JSGVNR

Hey Rennlist Community, this is my first post and I have to say I've been a Porsche fan since I was a kid and have always said I will own a 911 turbo one day. That all changed about 1.5 years ago when I saw a GT4 roll by me on my way to work one morning. I've obsessed over it ever since lol.

Well the time has come to join the Porsche family! I've been working with my local dealer for over a year looking to locate the right 2016 GT4 with the specs I'm looking for. I found the car myself at another dealership on the other side of the country (Canada) and was going to pull the trigger (met all my specs minus a couple cosmetic touches). I was flying to the dealership the next day to deliver the cheque and pick up the car.

When I forwarded the rev range report to my local dealer to help interpret it, he asked why I was buying this car? Was it only so I could buy the 2020 when it was released? He and I had been talking about buying a new one and he had said he would give me an allocation when they were released, but won't put it in writing, however if I was part of the Porsche family it would make it easier to get that allocation. I told him it was so that I could drive the car until it was finished or I was finished with it, and not to join the Porsche family so I could buy a 2020. He told me he would put me 3rd on this list for a 2020 (even though I'm not part of the Porsche Family, but since I'm not looking to flip the car and the fact that I'm a track junkie on my motorcycles) and that on the last 2016's he was allocated 10-12 cars so there is an excellent chance I will get a car. I went down to the dealership to look him in the eye and shake his hand as I really do want a GT4 and don't want to get played by empty promises. He gave me his word, when I followed up with an email thanking him for his time and this opportunity to purchase a 2020 GT4 he responded back that integrity is one of the most important things to him and that I will get a car and looks forward to handing me the keys.

Rennlist Community, as seasoned veterans of dealing with Porsche Dealerships on GT cars, I'm looking for some insight or guidance of people with experiences and how to deal with Dealers and Allocations for GT cars. Look forward to the responses. I'm still tempted to just go buy a 2016 as the prices continue to drop as we get closer to 2020 being released.

IS THERE ANYTHING I SHOULD BE ASKING THE DEALERSHIP FOR TO LOCK UP AN ALLOCATION?

The Hungry don't stay Hungry for long....

Klepper

In addition to his "promise of getting you an allocation..", I would want to know that I was getting it at MSRP, not with some ridiculous ADM attached.

speedy974

Ditto! You getting a car, that is something he can easily promise... But getting on at MSRP, I would not be so sure! If yes, I would love to get one as well!

PS: Welcome!

BioBanker

There is a decent chance he was just telling you that to stop you from buying the other car. Can you tell us which dealer you’re talking about for the buy and and your local?

i was lied to, repeatedly, by every Porsche dealer I spoke with when I was purchasing my GT4 a year ago. They lied about stuff that they didn’t even need to lie about! I wouldn’t trust them.

We should find out about the new car soon but we don’t know it’s engine, transmission options at start or pricing. What he is selling you? If it shows up with a 4cyl turbo will you be happy with that? What does your salesman say the car is going to be? And what price? If it’s 25% more than the last car msrp in Canada, would that be ok? If Porsche raises the price 10% and uses a current fx, it would be that increase. Who knows.

I think that it probably makes sense to see if you CAN get a new car at msrp, but I also think that your salesman is being douchey suggesting that there’s no reason to buy the 2016 - there’s tons of reasons to. Whether those still make as much sense, or MORE sense, after the details of the new car are revealed is anyone’s guess. The 2016 could go up materially in value. It might not. It’s probably not going down much, but I’m guessing on that too.

And for the US readers, GT4s in Canada are still at or above Msrp. High mileage cars are around msrp. It’s still cheaper to buy them in Canada at that price than import a US car at 10-15% Msrp discount because Canadian msrp was 15% or more discount to US msrp and the exchange rate has worsened. You Americans can import our Canadian GT4s cheaply. That's probably why the salesman questioned purchasing the 2016 - because he could be paying roughly the same amount for the old car as the new cars MSRP.

speedy974

What I learned from buying cars in the US: you can NEVER trust what a car dealer is telling you.

paradocs98

If everything is legit, your dealer should require a security deposit from you to hold an allocation in your name, and in turn, your dealer should give you written documentation stating such. That way both parties are protected, at least to some extent (the Champion debacle notwithstanding).

What’s the harm in getting a used GT4 now, enjoying it, and selling it for not much of a loss when/if your allocation and build materializes for the new GT4? I’m guessing you’ll be really disappointed if you listen to your dealer, not buy a nice used GT4 now, and wait for a couple of years, only to find out that the dealer had strung you along and didn’t have an allocation for you for a new GT4. Delayed gratification for nothing. If you buy a nice 2016 GT4 now and take good care of it, I don’t see that as being very risky regardless of what happens with a potential future allocation.

