Wednesday, September 24, 2008
We're off
We're leaving for Stuttgart today, traveling overnight and into tomorrow, and the factory tour and delivery is all set for Friday. Packing worked out well with a little bit of thought, I think we should be good. Next post here will include pictures of the car!
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Planning and Packing for the Trip
After spending much time on Google Maps and Google Earth learning the area, visiting other sites such as AlpineRoads.com, and watching the "World's Best Driving Roads" episode of Top Gear, I have laid out a Google Map of our planned route through Europe. It's about 1700 miles total, meaning we'll have to average about 250 miles per day which should equate to about 6 hours of driving per day. It should be a nice break-in for the car.
There are no direct flights from Philly to Stuttgart, so we have a layover in Paris on our way to Stuttgart. I have only booked our first and last night's hotel stays, the rest of it will be made up as we go along. Hopefully that plan will work out; I'm a little nervous that we won't be able to find hotels on the fly but I don't really anticipate much of a problem.
Normally I don't have much trouble packing for trips, but this trip has two specific problems that make it more difficult than usual: 1) we expect to encounter a temperature range from about 20-80 degrees Fahrenheit, and 2) we have less than 5 cubic feet of space in the 911 Carrera's front trunk for the two of us for a 10 day trip. There is also the rear seat area which will provide more space, but I'd like to use that space minimally to prevent our stuff from flying around the cabin and also to keep items hidden from view.
To keep space usage to a minimum, we are packing clothes that can be easily layered and which are lightweight and quick-drying so we can hand-wash things on the go. Outside of clothes we'll be taking some very portable electronics: Asus Eee PC for Internet / Email access and Skype usage for phone calls, Garmin C330 GPS w/ European map card, Amazon Kindle - so my wife has something to do (read) on any down time, USB drive loaded with MP3s to test the Porsche's Universal Audio Interface, and of course a digital camera with lots of storage.
We have some foreign currency and I've notified banks and credit cards of our travel plans, passports and international driver's permits are in order, I have the factory delivery information I need, and we have some physical maps to backup the GPS - I think we're all set to go.
There are no direct flights from Philly to Stuttgart, so we have a layover in Paris on our way to Stuttgart. I have only booked our first and last night's hotel stays, the rest of it will be made up as we go along. Hopefully that plan will work out; I'm a little nervous that we won't be able to find hotels on the fly but I don't really anticipate much of a problem.
Normally I don't have much trouble packing for trips, but this trip has two specific problems that make it more difficult than usual: 1) we expect to encounter a temperature range from about 20-80 degrees Fahrenheit, and 2) we have less than 5 cubic feet of space in the 911 Carrera's front trunk for the two of us for a 10 day trip. There is also the rear seat area which will provide more space, but I'd like to use that space minimally to prevent our stuff from flying around the cabin and also to keep items hidden from view.
To keep space usage to a minimum, we are packing clothes that can be easily layered and which are lightweight and quick-drying so we can hand-wash things on the go. Outside of clothes we'll be taking some very portable electronics: Asus Eee PC for Internet / Email access and Skype usage for phone calls, Garmin C330 GPS w/ European map card, Amazon Kindle - so my wife has something to do (read) on any down time, USB drive loaded with MP3s to test the Porsche's Universal Audio Interface, and of course a digital camera with lots of storage.
We have some foreign currency and I've notified banks and credit cards of our travel plans, passports and international driver's permits are in order, I have the factory delivery information I need, and we have some physical maps to backup the GPS - I think we're all set to go.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Final Numbers
...Sort of. As explained previously, the Federal income tax is withdrawn up front at 25%, so the difference to my actual tax bracket will be sorted out when I file my 2008 taxes, as will the PA income tax. But here are the final up-front numbers:
Some of the numbers have been rounded/combined for simplicity's sake, and I didn't include the VAT deposit (as it will be credited back when the car is shipped to the US), but those numbers are pretty much the deal. At this point the papers have been signed and I have the VIN of the vehicle - WP0AB29949S720835 - which is currently in the process of assembly at the factory. I guess I now "officially" own a 2009 Porsche 911 Carrera S.
We leave for Germany exactly two weeks from today.
| MSRP (as configured) | $95,525 |
| Freight | $895 |
| Tourist Delivery | $2,250 |
| State Sales & Tire Tax | $5,737 |
| Fees (documentation, title, etc.) | $147 |
| Total Vehicle Cost | $104,554 |
| Effective Credit from Raffle | $71,449 |
| Total Paid Up Front | $33,105 |
Some of the numbers have been rounded/combined for simplicity's sake, and I didn't include the VAT deposit (as it will be credited back when the car is shipped to the US), but those numbers are pretty much the deal. At this point the papers have been signed and I have the VIN of the vehicle - WP0AB29949S720835 - which is currently in the process of assembly at the factory. I guess I now "officially" own a 2009 Porsche 911 Carrera S.
We leave for Germany exactly two weeks from today.
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