So, how do you buy a Porsche?

[Hian]

Hi,
I currently drive a Jag XKR and am planning to change to a 911 C2. Not familiar with Porsche so managed to have a current GTS for a days loan last Saturday and confirmed for me that a move into the new 911 is the way to go, based on budget and the fact that I'd like to buy new.
So, when we'd finished the drive on Saturday, dropped the car back to the dealer, had a quick brew and a chat to indicate that we'd be interested. Couldn't take it further on the day as had limited time after the drive as we were on our way to visit relatives. Anyway, agreed that I'd send the spec I had been working on via their site and we'd take it from there. Did that on Sunday and now am waiting for a response.
Not expecting to gain any sort of discount but was wondering from those who have been through this process, what I can expect to happen next and what tactics to employ regarding negotiations. There was no hard sell tactics and we had a good post test drive chat with the dealer, so just wondering what other peoples experience has been,
Cheers
Ian

[itsybitsy]

End of year is always a good time for buying a car so It's a great time to buy the old model 991.1 well it's not that old the new model 991.2 has only just come out!
If you are prepared to buy a preregd new 991.1 you should get a fairly decent discount and if you are prepared to travel / spend some time on the phone haggling even more so and also better for finding a spec that suits you!

[GT3-RS]

Hian said:

Hi,
I currently drive a Jag XKR and am planning to change to a 911 C2. Not familiar with Porsche so managed to have a current GTS for a days loan last Saturday and confirmed for me that a move into the new 911 is the way to go, based on budget and the fact that I'd like to buy new.
So, when we'd finished the drive on Saturday, dropped the car back to the dealer, had a quick brew and a chat to indicate that we'd be interested. Couldn't take it further on the day as had limited time after the drive as we were on our way to visit relatives. Anyway, agreed that I'd send the spec I had been working on via their site and we'd take it from there. Did that on Sunday and now am waiting for a response.
Not expecting to gain any sort of discount but was wondering from those who have been through this process, what I can expect to happen next and what tactics to employ regarding negotiations. There was no hard sell tactics and we had a good post test drive chat with the dealer, so just wondering what other peoples experience has been,
Cheers
Ian

buying a new Porsche from an OPC is a different experience than buying most other marques it's almost like they're not bothered if they sell one or not cause they know you want one once it's been established that they'll let you have one (model dependant) then you hand over your intent deposit £3k to £5k (model dependant then you can sit down with the salesperson and spec your car up.......once your happy it's all logged onto the OPC's system they'll send it off to Porsche to see if they're being allocated any of that model then you sit and wait and wait and wait till Porsche notify the OPC whether or not they're getting said model allocated if they are then eventually Zuffenhausen will allocate you a build slot....then you wait and wait and wait....you get the picture then you'll get a build slot which may be 6 months or more away (model dependant) about a month before the build date your OPC will call you to lock the Spec down once that's been done that's it that's what your getting and paying for previous to the Spec lock down you can change the spec as many times as you like (you might find a bit more cash to up your spec you never know)......your OPC will call you to tell you your car is in build and when it will hit our shores then you can arrange a date to go Pay (finalise deposit / finance) your money and collect.....Voila.....I've been waiting since February (10 months)....just waiting for my OPC to call with my collection date which should be imminent Yay

[PorscheGT4]

Hian said:

Hi,
I currently drive a Jag XKR and am planning to change to a 911 C2. Not familiar with Porsche so managed to have a current GTS for a days loan last Saturday and confirmed for me that a move into the new 911 is the way to go, based on budget and the fact that I'd like to buy new.
So, when we'd finished the drive on Saturday, dropped the car back to the dealer, had a quick brew and a chat to indicate that we'd be interested. Couldn't take it further on the day as had limited time after the drive as we were on our way to visit relatives. Anyway, agreed that I'd send the spec I had been working on via their site and we'd take it from there. Did that on Sunday and now am waiting for a response.
Not expecting to gain any sort of discount but was wondering from those who have been through this process, what I can expect to happen next and what tactics to employ regarding negotiations. There was no hard sell tactics and we had a good post test drive chat with the dealer, so just wondering what other peoples experience has been,
Cheers
Ian

what model ? 991.1 big discount 991.2 you may get a discount as Dec sales are always slow buy as late as you can in the year, OPC want/need sales in dec the markets always slow.

