I have a good friend who is kind of known, I hear (not by him) in Finland for doing crazy stunts on snowmobiles. Roope Laukkonen. Know of him?

Just a shot in the dark...

 

It's mostly because of the custom fees and taxes. These cars are considered extremely luxury, way beyond mere transportation need from point A to B. My Friend just bought a 2003 996 TT 36K mi on the clock and paid approximately $279K US for his car in Istanbul, Turkey. There are plenty available around this price range. Like for gas, every country pays pretty much same for a barrel of oil, yet gas can cost about $10-$12 per gallon in Japan, England and Turkey. Again all because of custom fees and taxes.

 

So, then, I now understand why the young hotties from the regular 95% of the population are so eager to come home with a red faced middle aged man like me

Meanwhile my wife complains about how much prettier her bosses Ferrari is than my GT2. She also gets mad if I don't keep the gas tank on the CTT topped off at all times.

 

Well - an average engineer with at least a Master Degree was bringing in about $24KUSD annually and a used TT going for about $320KUSD. Gotta be a pretty BIG Ballers if you ask me Even if you can afford the car - having a pad to put them in is no loose change either... Trust me if you can afford one - you are in the top elite 5% of the nation (just look at the how many scooters and tut-tuts you see as you drive by - LOL).

 

How many baht per dollar?

 

sad thing is somebody will pay that amount

 

36 baht for a $1

 

yep, just moved to hk two years ago for work and couldnt resist it anymore. had to pull the trigger on a 02 tt. sad thing is, for the price of that i couldve bought a brand new 997 tt back home in chicago. hk taxes consumption, but thanks to my american passport, i get taxed no matter where i go. thailand and singapore have far worse auto taxes/levies though. ouch.

 

Used to be. It was as low as 31/USD about two months ago. Now, it's back up to 33.5. (See www.xe.com).

 

Did you mean $240k USD? Surely. Right? If not, I'm going to have a whole phase shift.

Glad I'm in sales and am a sales trainer. Everyone's happy to pay a good salesman top dollar. Commission is the only way to go to get the money quick. My momma didn't raise no dummy!

And everyone keeps referencing the 'top 5 percent'. I'd think it much less common than that. In America, the richest 3% make over $400,000/year (Wiki Answers). Does this then pan out? I'd say that most people owning a 997TT are in this group, right?

 

That's $382,000 for that car. I'm shipping mine to Thailand and then retiring.

 

$24K is t he correct number - higher now since it was 39baht = 1USD then.

There is no better wealth distribution anywhere then the US (wonderful Middle Class and Upper Middle Class even). That's might be the reason for so many exotics driving around in the High Tech area. Her in the Bay Area average engineering pay straight out of school with no experience is around $65K and can go all the way to $160K with experience in the right area. But the stock options is where people can get ahead. This makes buying a P-car affordable to some extent.

 

You think most people driving a 997TT is clearing 400k+ per year? doubt it man...I would say 95% of them are clearing more than 150k, but more than 400k I would have to assume not. I mean maybe in some areas, but there are areas of the country (aka not in socal, bay area, nyc, etc) where the cost of living allows such luxuries for much less than making that kind of dough. I bet such a metric exists for something like a 430 or a Murci, but for a 997TT? I mean its not like 150k+ puts you in a pauper income class either, but i doubt that is even in the top 15% (i should check wiki answers prolly :-)) Maybe i'm wrong and im the ghetto kid here trying to pimp the nice ride, if so all these ballah's on here can correct me :-)

I think i must own a black Gallardo :-)

 

It will cost about $350 K to get it into the country!!!! you wont be able to afford to sell it!!

 

Actually, by the time the countries here typically add all the tax to even second hand cars, they are not a viable option to a local car. Add the fact that the car is LHD and a grey market import(Thailand and most of this side of the world drive on the wrong side), and it would be a hard sell....

Market aribtrage doesnt exist unfortunately... would be a great business otherwise...