Option retrofit? Also, USA import cars?

[nmlss2006]

I don't know if this was supposed to go in the 'general' 996 forum. If so, moderators please relocate.

It's my first post, please be gentle :). I recently sold my 996 coupe and I'm in the process of acquiring a cabrio. Unfortunately, there aren't that many turbo cabrios around, so one has to compromise on options. Therefore, here come my questions:

1) is it possible *and realistic* to retrofit the tempostat/cruise control on 996 turbos? Specifically, euro (C00, Germany) cabrios MY04?

2) is it possible *and realistic* to retrofit seat heating, same as above?

3) even further, is it possible *and realistic* to go from the sport/shell seats to the regular seats, with memory etc? My back will not allow me to use the sport seats for any extended period of time.

4) It has become fashionable, for obvious reasons, to import 'USA' cars into europe. Assuming that the paperwork has already been taken care of by the seller, what parts need to be changed to make the car equivalent to the Euro one? Lights and bumpers certainly come to mind, I assume that the PCM will have to be changed? What else?

I should add: does anyone know what the consequences on the warranty might be, assuming the work was done by a Porsche dealership? The reason I ask here is that I am getting... very conflicting information from different dealers. Furthermore: is the euro 'extended' warranty bumper-to-bumper like the new US CPO one? I know for a fact that it didn't use to be: I paid for TWO PCM swaps out of pocket.

Thanks everyone,

Luigi F

Edited September 14, 2008 by nmlss

[TKE878]

I don't know about the retro fit you are asking about. But the reimporting of a US spec car to Europe is a major pain for the USA dealers. A Porsche/Mercedes sales rep was telling me they actually get fined by Mercedes once the USA VIN shows up at a dealer in Europe. He said they get called almost weekly for inquiries looking for black Cayennes, 911s and certain model Mercedes. Lots of exports to China and the Middle east.

Its comical to me if true because I used to have a Euro Spec'd 911 SC. It was a great car and I drove it daily for 11 years. The dealer wouldn't even work on it! Their loss in my opinion. It was like a total bastard child to them. I guess that is due to the thought that reimporting a car takes away a sales from the local dealer. Who cares a Porsche is a Porsche.

Good luck with your quest and keep us posted.

[nmlss2006]

Well, this is a slightly different situation: European resellers are purchasing cars in the US - the weak dollar makes them all the more attractive - and then taking care of the paperwork to get them 'official' german (DE) papers. I am aware of the ... difficulties for official dealers directly involved. Given the different price points in various areas of the world, it's not hard to imagine why Porsche (and others - BMW and Mercedes, as you mentioned, are the same) takes steps to prevent these cross-country deals - as illegal as it may technically be.

With that said, I have to live with local dealers: they consider a German car a suspicious object, never mind a US one. Therefore, I will restrict my search to European cars. Does anyone have any ideas about the retrofits? The seats in particular are a serious issue.