Joining the Porsche Club of America Is Transformative–Here’s Why You Should Consider.
The cost of joining the Porsche Club of America is small, but the returns are larger than a lot of people realize.
A lot of people buy their first Porsche and are so excited they head right to Rennlist and begin to ask how they can make their car even better. What wheels should I buy? How do I get more power? Who sells the best exhaust? And this is all fine and dandy. Customizing your Porsche to make it your own is one of the best aspects of the ownership experience. But before you head down the slippery slope of modifications, there is one thing that you should do first. Join the Porsche Club of America (PCA). It is the single best investment you can make to enhance your Porsche ownership experience.
For those of you who do not know me, I am a 21-year member of the PCA. The last three years I have served as the vice president of the Riesentöter Region which has roughly 3,000 active members. Thanks to my involvement in the PCA, and the fact that I am a freelance automotive writer, I have attended hundreds of various car events over the years. Many Porsche-specific but equally as many that are open to all marques.
Oftentimes, people ask me at these events if joining the PCA is worth the money. And honestly, that question makes me chuckle–of course it is worth it.
But the people asking are dead serious, so I thought it would be a good time to address that question here for a larger audience.
Not a Paid Advertisement
I want to be clear right away that I have nothing to gain from folks joining PCA. I am not compensated by them in any way. If another 100 people join my region tomorrow, it doesn’t put a dime in my pocket. I don’t get rewarded with a 911 S/T allocation at MSRP.
The reason I am writing this is because I truly believe that there is so much to gain from membership. It seems that some folks may be missing out because of preconceived notions around what the club is all about. I have been in it long enough to see firsthand just how much it can improve your ownership experience and I wanted to share that with everyone.
Cost to Join PCA
OK, let’s get the “bad news” out of the way up front. It currently costs $56 for a one-year membership in the PCA. I realize that not all Porsche owners are wealthy, but I think it is safe to say that none of us are going to miss 15 cents a day.
Especially for something that provides benefits that so far outweigh the cost, that the cost is statistically irrelevant. Membership includes a subscription to the excellent Porsche Panorama monthly magazine. If you do absolutely nothing else other than read that magazine, you get your money’s worth. But the PCA is a whole heck of a lot more than just a glossy magazine.
National Benefits
I am not going to spend a ton of time on this because you can click on the website and read about the benefits yourself. I want to focus more on my personal experiences with the club. But it must be mentioned that membership includes a host of benefits like access to national events like Porsche Parade and Werks Reunion.
You get discounts at the Porsche Track Experience, access to PCA’s members-only marketplace and you could even win a brand-new Porsche via the bi-annual members-only raffle. A couple years ago a member in my region won a 992 Carrera and my club president and I surprised him at his house with the news. It was a memorable night for all of us.
Porsche Club of America Regions
There are 148 PCA regions around North America. You will be assigned one based on your location when you register. But that doesn’t mean you are locked into just that region. You are free to attend events from any region as well as the national events.
Some regions are larger and more active than others. I can’t speak to the specifics of how all 148 regions are run, so a lot of what I am sharing here is based on my experience with the Riesentöter region.
Who Is Welcome
If you own, co-own, or lease a Porsche you can join. It doesn’t matter if you have a brand new GT3 RS or an old 924. People in my area have asked me if they would be welcome to attend events even though they have “only” a base 911 Carrera. They felt that maybe they would be looked down on because they don’t own the fastest or most expensive version of a particular model. Hogwash. We don’t work that way.
My current Porsche is a humble 1999 Boxster that makes barely 200 horsepower on a good day. It is worth less than the ceramic brakes on some of the cars that show up at our events. Who cares? We all love the Porsche brand. That is our bond. Just because someone has a more expensive model, doesn’t mean they love the brand more.
Bring the Kids
Another question I hear a lot is, can I bring my kids to an event? Yes! PCA even has a Porsche Juniors program for those under 18. We love to see the younger generation out at our events. It is how many of us started out.
We drooled over these cars as kids. Some of you may be an owner today, because a kind owner let you sit in their Porsche when you were just a kid. It left an impression on you. Now we are in a position to pay that back. And attending PCA events is a heck of a lot better for kids than watching endless TikTok videos on their phones. Please don’t be shy about bringing your kids and getting them involved.
What We Really Do
You may be thinking to yourself, “that this is all great, but why do I really need to join? I have my own friends. I can enjoy my car by myself.” Of course, that is true. You don’t need to join. Plenty of folks don’t, and I am sure they have a fine time with their Porsche. You don’t need to put hot fudge, whipped cream, and a cherry on top of your ice cream, either–but it does enhance the experience.
In the Riesentöter region, we offer something for everyone. Do you like to push your car to the limit? We have several autocross and HPDE events every year. Do you like a little slower pace? We organize driving rallies that take us on back roads, under covered bridges, and end at a fabulous place for lunch, dinner, or dessert.
Our club does a yearly road trip, where we gather about 30 cars and drive a few hours to an interesting destination a couple hundred miles away for a long weekend. We pack the weekend with all sorts of activities that you can join us in, or you can decide to explore the area on your own. We have wine tasting dinners, and scotch tasting dinners. Our cars have been part of the display at the Philadelphia Auto Show. We have had events at fine watch boutiques such as Omega. Our region has an annual Oktoberfest celebration, and a drive-in movie/family picnic night. And we have casual happy hour meetups each month as well.
We hold monthly membership meetings at various locations around the region. Sometimes we are at Porsche dealers, other times, at performance shops, or detail studios, and so on. And at every meeting we have dinner provided for you. You can easily get your money back by just attending our meetings and getting free meals. The one complaint that our region receives is that we “do too much.” Sometimes, due to scheduling constraints, we have multiple events on the same day. We try our best to avoid that, but we consider that a good problem to have.
We Give Back
Our region, like many others, is all about charity. About ten years ago our region president came up with a food drive idea called Phil-a-Frunk. It was a small rally to donate food to our local food bank, Philabundance. That has now grown to a major event called Phil-a-Trunk. Last year, in one day we were joined by about 30 other local car clubs, over 3,000 cars, and we donated 89 TONS of food to Philabundance.
Friendships
The PCA events are great, but at the end of the day, it is the people you meet that make the difference. Over the years I have made many incredible connections thanks to PCA. My fiancé and I have been invited to weddings, holiday parties, vacations, and more by some of the friends we met through PCA.
The friendships and connections made go far deeper than just cars. In fact, Porsche talk makes up less than five percent of the conversion when we get together with friends from the club. We hug, laugh, and tease each other, like we are family. We support each other and offer advice. Joining PCA has not only enhanced my Porsche ownership experience, but it has also enhanced my life.
Get Involved: Porsche Club of America
If you have not yet joined or have joined but not attended any events, I would encourage you to get involved. If you are ever in the Philly area, you are welcome to attend any Riesentöter event. But if not, check out your own region. Meet the people. If it is not a very active region, volunteer and offer to create some events yourself. We are always asking our regional members to offer ideas for rallies, or happy hour spots, or to contribute articles to our regional newsletter.
Before you drop $5,000 on a new exhaust system, spend $56 on a Porsche Club of America membership. Picking up a few horsepower, and a better sound from a new exhaust is exciting. However, being an active PCA member has the potential to improve your life in ways that go far beyond cars.
Photos: Porsche
Join the Rennlist forums!
