirement of the mot test but a req of the above LAW.
A quote from the "how to import a vehicle into great britain" pamphlet No P15 (which is a DoT booklet guide to technical requirements among other things)
"Imperial Speedometer
Great Britain uses imperial units for speed measurement. The law requires that the speedometer must include a mile-per-hour display."
Andy when did the law change?
A quote from the "how to import a vehicle into great britain" pamphlet No P15 (which is a DoT booklet guide to technical requirements among other things)
"Imperial Speedometer
Great Britain uses imperial units for speed measurement. The law requires that the speedometer must include a mile-per-hour display."
Andy when did the law change?
Andy Roe
New member
No quesses for who out the wrong side of the bed this morning then?
I've had LHD cars with a KPH speedos for quite a while now & I've never had any problems with them. It's up to you if you want to spend the £350 on a new speedo, but I doubt you'll have any problems with not changing it over. Heck, the worst they'll proably do is ask you to change it over.
I've had LHD cars with a KPH speedos for quite a while now & I've never had any problems with them. It's up to you if you want to spend the £350 on a new speedo, but I doubt you'll have any problems with not changing it over. Heck, the worst they'll proably do is ask you to change it over.
Andy, I simply thought you actually knew that the law had changed. Obviously not. I certainly had not got out the wrong side of bed(i have been on nights so had'nt even been to bed [
]). I was simply pointing out what you should do by law I had assumed that unless the law had changed that you actually might not know that particular law exisists as it's buried in the paperwork and most people are of the belief that if it passes an mot all is well. I have no doubt that you can get away with it but it only takes one plod with time on his hands to spoil your day. Worse still to find you have hassles in the event of a claim, insurance companies love get out clauses.
]). I was simply pointing out what you should do by law I had assumed that unless the law had changed that you actually might not know that particular law exisists as it's buried in the paperwork and most people are of the belief that if it passes an mot all is well. I have no doubt that you can get away with it but it only takes one plod with time on his hands to spoil your day. Worse still to find you have hassles in the event of a claim, insurance companies love get out clauses.
The law states that your speedo needs to display MPH. It depends on how lenient or clueless with the law the MOT station is regarding this. I just manufactured a sticker to go over the speedo face and it suffices. When applying for type approval, you will need to get a commission notice letter from PGB, which costs I think around £60 -70. You also have to state in a cover letter that the speedo reads in MPH as well as the beam pattern conforming to RHD pattern. I remember someone mentioned that the headlights for 993RSCS was not adjustable. My standard 993RS had little switches in the light housing that needed changing to RHD pattern so no need to change headlight but I do not know about the CS lights.
Harry
jamescharnley
Active member
if you have road angel or similar hard wired into the car, can the speed reading for this get around the legal requirement for a mph speedo?
As Harry suggests you have to sign a declaration that certain things have been corrected like beam pattern and that the speedo displays mph. This can be through the use of a sticker so no need to actually change it. They have tightened up a bit because people were obviously signing the declaration without actually doing anything, as it's possible to get a car through the MoT by masking headlights and doing nothing to the speedo.
The last car I did they insisted I also sent the invoice to prove the changes were made. They didn't believe me when I told them I did it myself and was a dealer. I had to generate an internal invoice for the records.
The last car I did they insisted I also sent the invoice to prove the changes were made. They didn't believe me when I told them I did it myself and was a dealer. I had to generate an internal invoice for the records.
james,
yes" I think so" as you can claim it's your speedo. A few people use illuminous stickers around the speedo face. It's a grey area better imho to have something rather than trusting to luck.
yes" I think so" as you can claim it's your speedo. A few people use illuminous stickers around the speedo face. It's a grey area better imho to have something rather than trusting to luck.
The answer is no. I went through this and currently there is nothing in the law that makes it legal to use the likes of Speed Angel, so you may counter argue and say there is nothing in the law that you can't but I understand that these equipments cannot substitute for the speedo indicating MPH.
Harry
porkersc
New member
Just reading this with interest. I have a swiss 911 sc with a KPH speedo and have UK MOT certificates. Just had a chat with a pal of mine who is an MOT inspector and he reckons a KPH speedo is not an issue it's only on HGV vehicles that the speedo is part of the MOT check list. I asked as mine is due an MOT next month (1st one in my care) so didn't want any nasty surprises. So there you go.
I think he doesn't know the legal requirements I'm afraid (like some Porsche car sales rep who doesn't know about the vehicles they are selling) but it will be a bonus to go to someone like him as he will pass your car. I would avoid going to other MOT stations in case you get snagged or be prepared to fail depending on the luck of the day. One other option is to go to an independent Porsche specialist who do MOT then they can swap the speedo out for the MPH and pass your car and replace the original one back after the MOT.
Harry
I did try to explain this earlier. I think i failed miserably[]. The mph speedo requirement has NOTHING to do with the mot The car will pass quite legally with a kph speedo fitted. The requirement comes under the "construction and use regulations 1986" . This is not connected to the mot test. To quote the blue book again "the MOT test is only a spot check of a limited number of key safety and environmental features of a vehicles condition. Alone it will not guarantee that the vehicle meets all aplicable standard's particularly those concerning design and construction." Get hold of pamphlet p15 from your local VRO and all will become "slightly clearer" though even the blue book is vague in some areas.
]. The mph speedo requirement has NOTHING to do with the mot The car will pass quite legally with a kph speedo fitted. The requirement comes under the "construction and use regulations 1986" . This is not connected to the mot test. To quote the blue book again "the MOT test is only a spot check of a limited number of key safety and environmental features of a vehicles condition. Alone it will not guarantee that the vehicle meets all aplicable standard's particularly those concerning design and construction." Get hold of pamphlet p15 from your local VRO and all will become "slightly clearer" though even the blue book is vague in some areas.
jamescharnley
Active member
so if I'm reading this correct, my 1973 car is exempt from the 'construction & use regulations' 1986, as I assume it only applies to cars post '86?
I dont know enough about the regs to tell U. But the 1986 refers to the year the laws were passed or amended.
I am only familiar with the blue book issued with the papers to import a vehicle more than ten years old. This you can (or could) obtain from any local VRO free of charge (from memory). It skates over the regs quoting them where relevant. The construction and use bit it says is dependant on year etc etc
Melv
my personal point of view is that there are far more important things to check for than the lights anyway and the speedo is not an issue with the mot anyway. Mind you if he's not checking the lights what else does he miss? Good job you check the car over thoroughly before each TD []
I am only familiar with the blue book issued with the papers to import a vehicle more than ten years old. This you can (or could) obtain from any local VRO free of charge (from memory). It skates over the regs quoting them where relevant. The construction and use bit it says is dependant on year etc etc
Melv
my personal point of view is that there are far more important things to check for than the lights anyway and the speedo is not an issue with the mot anyway. Mind you if he's not checking the lights what else does he miss? Good job you check the car over thoroughly before each TD [
]
ORIGINAL: Laurence Gibbs
I did try to explain this earlier. I think i failed miserably[
you're right Laurence - in fact as far as I am aware you can pass an MOT without a speedo that actually works as its not part of the test, and the testers are not allowed to drive the cars up the road as part of the test either - therefore they have no idea if it works or not.
I asked the tester about this just after getting my ticket on an old VW Camper with no speedo and he confirmed it...
As always it comes down to plod and whether they pick up on the speedo or not.
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