ropo

True, but variations in the spread are to be expected. Since we don't have accurate dates for these, some of the 'closeness' of these two numbers may be due to that. Or, as one poster commented, the retail price may be experiencing a swing upwards due to the new retail numbers for the 2015 cars. Possible?

Austin997.2

I got the best deal I could find by far and other dealers were way higher than my deal at like 55,000 to 57,000. If you bought the car for 40k and sold it for 52k that is a 30% mark up. If you bought it for 40k and sold it for 55k, which most dealers were above, the markup is 37.5%. Those are pretty lucrative numbers. I am not a car dealer so I do not know what the mark-ups are like, but if you can make 30-37.5% on a flip with minimal reconditioning it seems a bit on the high side for a commodity business.

3Series

Yep, its definitely possible that the prices are going up! Also, we have no idea how much CarMax had into a car. However, the supply for 2009/2010 cars is lower than 997.1 cars as we were in a recession and a 997 isn't the most practical car.

To the contrary, the winter season is showing up for half the population and prices typically decline.

Austin997.2

I have been watching this car. I offered them 53k two months ago and they would not take it. In the mean time I got mine. It has gone from 57k to 49k, I bet they paid 49k for it and are just trying to get out of it before the winter (northern car). So if anyone wants a screaming deal this would be it:

http://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/de...0214/overview/

wardrive

I'm not sure it supports what you are saying. In own post you're saying wholesale for a c2 25k pdk is $49,400.00. From that you saying its too high by 10k? Makes no sense your statement.

Again unless you can show an example of a 09 C2 going for wholesale for low 40's/high 30's I would stop passing off misleading info.

3Series

Well, we'll need to agree to disagree. There is no misleading info, it's all conjecture. Based on current retail listing prices and confirmed sales, I can reasonably say that there are dealers that are into these base C2's for much less than the $49,400 Mannheim number someone threw out the other day. Someone linked a 16k mi C2 PDK listed for $49,xxx. No dealer is going to offer a car at a loss if they can wholesale it for more.

If you believe dealers are selling used cars for $2500 more than wholesale, then that's your opinion. I know that cars can be marked up by $10k from wholesale.

Lastly, the the prices of C2's with PDK could possibly be rising in the short term. Wholesale pricing is a market, it changes daily.

sandwedge

Just me of course but I don't see the relevance of your analysis unless you're a dealer or are thinking about becoming one. Dealers compete with each other in the auction/wholesale market and we compete with each other in the retail market. The only thing that matters to me is what other buyers are willing to pay for the car I'm looking at. If I refuse to pay that because I think there's too much profit built into the price, I'll either end up with a car that nobody else wants for whatever reason or I won't buy a car at all while trying to make my own market.

ropo

I think one poster earlier commented that his local Porsche dealership could not keep early (2009) 997.2s in stock; they were selling rather quickly.

Certainly, then the wholesale values rise as dealers are willing to pay more.

I think I had read in another threat that 3Series posted that his friend was considering buying a 2009 base for $52-53K from a local dealer. I'd think prices are in fact rising (as I think they should be considering market forces).

AlexKeyWest

The margins on used car sales are probably lower than most of you think. They're better than new car margins generally, but its a skinny % margin business, but reasonable $ margin business. They generally make as much on F&I than the vehicle itself, especially on low end vehicles. For example Manheim MMA's $49,500 2009 auction price has an estimated $53,500 retail. Crappy %, decent $.

3Series

You're right, there is no relevance. It's just a discussion. It's about as meaningful as Fantasy Football. From this discussion we've touched on how PDK car's circa 09/10 may higher today then they were 3 months ago. What anyone does with that info is up to them. It is what it is. I've flipped cars for fun where I've made money and lost money. I do it because I just want to be in a different car.

If you want to buy a car and drive it for years and tens of thousands of miles then I see the point you are trying to make.

3Series

There is no universal markup on used cars. The market dictates the price. My first hand knowledge is around cars I've traded in and seen what the dealer listed it for on their website a few days later.

From personal experience my last two trades to a dealer were marked up $7k and $8k.

My last trade was for a new MDX so I know that I wasn't losing out on the top end since pricing for new cars and what others are paying for it is readily available.

AlexKeyWest

I was a used car dealer in NJ from 1993 to 2003. I wholesaled about 3000 cars a year. My personal experience is different than yours

sandwedge

Add at least $1,200 to that tab. Best I can tell there's no Sport Chrono on that car which I think most agree is a must with PDK.

Austin997.2

I just got my car less than a month ago, and might add a factory upgrade. What does adding the sports chrono package get me? Cost is around $1200? Well worth it? Easy to add to a PDK?

sandwedge

Here: http://www.porsche.com/usa/models/91...hrono-package/

You don't get the clock on the dash when you add it as a mod but that's the least useful feature of the package anyway imo. Do it without delay. Totally changes the character of a PDK car.