Jeff 993TT

I've come over the the "other" side seeking information.

I know there are a few Hong Kong rennlisters here and I'm seeking their advice.

I might be living in Hong Kong for a while ( at least a year ) and wanted to get information about:

importing cars
track driving

living ( specifially in discovery bay )
jobs and visas

Or basically any information you have would be appreciated!

Thanks..

Harold

i go there quite a bit for work, and all I know about are the pubs..... if you ever make it over there, please let me know and on my next visit there we could catch up. one point- all cars are RHD over in Hong Kong....

Harold

jeff, you speak cantonese? its an absolute bugger if you dont (which i dont)...

Felix

Dear Jeff,

My brother had just import a car from UK so I can tell you the details.
You need to have smog exemption (exhaust from you car), arrange
for shipping to hong kong, get back you car, arrange for inspection,
then pay import tax. Actually it takes time but not very difficult.
The only bugger part is getting smog exemption. Don't send you
car without getting one as it can take months.

You can transport you can to Chu Hoi and track drive there.
A couple of my friends does that all the time and it cost them
about $1000 - $2000 HKD per trip. (2 days) Hotel and accomodation is
not expensive there. However, gasoline is very expensive in Chu
Hoi race track though.

BR,

Felix Leung..

Harold

Smog rulings in the US are some of the most stringent- this should be OK. What about LHD though?

Jeff 993TT

Harold..

Thanks for the offer to meet a friendly face in Hong Kong. I might just take you up on your offer! I do speak a little bit of cantonese, just enough to be dangerous.

Felix,
Thanks for the info on the track. I heard that a lot of people go to china to race their cars. When you say that gas is "expensive", what exactly does that mean? I hope not $10/gallon..... or liter! ugh...

eddychan

Jeff,

The gas/petrol is 11.75HK dollar per litre which is around 7 US dollar per gallon.

Like many big cities, driving around is very competitive. Parking and traffic jam are major issue here, sometimes public transport like MTR and KCR are much better purposition.

Importing a LHD Porsche may not be such a good idea as most people would find second hand Porsche here is cheaper and doing it the other way round. Myself for example is anticipating doing it now.

I do not think speaking Cantonese or not should make much of a problem, Most people I work with and I know speak perfect English. Really depends on what you want to do here really. Jobwise, there are loads of opportunities for works related top China so check them out! I do not think you will have problem with VISA, it very evry lose here!

Living can be a major problem, if you live in Discovery Bay then driving a Porsche is a waste of time because it is in an island which you do not need a car!

Try Sai Kung/Clear Water bay where you will find having a Porsche is pretty ralxing thing...

You need a good look of the map of Hong Kong, send me a PM and I can help!!!!

Regards,

Eddie
91 C-2

eddychan

Jeff,

The price of gas/petrol I quoted was the street price in Hong Kong.( I have never been to Chu-hoi so I do not know the price there). For some very obscured reason, almost all gas/petrol stations in Hong Kong charge the same price ( Price fixing!!)

And I would say we have the highest priced gas/petrol here in the world. Can anyone beat us? I guess UK comes close.

Cheers!

Eddie

Mr. C4

Jeff,

I lived in HK for 5 years (1997-2001) and I don't regret it at all. All cars are RHD and LHD cars are only allowed limited milage per year. Second had Porsches and other exotics are actually rather affordable so don't bother importing. If you are going to be there for only 1 year, don't even bother buying a car, public transport and taxis are very effective and cheap. Personally, I bought a 5 year old Golf GTI which was fine for going to the beach and back but with almost no street parking avaialble and sky high fees in private parking I would think twice if you're only staying for a shorter period.

On Lantau a car would be a total waste since you are not a llowed to drive a car on half of the island. If I were you, I would live in Central/Mid Levels/The Peak and enjoy the cosmopolitan big city and it's huzzle and buzzle.

You will most likely not see any track driving, the closest tracks are in China and it's a pain getting/transporting the car there. Some of my old friends from the Ferrari Club used to go racing in China once a year and take the mainland route with police escort to Zuhai circuit. You are more likely to experience one of the "Sunday Morning Drive at 04.30am" to Lu Keng with one of the car clubs. Just contact any of the car clubs and they would be very pleased to have you as a guest (I know the VW guys very well). But be prepared, most club members are HK Chinese and the majority of all talk at club events will be in Cantonese!!!

Jobs and visas are really up to your employer to apply for and it can be tough with immigration department (localizing), my sister was not granted a visa even though she had a masters degree in business and finance.

