Need help finding information about a 944 Turbo
 

Hi

In the end of 2014 I bought a 1987 Porsche 944 Turbo. It was imported to Norway, but had not yet been registered here when I bought it. According to the seller, the car had been shown to the authorities and was ready to register/get plates on it.

My plan was to wait until 2017 as the car would then be 30 years old and could be registered without any taxes (Norwegian law for old historic vehicles).

However, I recently discovered that the first known date of registration for the car was september 1992. As the first date of registration is what is used by the authorities when going by the historic vehicle tax exemption, I won't be able to register the car until 2022 if I am to avoid taxes..

The car was imported from Japan, and was registered first time there in 1992. However, in the engine compartment I found a sticker showing the car had been registered in the US as well. I used the VIN on this sticker and looked the car up on carfax. Unfortunately the only data found there was that the car was sold at an Auto Auction Eastern Region 07/25/1991 with a mileage of 46 687. I assume the car was then exported to Japan.

So, I am wondering if anyone here has access to information on VIN WP0AA295XHN152457 ? It is a black 1987 Porsche 944T with light brown leather interior, double airbags, cruise control and a targa roof. The US VIN mentioned is on a sticker.

But the VIN stamped on the firewall is WP0ZZZ95ZHN152457.

Was this normal for US cars? That they had both a ROW VIN stamped on the body and also a US VIN on a sticker?

I would be really grateful if anyone has information about early registration data for this car.

US cars have the ZZZ number on the firewall.
The US VIN should be on a plate on the windshield.

Ok, that's good. Nothing fishy about the two different VIN numbers then. :-)

It was more then likely shuffled through different dealers until 92. That really sucks. I just purchased a military humvee, and I am the first to register it. Nothing like getting hit for $2,500 for 1 year registration. I feel your pain. Is there any loopholes that you can go through? Label it for farm use or something?

No, only proof of a previous first date of registration will do. So I'll just keep my fingers crossed that perhaps somebody has relevant information on this vehicle.

Go here, pay $39.99, get US history :)

As I wrote in my first post, I have already paid for Carfax documentation, but it proved more or less worthless..

Maybe contact Porsche or Porsche America and see if they have a record of the original dealer they sold the car to, then contact the dealer, if they are still in business, regarding when and who they sold it to. An 87 car with 47k on it by 1991 must have been sold and titled to somebody. It wouldn't be a dealer demo with that many miles.