jeff968

Well, hopefully you agree that they never sold any 968 C/Ss in the US. I guess it all depends how you define "identical". i have a 95 coupe and never thought of it as a C/S!!! I would think the VIN alone would stop this car from legally seeing the streets of the US, at least until it is 25 years old and can be registered as an exhibition vehicle. I would think the emissions would be a killer as well. All US spec 968s have the C02 based emissions. All the other markets have slightly different versions of the emissions. Even canada got C36 emissions and a kilo speedo. But you've done the reserch here and owned the car so that is good news for the next owner.

Jeff

RajDatta

Jeff, I have personal experience buying and bringing a car back from Canada. I needed to get a letter from Porsche NA on their letterhead stating that the vehicle was made to NA spec (Note NA spec, not US spec) and it complied with all US/federal emissions. I had to pay import duty on it as well. Some DMV places were finicky so I had to pick the right place to take it to and it was super smooth after that. I did get teh run around initially.

PorscheG96

Seems suspect that they would explicitly state 'NUMBERS MATCHING' when it's not. I wouldn't care as the buyer but why market it that way without making sure?

quick968

Correct, there was never a true 968 CS imported as such by PCNA. But for Federalization purposes, they are identical platforms and can be proven as such. The C02 vs C36 is just the charcoal filter on the fuel vent system IIRC, and yes it must be added if not present. I already mentioned gauges and lighting. But they all came with identical catalytic converters and the DME based management systems, while using slightly different chips for different markets, they can be easily changed to the US spec chip. Also correct, the VIN would raise red flags at DMV's across the country. Unless you have the proper compliance stickers and paperwork from an authorized compliance station such as Wallace Environmental.

http://www.wallacelab.com/AutoImports.htm

Then you can walk in and out smiling, or at least to the extent possible with ANY visit to any DMV beaucracy machine. It's a similar case to all the grey market G-Wagen's that Europa Intl brought in for many years before Mercedes began bringing them in themselves, it's an expensive process.

Another factor is insurance. Unless it's Federalized with all the supporting documentation, one will be hard pressed to find insurance on this car, also due to the VIN number. The insurers will scream non US spec car, and won't touch it. Liability nightmare. You might be able to get something for theft, treating it as an exhibition vehicle. But comp/collision/liability, fuggitaboutit. Believe me, I tried. I looked into all these issues when I owned the car, and these are ultimately the reasons I sold. I just couldn't justify spending the money and time to make it happen. The Federalization process can take many months, not because Wallace can't do the job faster, but the Feds drag their feet at every turn. My pal James Morrison went through it all when he brought over a 92' 928 GT, another model never imported to the US. They skipped a year before the GTS hit US dealers in 93'. James was lucky he worked for a pharmaceutical company so he could deal with the constant headaches of Federalizing that GT.

Cheers
Mikey

quick968

Yeah I wondered that too. The COA mentioned is the one I got myself from PCNA when I owned it. PCNA didn't bat an eye that somehow a CS was in the US. But the engine serial on the COA does not match the engine in the car. I doubt the Seller is even aware of this fact, he probably assumes that because there's a COA that everything is fine. The problem for any but the most savvy of buyers is, most don't even know where the engine block serial IS on a 968, and it's NOT easy to see. You need a mirror and flashlight to see it. Bottom line however is engines get replaced all the time, it's ultimately not really a factor in the value other than he erroneously stated it's matching.

Cheers
Mikey

Dino V

Beautiful car Mikey, curious to see what it'll sell at. My favorite color.

PorscheG96

quick968

If memory serves, it took Wallace over a year to get the car conforming and released to James. He still has it I believe. His goal was to have one example of every model year, I think he's close.

Mikey

jeff968

Trevor,
Do you remember that guy Joska who also certified a 968 C/S? He came to Hershey once with the car. Amazon green 968. I recall he took it back to Europe with him after all that work.

jeff968

Raj,
Do you think the hassle will vary depending on the state to be registered?

RajDatta

Absolutely Jeff. Border states are friendlier to out of country titles compared to others. Try this is Maine or out on the west coast and its a cake walk. They go thru it daily.

As far as Joska federalizing his car, he was never succesaful at it. He spent over $15k and in the end had nothing to show for it. The firm conn'ed him of all the funds and went out of business. It was not a pretty situation.

jeff968

I thought he did finally get it done. he did drive the car to hershey that one year. Do you recall that he brought it back to europe with him?

polliviere

Joska was at Hershey in 2003 and I'm pretty certain that the car was on a trailer.

RajDatta

He was never successfully able to federalize it. I think he took it back with him.

docmirror

Great thing about ebay. People find out what their asset really is worth. I'm marking even money odds it will have some big fat last minute shill bid that will wind up 'not paying', and it'll come back with some sob story about being 'worth' billions, but a non-pay bidder ruined their whole day.

A buddy of mine just called me a while back. He commissioned his hood to be painted special, well the price kept going up, and up, and up until the shop had $6000 invested in one hood! The owner just told them to keep it in lieu of payment and went and found a hood for $150. Last week, guess what shows up on craigslist! Hey look - it's a custom painted Porsche hood! $500, cash, sold american.