JCWLS3

I'm gonna add a slightly different approach from the aggressive no-holds-barred-you're-not-gonna-eff-me stuff above.

First, I'm a little older -- I'll be 50 this year. I believe in building business relationships. In doing so, fair deals often flow naturally.

In our case, we've purchased exactly one Porsche -- a special-order 2019 9Y0 Cayenne Turbo for my wife. It was for her anniversary, and the process started back in 2018. There are three Porsche dealers in our area. We made physical trips to all of them, looking for the one that provided the best overall value. Note that last word. We were NOT seeking the lowest price necessarily.

To earn our money, a dealership had to beat out its competitors in a weighted point matrix that included the following.

• Customer service
• Appearance / cleanliness, including the service bays
• Overall reputation
• Engagement
• Responsiveness
• And yes, price

In the end, we decided to order from the so-called "premiere" dealer in our area, the proverbial 800-pound gorilla. The smaller guys were able to compete in some areas, but not all. Price, suprisingly, was pretty close for each of them. But my wife felt the overall service package and reputation offered by our chosen dealer was superior to the others. We planned to build a long-term business relationship, rather than shopping around at each future purchase, and made it very clear to each of them that if they won our business, they would likely win it for life, with repeated, regular sales. In every case, that brought the sales manager or GM out of his office to meet us.

I'm not gonna say that playing immediate Internet form-letter hardball can't work, depending on your priorities. Clearly it can, particularly if you have no desire to forge business ties to a given dealer. If it's a mercenary transaction you want, then do it. But if you're thinking of spending significant time and money managing and maintaining not just this purchase, but future Porsches down the road, then you might consider evaluating the entirety of your transaction. For us, price was important, but was NOT the leading factor in deciding with whom to do business.

When I met with our SA a few months ago about ordering a 992, he immediately offered a substantial discount in the range posted here, without me even bringing up a number. This was after he tossed us the keys to a pair of brand-new C4Ses (991.2 and 992) over Thanksgiving to drive and evaluate as we pleased. My wife and I had a ball that day. His exact words were, "Bring them back in one piece, please. Other than that, I'll see you whenever." Try that as some dude walking in off the street making immediate demands on price, and you'll likely be shown the door.

Just my two cents. I am not disparaging the other methods here. But this is how we as a couple do business today, and over the last 30 years of buying cars. We're old-school. It works for us.

stevensivak

Exactly....

rk-d

I think it should be a given that being respectful is necessary in any negotiation. No one likes to feel that they are being taken advantage of. Also - I'd never do business with a shady dealer or a jerk SA. That said - I'd argue against the idea that not conceding on price negates building a relationship. What builds a relationship is loyalty and repeat business -- as you've noted yourself.

When I went in to look at 992s, I texted the SA. I told him I was looking at 992s and that I wanted $X dollars for my trade.

I went to the dealer a couple of hours later, and he had a build proposal with my 8% discount and requested trade in value (which was market value -- nothing ridiculous). He drove around with me in the new car and gave me the keys to keep it the night.

He stopped by the house the next day to pick up the car and I told him I loved it. We went over a build sheet and I signed off on the proposal. A few days later, I got my v200 order confirmed.

It could not have been more easy. No haggling. No "let me talk to my manager" stuff. No games. But it's not because I'm someone who pays MSRP. It's because I've bought cars from them before. I'm in my 40s and will clearly buy more in the future.

Building relationships takes time. There are exceptions, but repeat business is the key, IMO. These dealers are not gentle snowflakes, They are not insulted by someone being firm. Be respectful, serious and realistic about your discounts and trade in -- and this whole Porsche thing works for everyone.

markchristenson

I think the key thing to think about is communicated in the two longer posts immediately above this one. If you're building a long-term relationship you can still get a discount, but how you go about it makes a big difference. I have bought a few Porsches at one of the local dealers, although it has been years since the last purchase. A couple years ago I went to look at a Macan and, not having stepped foot in the dealership for close to a decade, the service manager recognized me and gave me keys to a car and essentially said the same thing echoed above--bring it back in one piece at your leisure. That kind of treatment, to *me*, is more important over time than an extra thousand bucks on a 100k+(+++) vehicle. Again--to *me*.

