Hi everyone,

I bumped into a 991.2 Touring with Euro Bucket seats (997 GT2 Folding Buckets basically) and am thinking of purchasing and importing into the US. Has anyone imported a car with these seats to the US? Do you know if they are DOT approved? Would I run into any issues with the seats?

I know these seats were an option on the 997 chassis, but for some reason they were never available for the 991. Any information would be very helpful. Thanks in advance!

 

I think they were DOT approved in the 997 era, but the approval expired and wasn't renewed in the 991 era. I don't know whether this would cause you a problem or not...

Be aware that the folding buckets sit quite a bit higher than the 918 (991) buckets in their lowest position and are not height adjustable. I don't know if the wiring harness is any different.

 

My recollection is that the folding buckets were not an option in US import cars due to new regulations requiring seats have height adjustment which the folding seats do not have as noted above. I have seen a few 991.1 GT3s with the seats installed by the owner. In speaking to them, the swap resulted in an airbag light that can be cleared with PIWIS but dealers are reluctant to clear them. Sorry can't help on the importation question.

 

^ Matches what I've understood re: the reason they were not offered for the 991.1 or 991.2 in North America.

No idea what that means for importing a car with them, but my guess is that, without a US compliance sticker, that's going to be tough.

 

Do your homework before thinking about importing the car. it's not a "Show & Display" qualified car. Nor it's 25 years old. It's got way bigger & more issues than the seats. And yes, by meeting the compliance of DOT, it's one of the item needs to be converted to US spec. Besides DOT & EPA, you got CARB to deal with in California. Not worth the hassle...

 

The above cautions not withstanding, it sounds like a fun challenge to get it imported and you'd have a VERY rare (read valuable) 911. If I was after a GT3 T I think I would go for it...all it will take is time, money and pragmatism to work through the issues one at a time. As the old saying goes; You've got to do something for the next 12/18 months so why not this?

 

Hey all, thank you for the responses! I was unaware of the legal requirements about the age of the car. With the car being legally sold in the US, I did not think there would be a law that prohibits from importing it from another country.

Do you guys know if there is a way to import a car that is not over 25 years old?

The buckets issue can be solved by purchasing a set of seats to get it through DOT approval process. Now need to figure out if there is a way to get it through customs with the car being under 25 years.

 

I think the 25 years old requirement is only for cars that were never made in US-legal spec. For a car that was also US-legal and made in US-spec, I think it is possible to import a newer car, but I don't know what all is involved.

 

One of my pals out here has a mexico spec 991.1 GT3RS w/ folding buckets... I assume they are plug and play but can ask

 

https://rennlist.com/forums/991/1078...l#post16339172

 

EPA, DOT & CBP import requirements

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has designed a comprehensive manual (available on their website) on the emission regulations regarding the non-US version vehicles and also US-version vehicles driven overseas.

Additionally, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) imposes a set of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety, Bumper and Theft Prevention Standards which all cars have to pass to be imported from Europe.
Finally, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) can ship the car back to Europe if it doesn’t pass its safety, bumper, and smog check.

What you need to know is, Only very few registered importers in the entire US can legally perform the conversion because it's under their bond. So, you will have no access to the car during the process. I suggest you find the list of the "Registered Importer" and give them a call. I bet you will be surprised to hear how much they are going to charge you.

 

Any car. 25 years old gets exemption from DOT & EPA. except CARB.