Macca

OK.

Here is the work up on the 2017 Cayman S 718.

Ive specced two cars the same and added the NZ base spec to the UK spec then for both cars added leather, sports chassis and a few important options which I think are necessary to make the car attractive to a buyer, nothing crazy mind you.

NZ car comes out Retail $160,000 NZD + ORC (2K?). Maybe you get a small discount of you ask. Lead time 4-5 months estimated.

UK car same spec comes to 61,000 GBP. Using my well devloped import spreadsheet and allowing a 2K GBP "brokers fee" or managing the VAT qualifying part, shipped in 20" LCL and incluing GST ant full value plus shipping and covering all ORC and compliance costs the final comes to approx 115,000 NZD (exchange rate dependent but for safety here I used 0.56 for purchase and 0.545 for customs).

So the savings is 23% over NZ retail. 37K divided by 162K.

Borderline viable unless you want to won and drive a UK new import Cayman 718 S with some options depreciation free for 12 months...

Porsche config spec sheets attached for comparative purchases. Note I did this fairly quickly so there may be a few smaller options I missed out.

John McM

Ah no, the fastest drivers tend to migrate to racing where they may or may not have the fastest car. I tried to encourage Simon G to come to Taupo a few years back and was a bit taken back when he politely said no as he didn't do track days. He couldn’t see the point of non-competitive driving. Just as Terry Riding intimated to us at the Festival when comparing the Regularity trial to the F5000, we’re only legends in our own minds. We go round the track and gas bag with similar minded people. It doesn’t have to be anything more, but let’s not kid ourselves about our relative abilities in the driving curve based on the chosen steed. That said, the ex racing series winners in the group are a joy to watch, just not when looming in my rear view mirror

Yes, I know your view on Facebook, however I don’t think it’s killed anything. For example, right now some RSG members are planning this weekend’s road trip on FB Messenger. All interactive and hidden from Tania’s prying eyes. A perfect medium for that. It’s just a tool not a religious movement!

As for magazines, I don’t buy any in paper format and very few in digital. My (now) narrow interests mean that what I do read is usually disappointing. Riddled with errors and shallow on detail. I’m hope if he covers a 964 it will find its way to the cheap seats. Are you subscribing?

Macca

Apologies. I noticed I bungled the savings % in my haste.

Ive re run the calcs using my spreadsheet - again on 0.56 and 0.545 (cutoms FX).

here is teh build (you cant print from BMW config unfortunately). Not sure the link will work. http://www.bmw.co.uk/vc/ncc/xhtml/st...8g0f3#TILTVIEW

Total landed cost for M2 in NZ spec with MT is 88K. Thats including ORC. Could be less with FX.

30K NZD savings on 117K retail including ORC is 26%. This is MT vs DCT. Its viable.

If you correct for DCT then more like 23% savings. Boardline....

Chris_chch

Thanks for the insight! Had no idea the M2 list was 115k.. .for some reason I thought it would be more!

Macca

A worthy retort John. I was hoping for something from someone! Well said. I agree. Lets face it we are a social bunch more than we are a competitive bunch or else we wouldn't be going to track days, wed be going racing (budgets aside). That's why the relative speed of the cars has less bearing. We are supposed to be having fun after all. I think its all about knowing your own limits etc.

Personally the only type of racing that has interested me is "one make series". Ive been banging on with this POV for years on this thread but its the only form of racing I see that pits skill sets not racing budgets and "arms wars". Im not sure what options exist today but something like the Toyota 86 cars interest me. Maybe something for 2017/18.

The FB thing is a bit tongue in cheek, it has its place but I do feel its "dispersed the troops" a bit. Its the easy option rather than filling these pages with a bit more "meat". Its had its upsides for organizing weekends away etc but quite honestly we never had an issue with organizing those using good old fashioned email. Where I see its value most is in general banter ("look whats happening here or there") and the "For Sale" page. For RSG we have to remember around half our active intake do not use social media (Ron, Richard, Roger - you know the people) which makes it a bit more difficult for them to stay in touch now the RSG board isnt as widely visited/posted. Im not expecting to win any arguments on this as my views are clearly not those of the massive, (nothing usual there).

