997 TT or GT3 ?? - Order Process?
Discussion
Guys,
I'm top of the list at my OPC for the 997 GT3 and near the top of the list for 997TT.
Aside from the fact I haven't decided which one to get yet ! (leaning towards the TT for everyday use - gonna get a "proper"track weapon, Radical, for track days!) - I'm trying to decipher the ordering process.
From what I can gather I need to get my £10k deposit in - and THEN the OPC complete some sort of questionnaire designed to "vet" the customers. I think it will be based upon previous cars/Porsches, current cars, length of relationship with the OPC, and general suitability - basically they want to "weed out" the speculators and flippers (GOOD!!) - I'm fortunate that I will probably get "Top Marks" on the questionnaire which MIGHT put me near top of the list for the TT (still some potentail for skullduggery!).
Is anyone aware of the complete process?....and am I more likely to get a TT quickly than a GT3 - or should I order BOTH!
Thanks
I'm top of the list at my OPC for the 997 GT3 and near the top of the list for 997TT.
Aside from the fact I haven't decided which one to get yet ! (leaning towards the TT for everyday use - gonna get a "proper"track weapon, Radical, for track days!) - I'm trying to decipher the ordering process.
From what I can gather I need to get my £10k deposit in - and THEN the OPC complete some sort of questionnaire designed to "vet" the customers. I think it will be based upon previous cars/Porsches, current cars, length of relationship with the OPC, and general suitability - basically they want to "weed out" the speculators and flippers (GOOD!!) - I'm fortunate that I will probably get "Top Marks" on the questionnaire which MIGHT put me near top of the list for the TT (still some potentail for skullduggery!).
Is anyone aware of the complete process?....and am I more likely to get a TT quickly than a GT3 - or should I order BOTH!
Thanks
silver993tt said:
I could understand this "vetting" process if orsche were giving the cars away at no cost. What people are forgetting is that they are paying large sums of money for a commodity product. I think "vetting" someone who is paying serious money is a disgrace.
Even if it is to protect residuals and thus the customer? Ferrari have been doing it for years.
DanH said:
I could understand this "vetting" process if orsche were giving the cars away at no cost. What people are forgetting is that they are paying large sums of money for a commodity product. I think "vetting" someone who is paying serious money is a disgrace.
Even if it is to protect residuals and thus the customer? Ferrari have been doing it for years.
Porshe have alway asked for deposits for their new models but residuals haven't been protected in any way. Look at the 996 range including GT3 and Turbo.
It's a marketing ploy to whip the herd up into a stampede for what is advertised as rare and hard to get.
If I'm going to pay 90k plus for a car I want to give it a thorough test drive. I'm sure the car will be great but will it be great for me?
I really don't see the idea of buying a car before you've driven it.
DanH said:
Even if it is to protect residuals and thus the customer? Ferrari have been doing it for years.
How does 'vetting' customers protect residuals?
Besides, no amount of vetting is going to stop 'speculators' getting hold of cars - They always get them somehow.
If Porsche made the bloody things more easily available instead of insisting that their customers tick all the right boxes in some sort of 'who you know not what you know' vetting procedure, the speculators wouldn't make so much money anyway.
It's all marketing hype, designed to benefit Porsche, and not the customers. Nothing will ever change in this respect.
Chris
Imagine the scene - 2 Years ago a mid thirtys company director is driving along in a year old M3 and thinks to himself 'the business is going well I fancy a new car in 18 months - 2years and I want something special and quick so i think I will order a 997 Turbo and wait for it to come through' so he goes to his local OPC in his M3 sits down with the salesperson and does the paperwork to order his new car, pays his 10k and is told he is third on the dealers list for a car. He goes away happy thinking that he has a new toy coming and he is happy in the knowledge that he will get a car fairly soon after launch.
Now 2 years later he contacts his OPC and ask how long it will be before he can spec his car. He is then asked to fill in the vetting questionaire prior to specing his car. Now we have a problem because he isnt a previous Porsche owner, he has an M3 which Porsche seem to have taken a dislike to, he is single and is the director of a company with the wrong SIC code, his house is in the wrong postcode and he smokes. All these 'could' go against him when he is put up against a married banker with 2 kids who has had 9 cars from the same OPC in 15 years but only showed an interestin the car this month and hasnt had to pay a deposit.
If Porsche think that this will stop speculators from ordering cars and will protect their product then IMHO they are gravley mis-guided. The vetting cant work in the same way as Ferrari because they are talking about vastly different numbers of cars. The biggest questions I would ask is why do Porsche care who buys their cars everybody will be paying full up for the car and what difference does it make to them if the car is sold the neaxt day for a premium?????
The overs market for 997 cars has HELPED residuals not knocked them and I would imagine that 997 Turbo will be commanding a premium of around 10k at launch. If supply is held back like everyone is expecting most dealers will see 1 car a month for 18 months and I have heard of dealers that have taken over 100 orders for the car so there will be a lot of people willing and able to pay overs to get a car within a year.
Now 2 years later he contacts his OPC and ask how long it will be before he can spec his car. He is then asked to fill in the vetting questionaire prior to specing his car. Now we have a problem because he isnt a previous Porsche owner, he has an M3 which Porsche seem to have taken a dislike to, he is single and is the director of a company with the wrong SIC code, his house is in the wrong postcode and he smokes. All these 'could' go against him when he is put up against a married banker with 2 kids who has had 9 cars from the same OPC in 15 years but only showed an interestin the car this month and hasnt had to pay a deposit.