Rxpert

My advice to the OP is to buy the used GT4 now as you don’t know what tomorrow brings & yes dealers lie. I’m also from Canada OP and here’s what happened to me:

I put down a $5000 deposit on a new 991.2 GT3 buildable allocation about 3-4 years ago before they were even announced. Got it in WRITING from my local dealership GM that I was #1 on the list and would get the first allocation. The rest is history; dealership got about 6 GT3 allocations (my estimate from seeing them around town and for sale “used” aka flipping) and I got nothing.

During that time I passed on several perfect spec used GT4 cars because “I was getting a GT3”.

Also for all the people posting about MSRP, good luck in Canada with that! Even though all new cars legally have to be sold for MSRP in Canada, the dealerships ding you on your trade in. The Sales Manager at the dealership with my deposit eventually felt bad for me and told me that’s why the GM wouldn’t give me an allocation. Since I wasn’t part of the Porsche “Family” they couldn’t low ball me on a trade-in to make an extra $10-$15K which is what the Market Value was and how the dealers get around the MSRP rule. Since I was going to be an honest cash MSRP buyer I got nothing!

Moral of the story, take the bird in hand buy the GT4 now. If you have other options in the future, make a decision then, it’s a great first world problem to have!

BioBanker

Yeah, one of the pitches for buying a GT4 at a Canadian dealer (used) over the past few years was solely so that you could get a GT3 by trading it in. I don't know of a single original purchaser of the .2 GT3 in Canada that got one without getting absolutely smoked on their trade in value, and the dealers were clear that preference would be given to those who were trading in GT cars for the new GT3. Cash buyer? Forget it. No GT3 for you, unless you first want to buy that beautiful GT4 over there and trade it in when your GT3 arrives at 25% below market price.

I don't know if the new GT4 will be as high in demand as the last one or as the .2 GT3, but Id suggest that you're not getting one at msrp unless you take a complete bath on a trade. They'll string you along until you're the most profitable person on the list for them and if its msrp and cash, you're going to waiting and possibly never get a car - but almost certainly waiting for a long time. If there's demand for the new car you wont get it as cheap as you might think - or you wont get it at all. Realistically, you will only get a new car at MSRP if there's little demand for them.

In many cases, being in the "Porsche family" and being a "preferred customer" in Canada just means that you don't mind getting fleeced every which way on purchasing a GT car.

venom51

You could have shortened the whole writing process by simply asking " Can I believe what the dealer is telling me?"

The answer is almost certainly no without exception.

siming

where about in canada are you located?

supercup

Buy the one you found now that meets all of of your spec's and enjoy it. Life is too short to wait for the "next one" - then when the "next one" presents itself, if the dealer honors his commitment and sells you it at MSRP - then decided then if you want to trade for the new car. In the meantime you will have logged hundreds of smiles and miles in your existing car, no matter what the dealer does down the road!

NoGaBiker

I agree with all the buy-now advice. I'm assuming you can afford one now when I say this. So, let's say the theoretical 718 that you're going to get would land in your garage one year from today. You are going to drive something for the next year/XXXX miles. When you add up the cost to run what you have now, including depreciation, and compare it to the cost to run a 981GT4, including depreciation (and assuming you don't ship it to BGB or Dundon! ), THAT delta (if any) is your cost to drive a GT4 for the next year vs. driving your current car, or whatever else you would get between now and then.

Now if your current car is a 94 Miata, okay, ya got me. But if it's a late-model M3 or C class or a S4 or any of the usual cars people have when they get their first Porsche, you might find it's actually cheaper to sell it now and buy the GT4, then sell that when your new GT4 comes in. At any rate, it's probably not going to cost very much more.

Of course, if you would just be adding a GT4 and not getting rid of another relatively expensive depreciating asset, the math doesn't work.

Phil T

OP you've gotten solid advice from the group.....all I'll say is buy now and worry about a new car when it passes you on the way to work.......Phil

John Ferguson

A business who won't put their word in writing is telling you their word isn't worth putting on paper. "Part of the family" is more BS, cash rules. MSRP GT cars for sale on this forum indicate the ADM bubble is bursting, don't get suckered into paying 2018 prices in 2019. Euro is down, USD breaking higher.

needmoregarage

Buy and enjoy NOW.
Life is short.
Tomorrow is not guaranteed.

Lots of good advice.

The dealer ALWAYS looks out for #1 (himself).
You must do the same as they are NOT looking to protect your best interests.

My dealer sells at msrp. They sell local. They’re good guys in my experience.
They are not taking deposits and won’t until a car is announced.

My sales mgr told me this morning not to expect a reveal until the fall based on a time line he was given.