Its good seeing people like Doug organizing some extra curricular activity. We need a bit more of this spirit. Interest Groups like RSG cant been carried by one or two people alone. Hopefully 2017 will bring a raft of new ideas and energy. Im up for organizing a fast driving weekend away and a few casual track days at the Taupo track. The NZ 50th Rally looks interesting and if funds permit another shot at Targa in Oct 2017 would be fun...

Macca

BMW NZ price guide and specs attached. List is $114,900 NZD. Same price as local 1M RRP price in 2011!

Yes, I think BMW, Porsche and the other Euro manufacturers did some work on their pricing early in 2016 to "tray and stay competitive". It would have worked if the UK hadnt chosen Brexit. Hence the used imports from the UK tricked to a halt from Jan till July and the number of cars exported from NZ probably reached a zenith.

Brexit and post Brexit GBP weakness (maybe around 18% against the NZD since end of June 2016) has given back the margin and reset the clocks to September 2015 again in FX terms and potential margin.

On my travels around the internet in the last month or two sorting out the Alfa Giulia I identified that literally hundreds of Euro cars are starting to hit our shores from the UK, many of them with demo Km on only. That will increase again until local official importers re align their pricing (typically when forward cover runs out in the New Year or mostly when their is a change of model as they dont like burning folks that have prior purchased the car). Id hope/expect a fall in local Euro new car prices by 3-5% in Q2 2017.

Wed have to remember the GBP:NZD cross bares little importance to the Euro car companies as they are working on Euro balance sheets and the NZD and Euro has been relatively stable all year (maybe 3-4% up and down). So dont hope for too much.

The best can be achieved is if the "mothership" dip into their "war chest of small market additional margin" and allow the local official importers some reprise to help them "battle the evil grey market importers". This is capital market economics they are contenting with here, that's all.

In the meantime the only downside risks are 1). UK new car Euro prices increase (almost certain in 2017 as the Euro:GBP is heavily affected now) or the GBP stages a rebound, but thats more an issue for the customs rate used for GST on the way in if the car is purchased anytime soon using current FX. Its also an unlikely scenario as although the NZD is likely to weaken before year end the GBP will likely weaken more...

993 Targa

Macca, as a reader of Evo what are you thoughts on the new Golf GTI Clubsport S? Lots of comparisons to "Porsche feel". Do you need rear seats? Could be the perfect compromise.

Macca

Hi Stuart. Seems well resolved and made it into the final 5 for the big TG track shootout last month along with 911R, Alfa Giulia, 675LT and 488. I cant remember where it placed, I think 5th but great outcome for a small car.

Unfortunately Ive already over bought on hard metal for myself (GT3, Alfa Giulia, Focus RS). For my wife hardcore suspension and no rear seat is an obvious fail (unfortunately). You wont find an allocation for the GTI Clubsport S easily in the UK I suspect and even if you did at list price with a few small options it would be a 75K NZD landed car in NZ?

Macca

The real answer is my wife needs to fall in love with the Focus RS! Otherwise I will end up selling it mid year for a new Silver Golf GTI (and the handful of depreciation known only as "happy wife tax"). :-)

996tnz

Yes, so true John, some of it almost uncomfortably so.

But I'm just as admiring (perhaps more so) of someone turning up to their first Porsche Performance Driving or Porsche Club Driver training day as I am of those who make a career of racing. For those first timers on track it is often a huge and brave psychological step. But my highest awe goes to those who strap themselves into a series of passenger seats to help jump start or turbocharge others' skills. When done well, that's up there with setting 'Ring records in my book.

Those are two ends of a spectrum with a natural progression along the lines of:
First timer driver training(s) -> Track days (and maybe Gymkhanas or Targa Tour) -> Club Circuit or Rally Sprints -> Club/National Circuit/Rally Series racing -> Instruction (and maybe International racing).

We're not all born alike (or with the same bank balances either) so everyone moves along this over time or finds their comfort zone at one or more of these levels. Most get addicted to the challenge but some may find their first day of training is all they want. Good on them still for turning up and grabbing a few extra skills to take back to the road.

