Any modifications required Moving 991 Targa US->UK
09-14-2020, 02:38 AM
#1
Any modifications required Moving 991 Targa US->UK
Hey everyone, thought someone might know this esoteric trivia 
...
I'm planning on shipping the Targa 4S (2016) to the UK later this year from California. I've read that often there are things like headlight adjustments that need to be done (apparently this is straightforward), but is anyone aware of any other modifications that would need to be made to the car such as bumpers, reflectors, etc.? Not sure if more modern cars still require these adjustments...
Any advice or resources I should take a look at would be much appreciated!
Thank you in advance!
...I'm planning on shipping the Targa 4S (2016) to the UK later this year from California. I've read that often there are things like headlight adjustments that need to be done (apparently this is straightforward), but is anyone aware of any other modifications that would need to be made to the car such as bumpers, reflectors, etc.? Not sure if more modern cars still require these adjustments...
Any advice or resources I should take a look at would be much appreciated!
Thank you in advance!
09-14-2020, 02:53 AM
#2
Rennlist Member
Hey everyone, thought someone might know this esoteric trivia ...
I'm planning on shipping the Targa 4S (2016) to the UK later this year from California. I've read that often there are things like headlight adjustments that need to be done (apparently this is straightforward), but is anyone aware of any other modifications that would need to be made to the car such as bumpers, reflectors, etc.? Not sure if more modern cars still require these adjustments...
Any advice or resources I should take a look at would be much appreciated!
Thank you in advance!
...I'm planning on shipping the Targa 4S (2016) to the UK later this year from California. I've read that often there are things like headlight adjustments that need to be done (apparently this is straightforward), but is anyone aware of any other modifications that would need to be made to the car such as bumpers, reflectors, etc.? Not sure if more modern cars still require these adjustments...
Any advice or resources I should take a look at would be much appreciated!
Thank you in advance!
Seriously, you really don’t want to do this.........from entering a parking lot and figuring out how to grab the ticket (sounds petty, but after 3 times it’s not) to being on the wrong side of the car on narrow country lanes unable to see the traffic ahead while stuck behind a farm tractor......been there done that and you don’t want to try it.
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solaarphunk (09-14-2020)
09-14-2020, 02:59 AM
#3
Seriously, you really don’t want to do this.........from entering a parking lot and figuring out how to grab the ticket (sounds petty, but after 3 times it’s not) to being on the wrong side of the car on narrow country lanes unable to see the traffic ahead while stuck behind a farm tractor......been there done that and you don’t want to try it.
09-14-2020, 03:14 AM
#4
Rennlist Member
Oh, and the warranty would not travel with the car (assumption).
09-14-2020, 03:44 AM
#5
Got it - yep I guess I would lose the warranty - hadn't thought about emissions. I'll poke around and see what I can find there. Thanks so much!
09-14-2020, 05:25 AM
#6
Rennlist Member
Have moved a few cars internationally - not worth it especially when going from a left hand drive to a right hand drive - the infrastructure is simply built for the other side - let alone the small items like lights, emissions, quality of fuel etc etc.
There is also a potentially large tax exposure - in some countries you have a 3-6 month break to bring in your preowned vehicle but not all. I have moved countries often and many have a 100% tax on the vehicle.... currently living in East Africa - my land cruiser cost me 230K USD.... vs maybe a 100K in the US.. all tax
There is also a potentially large tax exposure - in some countries you have a 3-6 month break to bring in your preowned vehicle but not all. I have moved countries often and many have a 100% tax on the vehicle.... currently living in East Africa - my land cruiser cost me 230K USD.... vs maybe a 100K in the US.. all tax
09-14-2020, 07:44 AM
#7
I'm in the process to buy a 991.1 here in US to bring it with me in Italy when the time comes... It is actually not that hard if you owned the car more than 1 year and there is no lien on the title, you will be able to import the car tax free only paying for registration.
off course lights must be changed but other than that the car is 100% EU approved. Got all the info directly from Porsche EU.
off course lights must be changed but other than that the car is 100% EU approved. Got all the info directly from Porsche EU.