AlexCeres

The problem with the original message is that it’s not clear he’s serious about buying. SA aren’t snowflakes but they are busy (or jobless) and being clear that you’re ready to put a deposit down immediately if the deal is right for everyone is valuable. Another way to phrase that is to be explicit about your time frame for purchase.

moomin

Some replies are way over complicated. I bought my 911 the same way I've bought other cars. Do your research and find out what a good deal looks like. Then start emaling dealers asking what they can do. You'll get at least a couple playing ball. Hold out until you get a deal you're happy with. Some dealers try get me on the phone, or worse in the shop. I tell them we agree a deal, then I'll come in and sign.

Carrera3:16

Yes, I am absolutely serious about ordering a 992 and want it delivered by early summer. Ideally i want to have my order wrapped up in the next 30 days.

Can't thank everyone enough for the feedback. I have only purchased 2 new cars in my life...both were right off the lot. This is the first time I am ever ordering a car. I cannot get over the amount of optional equipment that Porsche offers so customizing it seems the only way to go for me since I have a specific configuration in mind.

JCWLS3

Welcome to the world of Porsche, where handing over your wallet for features standard on a Kia is the business model. They do know how to drive revenue to a captive audience, don't they? You want leather on your $125K car? That'll be $5,000. Oh, you like that lovely shade of primer-gray paint? That's an extra three grand. Blind-spot warning? Two thousand, please. Heated seats? You get the idea...

That being said, the build process for us is half the fun -- creating a truly bespoke vehicle that's by us, just for us. We had a ball doing it on our CTT. Good luck and keep us posted. And at the end, when you settle on price and build and at some point in the distant future take delivery of your unique 992, whether you paid an extra grand or two over a hyper-aggressive negotiator who posts another I Got the Best Deal Ever! story really shouldn't come in to play. I've said it before: Be happy. Do happy. Treat people well. Life is too short.

SamD

C'mon, now, heated seats on the 992 are free!!

JCWLS3

SOB. I stand corrected! Hey, how's that standard Comfort Access working for you? Oh, wait... that was my buddy's new $30K Mazda.

stevensivak

OP should update us with his progress, no?

Dirty Jacket

I’ve purchased my last 4 vehicles by sending an email to dealers stating the exact car I am looking for, explaining that I am sending the same email to a few dealers, and I ask them what their best out the door price is. I say I won’t come to the dealership unless they provide this number in writing but am happy to come take the car off their hands if we come to an agreement. I’ve never had any sort of pushback on this except from one POS bmw dealership who told me “not to worry about the numbers”. I think they prefer this than having me show up and waste two hours of their time.

brownan

I think the alternative here is to ask a few folks locally and prioritize the two with best feedback and that are convenient. Try to get your 7% off deal, but even if they aren't willing to do that, I think it is worth recognizing that building a relationship with a dealer also has value. In my experience, I have been a repeat Porsche buyer at the same dealer and a variety benefits have accrued both as it relates to harder to get allocations as well as, for example, "at the margin" service items where they could have just said no, but instead worked with the Rep to get an expensive cracked header sorted which was out of warranty. My two cents. Hopefully this will be one of many future Porsches for you.

Carrera3:16

Lol...agreed. Hoping to share some good news shortly...stay tuned.

Carrera3:16

I cannot thank you all enough for the tips and advice on this thread. I just placed my deposit with a local Porsche Dealer and ended up going with a Base Carrera and customized it with the exact options I wanted. I was a complete deer in headlights when I started this thread but literally just emailed/called the 7 dealerships in my area and just said offer me 8% off MSRP and I will give the deposit now by phone or online. I gave them builds for a Carrera and a Carrera S and said I wanted the car by summer.

I did NOT get 8% off MSRP but i get a phenomenal offer from 2 dealerships while the other 5 offered 4%. All dealers responded immediately via email and called so the entire process literally took 5 days but more importantly I needed closure on this since I wanted the car to arrive by summer and not drive myself insane with all the back and forth. And lucky enough for me I got to place the order with the Porsche Dealer that is 2nd closest to where i live.

Now i have about a month to drive myself crazy with changing the options until my Lock Date but I am pretty sure I love my current configuration... Will post it in another thread that's more appropriate.

Thank you all again...I am so excited!