Importing Boxster into Canada Question
 

I recently bought my first Boxster (1999) and am going to pick it up in Jersey and bring it to Canada next week. All the paperwork is good but I have one question that some of you Canadians or Americans might be able to answer.
I can do all the mods needed (day time running lights, etc) without any problem except...... I need the odometer switched over to KM's instead of Miles to pass inspection. Porsche told me they can do it but its pricey......
Does anyone know how to do this?

SHAME on your dealer! A pox on their house!!

Here is the not-so-pricey procedure:

Take a look at your instrument panel, specifically at the tachometer.

At approximately the 2 O'clock position (between the "5" and "6" on the tach), just above and to the right of the tach, you will see a small adjustment button with an icon of a clock on it.

With the ignition on, hold that adjustment button turned all the way to the left for about 5 seconds.

Voila, it should now read all in kilometers.

Regards, Maurice.

You've got to be kidding me...... I haven't even got the car home yet and I think I'm already pissed off at Porsche Toronto. If its really that easy then I am pissed!
I'll give that a shot next week when its in my driveway.
Thanks a lot for your help!!

Trust me, it's that simple and you can be pXXXed right now.

Try it when you get it home, and then be sure to call that STEALER and tell them they should be ashamed of themselves! :dance:

Regards, Maurice.

Miles to Kilometers
 

Hello fellow Torontonian,

I guess i can relate to the mis-understanding that the stealership was quoting you on the price of the conversion. If what you asked them was to replace the whole face of your speedo gauges.. miles to Kilos, then it would be pricey.
But if you just want the speedo to register in kilometers then it's just a matter of switching it right from the speedo face... procedure is also in your owner's handbook..
don't forget though, that you would get the digital readout in kilometers in a small window opening , and the actual analog needle registered in miles.
anyway, good luck on your Boxster purchase...
enjoy! :dance:

Another thing to keep in mind. That '5 second knob hold' only switches the speedometer. When I got mine (in the US as well and brought it over to Ottawa - after a 5,000km drive from Santa Monica, subject to its own post :D ) I wanted everything changed to Metric (temperature indicators on the air conditioning for example). In some cars the only way to do is to hook up a computer and change a flag that sets the car to 'Canada'. I saw the dealer in California (Porsche one) do it in front of me (and by the way, at no cost :eek: ) and it worked. What else gets changed when that flag is set I have no clue but they did it for me and I was happy.
Not sure if this is something you can set with the Durametric or if you need the full blown Porsche own system to do it. Others can comment as well.
There is no need to change the speedometer 'labels' at all. Mine passed inspection just fine.
You MUST bring the car to an authorized Porsche dealer though, no matter you have all done on the car in the US. They must 'inspect' it and issue you a letter. That alone costs $500 plus taxes. Had to do it unfortunately.

CR

Are you talking about the open recall letter that Porsche HQ in the US has to issue to you for Canadian customs? They didn't even look at my car. They sent me the letter for free.

Nope. They also check if the car was not reported stolen or something like that across all provinces AND also do a 'detailed' inspection on the car (according to them). From what I know without this letter you cannot finalize the RIV import process.

CR

importation
 

Just went through the process.Porsche Canada charges $500 to inspect the car before issuing the compliance letter of recalls.It's just to make money and stop some of the people to import.But you got to do it for the RVI.To put the speedo in Kilometers it is as easy as the previous post has mentioined and don't know why they make a big fuss.Importation is one step at a time and all goes well.72 hours before importing U.S customs must have the proper documents in possession.They check the title to make sure the car is not stolen and stamp the title for Canada customs.Good luck.All went well for us.

Hi, all the information is here, http://www.riv.ca/Home.aspx

Good luck

You can also get a recall letter or "Letter of Compliance" from US dealers for a lot less than $500 (the CDN dealers originally wanted ~$1200 for the letter), and perhaps at no cost. If you are buying from a US dealer then include the recall letter as part of the deal.

The R.I.V. doesn't care if the letter is from a US dealer or Canadian dealer as long as it is printed on an official letterhead.

When I brought my car up from the US I was able to call 1-800-PORSCHE, and their customer service rep faxed me the letter at no cost, but times have changed.

I doubt the CDN dealer is checking to see if the car is listed as stolen or if they even have access to that type of record if the vehicle is from the US. When you provide the title to customs on the US side of the border (72 hr in advance), they will check to see if there are any outstanding leans on the car and presumably if it has been reported stolen.

My advice is to take your car to a Canadian Tire to have the Safety Inspection done. They are a partner with R.I.V. and are familiar with process and CDN customs paperwork. I made the mistake of taking my car to Pfaff in Toronto who insisted they did these inspections daily, but their paperwork was rejected by the R.I.V. and delayed the registration process and I ended up at C.T. anyway. Pfaff also charged a hefty fee for the visual safety inspection while C.T. said it was included in the R.I.V. fees.

Over the years I've learned to stay away from the local dealers for service and parts as their prices are out of line when compared to several US dealers.

I buy my maintenance supplies when I'm in the US or order them from Sun Coast Porsche and others.

Good luck bringing your car up and congrats on the new ride.

Aron

Another way - Free!
 

I imported my 987 last September from Dallas, Tx. The dealer I used (Texas Imports in Plano) got me a 'Job Management' printout from the Porsche dealer. In the RIV small print, it does list this as an option instead of the 'costly' recall clearance letter. No official letterhead except the faxed print out says 'Boardwalk Auto Group' (local Porsche dealer). At the bottom it says 'Open Campaigns' and lists 'No'. This was accepted with no problem by the RIV and I was issued my sticker fast. BTW, the local Porsche dealer also changed my lights to daytime and temp, speedo, etc to metric for free. I told Texas Imports I needed this to import the vehicle and they did it. Canadian Tire was great, fast and no cost! Good luck with your import...I love mine. If you have any questions, just get back to me. The border took less than 1/2 hour total time b/n US and Canada Customs.

You DO NOT have to have a Porsche Dealership involved!
 

Just imported another Boxster to Canada. Did the daytime running light hack myself, cost me less than $5 in parts: 3 inches of 18 gauge wire, 2 spade connects, and 2 fuse tabs (dealership wanted $195!!). Recall letter was given to me for free by Porsche corporate in Atlanta. Miles to Km's is a 6 second turn of the odometer knob. Emissions test $35. giving away $500 or more bucks to a Porsche dealership in Canada for these items is ridiculous.. you don't have to do it unless you are completely mechanically declined or love tossing hard earned cash to the Porsche Service Dept gods. Canadian Tire does a safety inspect and they breeze right through it, 10 mins. RIV had no issues with my application. Great system!