Rasta

Guys -

Would appreciate you weighing in here. I've been offered an untitled Launch Edition C2S by a dealer. The car has 900 miles, most of which have been on test drives (and I'm sure some joyrides). Nonetheless, the dealer is willing to sell it to me for $8.5K off of sticker.

This seems like about as good a deal as I'd be able to get right now. Here's the way I see it:

Pro's:
- Untitled Car
- Launch Edition options
- RELATIVELY high resale value
- Dealer sale - so car will be prepped prior to delivery

Con's:
- 900 miles - most of which have probably been aggressive
- Significant depreciation expected - anticipating car will be at $80K in a year

I like the C2S' a lot. I've been keeping my eye on the market, and believe that from a $ perspective, don't believe there are better deals to be had. I'm obviously a little concerned about the use of the vehicle, but intend to get a full inspection done prior to delivery - as well as get dealer assurances in writing that the car is in "like new" condition.

Would appreciate your thoughts.

jlee

If you think the discount is significant, I would not worry about the "improper" break-in. The car will be covered by warranty so it should be O.K. unless you are planning to keep the car beyond the warranty period.

Gary R.

Rasta -

I concider a car with 900 miles "used" (I have only 625 on mine so far!), and in this case you don't know by how many or how badly. My car was in the showroom with (think it was 8) miles on it and I got about a $6K discount in December 04. Its the dead of winter here now, if I were you I would expand your search a bit to find a good discount on a new car and let them sit on the demo. For a couple thousand dollars savings you will get what you pay for.. a NEW car.

Just my $.02...

Rasta

I'm probably going to keep it for a couple of years only, and therefore will sell it within the warranty period.

What do you guys think on price? I certainly haven't seen anything of better value, relatively speaking. Most dealers are willing to give $1 - $3k off of sticker (admittedly a new car though), and most high-end brokers are still trying to scam their cars at sticker.

Gary R.

Wow.. was typing as you were I guess!

Rasta

That's an interesting perspective Gary - thanks for weighing in. Could you elaborate a little bit -

- Did you search far and wide, or did you have a particular relationship with a dealer that allowed you to get such a good deal.

- Was the car in stock, or did you order it?

- Any recommendations on dealers that have C2S' (preferable Black / Black) that are willing to work out a deal.

Thx in advance.

Gary R.

Was actually my first Porsche purchase, had never done business with this dealer. In searching my "local" area from the Porsche site I soon realized there were 4 dealers within a 30 minute ride from my home.

From memory -
The first dealer offered me a bit over a 2K discount on a special order build and a bit more on cars in stock.

The second dealer had my car in his showroom. I offered him $8K (had to TRY!) off sticker and told him I would wire the money in full right then. He came back with $5800 under list as a counter offer. That was it![/QUOTE]

Showroom car, as I explaned earlier

Go to the PNA web site and search dealer inventories within 50 miles of you
(or more if you like). If you find your car go look at it and work the deal thing.. Being buried in snow, car dealers may be more likely to try and move existing inventory. Thing is, the closer the spring thaw gets the less likely they are to be "swayed"..

Good luck!

infestation

If it's a launch car, then it has ceramics, so the 8k discount is just paying for the breaks. Order (or find) a brand new S with turbo brakes--you'll still save the 8k, maybe get a discount, and have a "new" car.

I would not buy a launch car as new with this many miles. And, as others have pointed out, you don't know how it's been driven. I love my launch car but I put a hold on it before others could test drive it, as I'm sure others on the board did.

rss997

Don't do it...hold out for 12k off then do it...they will cave........

Rasta

Robert -

As much as I'd like that, there is absolutely no way the dealer will agree. I've bargained him up from $7.5K off to $8.5K (I asked for $9K). I sincerely doubt there is any more room for further concessions.

Brian E

Rasta, I have encountered the same situation on my quest for a 997.
I have specific requirements for the car I want.
I had finally found one that matched what I was looking for in Illinois.
After a couple phone calls, I found out that the car had been taken on a dealer sponsored road trip. To the tune of 2k miles.
The dealer was willing to reduce MSRP by app. 10%. I pondered my decision for a week.
I just got back from a business trip to Mexico and called and passed on the car.
The salesman gave me the hard sell and had all kinds of reasons that I was getting a BETTER car with it having 2k miles. One of his pitches entailed that it had been broken in by a world renowned Porsche driver. ( I am still smiling at this one)
I will probably buy my car from this dealer, but it wont be this car.
If you are looking at the situation from a purely financial standpoint, you should buy the car since you are only going to keep it for a couple years.
If it was going to be a long term acquisition, I would run from the deal.

Moogle

rasta what dealer are you working with

if i can get 8k off a New 2005 GT3 with 10 miles on the clock

i think you can do better on a used launch 997S

rss997

My point exactly Moogle.....

After it sits there another 30 days the discount will go up...

R

caf

Rasta,
What do you think the dealer would offer you if you were trying to trade this car in to him as a used car? Well below invoice you can be sure...

Anyway, I agree with the others here--the car is used, it has the questionable value of ceramic brakes, there are plenty of NEW cars around still, and it's the dead of winter. I'd expect to pay right at invoice or even 1-2K off. If you can't get that price, I'm betting that you will be able to by Spring, at least in a private sale.

OH997

Discounts will vary wildly depending on the dealer’s availability and future allocation. Someone will always be able to tell a story about a better deal. The problem is that you might not be able to have all the circumstances that caused someone else to get a great deal line up for you. I got 7% off my 997 car last July because I placed the first order for my selling dealership. That same dealer will laugh if you ask for 3% today because he doesn't have enough cars. I agree that if you wait a month or so the price will go down. The car could also be sold to someone else and you might not get anything close to the same discount on another vehicle.

The thing that would concern me the least would be the miles. Since you have already said you were only going to keep the car for a couple of years I doubt the break-in will affect you. There are knowledgeable Porsche technicians that claim the 2,000 mile under-4200 RPM notion is bogus anyway. If there were problems, the warranty would protect you.

At the time of resale no one is going to know that the history of the car prior to your purchase. For the matter, if you buy any car second-hand how do you know that the buyer did not abuse it out of recklessness or ignorance regardless on how many miles were on the clock at the time he/she originally bought it?

Good luck!