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solaarphunk (09-14-2020)
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09-14-2020, 08:19 AM
#8
Check out the current regulations between the US and UK. It has been some years since I lived there; five years on assignment in Portsmouth in the 90s for a $4B Royal Navy programme.
We exported our left hand drive car (Honda Accord) and drove it on the left for five years. My company paid for us all to get a full UK license from the DVLA. If you are going to be in the UK for any length of time, it's worth getting a license; it doesn't teach you how to drive, it affords you the opportunity to understand how UK drivers think (as well as, obviously, helping you understand the rules of the road). For work, I also rented many UK right hand drive cars, and spent a lot of miles on the road in the SW of England and Wales. I also bought a second right hand drive car ('67 Austin Mini Cooper S) while I was there. We also travelled in the Honda on the continent, taking the ferry from Portsmouth to Cherbourg many times. After my assignment, I re-imported both cars back to the US. I drove the Mini in Florida for about 10 years before I sold it.
What I explained to most visitors from the US, it's not the driving on the left, it's the sitting on the right. But since you'd be in your car, you will position the car correctly in the lane whilst driving. Many rental UK cars end up getting banged on the driver side mirror, because US drivers "place" their rental car further to the left in the lane in the UK than they should, in a right hand drive car.
Many (most?) US drivers also don't understand roundabouts. The next most common accident with US drivers I saw was getting rear-ended in a roundabout because they didn't understand how UK drivers expect you to navigate through them. I usually ended up giving them the "roundabout lesson", then they were fine. Plus, they didn't usually notice the small white disk painted in the centre of many intersections, which means "roundabout rules apply".
Driving on the motorway is not a problem. Sitting on the left just means your sightlines are slightly different. You may have to wait a bit more to overtake on a dual carriageway.
For headlights (remember, this was a while ago) I got the owners manual out and a Philips and just moved the entire headlight beam to point more left. After I picked up the car five years later in Jacksonville FL, I moved them back to the other side. IIRC that's what most of the folks in our team (about 100 families) did with their American imports. I did have the Mini converted from leaded to unleaded fuel via a cylinder head conversion to replace the valve seats at John Cooper Garages in Ferring Hampshire.
Anyway, I would absolutely do it. Driving on the left is hugely overblown by many. I found it is just not that big a deal.
Good luck!
We exported our left hand drive car (Honda Accord) and drove it on the left for five years. My company paid for us all to get a full UK license from the DVLA. If you are going to be in the UK for any length of time, it's worth getting a license; it doesn't teach you how to drive, it affords you the opportunity to understand how UK drivers think (as well as, obviously, helping you understand the rules of the road). For work, I also rented many UK right hand drive cars, and spent a lot of miles on the road in the SW of England and Wales. I also bought a second right hand drive car ('67 Austin Mini Cooper S) while I was there. We also travelled in the Honda on the continent, taking the ferry from Portsmouth to Cherbourg many times. After my assignment, I re-imported both cars back to the US. I drove the Mini in Florida for about 10 years before I sold it.
What I explained to most visitors from the US, it's not the driving on the left, it's the sitting on the right. But since you'd be in your car, you will position the car correctly in the lane whilst driving. Many rental UK cars end up getting banged on the driver side mirror, because US drivers "place" their rental car further to the left in the lane in the UK than they should, in a right hand drive car.
Many (most?) US drivers also don't understand roundabouts. The next most common accident with US drivers I saw was getting rear-ended in a roundabout because they didn't understand how UK drivers expect you to navigate through them. I usually ended up giving them the "roundabout lesson", then they were fine. Plus, they didn't usually notice the small white disk painted in the centre of many intersections, which means "roundabout rules apply".
Driving on the motorway is not a problem. Sitting on the left just means your sightlines are slightly different. You may have to wait a bit more to overtake on a dual carriageway.
For headlights (remember, this was a while ago) I got the owners manual out and a Philips and just moved the entire headlight beam to point more left. After I picked up the car five years later in Jacksonville FL, I moved them back to the other side. IIRC that's what most of the folks in our team (about 100 families) did with their American imports. I did have the Mini converted from leaded to unleaded fuel via a cylinder head conversion to replace the valve seats at John Cooper Garages in Ferring Hampshire.
