john981

The current color choices on the Macan are not really appealing. There are maybe one or two colors from the standard/metallic portfolio but otherwise the really interesting colors are the special colors which are currently limited just to two colors. I think both chalk and carmine red are great colors therefore I decided to go for one of them (chalk). I just don't understand why porsche charges nearly $3k for those colors. Is it just supply and demand or do they just want to keep these exclusive? I can't imagine there is any added cost for them to make/apply especially nothing what justifies a 400% up charge compared to the regular metallic colors. While I am super happy with my color choice, it is kind of annoying that I had to pay that much for just the color. Any insights would be highly appreciated.

TikiLou

Yup, just exclusivity. Do you think it actually costs an extra $10k+ for a PTS color that isn't actually custom? Of course not...they just change the paint to another paint they already have.

I paid for Chalk, too. Twice

john981

Chalk and Carmine red are still part of their mass color portfolios. They can line up bunch of each every day and run them through their painting stations. I think PTS is a whole different animal. There are only few ordered every once in a while. Each time they have to adjust the station just for that specific car (maybe there are 2 or 3 in the same day). They can only run that one (or two/three) car(s) through the painting station for the day. It is much more time and effort consuming than when they run multiple cars back to back everyday through the same station. So I think the high cost is till certain degrees justified and both cost/exclusivity are accounted for here. For the Chalk and Carmine red on the other hand, it seems to be just the exclusivity and you confirmed it. I was just wondering if there was anything else what makes these two colors so expensive...

yrralis1

There isn't anything "special" . Other manufacturers charge even more (a lot more .. IE Ferrari) .In fact carmine has been available since 2008 so its not even that exclusive . I only tried chalk on my car because I had owned 5 Macan's before it and I was running out of choices . It is a good quality paint although it is a flat color so its not so easy to maintain . I did have mixed sentiment one the color itself as well as the cost . I tend to be traditional with colors . I do think that chalk looks amazing with anything black or carbon fiber . I do not like how it looks with anything red even though the two colors do match . With a GTS the light bar is clear but if I were buying another trim I would have to ditch the red bar. The calipers are red but I selected the gloss black .
The color does get a lot of compliments . I do like it but am not in love with it though . I am glad I chose it but won't do it again .

Nickshu

I thought it was up to $10K for PTS now? Maybe not on the Macan.

Wilder

Porsche was an engineering firm. Porsche is now a marketing firm. They are masters at selling you something that costs them zero for thousands of dollars, mainly color. Paint is just the start. Stitching, dials, seat belts etc, all offered in deviated color for hundreds or thousands of dollars with zero cost to Porsche and we all buy it like it's going out of style. Needless to say, I bought the stock.

TikiLou

I think it'd be more accurate to say that now they are ALSO a marketing firm. I think the GT cars in particular (and anything with a Porsche-designed PDK) show off that they're still an engineering firm.

To be honest, I'm fine with all the customizability at silly prices and VAG sharing if it helps to keep the engineering part afloat - so long as the P-cars remain superior to their VAG cousins. Prices will follow the market and right now the market is willing to pay what they're charging (and then some as we've seen with the insane ADMs on some models)

CarGuyNVA

Why? Because they can.

Wilder

I think Preuninger and team are the only ones carrying the Porsche flag at this point. Every time I hear the CEO speak, I just hear marketing. That's coming from a marketing guy. I'm not sure Porsche is being kept afloat. Those days are long behind them. They are the most profitable car company in the world and more importantly, they are now a public company first and a car company second. That means shareholder value is top priority, not building the best cars. Sad but true evolution of Porsche's success. You're right about price elasticity. We'll see what happens if/when the market changes to a considerable degree. We're still running on the coattails of Covid liquidity.

DBH

And why do you think their profit margin per vehicle is the highest in the industry?

dak911

I think the PTS is a bit overpriced but, I do see that it must cost a bit to clean out and prep for just a very few cars....
Don't they paint a line of one color at a time, then another color...so just the logistic of it is time consuming..

DBH

They don't batch the cars by color anymore. Each car going through the line can be of a different color. Thank technology.

rasetsu

Simply because they can is my guess as far as the "special colors" go. Maybe a bit to make the customers feel like they are getting something more exclusive but based on the number of chalk colored Porsches and very similar colors on other cars I see out on the road, it's really not exclusive at all. These flat earth-tone colors are the current trend and many other manufacturers are offering similar hues for much less. As for Carmine, Mazda has a similar metallic Soul red that is just as attractive to me that they only charge the typical metallic upcharge of $600 for it. PTS is a different game and definitely overpriced considering Audi charges less than half as much for the same thing.

I think a lot of Porsche buyers, myself included, just work it in as part of the price of getting what we want. The "starting at" price is pretty much irrelevant to me on Porsches. Unlike other cars where I would start with a trim level and maybe add one package and be good to go, I select everything I think I want first with Porsches, look at the price, decide if that's what I'm comfortable with, then take out things I really can do without or don't really really want. Don't know if that helps or makes it worse but that's the way I approach Porsche options including color choice.

2am

They don't even need to line them up or batch them together.
See link https://youtu.be/F3FUH9fVC_M at timestamp 26:44 precisely.
100% exclusivity is what you are paying for.

2am

They don't even need to line them up or batch them together.
See link https://youtu.be/F3FUH9fVC_M at timestamp 26:44 precisely.
100% exclusivity is what you are paying for.