Preeble

agree with previous posters - i was offered the maintenance along with another $6k of additional stuff when I bought my car (wheel/tire insurance, ding/dent insurance and repair, clear bra, etc.) and i'm kicking myself for actually buying the clear bar through the dealer. they did a fine job, but i'm sure that I overpaid.

I came to the same conclusion - that the maintenance plan was not being sold at a discount - it merely 'locked-in' rates for duration of the contract. As such, I decided to pass as one never knows where life takes them...

rijowysock

.Not sure i fully understand the end of your statement, i'll try and explain without making this go too far off topic.

my first three cars were financed (honda civic@16, honda S2000 @ 20, G35 coupe @ 21) got screwed on all of them... after seeing the pattern i bought a 2002 mitsubishi galant outright (4,5k) and focused on my business and such instead of car's and losing money on financing... saved up and bought a 997.1@ 23 for 45k after tons of research and negotiating and since then have done very well with my car buying experiences.. (whilst I am only 25 y/o I unfortunately do not come from money... started my own business at 17 to cover bills and been pinching pennies since)

my rules:

A: only buy what i can afford outright without breaking bank

B: never get caught up in emotions, negotiate till blue in the face

C: Buy low option models (instead of buying a highly optioned base, buy a low optioned "S") people look at price first and then tell you why they don't want your options and do want what you do not have(i make a "need" list and a "want" list.... focusing on the "needs"

D: research market and what might affect pricing.

Examples:

• 1: i owned the G35, saw somewhere about a new model coming out (G37) sold my G35 for 30k and 4 months later as worth 23k.
• 2: i bought the first year of 997.1 (2005) because it was the cheapest of that chassis knowing when i sold that it would retain value well because it being the current chassis would retain demand while being affordable (paid 45k for a 116k sticker 05 Cab, in hindsight i should have bought the 05 Coupe i found for 36k CPO at dealer) market was bad in 09.
• 3: saw the money back on the 997.2's because of bad economy and took advantage of it (87k sticker 997.2, brand new for $64k OTD (62,5+1,5 TTT (saved tax on trade in))... bought the base because it was cheapest of the new chassis.
• 4: wanted a fun toy, researched everything from Aston's to GTR's to Ultima GTR's, ended up with the Lotus ExigeS being my favorite.. market was 39-44k for the one i wanted... found a gentleman with a low mile perfect condition one for 36,5 and felt that his pricing might display desperate need to sell.. made a cash offer and got the car for 33k, sold off the random mod's he had and now have 29k into a car that still sells for 37-39k
• 5: saw the pictures and rumors of the 998/991 and knew the market/demand would plunge sooner than later... sold the 997.2 for $63,750 and brokered the deal thru a Porsche Dealer to roll the tax savings into my "next deal" (54k Sticker Cayenne for 49,5k. Base again because in 2012 when i sell people will see 65-85k Cayenne's at the dealer... not want to wait 4 months and see my car for sale at 50k, like new, newest model... and buy it.)
  

E: People are mostly cheap and do not research anything, just wanting the newest model they can afford....

F: Sell Privately to get max value but broker the deal thru a dealer to retain your sales tax savings (if applicable)

G: Look to purchase in "bad markets" i live in Florida but buy all my vehicles in Ohio because the dealers there are easy to negotiate with, (my local dealers are always 5-10k higher on price and 5-10k short on trade value. (10-20k diff))


needless to say after all the above, i break even on the cars and still get screwed on insurance... $1500/yr. per car because of my age.


my thoughts exactly... cash is king... never know how long you will keep and what repairs will be needed.. they are covering almost nothing so your better off getting the service and having them "check out the car" while there, which they usually do for free because it brings up things they can fix/charge you for.

Shawn Stanford

Thanks, you explained it exactly right, and said what I expected. The key is to own a vehicle free-and-clear for long enough to put away the cost of the next car. Excellent strategy, and I only wish I could do the same. Unfortunately, if I'm not spending the money on a car payment, it will get absorbed into something else - either the house or the vacation fund.

Someday, though...

yeldogt

You can't compare a new car to cherry picking a used one when it comes to cost of ownership.

I have never bought a car in Florida - but the only way to save on tax is through a dealer in the sate that I have.


