richc

Out my last 3, I've ordered one and bought two off the lot. The dealers are getting pretty smart and get cars with the options most would want - so I saw no reason to go thru the agony of the wait on two of them. Sure, they had some stuff I wouldn't order - but it never really got in the way of my driving experience and had I gone thru the build process would have only saved me a few thousand. IMHO, saving the money wasn't worth the wait.

silver1331

yeah i think you're misreading a bit and assuming we're compromising by taking a lot car vs saving money and a custom one. I for one dont care about some of the spec options only the main ones like sports chrono, power seats, etc and its easy enough to find a car on the lot or a nearby dealer that has the important options. They're almost standard.

On the discounts - they're real. Maybe some guys are lying but at the end of the day its good datapoints. I was at 11% off and thought it was a great deal till a forum member told me he got 18%. Knowing that info I got a dealer down to 17% pretty easily.

rvklein

I purchased a 1.5 year old CPO'd car with very low miles. It was nearly my perfect car. The only thing it wasn't was Ruby Red but I like the Midnight Blue very much too and blue is my wife's favorite color.

It just took me a long time to find the car I wanted at the price I wanted (a year). I waited 25 years for this car so I wasn't in a hurry and more importantly I was willing to fly to where ever I had to to purchase the car.

They first trip home was just freakin awesome....

VicL

I totally agree with you. Like you, I don't have an Ipod, used BT in my wife's Q7 for 1 month, never used it again. For me, dealer cars have too many expensive useless options. PWR seats, Bose, to me it's just extra weight. Only thing I required are SPASM, SC and Manual Sport seats. These days, all dealer cars have XM, BT, IPOD. So for me, I order a car to get LESS options.

Anyways, who needs to plugin/unplug IPOD when PCM can play MP3 DVDs. That is 4.7GB of music my friends! It will even play DVD RW.

agdamis

On the lot= more bargaining power

Order= less bargaining power but personalized

On the lot with options you want = Winner!

Case closed

Alan Smithee

While I tend to agree...I ordered my 2005 to spec, and although the dealer fought me on my choices (I didn't want xenons, nav or Bose; he didn't want to get stuck with the car not having these items), I was happy to pay a relatively low MSRP three months later for exactly what I wanted.

But these days it isn't so easy, at least not in my experience. I ordered a 2009 on December 23, 2008, received a pro-forma from the dealer January 8 for a February build, and the car didn't arrive until last week, seven months later, supposedly due to production cuts at the factory. I'm probably not going to take delivery for various reasons (thankfully none of them financial), and while my dealer is very understanding, they told me to expect the same time frame if I order a 2010. So I certainly don't blame somebody for taking a great deal now rather than potentially waiting MANY months.

CBejbl

Same story here. First ever 911 was ordered. After that, if I found one on the lot I liked, I went with it.

Also kind of fun searching the inventory of local dealers to see what's out there.

Ucube

The OP is making a flawed assumption that those purchasing off the lot are always making serious compromises. You'll have to factor in the difference in people's tastes and their level of personalization preference. If the P-car is all about "the driving experience," then not having a leather visor or colored stitching here and there just doesn't bother me. I've always been able to find just what I wanted on the lot, with all my cars and not just P-cars. The spec'ed process does add to the experience, but if the dealer already has what I want, then why would I need to order one?

Custom-ordering isn't necessarily the only way to ownership satisfaction. I'm sure there are many cases where the owner regrets checking some of the boxes after the fact.

stevepow

Wow - over analysis paralysis. And I thought engineers were bad - must really be rough being a CPA. Just get the car you like and can afford - order it or don't order it.

And thanks for assuming anyone of us who claims to have gotten a good deal is lying about it.

The car I bought off the lot was 98% of what my BYO car was - it was missing auto-dim mirrors. I think that is nuts for a car like this - should be standard and not an option. On the other hand, my amateur CPA brain said paying $10,000 or more extra for an ordered car with auto-dim mirrors vs living without them was pretty nuts. And it had a leather "Carrera" storage compartment cover that I probably wouldn't have ordered, but I liked it. And the Carrera S wheels I didn't care for, the dealer swapped out for C IV wheels and gave me credit for them. So I took the lot car at a good discount.

Sure, if there would have been nothing close to what I wanted, I would have ordered a car. And I cannot believe too many people buy a $100K+/- car off the lot that they think they are not really going to like only because "it was on sale".

And as for weird very personal options - Nugget nailed it. That is not my notion of "frugal CPA" , but rather for the "more money than..." buyers who just don't need to care about resale or anything else - not that there's anything wrong with that...if you can swing it.

stevepow

I bought my iPod for the car - it pretty much lives there unless I go on vacation or change the song content. 120GB of uncompressed WAV files is much better than ~5GB of MP3 and mucking around with discs - and the Bose, extra weight maybe, but the '09s have extra HP to haul it around ; it's a win win. And the non-bose system I had in a loaner the other day was pretty horrible (maybe the Caymen stock audio is worse than 911?) - so without the Bose, I reckon no need for XM, iPod or anything else that's just going to sound bad anyway.

medtech

+1

I got my latest 911 with almost every option possible and I saved 58% by waiting 3 years and buying it used. Just a different angle on the topic.

aggie57

I've bought 2 997's in the last 12 months. The first was an 08 C2 with 2800kms and the second a new 09 C2S but off the floor (as we call it down here).

Last year I ordered a M3 to spec and it took so long to arrive, things changed in the meantime and I cancelled the order. My wife's X3 is fully loaded and an ordered car. She's happy to wait I guess.

It's not always about the money.

aggie57

Same here - ipod classic for the car, iphone for the rest. Can't imagine being bothered now plugging and unplugging the thing every time I get in or out of the car.

Bose is also much better in the .2 than in my old .1 - especially when switched to "linear" whatever that means!

surfer

If you're willing to actively search, it's certainly possible to find great deals without having to wait >6 months for an ordered 911. I found a 5 month old 07 C2S with a majority of the options I wanted, Bose, A.S.S., classic wheels, and some I didn't, aluminum look center console, door sill, model designated door sills, chrome exhaust tips etc. The bottom line was I was able to save 20% off sticker and 1.5 years ago that was a good deal.

Bruce R

Man I have looked for a Mexico Blue C2 with Sport buckets and PCCB's on the lot until I am blue, excuse the pun, in the face, but to no avail.
Actually I've yet to see any of these three options above on a C2.