Finally got over the dealer screw-up on my aborted 07 4S order,
so I went to another Bay Area dealer last night and ordered
an Atlas Grey turbo with Sports chrono. Got 4% off the total MSRP with a March/April build date.

I asked the dealer about LSD and he wasn't up to speed on the option.
I had reviewed this forum but didn't find answers to my questions,
so I thought I would take the liberty and ask them here:

1. Is the function of the turbo LSD to lock the
two rear output pinions together so that the wheels will spin
at the same speed?

2. If yes, then I understand the advantage of LSD when one wheel
loses traction on some variable surface (i.e., ice), but what's the advantage
in tight (e.g., hairpin) cornering?

3. Is the LSD manually activated by some switch, and if so, where is
that switch located in the car?

4. (extra credit): when LSD is activated, does it complement or replace the
Porsche traction management system, and if the former, how?

For $950, I'll likely add the option to the car, but it would be nice to
know what I'm getting rather than just rationalizing it on the
basis of resale value.

Thanks!

Sammy

 

4% off. That's pretty good.

I'm no expert, but I'll take a shot at your questions.
LSD actually allows the wheels to spin independently. In turns, the inside wheel travels a shorter distance than the outside wheel. This keeps the car more planted in high speed turns. There is no switch, and I don't think it complements the traction system rather it's in addition to. Definitely not a replacement of.

Hope this helps.

By the way, I find it amazing that the dealer couldn't give you a proper explanation. I had a guy try to tell me that I didn't need the sport chrono because all the turbos had the 10 sec. overboost. It came standard with the variable vanes. Never spoke to that dealership again. It's not like the Porsche line-up is so deep that these guys can't learn about what they're selling.

 

Sammyh,

Great deal on a turbo. Can you give details on your negotiations. The only members that have gotten discounts are repeat customers for the dealers.
Congrats.

 

This is how the negotiations occured. I first called the dealer who was second on my list for the C4S, and told him that I was back in the market, and now wanted to buy a turbo. He said they just had a delivery of
a 07 99T in GT silver with the works, and that the customer would
be in at the end of the day to pick it up, so I was free to come by
before then to see it. I told him I'd be there in a few hours.

I then called the dealer who was third on my list for the C4S, but didn't
ask for my original rep since he was just a kid and very green. I was put
through to the fleet rep, and I told him what I was looking for.
I also asked him if he had a pdf of the turbo order guide, which he
said he'd send me.

A few minutes later his email arrived, and in the text body, he
offered, without my soliciting, a $2500 "fleet" discount, which was
a nice surprise since the knee-jerk reaction of most turbo reps is
that they never discount off MSRP, blah, blah.

So I head out to the other dealer to see the GT silver turbo, and it's gorgeous. There's another customer looking at the car, a woman in her 50's, and she apparently already had a turbo on order and was there just like me to
see the beast. I asked my rep where the rocker panels were since
I was curious about the paint option, and he couldn't tell me, but the
woman overheard my question and came around the car and
pointed them out to me.

So I go back into the showroom and the rep prints out the configuration
of the GT silver, totaling $148K and change. I told him I just wanted a base
model, and that I wanted him to give me a price.
He said that his dealer didn't discount off the base, but he might
be able to do something on the options. I said I'll think about it, and we
then walked out together, whereupon he led me into the service bay
to the new turbo, which had been moved from the staging area.
He then proceeded to tear the plastic wrap off the car; I assume to
capture my interest, but the thing is, I was already sold on the turbo
and just wanted him to give me a freakin offer.

As I was leaving he asked me what it would take to get my order right there.
I almost bit. Since during the C4S decision process he was 2nd on my
list, I almost said to take $2500 off the car, to match the other dealer,
and be done with it. But I didn't, and drove off (in my polar white F150!)

That evening I was reading this forum and I believe I posted a message
asking the group whether I should spec sports chrono since I was
ambivalent about the value, and the group overwhelming said I should.
So I shot an email to the fleet manager (the one who offered me the $2500 discount), and asked him if I ordered the car, would he throw in sport chrono for free.

Believe it or not, the next day I get a vmail from the dealer who sold me the
C4S, saying the car was on the lot, and did I want to come in and see it.
Now this is a car that I ordered for $90K, $3.9K less than the MSRP,
representing a 4.2% discount. I said, sure, I'd like to see the car
(after all the crap I had been through), and told him I'd drop by
on the weekend.

The next day I get an email response from the fleet manager, and
he said that if including the sports chrono would seal the deal,
then yes, he'd do it. That brought the discount to $2500 + $1840 =
$4340. I decided to think about it before replying.

So now it's Saturday, and I'm on the way to the original dealer to
see my C4S. Sure enough, there it is, heart-breakingly beautiful
in Atlas Grey. I swear to god, it was love at first sight. If I had
earned a bigger bonus this year, and truly believed that the car
had not been compromised, I would have bought it for my
wife's birthday, so it could sit side by side in the garage with its (future)
turbo baby brother. Leaving that C4S behind was like living behind a beloved pet
(I had even given the car a name -- "little Hans" -- to amuse my
kids while we waited for it to arrive over the months).

The rep tried to get me to drive the car, but I wouldn't have any of
it, and told him there was no way I was going to buy it, and that
I was planning to buy a turbo instead. He asked me if I would be
interested in getting a price from him on the turbo, and I said sure,
call me on Monday.

While this is going on I'm playing phone tag with the dealer who
had the GT silver turbo. The same thing is happening that
occured during the C4S sales process with him -- he's not
being aggressive enough. I want him to initiate an offer, but
he expects me to give him the price.

Monday comes and first thing in the morning, I get a call from
the C4S rep who says that, because they basically screwed me
on that car, they're willing to offer me $3000 off the turbo.
I told him that wasn't enough, and he replied that this is
the first time they've discounted a turbo. I told him no
dice and hung up.

At that point I sent an email to the fleet rep, and told him I'd
place the order the next day if he honored a $5K discount
on a base model with sport chrono (MSRP if $124740 not
including destination charge). This translated to a 4% discount.
I said in my email if he wouldn't accept it, I'd pass it to the
next dealer (which would have been the GT silver rep), and then
the next dealer, until someone said yes.

He said yes and I went in that evening and ordered the car. He called
today confirming an April build date.

Sammy

 

Good for you.

 

Fleet rep? What company has a 'fleet' of 911TTs and are they hiring?

M

 

sammyh,

I appreciate your time you put into your response. Its funny how when one dealer is ready to drop a bit, often the others fall also.

Cheers.

 

Another adventure in negotiating a car purchase! Nice write up!

 

I'm in the Bay Area. So which dealer did you buy from?

 

That's a pretty good discount on a TT, good job!

 

Damn, I wished Houston had more dealers.