dflowerz

My daughter is a great negotiator for auto purchases. She recently bought a BMW X1 and told me she does most of the negotiation online then visits the dealership to do the final deal. From what I have read here on rennlist, this is not a common occurrence for buying a 911. Is it all at the dealership? How do most of you negotiate your 911 purchase?

LexVan

Face to face. Ready to write a check. There needs to be a sense of urgency and a call to action. You always have walking power.

Hothonda

Tough when you're 1800 miles apart.

Everybody starts at beginning.....in my case the local-yokels have fallen in love with their inventory.

tekniik

All online, I emailed a bunch of dealers and told them what % discount I wanted off of MSRP. Some were willing to negotiate and some were not. They all wanted my phone number to discuss. I basically told them you get my number when I get the price I want. At the end of the day it worked for me.

mathfuzzy

I had a great experience and what I thought was a fantastic deal finding my BMW dealer / salesperson online and negotiating mostly through email. Bought my 997.2 Targa CPO 90% via email as well and that was a good experience and mostly necessary since I was in Singapore on business when it became available.

todd92

I don't go to the dealer for any car until the deal is final and in writing via e-mail. In and out in less than 30 minutes. Face to face negotiating is skewed in favor of the dealer, as they just let you sit and stew. What a waste of time.

Homeles

Bought my last one from a dealer in Ct. and I was in Vietnam. 2 phone calls and completed the deal.

ipse dixit

I do all my negotiations online.

Once I have settled on a final out-the-door price (i.e., inclusive of taxes, fees, etc.), then wire my money, and arrive to the dealer to take delivery.

I do miss, however, the nice array of refreshments and snacks on offer at most dealerships. Some Porsche dealers have great scones, as well warm chocolate chip cookies.

Oh well. The price of efficiency.

Yard Dog

So you who make deals online don't have trades or else sell them yourselves, right?

mmaturo

Mine doesn't (dammit)...need to write that in the next survey post service...I will give you a ten and exceeded my expectations if I get warm cookies and I am being serious...I spent half a day the last time there and I could have used the cookies. My Porsche used was by email and then by phone on the way there to make sure they got the point or I was going to then drive another 150 miles to two other cars if I did not get what it want (hindsight one of those two others may have been fine...already had the duck and was a very good color combo. Anyway email and communication ahead of time worked. 2/3rds of my cars over the years were bought sight unseen (but checked out) and negotiated ahead of time. My caddy was Mechum with about an hour to look at it and about two minutes to decide on what I was paying...so that one not so much.

LexVan

Probably a difference between buying a lot car and doing a custom order build.

mtony

I dealt with the internet sales manager exclusively online at several dealers in the southeast. Negotiated a 7% discount on a ordered car in 2012 when the 2013s became available. Didn't meet the internet sales manager until I went to pick up the car. Do the same with BMW and usually negotiate something under invoice price. It's important to make sure you're negotiating apples to apples. Exact car, advertising fees, and document fees. I've negotiated with dealers that charge a $150 doc fee and others that charge $800.

todd92

Many trades done online, in advance. Sometimes they want the VIN and/or some pics. I always add the caveat that any number they give me is always subject to their in person inspection and appraisal. I've always gotten decent trade values and never had one try to change the number once I'm there.

I've bought 4 cars and traded 4 cars this way in just over the last year. The CPO 991 (traded GT-R), a CPO E350 (traded E350), a new Mazda CX-5 and a new F-150 (traded Nissan Titan + Ford Mustang). Nothing but signing and driving away at the dealer. 90% by e-mail, the occasional phone call. Money wired the day before the pickup.

What they have never asked for is ANY kind of service records.

fast1

I've purchased all of my Porsches from two local dealers, and I have an excellent relationship with the Sales Managers at both dealerships. Since I love sports cars, going to a dealership is no chore for me, and it gives me the opportunity of test driving any Porsche I like. Back in 2005 a Sales Manager even offered to let me test drive a GT that he had on his lot, but I declined since I didn't want to drive a car that I had no intention of buying.

In my case I always have a trade-in, so I have to visit dealerships to appraise my car. In the State that I reside, no sales tax is paid on the trade-in price, so there's not enough incentive to sell privately since I'm saving around $4,000 on sales tax with the trade-in. I also always visit CarMax since they almost always offer me more for my car than the dealer.

The final step is in the process is the negotiation which in my case is always conducted via email. I email the Sales Manager a printout of the model and options of the car that I intend to purchase with a list of all the associated invoice prices. I then make an offer of X dollars over invoice and the price I require for my trade-in. A counter offer is typically sent to me, and I inform the dealer that I will make my initial offer to another dealer before I consider their counter. In most cases I receive another email from the first dealer accepting my initial offer.

Granted that this process takes a lot longer than some of the other suggestions in this thread, but for me it's something that I really enjoy doing. One final point . I live in the northeast and there aren't many Porsches sold in the winter months. So I always conduct my negotiations at the end of January, when there's a couple inches of snow on the ground.

997s07

I reside in the suburbs of L.A. The land of "drivable business cards." No dealer will negotiate a deal worth my consideration. Test drive here (Rusnak in Pasadena). Negotiate and buy over email out of state. The car costs less even with the transport fees (which I get the dealership to pay, usually).