usctrojanGT3

Yup, no franchise laws would prohibit PCNA from punishing stealers by giving them few GT allocations...that's the power PCNA can have over the stealers to slap their wrists.

ipse dixit

Exactly.

So now you should know exactly how PAG / PCNA feels about dealer ADMs.

mcsmcs1

^Correct- they choose to look the other way.

STG

YUP ..

I have said the same thing over and over again but nobody ever seems to care or comment on it. Always the stealers and never the real source.

This is working just as intended.

Archimedes

You think they’re going to punish their best distributors? Not a business owner are ya...

orthojoe

What would their best distributors do about it if they did? Stop selling their cars? Close up shop? I’m struggling to think of a way to retaliate. Help me out.

Golden Boy

start filing more fake warranty claims?? Billing manufacturer out the ....??? Open another manufacturer dealership?? Start pushing other manufacturers vehicles?

Freddie Two Bs

Nice to see that for you committing fraud is a natural response to a business decision you don't like.

orthojoe

? ? None of those make any sense.

Golden Boy

its not and i dont own a dealership. I wouldn’t put it past dealerships. Have seen it several times trying to bill me and or filing warranty claim and doing no work.
but you keep thinking everyone is straight as an arrow.

Golden Boy

yes if i owned multiple dealerships i could advise sales guys to push gt buyers to lets say another of my dealerships like mclaren and or an amg gtr etc. but thats only if you have multiple manufacturers you are a dealer for.

Archimedes

First, it’s not a matter of retaliating. It’s simply a matter of that dealer not being motivated to sell some of the less desirable cars. If I’m not getting the good stuff, I probably won’t be so willing to order a bunch of 4 banger Macan’s with no margins or bloated Panameras that sit on the lot for 9 months before being sold below sticker. I’d reoptimize my inventory, likely to the detriment of Porsche A.G. in nterms if volumes.

Second, in the U.S. the manufacturer cannot legally dictate to the dealers how they price the cars. And if they attempt to do through punitive means they can be liable for damages.

But back to my original point. Porsche doesn’t care and has no interest in upsetting the apple cart that is their big dealers. I’m sure Porsche isn’t losing any sleep over losing a customer like me and gaining some rich whale who has no trouble writing a $25k over check.

StudGarden

Maybe they won’t. It’s a calculation on their part. Businesses and business owners don’t always do the best thing for their business either. Just look at the NFL. Even the most loyal customers will only tolerate so many middle fingers directed at them.

I remember back in the day when asked about the proliferation of competing sports cars, they said we’ll leave them as crumbs on the table for the others to pick up. Kinda pompous, but kinda cool. Downright defiant in a no compromise kind of way. You still see that today to some degree, which is why most 911 owners are 911 owners in the first place. We’re almost never driving the fastest cars for the money, nor are they the most luxurious. But there’s something special about the 911 and for the most part Porsche has stuck to that. Good for them.

But the ADM game, especially when force multiplied by the flippers and guidos (who have ZERO brand loyalty) really starts to turn people off. When we begin to feel like they’re treating US as crumbs on the table for their other models to pick up, it could go either way.

Maybe we’ll submit and let them steer us into their other offerings. Or maybe we start taking our business elsewhere. Small numbers at first, perhaps more later. Could go either way. The competition has never been more fierce and that’s not going to change. 911s, especially GT cars, will always be something special. But when it gets to the point where their customers aren’t valued or respected, we may just start going somewhere else. They need us WAY more than we need them, and there’s not, nor will there ever be, enough Jay Leno’s, Schmee’s and millionaire ballers in the world to keep the lights on at corporate if we start to walk away. (No offense to Jay or Schmee as I like both their reviews/thoughts on cars).

I get that the ADM game is addictive from a right now point of view. And I know they’ve done it in the past. But is it forever sustainable?

I don’t like turbos in sports cars. I prefer NA, and love 911s. I’ll go up the food chain a model or two more than I otherwise go to get that, especially is it’s something special like a 9k redline 911. But if big city ballers get everything and us lowly crumbs can only even have a chance to play with 5, or even 6 figure “fools tax” penalties attached to it, screw them. And if they think I’m buying a Cayman or Macan instead, I’ll just crumb my way onto someone else’s table.

I don’t even mind not getting one. They only make XXXX many and I’m XXXX+1 in line? Fair enough. Some people who are longer time and more loyal customers who bought more cars jumps the line a bit? OK, I guess. I get that. But when you say you don’t want or need my business until and unless I’m the highest bidder to whom you choose to allow your product to be sold to? Bye Felicia.

ipse dixit

Many, if not all, of the highest performing Porsche dealers are conglomerates that own/sell multiple dealerships and marques.

The concern with PAG is that the bigger and more well-capitalized dealership owner groups will pull out of selling Porsches, or sue PCNA for breach of franchise laws, or both. For better or worse, under the current franchise laws, manufacturers are more reliant on dealerships than dealerships are on manufacturers, especially for those dealership groups that are well-capitalized to begin with (i.e. Autonation, Penske, etc.)

orthojoe

Why would any of the multibrand dealers stop selling Porsche when they are already doing very well? You guys make it sound like the dealer’s only source of profit are GT cars. That can’t be true.

If Porsche pulls their GT allocations they won’t make as much money. Dealer will want to avoid this. Selling cars at msrp still make money. Certainly more money than no allocations at all.

Porsche pulls allocations from dealers who are found selling cars to people who export to other countries.