windboat

This normally is a great hotel and location, but there is major Construction taking place in this area for the next couple of years. Everything is ripped up in this area and traffic is terrible. It is not an area I would go with my new PCar.

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windboat

Consider duffel bags, we have a couple of large leather duffels from TUMI, they both fit in the frunk with room to spare. Also, I only travel with ORVIS Trout Bum clothing. They are no iron, and if you wash them in sink, they will be dry by next morning. www.orvis.com

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trucheli

Thanks for sharing. I've read the whole thread and showed my wife that it could be done. The difference is that you've travel in the end of April where the weather is not as cold as in October and you don't need bulky winter clothes. Two weeks out of a carry on I still don't see it for my wife.
I've started doing ED back in 2006 and I have done one each year, 2 BMW 335i and 4 E92 M3s, I've been to all the places that you visit but the Nurburgring. In all my trips I damaged the rims due to potholes and narrow streets and tolls. I wonder if Porsche would replace damaged rims at re-delivery like BMW does.
Great write up, I can't wait to hit the unrestricted Autobahn over 170mph in a 991S. Porsche rules in the Autobahn, at least now I won't have to change lanes when I see a P car behind me.

dakota111

Hi Mike, I just returned from a Euro delivery, there was a car similar to what you described in their showroom, maybe it was yours! We picked ours up on 4/25.

Porsche handles all the details for you so just follow their lead. Driving in Germany and in Stuttgart is no big deal. Germany has at least 10 times as many road signs as in the US so you have to learn how to visually filter out the less important signs. Even with the road construction in Stuttgart it wasn't bad. I was surprised how much construction was on the A roads though, the northern part of Germany had a lot less construction going on than the south.

If you don't have NAV on your car Porsche supplies a great NAV device. Best I have ever used. We drove in Germany for almost 2 weeks cities, towns, villages, farm area Black Forest, into Switzerland and Austria and we only had 1 or 2 miscommunications from the NAV device, better than anything in the US.

My ride is a 911 C4S, same color but I went for the PDK, PDCC with PASM, Sport Crono, Sport Design steering wheel and the SportDesign front fascia. My previous rides were a 996 Turbo, 997S, 997 GT3, all manual.
Very impressed with the C4S and PDK, I didn't miss the manual at all which was a huge surprise. PDK in Sports Plus mode is equal to if not more exciting than manual. With the tight streets and hills on tight turns with stone on all sides in villages the manual GT3 would have been a nightmare!

They first introduce your car to you in their delivery show room and you can spend as much time as you like with a very knowledgable delivery specialist. No rush at all, you could spend hours there if you want. You then drive it out to the parking lot (about 500 feet your first drive!) and then go on your factory tour which is awesome. They treat you to lunch at their fancy dinner digs and then turn you loose to do what you want. Both hotels Porsche provides are fantastic, we choose the Schlossgarten. Porsche also provides taxi vouchers for you from the airport to your hotel and from your hotel to Porsche

In our case we did a little research on villages and mostly went from village to village. When we arrived at one we liked we would check out places to stay and all were great with amazing German breakfast. Some places we stayed at two nights if we really liked the town and would use it as a base to explore parts of Germany around that new base.

The only problem I had was just a few KM into our first drive I picked up a rock from a truck which hit pretty hard. A few days later in the heat of the day it cracked about 15 inches long. You sign up for insurance with a deductible, so I paid the deductible before we departed and Porsche will put a new windscreen in before they ship it. The specialist that introduces your car to you also stays in touch with you if you need them. I just called him on his cell and prearranged the repair with no fuss.
We dropped the car off at the factory on Sunday, the night watchman at the gate is there 24/7 so you can drop off anytime. They also gave us a lift to the train station after we dropped the car off in the same lot you drive it into for your initial drive.

There seems to be unwritten culture out on the Autobahn. I think they also fine the **** out of you if you screw up. We only saw one auto breakdown on an A highway the whole two weeks. When you are on the sections of the Autobahn with no limits, trucks and slow movers to the right, medium movers in the middle and serious drivers only on the left. I watched as Audi saloons were blowing by over 200 KM climbing up cars asses quick if they didn't move over, Seemingly these cars don't brake or slow down for anything and they will do these speeds in traffic and TRUST the slow moving cars and trucks to not be stupid and stay put. You soon learn that the German drivers are all good and don't **** around on their Autobahn like the crack heads in the US. Watch your mirrors carefully and use your 911 tool appropriately. I was more comfortable in the less traffic congested areas, as I simply didn't develop a solid trust of blowing by cars at almost 3X their speed. In less congested areas though I was able to cruse at 210 KM plus for an hour at a time. Even at these speeds the Benz and Audi Saloons would come up behind you so regular checks of mirrors seemed to be always in order. I would try to get in the center lane way before they were on my *** then get back to the left, the tricky part being the medium and slow moving cars in that center lane.

