sims

I am thinking of buying a 2011 TT for our family California tour and ship the car back to Europe at the end of the trip.

Questions:
are cars available next week?
where shall i buy in the SF area?
can I insure the car as non-residential?
how do I handle the "title" papers?

I would appreciate some hints.

Thanks

EricGT3

They had one at Carlsen Porsche in Redwood City (25 miles south of SF) yesterday. Not sure if it sold yet. Since it's so new, it's going to sell fast. You better call around to the dealerships and put a deposit on one if you want one.

yeldogt

I looked into doing this in New York for someone a few years ago. You had to have a NY drivers license and an address - the car had to be titled and the sales tax paid. Then it -- and you - were insured like any other vehicle.

When you added up all the costs and the Shipping/ Insurance after you were done with it -- the costs were too high. He was trying to see if he could get around the high duty in the African Country he wanted to return it to -- no. And the inflated price - yes.

I would be surprised if you can get the car titled in CA without a CA license. Years ago this was possible in many sates --- especially Florida -- because people had two homes.

sims

Thank you very much for your comments - is my understanding correct that getting the car titled is the critical part - everything else is a matter of adding up the price tags.

Who has the authority to issue the title? is the dealer authorized to give me all the necessary docs?

Designer

Keep in mind that our license plates are a different proportion, as is the tailgate indent. I don't think a euro plate will fit. (nicely)

wilfred

1) Here in California, the title is handle by the local DMV (Department of Motor Vehicle):

http://dmv.ca.gov/

The dealer will process all paperwork but the title will be issued and mailed from the DMV. This process normally takes a month or so until you receive the title and the actual license plates. US Custom will require the title (often called pink slip) and not to be confused with the annual registration slip in order to export the vehicle back to your country.

2) While you can buy a car with a passport, not all dealerships will sell it to you because Porsche North America and the dealerships are well aware of foreigners coming in buying the cars here due to the favorable exchange rates. Some dealers will do it and some won't. It is not illegal by law but it is something Porsche North America have a problem with. This applies to brand new vehicles only. They have no problem with used ones nor demos that have been registered.

3) If you plan on driving it here, you will be required to pay the sales tax which is 9.75% in Los Angeles and I think it is similar up in San Francisco. Plus first year registration which I think is around 1%. Plus insurance as you mentioned. I can call my insurance agent to find out if any companies he knows of sell auto insurance to someone with an international driver's license, which I assume you will have?

sims

great info - thank you all. i am in california for a month and want to ship it from LA. the title could be delivered to the shipping company for delivery to Europe.

wilfred - is the sales tax part of MSRP or on top of it? yes, i have a Euro License.

Overall, would be a great experience to buy the car, drive in California and bring it back home --- nice memories and warm-up for the TT

kgclark

You might consider trying to buy it in Oregon instead of California - there is no sales tax there. Plus, you'd be able to drive highway 101 down the coast to California, which is one of the most scenic drives in the country.

wilfred

Sales tax is on top of MSRP. And it is based on where you live, not where the dealership is. Because sales tax varies between counties. In your case, it will be where your shipping company is if that's where you want your title to be mailed. I hope you already have one you in mind or have done business with? Because you will need the address when you buy the vehicle that day.

Also, not sure how it is in your country, but MSRP is merely Manufacturer "Suggested" Retail Price. Not sure what the market price is on the 2011, some dealers may ask for more so put on your battle suit and be prepared to do some hours or days of negotiation It can be quite an experience buying a car here! To sum it up, the price you pay out the door is MSRP (or final negotiated price) + sales tax + registration/title fee + a maximum document fee of $45. And dealers will try to sell you other stuff which you probably don't need.

wilfred

While it's true some states have no sales tax or much lower sales tax. OP will still need a mailing address for the title to be mailed to. If it is in California, then OP will still need to pay for California sales tax and registration/title fee to the California DMV.

sims

there are some cars available - i need the details to be sorted - thank you for the insights - it greatly helps

GVA-SFO

Hello Sims,
Welll, if you get back to Switzerland as "moving back" (i.e.: you own the car for more than 6 months, you are moving back home, etc..), it is very different than if you import the car "normaly".
You will have in any ways, to change the speedomete (mph to km/h)r. By the way, in Palo Alto, there is a specilalist: www.paspeedo.com, they may do that.
I can recommend you also a very nice Porsche sales person: Randy Hill at Rector, in Burlingame (they do have 2011 CTT). Take the phone number of Rector (on the web) and ask for Randy. This is very close to the SFO airport (about 5 min.) I'm Swiss and bought cars at this (very good) place (Porsche and Audi). I also imported an Audi to GVA, bought, at Rector too, and had no big problem at all, but this was a "moving back" case.
For this Audi, we had to change the color of the "parking lights" as well as having the turn indicators lights being orange. Depending of the model, this could be a easy or a complicated problem (easy : just changing the bulbs, complicated: having to change the entire optical units !). You have to check this.
I would also recommend you to call the manager of your local "bureau des autos" and ask what you will need to do, ..before the action. In general, they will give you very good advises. I remember that I did this before importing the Audi, and got a complete do list. When I brought the car few month later, I met the same person, and the entire experience was very pleasant.
If all goes the way you want, you will also need to find a "transporter". I did made a deal with a company that is based in Los Angeles, and the car was loaded into a closed container, that ended up in Based, this via Rotterdam.
You have also to be caefull that the car is fully insured during all the transport, this with no "holes", as I think, I remember that US normal insurance companies do no insure cars outside the USA, ..so, on a boat in the direction of Europe, your car is not in the US anymore !
Well, this is not as simple as "mettre une lettre a la poste", but it is doable !
Good luck.

sims

GVA-SFO - merci bien. It seems I fall under the category export. Given, I want to use the car prior export, the insurance coverage for the duration of our month trip is important . The shipping incl insurance is ok.

wilfred

Yes, plenty of shipping companies down here in Los Angeles. I have never heard of insurance covering only US water but if OP needs one, I can refer one I have used for my business for many years and I have shipped few cars to my friends overseas using them as well. They will drain the fuel for safety, put it in a container and clamp it down. Never had a problem and not have to worry about dings and scratches...

alex911s

There's a black on black one at Carlsen, Call Gary Quibelan , he has shipped many overseas..