Sales debate
What is the market for LHD 911s in the UK today?
Continuing last month’s Market Debate about the effect of Brexit on the UK 911 market, this month we explore lefthand drive (LHD) cars. What’s the state of the market for LHD cars sold in the UK today?
Jonathan Ostroff, sales manager at Hexagon Classics
(www.hexagonclassics.com), thinks it’s an interesting topic. “There are two markets for LHD 911s. The first is buyers with a home in Europe, who avoid triggering import taxes because they use the car under a tourist visa,” says Jonathan. “Then there are LHD buyers where there is no LHD market.” Some cars, he rightly points out, don’t offer a choice – such as selected GT2 or RS models, for which RHD options may be rare. “Then there are buyers who realise the LHD market for some models is larger, so are happy to hold them,” he adds.
Relocating those 911s to a new country can trigger import duty. “But that depends on the area,” Jonathan clarifies. “Switzerland, for example, is unaffected, being non-eu.” Over 25 years old, cars are open to the US market, and depending on the strength of any currency – a strong Dollar or a weak Pound, for example – that can open up the cars to non-uk markets, he highlights. “Strength of currency is a driver of other markets,” he adds of the future.
Jonathan Aucott of Avantgarde Classics (www.
avantgardeclassics.co.uk) echoes the appeal of LHD in certain models. “Anything LHD only, or low numbers in RHD, like 964 RS or 2.7 RS, is unaffected,” he says. “Some buyers are equally happy to pay a premium for RHD of such cars, too.” In contrast, he points out that “cars which are plentiful in RHD are almost unsellable in LHD in the
UK, like a 3.2 Carrera or SC.”
Historically, there’s always been a steady flow into the UK of LHD cars, with buyers choosing to make a saving by buying a European car and then driving it back to the UK. It was a traditional way to get hold of a used 911 below the UK market price. What of those? Hexagon’s Ostroff rightly suggests a cheap car imported into the UK, often with high milage, will always remain a cheap 911 – unlike the collector-quality market. Avantgarde’s Aucott echoes this, but says there will always be a buyer for the bottom of any market, happy to take the saving from a LHD model.