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I am moving to Italy in 2 weeks and was just planning on selling my car here in Texas as the market is hot and I got a fair deal on a highly optioned C2S in 2020. Then I was going to buy a 80k milage 993 as my fun car as I dont drive daily there. The 992 here has 3000 miles, Gentian Blue, Sport Design package ( all bumpers) , Adaptive cruise, LCA, Front axle lift, Matrix lights, chalk stitching. Car is Full PPF and ceramic coating including wheels off application of coating. Basically everything I want in a 992 and I LOVE IT.
Anyways after thinking more about it I am now considering shipping and registering in Florence Italy as I love the car and it will be a blast to own there, albeit expensive to ship, annual registration based off HP ( kw) is crazy high, plus private storage.
Does anyone have tips on shipping and also will the particulate filter need to be installed ( I assume yes and wonder what the cost will be). There is a Porsche dealership in Florence as well for service as I assume the warranty is worldwide and carries over? Also can I finally get my headlights to work in EU since the US has them disabled? Any input would be great!
Side note: These cars are hard to find, they cost even more in EU due to 22% VAT and I am an Italian citizen so I can import without paying tax on importing so that a huge win.
Can’t comment on your main question but as far as the warranty is concerned, that’s provided by PCNA rather than the factory. They say on their website that you can claim warranty at any Porsche location across the world but best check what they actually say in the warranty book supplied with your car - if you do get warranty in Italy likely it’s on the terms applicable for the same MY car delivered in Italy and not the US.
Check with Matson...www.matson.com as they ship cars worldwide. Also another ones I've seen is these guys. https://www.montway.com/. Given how difficult it is to source a car here and likely overseas and the look of your vehicle..its a beauty and the tax savings. I'd ship it and enjoy it on those Italian roads and a few road trips across Europe also wouldn't be out of the question. Good luck! Let us know what happens.
Some years ago I moved to Italy and became a permanent resident for 6 years. I'm a U.S. citizen. I really wanted to take my U.S. spec car with me (not a Porsche). I spent months researching the possibility and eventually determined that the red tape, delay, expense and frustration most likely would not be worth it.
After living in Italy for a while, I realized that not taking my car was a wise decision............ VERY wise. The difficulty of doing something out of the ordinary in Italy will astound most Americans. Any Italian with a good job, especially if that job has any responsibility, will not want to risk being fired for making even the smallest mistake. Consequently, you will be up against all sorts of unreasonable restrictions. In other words, the American "Can Do" attitude which seems to be built into our DNA is just the opposite in Italy when it comes to dealing with the unbelievable bureaucracy.
It may not be impossible to license your car in Italy, but I can almost guarantee that it will be difficult and in the end I suspect you will find out that it wasn't worth it. For example, I wanted a small trailer hitch to tow a small one-bike motorcycle trailer. My 500 kg hitch took a full three months and cost me $900 and I was the one who actually installed the hitch. I had to first buy a hitch certified for my exact car and then hire a mechanic to check my work. But could he check the wiring? NO, that took a special automobile electrical specialist. Then I had to make two trips (1 hour each way) to what you might call the "Special Department of Motor Vehicles" to have the whole thing inspected and certified as road worthy. Each time I interacted with anyone, it cost money and time and there was plenty of delay built into this system. Why not just put the hitch on and be done with you might ask? Well if I were ever to be involved in an accident with my non certified hitch and someone were killed, Italian law could put me in jail for murder. They say the Italian jail food is good, but I didn't want to find out first hand.
But there is good news. I had wanted to own a Ferrari since before I was old enough to drive.. I worked hard to be in a position to buy a nice car and by the time I was 21 I could afford a brand new 911 but I could not justify buying a Ferrari. By the way, a Ferrari 250 GTO could be had for less than $20,000 back then, IF you could get permission to purchase one.
As I became more successful the price of a Ferrari kept increasing so that I thought I would never be able to own one. But not long after moving to Italy I realized that I would most likely die before I ran out of money and so (with the encouragement of my fantastic wife) I bought a used Ferrari when I was 66 years old. They aren't all that much cheaper in Italy, but there is a wide choice in all vintages and all prices.
My strong suggestion is that you sell your car before you leave and shop around for a suitable Ferrari once you get to Italy. I've done a lot of things, lived in a lot of places, and owned a lot of different stuff but I would say that owning a Ferrari for a few years was one of the best experiences in my lifetime. It was a used 360 Modena which cost me about what my current 2021 Cayman cost at the beginning of this year. But my Cayman is just a car; a tool really. The Ferrari was ........... well.... I can't really describe it. It was everything I dreamed about for half a century and more. It's the only car I regret selling, but I couldn't bring it back to the U.S. because it wasn't old enough.
When I drove it slowly through little villages in Northern Italy, kids playing soccer would stop and yell "FERRARI". Old hunched over grandmothers on their way home from grocery shopping would stop and watch me pass by with a smile on their faces. When coming up behind a slower car, they would ease over and give me room to pass. Although I never took up two spaces at the supermarket parking lot, it was not unusual to come out of the store and find a Fiat parked next to me in such a way as to protect my car from door dings because Italy has it's share of unconscious soccer moms just like we do.
You might also not know that a great many people in Northern Italy still have a fierce hatred of the Germans because of what they did during WWII. Italian car enthusiasts will appreciate your Porsche, but I know for sure that there are some WWII Alpini who won't.
Do yourself a favor and get something like a Fiat Grande Punto or a 500 Abarth as a daily driver and buy a used Ferrari for fun. You won't regret it.
This is the best advice ever. I was about to waste my day 7 days before I leave to continue trying to do the "impossible" and bring the 992 C2S. After reading your response I cant agree more. I can get a great price for my 992 here, and buy a car in Italy. My wife is also very supportive , she encouraged my 992 purchase and also loves fast cars and purchased a Macan S before they were even released in the US after learning about them. I too have dreamed of a Ferrari since I was a young boy and had a F40 poster on my bedroom wall until I moved out for College. What is really funny is I have been looking at Abarth's on and off since 2018 when we purcashed our home in Florence and my wife makes fun of me for it. I just read her your comment and she thinks I wrote your reply
I have experienced the way things are done in Italy many times and I think importing a US spec sports car would be the hardest thing one can imagine and costs a fortune. So there we have it Buy a Fiat Abarth, order the electic macan, and buy a Ferrari as the fun car. I will stay on this forum and let you guys know what happens along the way! Ciao!
08-04-2021, 10:36 AM
Need Help Exporting my 992 C2S to Italy
