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I'd been planning a 6 week road trip around Europe, and wanted to purchase a car for the journey. I tossed around the option of shipping the RS over, or purchasing a 993 to ship over and sell there at the end, but the weakening of the euro made those options less advantageous. The next option I considered was doing European delivery of the new RS or a GT4, even though I'm still perfectly happy with my .2 RS. A quick stop at a dealership just confirmed how unrealistic getting an order in would be. Another option was doing euro delivery of an M3/M4, but I just didn't think the car was special enough to fulfill the dream trip role, even though I love and own a couple M3's.
So, that left me with tracking down and purchasing a car within Europe. Now the question was, what car? I made one of my main priorities to find something that was not available in the USA. Other factors to consider were that it be sporting enough to handle a couple track days, and spirited mountain drives, but also have enough room and comfort to tour Europe with the wife.
In putting a short list together, I considered everything from the Renault megane R26R to the 996 GT3 RS. Porsche values in Europe are stupidly high, so that ruled out getting a 996 or earlier generation RS. A modern classic Ferrari like the 550, would have been a great GT, but I just didn't think it would be that great for the narrow alp passes or track duty. The hatchbacks and wagons (Focus RS, Megane, RS4, C63) were ruled out by the wife, since she was right in saying that the car needed to have proper sports car lines.
In the end, I thought I'd found the perfect car, a 1990 Alfa Romeo SZ. Unique, great handling, and right on the 25 year cusp to import to the USA at the end of the trip, and maybe even make some money selling after a year or two. Unfortunately the wife said it was hideous, and she's right, but I think it's got it's own unique beauty to it. I'd even found one for sale with reasonable mileage at a great price. What ultimately got me to forget about the SZ, was that I would be driving a fair bit on the autobahn, and would want something with a bit more modern day oomph.
So, what did I finally buy... The Aston Martin Vantage V8, N430. A very similar car is available in the USA, the GT, but it still just passes all my qualifications. Easily fills the role of track & GT cruiser, stunning design, and has that touch of specialness, especially in the traditional green & yellow livery.
So, how does the car compare? I think it's more beautiful and special feeling than a modern day standard 911. Interior & exterior, the design just oozes class. Driving wise, the last three days have been mostly high speed highway miles, but the overal weight and feel of the controls is great. No electric steering here, a proper manual, and no turbos. The engine doesn't have the sharp quick throttle response that I'm used to - but this is my first V8, and my other cars also all have lightweight flywheels. The noise... It's a V8, so a lovely deep throaty sound. I was a bit concerned about the fit of the carbon buckets, since I've yet to find ones that really suit me, but after 6 hours of driving through traffic from Germany to Belgium I wasn't even a bit sore. They also tilt backwards or forwards, so the wife will be able to comfortably recline for the long journeys. The best way to describe the car is that it's a refined brute that graduated from Oxford.
Highlights so far? Doing 250kph on the autobahn, and cruising past the polizei at 190kph without any worry (will need a trip in less traffic to get to the 305kph advertised top speed). Getting waved right into VIP parking at a small music festival at an old castle in Belgium. Beautiful drive in the Flemmish countryside chasing a friend in his 1990 c4, and then turning heads pulling up to the main market square in Bruges. Smiling every time I get out and look back at the car when I walk away.
Now, I'm sitting here at my hotel next to La Source in Spa-Francorchamps, eagerly awaiting a track day tomorrow. The town is littered with GT3's. 996 through 991, and I've seen three of the new 991 RS. Just need to spot a silver one to be complete!
I'll also update the post later with what's involved with purchasing a car in europe if not an EU resident for anyone that may be interested - not easy!
BTW - I know this is a Porsche forum, but it's the only one I regularly frequent, and hey, a little variety is the spice of life! Enjoy the pics.
I'm glad you posted about your EU car purchase, I had not thought of doing what you'd done. Much like your situation, my wife and I have been planning a dream vacation to Europe which would center around Euro Delivery of a 16 GT3. After a year of waiting for a probably definite, no problem, we've got plenty of time allocation that has become a it's not over yet, could still happen, don't give up hope lack-of-allocation, we were going to settle and ED a base 911 to do our trip and then sell in when we got home, just for the experience.
My wife summed it up best; if we can't with a car that I really want, we're spending $90k on what's simply a glorified rental car that we really don't want to own.
Our next thought was to ship our 993 over, enjoy it and sell there. I like your idea better.
Are you planning on keeping the car there and selling it or bringing it back home to the US? Looking forward to reading the details!
