BobDyl

I think you put your finger on what really bothers me about Porsche pricing. It's not the base price, it's the price of options. I wish the car magazines and reviewers would call Porsche out more often on this practice. Having a sub $100K base means means jack when it comes to Porsche. Some examples:

Power sport seats with leather interior: $6,170
PDK: $4,080 (I'm pretty sure Porsche only offers a manual now so they can charge for PDK)
PCCB: $8,520
PASM Sport Suspension: $2,980
Sport Exhaust: $2,950

These 5 options would equal 25% of the base price...

ABSURD.

91469972

My 2009 S had a sticker of $87,000 and with options $107,000. Bought it new Jan 2010 for $77,000 when economy was down. It's crazy looking at the 991 at the dealer for $125,000 +. I know I was lucky at the time but even homes in my area have increased back to and above the original purchase pricing that fell during that time. People are pay cash for homes in Orange County so I am sure doing the same with Porsches.

9114Scab

The 991's are going to come down, if they haven't already. You should be able to get a very good deal on them now.

10,000 off the sticker is pretty common here in Chicago, which tells me, you could probably beat that, if you be patient. (Talk to the gen. manager)--- Those guys give the best deals, not the sales reps.

Based on my experience.

alexb76

Exactly, this is the problem, they are skipping some very basic options from base car to keep the sticker price low, and then the must-have options just adds so much to the base, any basic build is now easily 125-130, I actually don't know anyone around who ordered a 991S under 130K!

tomc66

In 2009 it took $1.485 dollars to buy one Euro. Today it takes $1.295 dollars to buy one euro. The dollar is getting stronger not weaker. Porsche should be getting cheeper as the dollar gains in value.

chsu74

Only if there is no inflation and cost of materials remain the same which is not the case.

Ezkill

Totally agree with you here. They are charging way more for options now far above any inflationary index. I believe the Bose was something like 1,440 on my window sticker and now it's 2,200? 800 dollar increase on that option and I somewhat doubt that's due to Bose raising their wholesale prices by 800. Bose is a ridiculous company but that's a different conversation altogether.

I'm in the camp where I'd rather see the price of options go up versus the cost of the base car. It's a bit self serving but it works for me. I sort of made a rule for myself many years ago and decided any car with a MSRP over 100k I would only entertain buying used. When I say used I mean barely used and up to my standards, usually 4 year old cars with barely any miles and immaculate service histories. The reason it works for me? There is barely any price difference on used vehicles despite how loaded they may be. 20k options may translate to a 3-4k larger ask on a used vehicle. So by my own rule I'll never own a new Porsche even though I absolutely love the new car buying experience. Letting someone else eat the brunt of the depreciation and option cost satisfies the inherently thrifty CFO side of my brain

Ezkill

Exactly.

And also car companies in particular adjust their MSRP only once per model year. They essentially hedge for increases and decreases in the strength of various currencies to make sure margins are being maintained. This is most noticeable when you look at the MSRP difference between Canada and the USA on the same vehicle. Take Ford, for instance, which is a domestic manufacturer and the typical MSRP is 20% or so more in Canada. Since the Canadian dollar has been strong for a long time and even at times greater then the US dollar, yet Canadian's still pay 20% on MSRP. Ford just wants to ensure they maintain margins in Canada even if the currency crashes.

tomc66

The Canadian Dollar is getting weaker. It takes 1.094 Canadian Dollars to purchase one American Dollar.

vantage

The base prices of the cars are competitive in isolation, but when you have to add $25k in options to a Cayman in order to have SOME of the same amenities as a $40k BMW, then there is a problem. I'm talking basic stuff like leather, power seats, decent stereo, lights, PDK, etc. Before someone says "well these are sports cars, they don't need a lot of equipment," a lot of people use these cars as daily drivers, and Porsche knows that. That's how you end up with $90-100k Caymans, despite a base price in the $60k's. Fully loaded M4 is no more than $75k, pretty good deal.

Dadio

As with all things, Porsche prices will fluctuate with market demand. As long as demand holds up prices will too. With that said, nothing goes up forever and there is a finite market for cars costing $125 K and up. Now, take the recent news that the longtime Chief of Ferrari is no longer with them because Fiat's chairman wants to take over the management of Ferrari. Guess what he want's to do ??.. increase Ferraris sales well beyond 7000 cars a year ceiling they have currently set up. How will he do it ???? First thing will be to make more cars for the rich folks who have had to wait to get one, after that market has been satiated, he will go after Porsches buyers with a car that sells in the price range of a mid-market Porsche 991. So Porsche wants to sell more cars to Ferrari buyers and Fiat/Ferrari will want to sell more cars to Porsche buyers. Good news for consumers so long as economic activity remains robust.

KWP1911

This is what it all boils down to.

Ezkill

Yes, right now. There have been years where it was at par or greater then the american dollar all year. I saved over 25% on the purchase of a domestic a few years back by buying american dollars for 94 cents Canadian and then buying in the states and shipping it to Canada. End of 2010, most of 2011 and start of 2012 was like that.

Ezkill

I hear what you're saying but the basic BMW's are pretty sparse. I was a little bit surprised that a friends bargain basement 3 series didn't come with anything. Not even bluetooth in 2014.

We had a discussion like this in another thread. The fact is the more you pay the less you get as standard equipment. Basic imports and domestics come pretty loaded up from the factory with what should be standard equipment for 2014. Exotics and higher end marquees, not so much. At least we're not at exotic levels for some of the options...6k for color matched floor mats and 20k for metallic paint.

Edgy01

Put your cash into hard things...like Porsches...because the other stuff, like bank accounts, will never keep up as Washington directs the Fed to continue printing money. Washington is also manipulating the gold market so you can't even go there to hedge your hard earned dollars. I hate to turn this into a political discussion, but sadly, that's all that's left.

Porsche has historically subsidized buyers in the USA with their lowered prices. Perhaps now we are starting to pay our fair share for these things.