Prices vary greatly from country to country and I do not believe the pricing is dependent necessarily from global demand. Some countries have ridiculous car taxing as well. In Finland the new 911 S has a base price of $229,216 and the 4S $250,036.

Now what do you think about that ???

 

I cannot imagine that used car prices will not also bump up.

 

I don't think I'll move to Finland anytime soon. And besides the weather is nicer here in the Florida Keys.

 

$200k is a new $100k. Status symbol will cost exactly as much as it should cost to separate those who want to remain in status. It got nothing to do with technology or quality of the car.

I like i got my 997 for under $40k in 2009, i will keep driving it, will get new motor for it when time comes and as of those who spend $150k for same car - why not. It is their choice what to invest into. I pay 2 private school tuitions every year for my kids so that is my choice of investment.

 

I understand that between the 997.2 and 991 there has been an increase in the base price of the car and some of the options have also increased a bit. However, when I was looking at used cars I saw plenty with original window stickers north of 120k. I don't believe any where under the 100k mark although I'm sure those cars exist. But even very lightly optioned 6MT cars where over 100k. I guess seeing new cars at 125k isn't that shocking when 5 year old cars had original window stickers in the same ballpark. Can't really comment on the Turbo MSRP's as I wasn't looking at those.

 

My dad was an Oil CEO and he always complained how Porsches were so expensive...that was in the 80's (when he already had a Ferrari Boxer Berlinetta)

It's how it's always been I believe.

I make no where near the money he did in his prime, but I did pretty well with the defense sector boom over the last decade - and with the crash of 2008 I got into a barely used 997S for just over 50k including tax. I would never drop 100k on a car personally and 200k is nuts.

I think these steep prices will be good for the used market value of our cars. Don't want a 997? Then go pay 135k for your lightly optioned 991.

 

According to the inflation calculator, $1 in 2008 is worth $1.10 in 2014. That's under 10% and a far cry from being worth 30% less. Porsche, and car prices in general, have risen far greater than the rate of inflation during that period.

 

yes, we'll see how that works out

the inflation number calculations based on the consumer price index have been changed to greatly underestimate the true inflation rate (and minimize the effects of our central banks): http://business.time.com/2013/03/12/...es-up-so-much/

 

Hey, someone has to write that software...

I've noticed that my soy milk has gone up 20% in the past year. What's up with that?

Different commodities rise at different rates. But we've also got to consider that each country's economy is different and the exchange rates differ. Germany probably has had the healthiest first world economic growth for the past several years. They're the ones supporting the EU, really.

But also, and more importantly, Porsche keeps raising prices and we keep buying the cars. I presume they'll keep on doing it until sales start to suffer.

 

Well, that's a good start - but scratch the surface and you'll appreciate why The Dismal Science is so aptly named. For example:

Sure, $1 in 2008 is worth $1.10 today but that is an average and, as mentioned, different commodites experience different rates of inflation. That aside, as PAG/VWAG is a German company perhaps they are more interested in the German and European inflation rate. What's more, factor in exchange rates (not only Euro v. U.S., which has been relatively stable since late 2008 but Euro v. whatever non-E.U. countries PAG sources parts from - oh, and the rates of inflation in those countries too). And while on the topic of exchange rates don't forget that the ECB has been propping up the Euro for quite a while now - probably as long as the Fed/Executive branch has stopped paying lip service to the concept of a Strong Dollar.

Also there is the whole disposable income and price elasticity/inelasticity for each country where Porsche's are sold. Fixed and variable costs of production . . . So now you get the picture of the Hydra that pricing can be.

And if all this were not complicated enough consider the fact that no matter how you slice it people equate quality with price and price dictates exclusivity (which is probably a factor in price elasticity). Make yourself a black box algorithm to take as many of the economic factors that you can think of into account (which may be legion) and it may spit out that a 2015 911 should be priced at $50k in the U.S. in order for PAG to maximize profits. But at this price you lose the "luxury/exclusivity" branding. So PAG could sell 1 million units at a lower price Y and make profit X or sell 250,000 units at price Y + Z and still make profit X - with tha added benefit of not having to invest in tooling and additional labor and other manufacturing expenses that might bloat the subsidiary.

Now my head hurts and I have to go search for a discussion of PDK v. Manual to relax!

 

Didn't mean to hijack this thread, but inflation is the rise in cost internal to the US....what we have experienced is a devaluation of our currency which is external to the US.

Just think of it this way....oil at $150/barrel = $5/gal gas (in CA), now oil is ~$105/barrel = $4.20/gal (in CA). That's because oil is traded in US$. So it takes more $ to buy the same barrel of oil because our currency is of less value. This government has sold us down the road and will be gone soon, but this devaluation will linger for generations.

Now back to those wonderful 911's!

 

Prices on American vehicles have also gone up well beyond the rate of inflation. As an example, I recently leased a 2014 MB GL450. While looking at the new GM offerings, and along with Range Rovers, Porsche and Audi, I was shocked at how much prices had risen on SUVs since I purchased my loaded '08 Chevy Tahoe LTZ that listed at under $47,000. The essentially equivalent '15 Chevy Tahoe now listed at $72,000. That's a difference of $25,000 in 6 model years. A Mercedes GL with the same equipment listed for around $77,000 (ours was loaded with more toys at $82,000+). Back in '08, the gap was greater between the Mercedes and Chevy which made the Chevy the best bang-for-the-buck back then.

The Chevy dealer was not willing to negotiate on price for the new '15 Tahoe model beyond knocking off about $500. The Mercedes dealer, for a '14 GL 450 model, was willing to negotiate down to $73,200 for a totally loaded Mercedes versus $71,500 for a Chevy Tahoe (would have been a list of $75,000 for nearly equal options) was a no brainer, IMO. The Mercedes was actually cheaper.

I think we are seeing an unsustainable bubble forming in the Auto Industry.

 

Likewise, it also makes American products cheaper in foreign countries (U.S. exports).

 

Global economics aside, I was wandering around the dealership the other day, and the stickers on plain jane 991 Carrera S's were topping $125K (loaded with frankly absurd cosmetic options). This simply makes no sense to me. Pick up a low mileage 997 GTS for around $80K, enjoy forever.

 

I'm not defending Porsche, they have some great product margins and seem to be doing rather well. Does that mean they should slash prices? No. Not unless it's having an adverse effect on demand. I haven't researched units sold in current model years but I assume it's going up.

As mentioned above their prices have gone up considerably less then domestic brands. Much less in fact. Even according to the flawed CPI index they are pretty close as the 89k for a base S model in 2009 is worth 96.6k now. Base model S price is now in the 99k range? That's pretty close even by a flawed and severely undervalued metric that excludes "volatile" items like gasoline, which are a necessary expense for most people.

I realize there is a slew of 125k cars at the dealership. There was a slew of 2009 cars with original stickers in and around 120k when I was shopping around. I even saw an 09 in PTS Nordic Gold Metallic that was around 130k. Yes it was ridiculously loaded up.