wanderingwheelz

Whe I was speaking about negotiating in person I was only speaking to doing business with a dealer that is close to home. Obviously, you must deal over the phone or the internet if you are going to be making a 200 mile+ trip.

I have never bought a car or truck that is further than a 3 hour drive, so I have no experience with a long-distance purchase. And only one car I've ever bought has been that far.

My experience has been your most local dealer will be the most anxious to earn your business because they know they are going to get your service money over the time that you own the car (not to mention referrals from friends and family). We all know whar Porsche service costs- that is high profit for a dealer. My feeling is most will give up more on the front end of a deal, knowing they'll make it back on the back end. And they also know they'll have first shot at you on subsequent purchases.

scotsskier

Sorry, got to disagree again. When my wife bought her X5D, she got a 5k better deal from a dealer a couple of hours away than from our "local" dealer (who is also the porsche dealer). Even when given the opportunity to match the deal they declined. The other dealer delivered it here at nc. Local dealer still got the service business (included by BMW) . So didn't even bother going to them when I was looking for my Cab.

wanderingwheelz

I live in an area where there are well over a dozen Porsche dealers less than 3 hrs away, so I am in a different situation than most. There is tremendous competition amoung the Porsche dealers near me. The middle atlantic region is high density, and high income. 14 of the 15 weathiest counties in the country are less than 2 hrs from where I live. And yes, most of them are in the DC suburbs.... Gotta love BIG GOVERNMENT. Helps a self employed guy get a great deal on a car though. Not sure what else good comes of it though... But I digress.

scotsskier

Yes, that is the other key part. Understanding the market dynamics and timing.

twlai

so, which area or state has the best porsche dealer which willing to negotiate?
i don't mind buying it over the phone if it save me $10k!!

USMC_DS1

Early last year I found the best deals in SoCal and NorCal but like fishing... times/tides change so best thing to do is put some feelers out with several p-dealers on cars you like until you get a bit.

hakaida702

Update: Dealer has dropped the price from 89,900 to 87,500 plus dealer fees whatever that is. I will not call them again as I feel that they aren't taking me seriously or that they surely could drop it down to what I initially offered, but if they call me I will pick up and listen to what they have to offer. There's a few other cars at other dealers that I will start calling today.

twlai

maybe i wait for winter time to buy, these are the slow months,
and hopefully i get more bargain...

hakaida702

I'll keep looking, but I'm sure more of these dealers would be more willing to negotiate with me better in the winter too. It's like the real estate business. Most buyers that I have had got better deals in the winter as most people are more concerned about family Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, etc trips and buying presents and wait until spring to start looking to buy so there was less competition.

sy308

In general, the best of the best deals are going to be at the end of the month and when competing dealers are relatively close to each other. When the next closest dealer is 70 miles away, there is not as much stimulus to deal a better price. There is some tendency for dealers close to major metropolitan areas to give better deals because they know they lose business to customers who travel to get better pricing. If you live some distance (a few hundred miles), don't be afraid to ask about delivery. It often can be arranged.

wanderingwheelz

It's hard to say. Competition is probably the single biggest factor in getting a great deal- the more the better. Any sales manager who feels he doesn't have competition won't be easy to deal with.

I would focus in on areas where there are lots of Porsche dealers in a tight cluster.

wanderingwheelz

I just posted an avatar of my car as it sat on the showroom floor the evening I bought it a month ago. At $23k off the sticker price! That takes some negotiating skills. There was some sweat on the brows onboth of the sales managers that night.

Iceter

This is the key. Where I live, there is only one P-car dealer within a hundred miles and they don't deal--at least not what I would call dealing. I fully anticipate having to fly hundreds of miles to get the 997 I'm looking for, but I don't mind because the trip back will be a great break-in drive.

Same with Lexus. There are two within a hundred miles of me but they're both owned by the same family so they may as well be the same store. When I bought my GX470 six years ago they wouldn't come down on price and I didn't like the salesman's attitude so I just bought one in the northeast where there were several Lexus stores within a short drive of each other and they had to compete. The money was well worth the trip. The local dealer didn't care as they got the service business anyway.

LostSouth

Competition is good.

yemenmocha

+1 to the phone method and it's more common with new cars in this price range than with most cars that people buy. The transportation costs (whether flying to the car or having it shipped) are a much smaller percentage of purchase price than for something like an Accord or Camry, so buying in one's region of the country or even nationally is more reasonable.

Some of you might have bad luck with sales people because I was almost always treated seriously when making calls for my 997 and M3.

I bought my M3 in Florida without ever setting foot in the dealer and picked it up at the M school in Spartanburg. Was a great transaction, loved the free track instruction in their M3's and M5, and loved the drive home to get accustomed to the car and complete the break-in miles properly.