Mark GT3

We'll pick our new C4S up from Zuffenhausen in early February. Not the best time of year to be driving around Europe but thats how its worked out. Any tips/advice/suggestions you have would be much appreciated.

Over the years we have spent plenty of time in Europe, but this is our first factory delivery experience. Our plan is to spend about a week touring around, Paris being the only must do city at my wife's request. Mt plan is to hit the ring at some point. Is it better to do this during the week or weekend? Can you get onto the circuit with the license plate provided by the factory for European delivery?

Thanks in advance for your input.

sfo

they'll equip your car with winter tyres ...

fbroen

Yes on the plates/Nurburgring. I did that earlier this year with the temporary plates.

rpilot

The Good news is that Porsche will swap your wheels at delivery with winter tires already mounted on a set of rims. And them swap them back for your regular new tires before shipment back stateside. Check with them if you have to drop the car back with them in Zuffenhausen (what you should do anyway) or they can have it trucked back from another point in Europe.

If you plan to drive on any mountain passes, especially in tirol or switzerland, make sure to check latest information for closings and have alternate routes preplanned for some of your destinations.

For Paris or any other big city you plan to stop overnight in, make sure your hotel has access to a good secure garage that you can keep your new C4S in. Even better if they have space for oversize vehicles (they do charge double the parking rate for this) and park your new Porsche in there to avoid dings, etc. Probably better to just take cabs to attractions instead of finding a parking place.

Don't forget to buy appropriate toll pass stickers for each country you plan to be in. You can buy these for 10 days at a time except for Switzerland for which I believe you have to buy for 1 year at a time. These are available at gas stations.

The ring may or may not be open. Check their calender and plan accordingly and it may still close down because of weather. At any rate, try to keep the Ring towards the end of your trip, so you can go above 4200 rpm and not feel guilty on breaking your engine in.

Congrats on your car and have a great trip.

Mike in CA

Driving my new Porsche in any big European city (narrow streets, traffic, crazy drivers, unfamiliar signage, etc) is an angina inducing event for me. +1 to rpilot's suggestions on parking and using public transportation.

My Nurburgring experience was on a weekday; it wasn't too crowded and factory tourist plates weren't a problem.

Have a great trip!

Alstoy

I did BMW ED in the summer, and dropped off at Paris. Not sure how much driving you have done in Paris, but it's a little crazy. I decided it was too much for me and dropped the car off before spending a few days in Paris. If you do decide to drive there see if you can recreate the "rendez-vous" film. Cheers.

Alan Smithee

Consult with somebody that has done a Porsche ED recently, as this may not apply -

When I took ED of my M3 in winter of 2001, I was very surprised that the car was not cleaned at all when I picked it up at the dealer stateside - it had all of road muck from snowy driving, dead bugs from Autobahn blasts, and brake dust from the Nurburgring. Had I known (or thought ahead) all of that crap would be sitting on the car for 2+ months while in transit, I would have planned for a cleaning before dropping it off. And a great CD I picked up in Europe and forgot to remove from the player was taken from the car (they left a bottle of windshield washer fluid I had purchased, however) - so don't leave anything you value behind (including the German license plates).

Have fun! It was one of the best experiences in my life - can't wait to do it again someday.

holminator

On the way to Paris stop in Strasbourg and then take the route de vin and stop here: http://leclosdesdelices.net/. Trust me you will not be disappointed and she will love you more. The route de vin is lots of fun to drive a 911er on too. Trust me speaking as a former resident of Stuttgart and as someone, who drove that path a lot. You will also love charging up the mountain approaching Pforzheim. :-)

holminator

Oh and leave you car in the hotel garage in Paris and take cabs to get around the city. Trust me that you don't want your new baby subjected to the fools in Parisian traffic. Nasty as hell. lol Like bummer cars.

Nicoli35

wow...very neat stuff. Envious! Enjoy and send a pic if you can

PVP2

Did ED and still waiting for car to arrive at dealer. (Really hoping they wash it before I get it). You will find the Nav/gps system to be wonderful, but I still appreciated having paper maps that I brought with me. I suggest spending a little time with the nav system before getting too far into the trip to learn how to detour around in case you run into a road closure. Also it took me a few days to discover the screen that showed me the speed limit for the road I was on. That feature was very handy outside of Germany. Definitely agree to park in Paris. Ride the Metro or take a taxi, parking in city is too much hassle. Measure your luggage carefully, it's a tight fit.

fbroen

We were pleasantly surprised to find that the frunk fits two full size carry on rollerbags (and some). Had anticipated having to use the parcel shelf, but didn't need to.

mrhebert

If you do not deliver your car back to the factory, wash it yourself. When we dropped off our new Audi after 3 wks on tour in 6 countries, we were told to have it washed or wash it ourselves. The car will then be clean for the trip to the US. The dealer should then detail before pickup. What's up with BMW?

Hugh Jardon

I would suggest doing the Porsche museum the day you drop off the car as the pick-up day is a little hectic. I agree with the others on the big city traffic and the use of parking garages. City traffic and parking is a nightmare. If you must do big cities try a park and ride and take public transport in an out of the city, or get a hotel and park the car in a nice garage.

I found it more relaxing to stay outside of the big cities in a more rural setting. There is easier parking and the unlimited sections of the autobahn are typically located several km outside of the major cities. Prices for everything tend to be a little cheaper too. The locals in the tourist town of Dinkelsbuhl (where we stayed) advised us to fill up on gas in the evening since the prices are cheaper then. I guess tourist typically fill up during the day so the stations charge more. Locals get gas at night.

I found the european maps on nav option about the best $250 I spent. It was way more pleasant having the nav route you around traffic and make some decisions for you.

Also, as fun as the unlimited autobahn is, it is not the most relaxing drive as you are constantly watching for traffic from behind and people pulling in the left lane to pass a truck going 80km/h. I found that you could go very fast on the Autobahn, but not for very long. If you are going over 180km/hr for more than 30 seconds at a time that's pretty good. Most of the speed bursts are limited to less than 30 seconds as someone will pull out and pass a slow moving truck and then dive back into the right lane to let you pass. I found myself constantly going back and forth between 130 and 180km/hr.

I found the B roads just as fun as the Autobahn and while the speeds are lower, the overall sensation of speed on the B roads is greater since they twist and turn much like a track. Even on the B roads there is plenty of places to enjoy the car.

Also, watch out for speed cameras in the cities. I got nabbed on drop-off day in Stuttgart on an offramp. I was lit up doing 80km/h in a 50 km/h zone. So far I still haven't got a ticket in the mail and that was back in July.

kaution321

This is a 2 year old post. Just curious if factory is required to mount front plates. I hear germany is pretty strict.