Hey, Friday night afterwork at Lan Kwai Fong (major bar area) is great, just hanging around basically standing on the street drinking beer, proceeding to a little street restaurant for a cheep and cheerful dinner. Alternatively, go to JJ's at the Grand Hyatt for Friday afterwork and happy hour, more classy and a free snack buffe!

If I were you and I really wanted a car, get a Japanese super car, NSX, Evo, WRX, Type R, SKyline or Supra since there are soo many shops that specialize in these babies and do great jobs. There are several huge indoor parking garages that has floors full of second hand cars, where you can browse for hours, just be aware for private imported Japanese cars since 75% of them are stolen or crashed.

Let me know if you need more infor or PM me!

Ciao,

Johannes

eddychan

Johannes,

Very interesting views, I do not understand how you could ask people to buy Japanese in this forum.
As for the club drives, I do not know which club you joined, I have been to two club events last year, they were around 7 in the morning. 4:30 was still dark and far too early.
Cheers!

Eddie
91 C-2

Mr. C4

Eddie,

The reason I suggested Jeff to go for a Japanese car is that he indicated that he was only staying short-term and the depreciation on a Porsche would be far more greater than on a sought after (in the HK market) Japanese supercar. Secondly, I did not ask Jeff to buy a Japanese car; I suggested it based on my personal opinion and the fact that he did not specifically ask about Porsches, rather using the words "importing cars". I still maintain my opinion that if you are only staying in a place like Hong Kong for a short-term and with the large number of independent specialists dealing with Japanese supercars, why not give it a try. What could possibly be wrong with owning a Nissan R34 Skyline, Honda NSX Type R, Subaru WRX, Toyota Supra or Mitsubishi Evo VIII!?

I was regularly out on Sunday morning drives with the Ferrari and VW clubs and we always gathered extremely early (04.30, yes it's dark) to head off at around 05.30 - 06.00 when the sun is rising, in order to get as little traffic as possible and to be out before all the other clubs hit Route Twisk.

Ciao,

Johannes E.

Jeff 993TT

Thanks for all the great advice guys.

Originally, I was thinking of discovery bay, or a more surburban area, but I think central might be more fun, if we lived there for just a short time. I did got a chance to go to lan kwai fong last time and really liked it. I guess living with the hustle and bustle would be fun for a while.

Since I'm not really sure if I'm going to be there long term, I'll probably just leave my car here for now. I'll just take public transport for now. Even if I take taxi's to get around, it's probably cheaper than paying for car/gas/insurance/maintaince/parking/etc.

My next steps are to start selling off what I can here and maybe looking for a job over there. Anybody have any overseas leads for a software engineer?

eddychan

Sorry Johannes,

I am afraid that I disagree with you again.

My 964 91 C-2 is valued about the same price I paid two years ago. I do not think depreciation is an issue here for 964 providing you look after it properly. I rcently went to a local Prosche specialist for service and had a chat with the engineer sice mine's colour is very unique. He asked if I wanted to sell and offered me a price roughly about the same I paid two years ago. I would say the car has reached teh state that if you look after it, it will not lose value and may even gain value. I noticed that you have a 996 so may be that makes a lot of difference.

Personally, I drove around To Lo highway a lot and
frequently got challanges from R34s, WRXs, EVOs etc. I find that style and handling wise, my 964 is miles ahead ( very suggestive here). Every time I saw one of those flapping about doing some silly manouver before me, my wife or my mates sat next to me always commented that luckily I did not get one of those instead of my Porsche.

I am sorry that I tend to disagree with you here but honestly, I am merely saying what I am beliving in.

It is a very healthy debate and I am really supprise that for someone who had a 92 968CS and a 90 C-4 would have such view. Did you have them at the same time or one after the other? I wonder which one you would prefer? I have heard that 968CS is a very fine car.

Please forgive my Bluntness and enjoy motoring!

Eddie

eddychan

Sorry Jeff, I have OT your OT but it is all good and healthy stuff and am really interested in seeing some of the views here even though I may or may not agree with.

Yes, drink and drive do not mix. If I drink then I will take a taxi or ask my wife to drive. Think of that and then I will not drink. Ha Ha! There are still plenty of country side you can enjoy your Porsche in Hong Kong....

If you are hired from US to station here in Hong Kong , then you get extra relocation allowance...


Cheers!

Eddie

Felix

Dear Jeff,

Sorry for the late reply since I was busy. I hope you get enough info from
other gentlemen.

BR,

Felix Leung.