Euro Delivery tips
08-04-2023, 12:40 PM
#1
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Euro Delivery tips
I did ED last month in Leipzig and have a few things that might help others, especially if you are picking up a 718 Cayman.
1. Germany requires that you have a safety vest within easy reach. Porsche will give you a pair before you leave the Experience Center. No need to bring your own.
2. If you use Android and need navigation, I can recommend the Carlink 4. It takes a while to connect sometimes and something about Italian toll booths made it lose its connection every time, but once running, it works well to get Android Auto and thus Google Maps working.
3. Oil is NOT cheap in Europe. The Porsche dealer in Como, Italy charged 45 Euro for a single liter of C40 oil. You read that correctly. Checking prices at gas stations all over Europe for brand name but nothing special oil showed that 15-25 Euros or more per liter is common. My car consumed about 0.7-0.9 L over 3,500 miles, so plan on topping up at some point if you are doing over 2,000 miles during ED.
4. Stop by the Porsche gift shop in the Leipzig Experience Center (I can't speak for Stuttgart EC) and mention that you are taking delivery of your car that day. In our case, they gave us a nice decorative dish with Leipzig EC artwork from a nearby manufacturer. Great. Problem is it comes in a nice protective box and with so little storage space in the car, it made it even more difficult to get everything in the car. Combined with a large bag of gifts purchased from the store, space was a real issue.
5. Cayman owners; bring a net. Buy p/n 98755133900 and use it to strap your jumbo Porsche Gift Store bag (or whatever) onto the top of the engine cover. There is literally no way we could have fit everything in the car securely without that net. Well worth the money.
6. Luggage that worked for us: 2x Eastpak Tranverz M 77L 2-wheeled soft-sided bags (26.38"Hx13.98"W, 1x EU/Asia-spec carry on bag (not the larger US-spec), and 1x regular backpack. The wife's purse went on the floor by her feet. The warning triangle and front license plate holder went behind the seats. The spare quart of oil and a couple small gifts went into the small B-pillar compartments. The first suitcase had to go soft side down, the second one soft side up, with the wheels in alternating directions. If loaded this way, the hood would close without issues. If not, you risk scratching or denting the hood. Yes, it can be that close, depending on how full your bags are. With the carry-on and backpack squeezed in the trunk, there was a small amount of room in both outer pockets for some shirts or other small items.
7. When given a toll ticket at Italian toll roads (or parking lot ticket, etc.) consider sticking it under the plastic clip in the driver's sun visor. It's there next to the mirror. Very handy.
8. For 718 owners, if the PCM ever locks up or acts up, perform a reset. Push and hold the LH volume button for 20 seconds and release. Wait a few more seconds and it will start back up. Had to do this two or three times. It always fixed things.
9. Two or three times upon starting the car the ventilation system would blow air but it wasn't being cooled. Stop the car somewhere safe. Shut it off. Open the driver's door and close it again (not 100% sure that step is necessary but I wanted the car to fully shut off). Start the car again. A/C worked normally for the rest of the drive.
10. Rev match didn't work on one or two occasions upon startup. Perform same restart routine as above (#9) and it worked again.
11. Beware photo radar. I got hit in Luxembourg. And Stuttgart. And Switzerland. Possibly in Italy too. Haven't received anything in the mail yet but I definitely got flashed by photo radar boxes in all of the first 3 cases. In Stuttgart it was on a tight cloverleaf while exiting the highway and dropping onto a surface street right near the factory. The speed limit going into the cloverleaf was really low. The limit on the cloverleaf was insultingly low (like 20 KPH where you could safely take it at 50+KPH). I decided not to waste any of that $10/gallon gas and just coast down to the limit by the end of the cloverleaf but they nailed me just before that, mid-corner.
12. Don't forget to bring a towel! Bring at least one clean rag/small detailing towel. It come in handy when you find bird stuff on your car or whatever.
I do agree with what others have said about the Alps passes. They are generally fun to drive and visually stunning but if you are looking for "fun" roads to drive, you can probably find much better alternatives. We drove Stelvio Pass just for the scenery and were not disappointed but the slow, endless parade of cars we were expecting was not to be found. Traffic was very light on a Wednesday late afternoon. So although not a great driving road, Stelvio was fun to do for the first time.
Overall, ED was a great experience. Everyone should experience it at least once.
1. Germany requires that you have a safety vest within easy reach. Porsche will give you a pair before you leave the Experience Center. No need to bring your own.