[retreat]

Get on the phone and see what you can do, 10k off list for 991.1 sitting on the forecourt, I got that for accepting the old reg just before it changed in Feb. Same discounts around , just search through this forum, a chap got 10k off his GTS from Dick Lovett a week or two back, the thread was GTS=GTS

[Buster73]

quote=itsybitsy]End of year is always a good time for buying a car so It's a great time to buy the old model 991.1 well it's not that old the new model 991.2 has only just come out!
If you are prepared to buy a preregd new 991.1 you should get a fairly decent discount and if you are prepared to travel / spend some time on the phone haggling even more so and also better for finding a spec that suits you!
[/quote]


Making a very general assumption there , it makes me wonder if you've tried to by a 911 in the last few weeks
By reading the above I would assume you haven't.

[itsybitsy]

Buster73 said:

Making a very general assumption there , it makes me wonder if you've tried to by a 911 in the last few weeks
By reading the above I would assume you haven't.

No not recently but from past experience ie December 2011 when the 991 came out up to 17% discount could be had on a new preregd 997.2 even the limited edition 997 GtS could be had discount!But not all dealers like to play ball hence why I said ring around even if you have to travel 300 miles for the best deal it's worth it!Alsoi found certain dealers ie West Sussex you get the worse trade in and not a good if any discount whereas somewhere like Glasgow are very accomodating!

[Buster73]

itsybitsy said:

No not recently but from past experience ie December 2011 when the 991 came out up to 17% discount could be had on a new preregd 997.2 even the limited edition 997 GtS could be had discount!But not all dealers like to play ball hence why I said ring around even if you have to travel 300 miles for the best deal it's worth it!Alsoi found certain dealers ie West Sussex you get the worse trade in and not a good if any discount whereas somewhere like Glasgow are very accomodating!

The market is a lot different now to 4 years ago when the grip of recession was a lot stronger than it is now.

FYI , I'm currently in negotiations to buy a 991.1 and the dealer stance is very much that there is a demand for the last of the na engined cars , not withstanding the car I'm trying to buy has been in stock months.

I'm on the verge of walking away .

[itsybitsy]

Buster73 said:

The market is a lot different now to 4 years ago when the grip of recession was a lot stronger than it is now.

FYI , I'm currently in negotiations to buy a 991.1 and the dealer stance is very much that there is a demand for the last of the na engined cars , not withstanding the car I'm trying to buy has been in stock months.

I'm on the verge of walking away .

Which dealers?have you tried other dealers/groups as I mentioned some dealers won't budge and a factory build is nye on impossible but a delivery miles pre regd stock is the best way to go for discount although you have to be flexible on spec.
Keep pushing there buttons as what they are telling you is untrue otherwise it would have sold,I would leave it a couple of weeks and let them chase you and then push harder for a deal!

[boringbeige]

Might all be irrelevant, you may find there aren't any GTS build slots left on the 991.1. As for Porsche dealers, my last 3 new porsches I got 6% off each. But they do make you feel as tho they are doing you a favour in letting you buy a car from them. It should be the other way round, They should be grateful that you have chosen to buy one of their products.

[Malo]

Plenty of room for discount - the OPC has 20k in Margin!

[DMC2]

Malo said:

Plenty of room for discount - the OPC has 20k in Margin!

But not £20k profit.

[tuffer]

retreat said:

Get on the phone and see what you can do, 10k off list for 991.1 sitting on the forecourt, I got that for accepting the old reg just before it changed in Feb. Same discounts around , just search through this forum, a chap got 10k off his GTS from Dick Lovett a week or two back, the thread was GTS=GTS

That was my thread, I did not get 10K off as I traded a car in so level of discount was not so clear. Some others commented on the thread that they had managed to get about 10k off list.

