Sales debate
Should you consider a LHD vehicle in a RHD market?
Browse the classifieds and you’ll find all manner of 911s for sale. Looking at this from a UK perspective, most are C16 country-coded cars and therefore right-hand drive, though imported vehicles from other territories can be common too. These, though, have their steering wheel on the opposite side of the dashboard. Left-hand-drive cars are cheaper to buy than a right-hand-drive model of equivalent spec in the UK where right-hand-drive is the norm, so is this a worthy punt, or best to steer clear?
“It’s true left-hand-drive cars don’t command the same fee as a right-hooker in the UK market, but other than the fact the steering wheel is on the other side of the road there’s likely only going to be small differences in spec. They’re certainly not inferior in terms of build quality or spec or anything like that,” says Karl Meyer at Porsche trade-in specialists 2911.
There are some practical downsides, though. For track driving, most circuits operate in a clockwise fashion, and so it’s better to be sitting on the inside (ie on the right) in the interests of weight distribution. Similarly, for road driving you should consider the fact being on the left actually makes swift progress more difficult, because you’re on the wrong side of the road to properly see if there’s any oncoming traffic. “You’ll need to give serious thought as to what you’re going to use a potential purchase for,” Karl says. “In terms of resale, the car can be harder to sell because it’s not as attractive a proposition as a similar car that’s available in right-handdrive. It’s a bit different if the car is a rare commodity, for a example a collector’s car. However, if it’s a collector’s item the most attractive destination for it will likely be abroad, which could have further logistical and financial implications, so it’s something you’d need to consider.”
Anthony Pozner at Hendon Way Motors is largely in agreement, though a different approach is required for rare Porsche. “It’s different for collector cars, where originality and history matters far more. For this elite band of 911 it’s irrelevant as to what side of the car the steering wheel can be found.” Discerning what you’ll use the car for should determine whether a LHD 911 will make for a worthy purchase or not.