2. If you use Android and need navigation, I can recommend the Carlink 4. It takes a while to connect sometimes and something about Italian toll booths made it lose its connection every time, but once running, it works well to get Android Auto and thus Google Maps working.
3. Oil is NOT cheap in Europe. The Porsche dealer in Como, Italy charged 45 Euro for a single liter of C40 oil. You read that correctly. Checking prices at gas stations all over Europe for brand name but nothing special oil showed that 15-25 Euros or more per liter is common. My car consumed about 0.7-0.9 L over 3,500 miles, so plan on topping up at some point if you are doing over 2,000 miles during ED.
4. Stop by the Porsche gift shop in the Leipzig Experience Center (I can't speak for Stuttgart EC) and mention that you are taking delivery of your car that day. In our case, they gave us a nice decorative dish with Leipzig EC artwork from a nearby manufacturer. Great. Problem is it comes in a nice protective box and with so little storage space in the car, it made it even more difficult to get everything in the car. Combined with a large bag of gifts purchased from the store, space was a real issue.
5. Cayman owners; bring a net. Buy p/n 98755133900 and use it to strap your jumbo Porsche Gift Store bag (or whatever) onto the top of the engine cover. There is literally no way we could have fit everything in the car securely without that net. Well worth the money.
6. Luggage that worked for us: 2x Eastpak Tranverz M 77L 2-wheeled soft-sided bags (26.38"Hx13.98"W, 1x EU/Asia-spec carry on bag (not the larger US-spec), and 1x regular backpack. The wife's purse went on the floor by her feet. The warning triangle and front license plate holder went behind the seats. The spare quart of oil and a couple small gifts went into the small B-pillar compartments. The first suitcase had to go soft side down, the second one soft side up, with the wheels in alternating directions. If loaded this way, the hood would close without issues. If not, you risk scratching or denting the hood. Yes, it can be that close, depending on how full your bags are. With the carry-on and backpack squeezed in the trunk, there was a small amount of room in both outer pockets for some shirts or other small items.
7. When given a toll ticket at Italian toll roads (or parking lot ticket, etc.) consider sticking it under the plastic clip in the driver's sun visor. It's there next to the mirror. Very handy.
8. For 718 owners, if the PCM ever locks up or acts up, perform a reset. Push and hold the LH volume button for 20 seconds and release. Wait a few more seconds and it will start back up. Had to do this two or three times. It always fixed things.
9. Two or three times upon starting the car the ventilation system would blow air but it wasn't being cooled. Stop the car somewhere safe. Shut it off. Open the driver's door and close it again (not 100% sure that step is necessary but I wanted the car to fully shut off). Start the car again. A/C worked normally for the rest of the drive.
10. Rev match didn't work on one or two occasions upon startup. Perform same restart routine as above (#9) and it worked again.
11. Beware photo radar. I got hit in Luxembourg. And Stuttgart. And Switzerland. Possibly in Italy too. Haven't received anything in the mail yet but I definitely got flashed by photo radar boxes in all of the first 3 cases. In Stuttgart it was on a tight cloverleaf while exiting the highway and dropping onto a surface street right near the factory. The speed limit going into the cloverleaf was really low. The limit on the cloverleaf was insultingly low (like 20 KPH where you could safely take it at 50+KPH). I decided not to waste any of that $10/gallon gas and just coast down to the limit by the end of the cloverleaf but they nailed me just before that, mid-corner.
12. Don't forget to bring a towel! Bring at least one clean rag/small detailing towel. It come in handy when you find bird stuff on your car or whatever.
I do agree with what others have said about the Alps passes. They are generally fun to drive and visually stunning but if you are looking for "fun" roads to drive, you can probably find much better alternatives. We drove Stelvio Pass just for the scenery and were not disappointed but the slow, endless parade of cars we were expecting was not to be found. Traffic was very light on a Wednesday late afternoon. So although not a great driving road, Stelvio was fun to do for the first time.
Overall, ED was a great experience. Everyone should experience it at least once.
The following 3 users liked this post by Joe250:
08-04-2023, 12:52 PM
#2
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
13. If you drive the Stelvio Pass and/or the Nurburgring, look at Fotostelvio.com and Racetracker.de for pics of your car for purchase. No affiliation, just a happy customer. Search Youtube for Nurburgring + the date of your visit and you should find video of you and your car.
The following users liked this post:
Angryinch (08-06-2023)
08-05-2023, 03:44 AM
#3
Instructor
Great tips, much appreciated! Any photos from the trip?