Nothing wrong with picking a preowned but its not the same as a one year old car.

rijowysock

the 997.2 and Cayenne were bought brand new, cherry picking a used one is more ideal however. (my 997.2 was bought in Ohio as well because a similarly optioned 997.2 locally was 11k more... same make and model, no miles, brand new, similar options... AND they offered me 7k less on my trade (thats 18k!!!))

in Florida, if you trade in a vehicle you save the sales tax on the trade amount on the new car. (other states do this as well) if you buy in another state they sometimes have relationships setup with other states.. Ohio has such a relationship..

i sold my 997.2 privately, hunted around all over for a cayenne, when i found the cayenne i sent my title for 997.2 to that dealer and they took the check from the buyer and "brokered" the sale for a $500 fee.. this in turn got me the tax savings on the Cayenne... the only state i know that doesn't give you a tax credit on a trade in is california.. the rest communicate and you can transfer the tax savings between them (trade has to go thru dealer your buying from however)

my main statement was, you can buy the car you want and sell it after a year and still come out pretty damn well buy buying/selling smart versus quick/easy... just need patience and negotiation tactics... regardless if its custom order, brand new off the lot, or used.. (note: when i wanted to sell my Carrera, local dealer offered me a max trade value of 55k, and wanted full sticker on all 2011 Cayenne's.. that is 9k on the Carrera and 4k on the Cayenne... so just "doing the deal" would have lost me 13k off the top that most would just "Eat"... imagine now each sale/purchase and how that add's up VERY FAST... if your a person stuck on financing... doing a couple smart deals could leave considerable cash on hand to outright buy a car down the line and live with less debt and interest.)

so just in the last 16 months i saved 18k when trading 997.1 for a brand new 997.2, and saved another 13k when trading 997.2 for a brand new Cayenne.... 31k saved by simply calling around and dealing out of state in a market with less demand. i negotiated heavily locally as well (price differences are not inflated by negotiation) just the florida and other dealers were trying to keep the porsche cash back and not willing to work with me as much as other dealers that needed to make sales numbers.

Mike in CA

Completely agree. I've always done my own oil changes so what does that leave my dealer to do for $2600? Can't see this being worthwhile.

scott40

Or just lease it, do minimum required maintenance and turn it in. That's what I do.

miketan

w00tPORSCHE, I'm the original owner of an '04 S. Looking over the maintenance plan that you posted it looks like they are only inspecting the vehicle and only covering the oil change. My S has 59K and I've changed the oil about once yearly as I don't meet the mileage reqmt. Most dealers offer spring and fall clinics that they use to atract clients for maintenance business, they cover everything that you mentioned for FREE.
Great build on your '11. Just started the process myself.

w00tPORSCHE

Thank you for your thoughts (and others too) miketan. My service advisor told me that it would cost me $3500.00 over a 5 yr period for a PDCC equipped Cayenne S. Not sure how he came up with that figure. In any case I will sit with him one of these days and ask him to show the spreadsheet. For now I am passing on this plan. BTW, miketan check the thread that I started on my Cayenne. It states "prepare to be wow'd the w00tMOBILE..." It may be of interest to you.

SilverForumSurf

Hey woot has your SA shown you the spreadsheet? Anyone know the individual cost breakdown of the recommended maintainance schedule?

comis_hq

Just had 1st year service (or oil change?) on my 2012 v6 cayenne..... $302 with tax.... no tire rotations... but they topped off fluids, update software (no noticeable change!) & cleaned the car....

Bit steep.... the service manager said 3rd year service will cost $1,500.... I think I need to find out some other way to service...

I am not a DIY person, so looking for recommendation of Indy shops in NJ (Bergen/Hudson/Passaic)?

Thanks,

washington dc porsche

F. how do you do that?

G. is so on point. I've purchased an ML and Carerra from Ohio. Don't tell anyone else please.

steve_Cayenne

F. Called an accommodation sale in my parts. Basically what I do is when negotiating the new car: get the trade in appraisal from the dealer (always some laughable amount) and get that amount in the contract as a bottom trade in number. I also get them to include an accommodation sale free of charge, I.e. if I bring in a private buyer they will do the paper work to flip the car as if the buyer buys from the dealer, without them making any profit.

Then I advertise in kijiji and Craig's list and wait for the phone to ring off the hook. I usually get thousands $$$ more than the dealer "best offer" in a day or two. I disclose to the buyer that it is a private negotiation, but I will bring him into the dealer to buy my car. The disadvantage to the buyer is he will pay more tax, than a pure private deal but they usually take this into account in the price. Or if they have a company they are buying under they do not care, as they get the sales tax back for business equipment.

Drag them to the dealer (who has to do an hour of paper-work before), I sign a bunch of papers, they sign a bunch of papers, and we are done and they drive off with my car. Actually looks nice and professional to the buyer as they get a nice "Porsche" invoice, the car is plated for them on site with licensing paper work as well, and makes everything look more legit. On your end you don't have to wory about phoney cash or bad checks, since the dealer collects the money (and reduces from your amount payable), and you save the tax difference (if applicable in your local).

Dealer never refused in all my purchases at various dealers.

Slow Guy

...and why the first thing I do when I buy a second hand car is change all the fluids.

RESP

steve & rijow, sounds like you have it down pat.

Personally, I can make more money by using the time to work on my business, than taking the time moving cars with your method.

As a business person, maybe you should value what your time is worth?
Budget this into the activity you spend doing the deals. (Unless you enjoy this so much, it is a hobby which gives you more enjoyment than the cash equivalent )