After driving my C4S for 2 weeks in Germany, I now have to wait 8-10 weeks to see it again. Torture, pure torture.

Good luck, you will have a blast!!!

Kevin

jlanka

Europe knows how to do highway driving - the rule is stay right and don't pass on the right. It works great for them

In the US its all about speed control, nobody cares if they loiter in the left lane, or pass on the right. I prefer the European model.

stealthboy

Wow Kevin! This is exactly the kind of info I was hoping to get! Thank you so much. The 24/7 drop-off is good to hear as my plans have me dropping the car off on a Sunday, so I was a bit worried. That first 500 foot drive already has me nervous since i'm used to the heavy clutch of my '86 - I would be terribly embarrassed to stall the thing .

Thanks so much for all this valuable insight. I'm only 10 days away!

-Mike

alanjcook

Hi Mike,

I am picking up my C4S on Friday the 17th. My friends back home are follow along on this blog: http://alanjcook.wordpress.com/about/

My plan is to drive the Swiss Alps from mid-May to mid-June. Then my girlfriend is meeting me in the south of France for the last two weeks of June.

Have you outlined your general itinerary?

My build: C4S, anthracite brown over bi-color Agate Grey/Pebble Grey leather interior, 7 speed manual transmission, carbon fiber trim, instrument dials in black, Sport Chrono, Sport Exhaust, glass sunroof, Burmester, and several other electronic goodies.

stealthboy

That blog is a great idea. I started compiling my diary about the purchase process here: http://stealthboy.com/porsche.php and will be adding my delivery experience there, too.

Your trip sounds amazing - I wish I had more time but alas I can only spend a week away. This is why I'm staying in Stuttgart most of the time with day trips out from there (Rothenburg, Heidelberg, Black Forest). Alas, no treks across Europe for me... I'll just have to read your blog and live vicariously through that.

alanjcook

You'll have a great trip. Your blog looks cool -- I'm surprised you got a build date so quickly! Safe travels and I'll be in touch from the road

kes7u

Thanks for the blog! I am about to order for Euro delivery, so it is very helpful so far. I am a bit surprised by the VAT pre-payment. I had read several places recently that they had gotten rid of that requirement. Anybody else????

Kvin

stealthboy

So four weeks out from delivery I had to go in and pay for my car. At that point I wrote two checks - one to pay off the car, and the other for the VAT. The dealer specifically said they do *not* cash the VAT check which is why they had me write a separate check - they just staple it into my folder and just give me the check back when I get the car stateside.

Apparently there was a time when they did not collect VAT, but someone did Euro delivery and stayed longer than six months. It then turned into a long legal battle to get the VAT payment.

Hope this helps.

kes7u

Very helpful. Thanks!

dakota111

For my recent Euro delivery there was no VAT tax. They wanted to know specifics on how long I would be in Germany, but their questions seemed to circle around the license and insurance auto insurance time frame.

alanjcook

I provided two checks to the dealer last week: one for the car and one for the VAT, which was 19% of list price. I was told it would be deposited in an interest bearing account (which these days doesn't account for much) and be refunded to me when my car is confirmed on a ship to the US.

TSpyder

I complained about the vat pre-payment so my dealer waived it.

In anticipation of the need to store luggage for a two week euro driving trip, here's my approach: I took a looong test drive with my salesman that passed by my home in the santa monica mts. I had my luggage ready in front of my garage, so it was a simple matter to briefly stop and see if everything (including two roll-aboards, photo back-pack, and misc case) would fit...along with wifey of course Everything fit in fine as the frunk was somewhat deeper than expected.

The 991 was my third factory delivery. Others were 650 and 535 bmw's. The Porsche euro delivery was by far the best. You get the impression that your dealing with a boutique manufacturer, and, indeed, the Porsche plant is far smaller than the BMW behemoth. We drove through the Alps (FR, IT, Switz, and Austria) as well as the Dolomiti...




Fabulous trip.

Spyder