I gave it another look over today, as Bill mentioned, it's amazing to see the finished product as all we saw before it went to press is a very rough "first draft" copy and PDF format images via email. The final product looks nothing like the rough draft as we were able to correct/rearrange and even add TONS of stuff to it.

When it got down to the "nitty-gritty", I took a crash course on photography (advice from the Editor, via email) and did my best to fill in "holes" that the handbook had in regards to photos...that was a pain in the butt, but I learned a lot about lighting, etc. I truly have a newfound respect for photographers.

Don't think for a minute that I believe I'm one now!

Bill/Adrian, looking at the suspension photos and the hand adjusting the headlamp screw...does that car look familiar?

 

Dear Jeff,
I heard all about your crash course in photography. My copy arrived last Monday. I will also get a bill from the Swiss because they put a value on it. I told them not to do this but they did anyway.
I am afraid my main criticism is the price.
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4

 

[quote]<strong>I am afraid my main criticism is the price.
</strong><hr></blockquote>

One way to look at it is if the book saves someone one hour of mechanics time in a shop, it pretty well pays for itself.

 

Well put Bill!

Some people just can't find the simplicity in that statement!

Adrian, explain how the Swiss put a value on this book, a TARRIF of sort? Does that mean you get taxed for things that are sent to you? If I send you a VCR, just for example, you would be charged a tax/tarrif for it? Hmmmm...just curious. <img src="confused.gif" border="0">

 

Dear Jeff,
EVERYTHING of value that is imported into Switzerland is hit with a 9% import tax. Additional to this tax is a handling charge. Basically you are charged for using their valuable time to impose a tax upon you. Mind you this is not exclusive to Switzerland. Australia does exactly the same and actually charges more.
How do they determine value. Simple if you write on the package "sample not for resale of no commercial value" you pay no tax. If you receive a gift "no tax" but if you send me a gift and insure it and put the insurance value on the documentation (this happened to me) I pay tax onthe insurance value. If you include an invoice even though I did not pay for the product I pay tax. They do not under any circumstances allow you to argue either. If there is any value on the package, on the documentation, even inside (yes they open the packages for most foreigners) you pay tax.
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4

PS: I am looking at going home in the next coupleof years. I contacted customs in Australia. The long and short of it is, I have to sell anything of value that they do not regard as personal effects or household furniture. If I take it home, I get hit with import taxes and in some cases Luxury tax. Valuation is based on their calculations. Even gifts will be taxed. Yes the Porsches will have to be all sold off.

 

Dear Bill,
The Bentley book is aimed at the mechanics who charge heavy prices by the hour. Your statement I am afraid is far too simplistic. However the beauty of the free world is that we all have the right to an opinion. My opinion is always value for money.
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4

 

[quote]Originally posted by Adrian:
<strong>Dear Jeff,
EVERYTHING of value that is imported into Switzerland is hit with a 9% import tax. Additional to this tax is a handling charge. </strong><hr></blockquote>

Not if it is coming from the EU and you have a 'letter of origin'...

 

Oh dear. Switzerland is not part of the EU. The Bilateral agreement on customs does not take affect for while yet. Years actually. I am more than happy to show you my tax bills for all the stuff I have purchased around Europe. Unless of course I imagine that I have to go to the post office and pay these bills. Or send the money to DHL, Fedex, UPS etc. I still remember the bill I received on their perceived value of a set of Italian made wheels I imported from Germany which are currently installed on my daughters 944.
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4

PS: We do this for a living in the office directly below mine. I have often wondered also why all those guards on the border keep asking. Have you anything to declare and why we are limited to the purchase of 1kg of meat per person when we cross back from EU nations.
PSS: We are also talking private people and a foreigner to boot. Company regulations are a little different depending upon tax status. My company is tax free for importation of direct aircraft parts but we are still charged a handling fee to determine if they are really tax free and then pay tax if they are dtermined not to be. Example: A replacement engine is tax free. Life vests are not tax free. Go figure that one out. We cannot.

 

A big PS here. The thread has deviated from the question at hand.
The thread was about the Bentley book. I forgot to mention that whilst I would not purchase this book to work on my car (for the price and the technical data presented is limited),I would certainly purchase it to add to my collection of Porsche books and seeing as the 964 range is somewhat limited (soon to be fixed) it would make a useful addition to the library. I collect Porsche books (especially 911 related)hence my statement.
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4

 

[quote]<strong>I would not purchase this book to work on my car (for the price and the technical data presented is limited)</strong><hr></blockquote>

Guess this is where everyone is welcome to an opinion. For those who don't already have the factory manuals, and don't want to lay out $350+ for a set which, as we've already discussed, has some weak points and omissions, I think the Bentley book has a tremendous amount of useful information in it relating to US models. It's not a panacea, it's not a factory workshop manual substitute, it's not a Bentley SC/Carrera-like workshop manual, it may not be the best thing for a Porsche-only mechanic that can rebuild a 964 engine blindfolded while whistling Dixie, but it covers alot of ground. And if you buy it during a 20% off sale or otherwise get 20% off, that's about $56.

 

$56 + $22 DHL to the UK. (Performanceproducts) Or $69 + $17 DHL from Bently.
Think I'll wait some for a UK or ROW book.

 

Hi Guys!
As one reply from Adrian quoted that the lack on info about the 964 will be rapidly gapped, I asked myself why the hell is there so FEW info and technical data about the 964 C4, C2, T3.3 and T3.6, appart from the official technical bulletins?

Maybe I'm wrong but in my opinion it seems that Porsche itself is very carefull, not to say paranoïd, about the info delivery outside the factory walls.

Since my teenager years I read everything within my interest range concerning cars. When a new car was arriving in the family; one of the first thing my father did, as a mechanical engineer, was to buy a book of technical data for the car, since we always had products from VW and Mercedes, we always had books about the models we where currently owning.

Those books like "Jetzt helfe ich mir selbst" by "Motor Buch Verlag" or the "Reparatur Anleitung" by "Bucheli Verlag", which I use for my daily driver Golf III, where available quite as soon as the concerned model came out on the market.

Since my personal interest has always been the 911 I was naturally very keen on everything more technical about those cars. I longingly looked for techbooks, as the ones I just mentioned, about the 964 C2-C4 but never crossed one, since the one by the bentleypublishers. So the simple question WHY?

Is the Porsche company not allowing technical publications for cars that are, say younger than 15 Years? Why didn't the bentleypublischers put out a book like the one they printed for the SC ore the 3.2?

Thanks for any info Cheers THOMAS

 

Dear Thomas,
Porsche changed track in 1989. They went very silent on the flow of information. Some sources put this down to liability laws. Bentley did not write a full manual I think because a) it couldnot be written into one book and b) the available data was less than complete. The factory manuals (I have a set) are not even complete. Sections are missing. The answer I received was "need to know". Many people who own the factory manuals around the world have compared them with the same result. We are all missing the same sections. The factory manuals are in places, terribly vague and unhelpful. A lot of people also never received the revisions. I last received a revision in 200. I find the owners manual for the 964 is better for the normal DIY stuff one has to do. I have a nice selection from 89 thru 94 for all models and they are all different as well. The ROW version has 30 pages less than the US version.
Hopefully a major gap in this area including the full data on the ROW models will be solved soon. How soon is out of my immediate control but I am keeping up the pressure,
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4

PS: I only know of one complete copy of the factory manuals and that resides in the technical library of Porsche Engineering at Weissach.