I'd been planning a 6 week road trip around Europe, and wanted to purchase a car for the journey. I tossed around the option of shipping the RS over, or purchasing a 993 to ship over and sell there at the end, but the weakening of the euro made those options less advantageous. The next option I considered was doing European delivery of the new RS or a GT4, even though I'm still perfectly happy with my .2 RS. A quick stop at a dealership just confirmed how unrealistic getting an order in would be. Another option was doing euro delivery of an M3/M4, but I just didn't think the car was special enough to fulfill the dream trip role, even though I love and own a couple M3's.
So, that left me with tracking down and purchasing a car within Europe. Now the question was, what car? I made one of my main priorities to find something that was not available in the USA. Other factors to consider were that it be sporting enough to handle a couple track days, and spirited mountain drives, but also have enough room and comfort to tour Europe with the wife.
In putting a short list together, I considered everything from the Renault megane R26R to the 996 GT3 RS. Porsche values in Europe are stupidly high, so that ruled out getting a 996 or earlier generation RS. A modern classic Ferrari like the 550, would have been a great GT, but I just didn't think it would be that great for the narrow alp passes or track duty. The hatchbacks and wagons (Focus RS, Megane, RS4, C63) were ruled out by the wife, since she was right in saying that the car needed to have proper sports car lines.
In the end, I thought I'd found the perfect car, a 1990 Alfa Romeo SZ. Unique, great handling, and right on the 25 year cusp to import to the USA at the end of the trip, and maybe even make some money selling after a year or two. Unfortunately the wife said it was hideous, and she's right, but I think it's got it's own unique beauty to it. I'd even found one for sale with reasonable mileage at a great price. What ultimately got me to forget about the SZ, was that I would be driving a fair bit on the autobahn, and would want something with a bit more modern day oomph.
So, what did I finally buy... The Aston Martin Vantage V8, N430. A very similar car is available in the USA, the GT, but it still just passes all my qualifications. Easily fills the role of track & GT cruiser, stunning design, and has that touch of specialness, especially in the traditional green & yellow livery.
So, how does the car compare? I think it's more beautiful and special feeling than a modern day standard 911. Interior & exterior, the design just oozes class. Driving wise, the last three days have been mostly high speed highway miles, but the overal weight and feel of the controls is great. No electric steering here, a proper manual, and no turbos. The engine doesn't have the sharp quick throttle response that I'm used to - but this is my first V8, and my other cars also all have lightweight flywheels. The noise... It's a V8, so a lovely deep throaty sound. I was a bit concerned about the fit of the carbon buckets, since I've yet to find ones that really suit me, but after 6 hours of driving through traffic from Germany to Belgium I wasn't even a bit sore. They also tilt backwards or forwards, so the wife will be able to comfortably recline for the long journeys. The best way to describe the car is that it's a refined brute that graduated from Oxford.
Highlights so far? Doing 250kph on the autobahn, and cruising past the polizei at 190kph without any worry (will need a trip in less traffic to get to the 305kph advertised top speed). Getting waved right into VIP parking at a small music festival at an old castle in Belgium. Beautiful drive in the Flemmish countryside chasing a friend in his 1990 c4, and then turning heads pulling up to the main market square in Bruges. Smiling every time I get out and look back at the car when I walk away.
Now, I'm sitting here at my hotel next to La Source in Spa-Francorchamps, eagerly awaiting a track day tomorrow. The town is littered with GT3's. 996 through 991, and I've seen three of the new 991 RS. Just need to spot a silver one to be complete!
have fun! ... watch Rivage #1 very late apex!
Originally Posted by Rub
I'll also update the post later with what's involved with purchasing a car in europe if not an EU resident for anyone that may be interested - not easy!
How would you handle the insurance issue if you were to ship your own car over?
in theory GEICO and USAA offer EU insurance, but in practice I could not get them to quote.
Seems like the only alternative is either ADAC "tourist" coverage, or try a private/specialist insurance co like those listed in the back of some of the
UK Porsche magazines.
I was posted to Southern Germany as a young 2nd LT back in the winter of '69, after completing Ranger and Airborne school at Bragg, and shipped over my '69 Dodge Charger R/T, with the 440 ci motor.
Germany was still rebuilding then, and there were lots of small cars, the Messerschmidt's, the Isetta's, and the like on the road. An occasional MB, mostly small tiny Fiats and such. There were no speed limits any where, even on the tiny wandering rural roads, only limits inside the towns themselves. I was in the Kitzingen Sports Car Club, and we had rallye's, and since there were no speed limits, they were lots of fun, other young officers had cars like Tigers, Alfa's, TR's, and such.
