First NZ driving impressions

So, my 993 is now in transit... what awaits her in New Zealand ?

Well, I've been here a month now and first impressions are very good.
- There are far fewer roads than the UK (of course) but all are much more interesting for driving enthusiasts.
- The speed limits are very low (50kph in built up areas and 100kph on highways), which will no doubt be frustrating on the more open roads but is justifiable given the very tight bends and road conditions.
- The biggest hazard is probably the amazingly distracting scenery !
- Hairpin bends often have no barriers, in keeping with the whole attitude to risk here - the responsibility for safety belongs to the individual, not the state. This is a welcome change from nanny-state UK, but can take a bit of getting used to.
- The traffic police are very keen on speeding, and like mobile (and hidden) cameras ...

Here are some photos of back roads around Wellington:

OK, this isn't a road, but it's impressively different ! This landscape was created after the large earthquake in Wellington in 1855.

Final preparations

Braunton Engineering in Devon carried out some repairs and upgrades in late 2010:
- fixing aircon leaks
- clutch slave cylinder upgrade
- exhaust heatshield repairs
- minor oil leaks

I left the car with Ashley and Chris for three weeks and they did a great job - highly recommended.

In January my wife and I moved out of our house and went on holiday - hiking in Ethiopia. On our return we cleaned all our hiking gear (as required by NZ biosecurity) and packed it into the 911 ready for shipping to NZ. Here she is waiting to depart from Anglo Pacific's premises in West London. We left a couple of days later.

Silverstone Porsche driving experience

In November I took the 993 to the Silverstone Porsche centre for a driver training day, concentrating on wet surface handling in anticipation of the more challenging roads and conditions I'm likely to encounter in New Zealand. This was a valuable experience in how to handle the car is a sideways situation, and very confidence building. Highly recommended, and summarized by "stay on the gas" !

To ship or sell ?

Good 993s in New Zealand seemed to be pretty rare, and expensive (~NZ$50-70k, which is substantially more than in the UK at the poor exchange rate in 2010/11). Importing an older car is certainly rather complex, but not too daunting. In my case after a little web research, plus some excellent advice from the AA in New Zealand (contact Mr Wally Gee), I found that I had to obtain a Certificate of Compliance from Porsche before shipping to prove that she met  their regulations ($750). If she had been a year younger this would have been unnecessary.

I got several shipping quotes, which varied widely, but ended up paying £1800, plus marine shipping insurance. I decided to ship the car with Anglo Pacific, who moved my house contents, in a shared 40 foot container, which is substantially cheaper than a sole use of a 20 foot container. However, a key point is to ensure is that nothing is packed above your pride and joy, all other items must be put behind a strong bulkhead. At the time of writing she is on the way, so it remains to be seen if this was a good move or false economy...

Having decided to ship her I had to consider whether to make some final improvements in the UK, or wait until arriving in Kiwiland. I decided to get the jobs done (such as air conditioning, which I lived without in the UK) simply because I knew who to go to and what to expect from independents in the UK, and also knew I would be very busy setting up home in NZ.

Read on for final preparations.

The Porsche 993

I didn't like the 911 in the 1980s - the "whale tail" cars being associated strongly with the City excesses of that era (since repeated in flamboyant style all too recently...). But the 993 changed all that. What an amazing looking car, which has improved with time (witness how the 997 model copied many of its features).

For me the 993's looks are perfected by the more upright screen, lost with the 996 total redesign. And of course the iconic air-cooled engine of the 993 and high build quality made the choice of model easy, despite high second hand price compared with new models.

If you need convincing, check out the marvelously tongue-in-cheek original TV adverts, with voice over from car enthusiast Patrick Stewart.

Here is a slideshow of pictures of my own car in the UK:

History and specifications

The car is a manual 1995 Carrera 4 993 in Aventura Green with black leather.

I bought her in 2007 and am the fourth owner. She had lived a quiet life in London until then, with only 35000 miles on the clock. I've added just under 20000 miles since then, and have had her regularly maintained by independent Porsche specialists Autofarm in Oxfordshire, with major work also carried out expertly by Carnewal, Belgium  and Braunton Garage, Devon. Various "standard" 993 maladies have come along and been fixed as they came up.

More detailed specifications:

• Hardback sports seats
• M030 sports suspension, factory fitted
• Air conditioning
• Sunroof
• Motorsound intake option
• Hi-fi speaker factory option
• 17" cup alloys

I had the following major overhauls and upgrades carried out:

• New Bilstein shock absorbers
• HID headlights
• RSR silencers
• Upgraded aftermarket clutch slave cylinder (smoother action)
• New front disks
• New distributors and plug leads
• Repair/replacement of rear heat shields
• Complete airconditioning repair (£ouch !)
• Alloy wheels refurbished, with new nuts

The car was now near "as good as new" bar a few minor paint flaws, stone chips, etc, and after four years I was enjoying ownership as much as ever. So when I was offered a job in New Zealand, I had a difficult decision to make: sell and buy another in NZ, or take the old girl with me (and the car too ;-)

So what to do ?