Anyway, I would absolutely do it. Driving on the left is hugely overblown by many. I found it is just not that big a deal.
Good luck!
09-14-2020, 10:33 AM
#9
Please note that the UK and the EU are a lot easier than other countries that may have substantial import duties and hurdles.
It is worth it, especially when you consider how much some cars cost over there and the weak dollar.
I've done this in the past and it was painless.
Own the car for at least a year before importing. Get all you paperwork in order.
Returning residents to have different requirements to those seeking temporary importations. Shipping with a household is what I did.
The process to get a new title in the UK was straightforward.
Involved a basic walk-around inspection and the lights obviously needed adjusting because of the RHD issue. (I can't imagine why the lights would need adjusting for importation into mainland Europe)
Emissions was not an issue, neither was petrol.
In addition, the car couldn't be sold for at least a year.
As for the warranty, being a 2016 you're pretty much done with warranty coverage, and there are tons of excellent indy shops in England..
On the other hand, I tried bringing a (non vintage) car into the US from the EU, and it was akin to child birth (sans epidural).
It is worth it, especially when you consider how much some cars cost over there and the weak dollar.
I've done this in the past and it was painless.
Own the car for at least a year before importing. Get all you paperwork in order.
Returning residents to have different requirements to those seeking temporary importations. Shipping with a household is what I did.
The process to get a new title in the UK was straightforward.
Involved a basic walk-around inspection and the lights obviously needed adjusting because of the RHD issue. (I can't imagine why the lights would need adjusting for importation into mainland Europe)
Emissions was not an issue, neither was petrol.
In addition, the car couldn't be sold for at least a year.
As for the warranty, being a 2016 you're pretty much done with warranty coverage, and there are tons of excellent indy shops in England..
On the other hand, I tried bringing a (non vintage) car into the US from the EU, and it was akin to child birth (sans epidural).
09-14-2020, 10:44 AM
#10
Please note that the UK and the EU are a lot easier than other countries that may have substantial import duties and hurdles.
It is worth it, especially when you consider how much some cars cost over there and the weak dollar.
I've done this in the past and it was painless.
Own the car for at least a year before importing. Get all you paperwork in order.
Returning residents to have different requirements to those seeking temporary importations. Shipping with a household is what I did.
The process to get a new title in the UK was straightforward.
Involved a basic walk-around inspection and the lights obviously needed adjusting because of the RHD issue. (I can't imagine why the lights would need adjusting for importation into mainland Europe)
Emissions was not an issue, neither was petrol.
In addition, the car couldn't be sold for at least a year.
As for the warranty, being a 2016 you're pretty much done with warranty coverage, and there are tons of excellent indy shops in England..
On the other hand, I tried bringing a (non vintage) car into the US from the EU, and it was akin to child birth (sans epidural).
It is worth it, especially when you consider how much some cars cost over there and the weak dollar.
I've done this in the past and it was painless.
Own the car for at least a year before importing. Get all you paperwork in order.
Returning residents to have different requirements to those seeking temporary importations. Shipping with a household is what I did.
The process to get a new title in the UK was straightforward.
Involved a basic walk-around inspection and the lights obviously needed adjusting because of the RHD issue. (I can't imagine why the lights would need adjusting for importation into mainland Europe)
Emissions was not an issue, neither was petrol.
In addition, the car couldn't be sold for at least a year.
As for the warranty, being a 2016 you're pretty much done with warranty coverage, and there are tons of excellent indy shops in England..
On the other hand, I tried bringing a (non vintage) car into the US from the EU, and it was akin to child birth (sans epidural).
09-14-2020, 10:49 AM
#11
@theracer21 Why do your lights need to be changed for Italy or were you referring to the original posters UK situation?
09-14-2020, 11:14 AM
#12
@theracer21 Why do your lights need to be changed for Italy or were you referring to the original posters UK situation?
09-14-2020, 11:20 AM
#13
09-14-2020, 11:29 AM
#14