I used to cruise on the A'bahn at about 95 mph or so, in fact never did try to see what my big motor Dodge would top out at, running Esso via coupons, or army Quartermaster gas at 18 cents a gallon, as the Dodge had the 3 inch Imperial drum brakes, and would not make one complete stop from that speed without complete brake fade. The DM was 4 to the dollar then, so what cost a German four bucks cost me 25 cents, so a great meal in a Gasthouse was just a couple of bucks, cheap even on my $330 a month lieutenant's pay.
The single officers had BMW 2002's, or 911 T's, the latter costing right at $6K. I really got to love Hungarian goulash while stationed in Bavaria, first Schweinfurt then K'town, and still ask my wife to make it occasionally. Best I ever had was in Hammelburg, where Patton's son was a POW, and the US army had made a mad dash far behind German lines to rescue them, failing to make it back when they stopped at night, unknowingly right at a Panzer tank range, bad news when dawn came.
Lived there for about 18 months, and I have great memories of my times and drives there. From there, was posted to IV Corps, ie, the Mekong Delta, as an infantry advisor to the Vietnamese army.
My wife and I are planning to spend a month or more in Europe next summer, plan on renting a week or so in various cities. I will research rental cars, and want to see some of the great tracks, and being a student of military history since I was a kid, tour some of the great battlefields of WWI, and WWII.
Having lost friends in Vietnam, and serving 30 years, two wars, I tend to get choked up a bit when I see what American soldiers did, and died doing. Sometimes I just can't talk when I am at such places.
But I move on,
I tried to find a way to get a Vantage several years ago, but couldn't find a later version I could afford, so got a 997S, and then a year ago our GT3, which now has the engine back in, and will be road tested by RennsportKC to ensure the damage from the plug failure is fixed. Most likely will bring it back the 1000 miles to SC next week. Will take the long way home.
Your Aston is a very handsome car, such an enduring profile and front end design. Even Ford copies the Aston grill design now.
I have been all over the world, and just love Southern Germany and England above all else. And Italy for it's unique culture.
But it is hard for me to see the long rows of white crosses at the Allied memorials.
Since everyone seems interested, here's the saga of trying to purchase a car in Europe.
If you are not a registered resident in Europe, nor are you military or ex-military, that's when things get difficult.
Basically, your only option to register under your own name being a non resident, is under export or tourist plates. Initially, that's what I figured I'd do, since you can extend the plates up to a year, and even still drive around in the country originally purchased. The problem is that you only get the minimum level of liability insurance, which is mandatory to register a car. NO ONE will sell you comprehensive insurance. I tried Geico (only military or military contractors stationed overseas can purchase their int'l coverage), USAA (need to be military), Progressive, Allianz, Allstate, AAA, Hagerty's, Clements Worldwide, and a specialty International Broker. Needless to say, I was not about to buy an Aston to drive all over Europe, includingSsouth and Eastern Europe without any comprehensive insurance. So, there went that option.
Next option, my colleague from Munich offered to register and insure under his name, with myself as secondary insured. That's what his insurer recommended when inquiring about insurance for myself directly. I however was not fully comfortable with doing that, as it's a pretty big favor to ask, and can lead to difficulties should anything happen (even if you sort out some paperwork to clarify the arrangement). My father is however remarried with a German woman who is still resident, and I figured I could register under her name, as keeping it within the family I was still comfortable with. She was however not ok, due to any driving offenses or other incidents coming back to her records - understandable. So, scratch that.
Final option that the Aston Martin dealership provided me, was that I purchase the car, but they register and insure the car under their business with myself and my wife as named insured. They will then buy the car back from me at the end of the trip... For a hefty profit of course!
So, I ended up having to go with option 3. I have to thank Aston Martin for thinking outside the box, and coming up with a solution for my specific situation. They also allowed me to take the car on the track (un-insured), after a little pestering that that was what the car was made for!
After the fact, I did learn that there may have been another and possibly better option depending on your circumstances.... Register the car in Andorra. Andorra is not part of the EU, so I believe you would even be able to get the VAT refunded if buying a car through a dealer. Andorra allows people who are not residents of Andorra nor the EU, to register a car there on a tourist plate. You have to take the car to Andorra to have the VIN verified, and pay 5% of the car's value as registration fee (much less than most EU country's VAT). I found out about this literally the day before going on my trip, so did not have a chance to inquire with Andorra insurance companies about what type of coverage you could obtain, but I imagine that you should be able to get full coverage through a company based there. The plates can even be renewed every year, so if you wanted to keep a car in Europe, but are not a resident there, this is likely your best bet. If I'd known about this earlier, it's probably the route I would have taken, since I have family in Belgium that I can store the car at for future trips.
09-14-2015, 05:06 PM
Euro car purchase & road trip
Even to me and I'm an Alfa fan.