If Porsche think that this will stop speculators from ordering cars and will protect their product then IMHO they are gravley mis-guided. The vetting cant work in the same way as Ferrari because they are talking about vastly different numbers of cars. The biggest questions I would ask is why do Porsche care who buys their cars everybody will be paying full up for the car and what difference does it make to them if the car is sold the neaxt day for a premium?????
The overs market for 997 cars has HELPED residuals not knocked them and I would imagine that 997 Turbo will be commanding a premium of around 10k at launch. If supply is held back like everyone is expecting most dealers will see 1 car a month for 18 months and I have heard of dealers that have taken over 100 orders for the car so there will be a lot of people willing and able to pay overs to get a car within a year.
wrn said:
Dealers are selling 2006 997 TT build slots for £5k over now - UK dealer (not C16), 1st owner on V5.
Surely a Porsche dealer cannot charge over list ?
I would have no problem putting the said 10k down, but in turn for doing so would expect to be given an accurate build date & also some comeback should the dealership close, i.e a full refund from Porsche, or them to honour the build, etc.
I see too many people, on here I hasten to add, who have this, that & the other 'on order' but with no intention of purchasing them all. Substancial deposits may reduce this, although not stop it fully.
Cars should be for people who wish to own/drive them, not for people to purchase with the intention of making a few quid by selling 'build slots' before they take delivery. Get a proper job.
The problem is numbties like me who are too impatient to wait for a car at list - trust me, if I could, I would - but faced with a wait of 18 months, or having one on the drive now, the premium (I've also been offered one for £5k over) is worth it.
As long as we are around, they'll be people making a good living out of it - annoying but they serve a purpose and it beats a 'proper job' - what's that anyway?
As long as we are around, they'll be people making a good living out of it - annoying but they serve a purpose and it beats a 'proper job' - what's that anyway?
Actual Porsche dealers cannot sell cars above list, if you were to wait 6/9 months after the launch i reckon someone will want or need to sell there Turbo. There will be one somewhere selling for list or less I'm sure. I know the DB9 was still selling for over list for a while but I'm not sure that will be the case for Turbo but it depends how many they intend to build.
Dont ask the dealer though, coming from then your still be getting above list for a year after you pick it up........Right up untill you call them and say look id like to sell my car..."Oh sorry sir the bottoms really dropped out the turbo market, is it black? No ones buying black, shame its not silver" .....grrrrrrrr
silver993tt said:
I could understand this "vetting" process if orsche were giving the cars away at no cost. What people are forgetting is that they are paying large sums of money for a commodity product. I think "vetting" someone who is paying serious money is a disgrace.
Agree, total arrogant disgrace. Not all the people who trade in their 3-year old Porsche at an OPC for a new car regularly are true enthusiasts. Equally there are true enthusiasts who have stuck with their 993s (or whatever) until a new model becomes available that they truly want.
Equally, given the recent appetite for volume (many more 911s sold since the 996 was launched), I can't think that restricting the supply to the must-have-the-latest people will engender anything other than irritation from anyone other than those people. After all, the latest-and-greatest types will find a way to get the latest car somehow.
This, along with the other threads about utterly disgraceful customer service from OPCs, really dismay me since I am still an enthusiast of the marque.
simonharrod911 said:
My dealer says that as I'm a current 997 owner the vetting process would be satified immediately.
I don't see why that should be the case. I was a customer at my local OPC some 15 years ago, since then I've bought almost a dozen new Porsches, 4 of which are from the Lancaster Group, although only one at my local OPC. I always had my cars serviced at this local OPC, but I sold my last Porsche nearly 3 years ago and am no longer a current customer. I placed my name on the list back in summer 2004 for the 997GT3 or RS.
So you're saying that the current customer with a 997 should be favoured over the past customer who they've lost? That's certainly the reverse logic to many other businesses, since it's much cheaper to keep a customer than acquire a customer from a competing brand.
My decision whether or not to confirm my order will be determined in part by how my OPC value our past relationship, giving favour to newer customers that have had a much shorter relationship will be a sure fire way of getting me to say NO.
I actually think the process is fair and overdue in my opinion.
My local dealer has got over 100 Letters of Intent registered, a large amount of whom are from the 'spivs' who want to get a slot or a car and flip at a premium. This keeps cars away from the genuine buyers while they sit in showrooms or languish in lockups. Far better for the dealer to sell to genuine local customers who will value the preferential treatment, provide service and warranty income and then potentially trade the car back later for a newer model.
I for one would be annoyed if I found out my dealer had no cars available for local customers, just because a broker from the Midlands had dropped in 10 Letters in friends names to snatch the slots.
Guy
My local dealer has got over 100 Letters of Intent registered, a large amount of whom are from the 'spivs' who want to get a slot or a car and flip at a premium. This keeps cars away from the genuine buyers while they sit in showrooms or languish in lockups. Far better for the dealer to sell to genuine local customers who will value the preferential treatment, provide service and warranty income and then potentially trade the car back later for a newer model.
I for one would be annoyed if I found out my dealer had no cars available for local customers, just because a broker from the Midlands had dropped in 10 Letters in friends names to snatch the slots.
Guy
When i spoke to my OPC dealer he didnt mention anything to do with vetting anyone. He said get your deposit in then after the 28th we will be speaking to those who have put there money down and asking them when they want there car. I dont particularly want the first turbo and he said other customers were like me and would rather have when they chose. Anyone else heard anything like this?
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