I skipped out of work early today and drove over to Porsche Scottsdale for a Macan test drive.

The salelady was very knowledgeable of the car and took a suitable amount of time to walk me through the various features of the vehicle. We did a short test drive and in traffic, it felt smooth, tight and reasonable quick.

We talked through the order process and the chances of our placing an order early next year are pretty good. I was pleased with the visit.

This would be my second Porsche although there are a few who wouldn't consider my '87 924S to be a "real" Porsche. That's ok - I loved that little car and would likely still own it today had a blue-hair in a Caddy not rear-ended me in Norcross GA in 1994. At that point, the car was 7 years old. It had just over 42,000 miles on it and it was perfect.... but totaled after the accident. (&*^@(

Of bigger news was the 918 Spyder that the dealer had on the showroom floor. Oh my gawd - it was something else...definitely the star of the day as the new owner and his kids were getting acquainted with it. A beautiful machine. There was a small crowd around it but no one was closer than about 10 ft....except for the new owners.

 

I saw one today too..

 

Very cool. Hope to see one soon.

 

On the way to work this morning, my wife and I talked about my choices for a new car next year. She said, "I thought you wanted a sports car not a SUV?"

My wife is from Brazil and isn't really a car person so I explained the advantages of the Macan over the "Brand X" that I'm also considering. Brand x is a two-seater sports car that has limited usability once you get past the sports car aspect. For example, I do a bit of kayaking and the Macan will tow my light, light trailer and kayak with ease - the other car won't ... I doubt there's even a receiver hitch built for it.

She asked if the Macan was fast and I told her that it's capable of over 150 mph.

Her response? "Where?"



I did broach the subject of a EU delivery and she really liked that idea. Her family is originally from Italy and it seems that taking delivery in Stuttgart is a great jumping off point to visit northern Italy/southern France. I have some friends who live in Strasbourg France and that's close enough to Stuttgart for a quick visit also.

 

I will have reports about ED (I chose Stuttgart) after the end of October.

For those considering ED, remember you have to make a VAT deposit equal to 19% of the MSRP. Porsche does not deposit your deposit, they just need to hold a check (and see proof of funds balance to cover the check) until the car leaves port. That one blew my mind, but at least they're not using peoples' money, just more Euro tax shenanigans.

 

Cool. I see you're in Raleigh. I was living in Roanoke/Salem when I got the 924S and then down in Wilmington for a few years. I remember all of those backroads from Wilm to Raleigh before the interstate was completed. Good times.

Yep. There are two downsides that I can think of and that's one of them. The other is being without the vehicle while it's being shipped to the US. Not a big deal.

How long will you be in the area?

 

Stuttgart for a weekend, then Hockenheim, then Nurburgring, Cologne, Aachen (probably a couple train trips to Amsterdam and Brussels/Bruges), about a week and a half total in Germany. It was too tempting to be in Germany in the middle of October, turn 60 while I'm there, and then when I realized what else was going on (Hockenheim DTM finale, Stuttgart VfB home game), driving the car there, it was too tempting to pass up. The VAT thing was a real challenge, that's a lot of funds to make available in an account but not have to use.

 

You are going to have a great time there!

Long after the finances are all sorted and you have the deposit back, you will only remember how great your ED experience was.

I know> We did ED in July 2011 and will do it again for our Macan.

 

Nice trip! I worked outside of Amsterdam in the late 80's for about six months and I'd drive into Germany occasionally on weekends. Before our job went to 12-hour days with every third weekend off, it was a great life. My per diem was more than my salary and was tax-free to boot. Too bad I was so young and inexperienced....it'd be dangerous for me to be in that situation today.

We talked this morning on the way into Phoenix and she wants to do a test drive this weekend. My wife and I have a great relationship and she doesn't mind if "I want/I get". Spoiled? Maybe but she also knows that before I express an interest in a major purchase, I've nailed down the impact, the contingencies, etc to the penny. I don't spend recklessly - in fact, I'm very conservative.

Being an adult rocks.

 

Today was a good day - great maybe. My wife, her cousin (visiting from Sao Paulo) and I drove up to the Scottsdale dealership. I told the saleguy that my wife knew nothing about Porsche so he literally started from the beginning and introduced her to the brand, the history and then the Macan.

The next thing I knew, my wife's driving 75-in-a-45 in sport mode as the salesguy talking about the various safety features. I didn't realize she was driving that fast and when I did, I told her that the car would protect her from everything but a speeding ticket. She slowed down immediately. Later, just as a reference point, I asked her if she had ever pushed our car to that kind of speed. "No - but this wasn't our car."

When we returned from the test drives, we sat down and went through the options, the ordering process, their allotments and the costs. We were there for several hours and the salesguy was beyond patient with my wife and all of her questions.

That matters to me - my wife is rather detail-oriented and she has to be comfortable with the process and the numbers.

She did later admit that she loved the car and is ready to move forward. I'm not quite there myself... we have other goals and objectives to accomplish first but, since we want to do a May or Sept delivery, there's no rush.

I will say that it's looking good. I'll hang out here, watch the comments, learn as much as I can and live vicariously through everyone's ownership experiences in the meanwhile!

 

Was your sales rep Mark Sieffert by any chance??

 

Nick A. who is also a former master tech. The guy knows his stuff.

 

Saw a red 918 going up Scottsdale rd yesterday.

 

Cool. I wonder what the odds are that S'dale has two 918's?

 

Saw one was the local dealership this week. Ridiculous.