Probably should have taken more time to smell the roses myself but as a bit of an adrenalin junkie I'm arguably in too much of a hurry to get a bigger hit from jumping in the deep end of something new, be it 2K Cup, bucket bike racing (been lazy too long there though) or rallycross. Really couldn't understand why my first single seater day got closed down at lunchtime due to a bit of rain for instance. In my book - unless the water is deep enough to be getting in the air intake/transmission breather, or threatening to crack the block - then it just means you drive differently.

Personally, on a thrills per spill basis, nothing beats door to door racing I reckon. Especially given big grids, or else four cars on a tight rallycross course. On the flip side, a one-handed race day is normally 80% standing in lines or running around prepping the car, 10% swapping stories and 5 to 10% intense action. Worth the effort, but a lot of time invested for those relatively short sharp on-the-limit driving experiences.

Contrast a track day where there usually is so much track time on offer that you can be out there alone at the end until they flag you in, and you go home having spent a day driving. Kind of like an all-you-can-eat buffet where you eat at your own pace versus a mad scramble for a few cordon bleu meals. I know my racing would improve a fair bit still (a few seconds a lap I figure) from more time spent on tracks just doing fast laps and working on lines, especially if combined with further coaching. So track days combine a chance to improve my driving in a lower risk environment with a chance to catch up with some like-minded mates. For which RSG can't be beat.

Yes, I'm not a fan of handicaps and equivalency formulas either (lead ballast, turbo restrictors etc). 2K Cup gets close. And that 86 series is seriously competitive, going by the mad skillz Tom Alexander (Toyota 86 series winner, 2014-2015 season) put to use firing me around Hampton Downs in a Lexus RCF once.

I was queued to go in another RCF for my hot laps at a Lexus performance track day but swapped to 'the orange RCF' after hearing an earlier passenger complain that he was getting it far too loose in the corners. Tom was driving the proverbials off it and having fun to boot. Haven't upped the video as I was encouraging him to give it more by staying stupidly calm and chatting on the straights (got one or two quizzical looks, and it helped having done quicker laps in the Turbo) - but MAN can he drive.

Probably had my fill of Targa Tour until the speed limits are relaxed (snowball's I know) but if that 50th Rally is more accommodating I'd probably be in too, Mark.

996tnz

As others have said, a dangerous game, playing chicken with one's wife. But if you really want to back yourself, at least make sure they deliver the Focus with the suspension dialled to full soft and the tyres a bit underinflated.

First impressions and all that...

Macca

Thanks Walter. I ordered the RS on the standard wheels/tyres package (MPSS vs MPSC2). Ill make sure the sale rep drops them down before we drive off LOL! Good news is after the roads here and the cars Jo has been used to passenger in there, even a FocRS will seem like a limousine I suspect. Well here is hoping in any case.

I cant get the math to work too well on the Alfa 4C coupe. I need the UK prices 10% lower to ove myself a safety margin of 5K unless on the off chance I can find a pre-sale at 95K for a 2015 4C coupe with 18K of options and 900 miles from new in Comp Red with the upgraded wheels and interior. Im guessing that's a 119K retail car in NZ today....back to the drawing board maybe...

996tnz

Good luck then and may the Force be with you. BTW Mark, not looking to compete with your heelsslinger on the bromance front but quite enjoying a peek into the back office workings of an inveterate arbitrageur!

Macca

Walt. I learnt a new word today = inveterate ;-)

There's room in the warehouse/bunker for another bunk Walter if you ever need it. Just need to pitch in for the food and entertainment tab that's all LOL

Im happy to share the knowledge here. Im not looking at this as a commercial venture, but it will help others to understand where and of there is margin in the oft quoted UK retail prices. The reality at the end of the day is you have to be sure you are comparing like specc'd cars, you have to factor for fudge and remember that most "tasty" cars in the UK that are sold new right now have huge speculative premiums as they are on 6-12 month wait lists or simply sold out...

peterC2S

You do make me laugh Macca!

The silver golf is now a gti... When did that happen and does Jo know...?