[Wozy68]

Bare.with me as I'm not up to speed on modern 911S but when up at OPC Kendal three years ago having my 993 serviced they had (well I'm pretty certain it was) a 911 GTS convertible listed at £110k for £88k pre reg brand new in the showroom.

Beautiful car but I couldn't work out what you did if you had a flat as it didn't come with a wrench to remove the centre lock, only the socket, and the sales guy was stumped on that one also. Always practical me .

[tuffer]

Wozy68 said:

Bare.with me as I'm not up to speed on modern 911S but when up at OPC Kendal three years ago having my 993 serviced they had (well I'm pretty certain it was) a 911 GTS convertible listed at £110k for £88k pre reg brand new in the showroom.

Beautiful car but I couldn't work out what you did if you had a flat as it didn't come with a wrench to remove the centre lock, only the socket, and the sales guy was stumped on that one also. Always practical me .

3 years ago would have been a 997 and it would have been a year old, find it hard to believe a 997 GTS could be £110K even for a convertible unless it had a stupendous spec and finally, if it was I find it even harder to believe it would be reduced to £88K. Are you sure it was a new car?

[crystalmethod]

itsybitsy said:

Buster73 said:

Making a very general assumption there , it makes me wonder if you've tried to by a 911 in the last few weeks
By reading the above I would assume you haven't.

No not recently but from past experience ie December 2011 when the 991 came out up to 17% discount could be had on a new preregd 997.2 even the limited edition 997 GtS could be had discount!But not all dealers like to play ball hence why I said ring around even if you have to travel 300 miles for the best deal it's worth it!Alsoi found certain dealers ie West Sussex you get the worse trade in and not a good if any discount whereas somewhere like Glasgow are very accomodating!

I agree with this. Once you know roughly what spec you're after ring around several dealers from different groups. You should hopefully be able to find a couple with cars in stock that are close to your ideal. Then negotiate with them simultaneously as they'll work harder if they know you're going to buy, but have alternatives.

As mentioned above, some dealers seem to want to deal much more than others. Extras like a third year's warranty and GAP insurance are also worth going for once you've got to the lowest price.

Have fun. It's always exciting buying a car.

[retreat]

tuffer said:

retreat said:

Get on the phone and see what you can do, 10k off list for 991.1 sitting on the forecourt, I got that for accepting the old reg just before it changed in Feb. Same discounts around , just search through this forum, a chap got 10k off his GTS from Dick Lovett a week or two back, the thread was GTS=GTS

That was my thread, I did not get 10K off as I traded a car in so level of discount was not so clear. Some others commented on the thread that they had managed to get about 10k off list.

My apologies, I think it was Molar explorer,

Any more pics of the GTS? Looked fantastic!

[ORD]

Don't buy a 991.2 on the basis of test-driving a 991.1. That's like picking your wife by dating her attractive sister.

[Hian]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Got an email today from the salesperson I'm dealing with indicating that he wouldn't be in the office when I'm next available to drop in and gave no indication of when we could sit down and deal. Never experienced so much indifference when trying to spend >£80k, interesting indeed.
So, I'm in Manchester this weekend & will try the Bolton centre and see what the response is.
Point taken about buying a 991.2 based on a 991.1 drive but there's demos to drive in Jan, but am interested in trying to find a prereg 991.1 if poss.
Let's see what the weekend discussions bring,
cheers
Ian

[GT3-RS]

Hian said:

Thanks for the advice everyone. Got an email today from the salesperson I'm dealing with indicating that he wouldn't be in the office when I'm next available to drop in and gave no indication of when we could sit down and deal. Never experienced so much indifference when trying to spend >£80k, interesting indeed.
So, I'm in Manchester this weekend & will try the Bolton centre and see what the response is.
Point taken about buying a 991.2 based on a 991.1 drive but there's demos to drive in Jan, but am interested in trying to find a prereg 991.1 if poss.
Let's see what the weekend discussions bring,
cheers
Ian

that's about right I did say buying a Porsche is a different experience than buying other marques....but this wont put you off....Porsche are quite successful at selling cars even with this indifference in attitude