When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
European Delivery and or Porsche Experience CenterThis forum to ask questions and get answers about collecting your Porsche in Europe or the outstanding Porsche Experience Center.
Since I was so disappointed to have hit only 140 mph so far (early in the trip - the revs are pretty low in 7th gear at that speed!), we got up early this day after I laid out a simple two-hour autobahn blast the night before. We needed to burn off some fuel anyway as I had well over half a tank left. Unfortunately, traffic again would not cooperate and I could only reach 145 mph, which was less than I reached four years earlier (multiple times). At least I made an extra effort to try, burned some more dino juice, and added some more miles. And let's face it - while 145 is practically nothing on the autobahn, we can only dream of going that fast legally on US highways. Afterwards, we were a little apprehensive about navigating up to the self-service car wash in Zuffenhausen (plus I figured I'd stupidly fumble around trying to figure out how to use it), so I asked the Porsche dealer next door to the V8 Hotel (at Motorworld) where we stayed if I could pay them to wash my car (it was incredibly filthy, having not been washed at all during the trip!). They made my day by saying 'yes' to this request, and they even did a pretty good job. The guy only asked for "10 bucks" but I gave each of them 10. What a deal! Then we were off - a whole 4 min away - to meet Sal. As others have said, he's a hell of nice guy, very outgoing, fun to chat with. While I was sad to part with my new 911, I was quite relieved that it had made it there without any damage, esp considering we had hundreds of hairy moments on Alpine passes and other narrow roads.
Clean after its wash - 1 Clean after its wash - 2 Clean after its wash - 3 Clean after its wash - 4 Clean after its wash - 5 Interior shot 1 Interior shot 2 Interior shot 3 Interior shot 4 3779 km at drop-off Turning it over to Sal for shipment to the US Sad to part... Waving goodbye!
Epilogue
Figuring out how to buy S-bahn tickets at the Sindelfingen train station proved to be quite a debacle. The train we needed only comes every half hour and we got to enjoy the nice feeling of watching its doors close just as the [hidden] ticket machine popped out our second (and final) ticket. So we ended up getting to our Erding hotel later than expected, and we were delightfully shocked to find they'd still server dinner after 9pm. The next morning, 9/7, we took a taxi to the airport to avoid anymore S-bahn ticket frustration. Little did we know then that this was merely the beginning of a 19.5 hour odyssey home thanks to a late flight that caused a missed connection...
Despite having detailed trip notes, a preprogrammed nav system, and two trips of prior experience, overall the trip was pretty stressful, mostly due to navigation issues at times (the nav tried to kill us once & seemed to go bonkers late in the trip) plus lots of close calls on narrow roads. Some of these issues are to be expected but in general it was a bit too much a bit too often on this trip. That said, I certainly don't regret doing it and I enjoyed most of the Alpine passes as well as the German autobahn and many other German "back roads". If I could do it over again I would - just with some changes.
Thank you for an amazing trip report. You sure seemed to hit some epic spots, and 28 Alpine passes is impressive! Looking forward to returning to that region to do some more exploring next year.
Enjoy your new ride stateside once it arrives!
Great report and shots, despite the hookups on deliver date you clearly had a wonderful trip.
Sorry for "This Italian jerk took my RESERVED parking spot and could not be located." Being Italian, unfortunately I know very well that feeling.
What an amazing trip and a such great write-up. Congrats on the car - looks amazing! Sorry for the fiasco on delivery day.. but at least they were able to address it relatively quickly. Now the wait begins - Hope you get your car stateside quickly - mine has been sitting in Emden since August 1st :-(
Great trip -overall- looks like. Congrats! You're the third guy (on RL!) now with a huge screw-up by Leipzig... Guy wouldn't get his 3RS because of some last minute engine problems. Ended up doing ED in a base Cayman🤤🤤. Next giuy drove put of the factory parking lot with a screw in his tire... And yours didn't have plates? WTF?
Planning to pick up my 4RS next week, hope it's drivable🙏🙏🙏
Any chance you have a written version of your itinerary, i.e., routes, hotels, etc., you'f be willing to share? We're planning to follow a similar route in the fall of 24 and have started looking at routes, hotels. etc. but it sounds like you did some serious research and executed well so I'd rather go with 'tried and true'. Let me know. TIA.
Despite having detailed trip notes, a preprogrammed nav system, and two trips of prior experience, overall the trip was pretty stressful, mostly due to navigation issues at times (the nav tried to kill us once & seemed to go bonkers late in the trip) plus lots of close calls on narrow roads. Some of these issues are to be expected but in general it was a bit too much a bit too often on this trip.
I've done Leipzig twice and they've been exemplary both times. More recently they accommodated a last minute requirement and were gracious in doing so. A wonderful team in my experience.
It's been four months since we set off from Leipzig in my new 911 (one day after our first "meeting" with the car!). Thought I'd add the full/completed timeline here as well as a few US delivery day pics. This car is so comfortable & fun to drive, you just want to keep on going - added 1000 US miles w/in the first six weeks of having it here in MD.
07/17/2021: placed 'demand order' for Carrera S coupe (since Carrera T was not yet available)
01/16/2023: accepted Carrera T allocation, 10% deposit paid
02/14/2023: build/configuration freeze point
02/28/2023: VIN appeared on TYD page
03/08/2023: production starts
03/13/2023: received final factory photo & got European Delivery date (+ ED date appeared in TYD)
03/14/2023: production ends, according to TYD
08/05/2023: balance paid
08/22/2023: Leipzig factory delivery (no tags until the next day!)
09/06/2023: drop off in Sindelfingen
09/11/2023: arrived at port of exit (Emden)
09/21/2023: departed on ship SFL Composer
10/05/2023: arrived at port of entry (Baltimore)
10/12/2023: arrived at dealer: re-delivery!
10/27/2023: 'paint correction' + PPF (full front) + ceramic coating completed
The joy of reunification - second delivery day (10/12)! Can't complain about only waiting 5 weeks & 1 day to get her here in the US. Visiting family on the first drive in the US.
Just stumbled across this. Thank you for taking the time to post all the details and pics of this dream-trip! Something soooooooo cool about a new and dirty 911 with tourist plates. Congratulations!
09-10-2023, 09:17 PM
Day 16 "Drop-off Day"
