When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
SS22 - Great question on PPF or ceramic coat. I know this has been discussed at length in other threads, and one thing I picked up from that was that if you decide to do either one, you might consider taking your car directly from the deal to a 3rd party shop that focuses on that work. Someone pointed out that the dealer probably outsources that (and if they don't, they may not be very good at it since it is not a core competency), and the shop they pick may be the lowest bidder, to maximize the dealer's profit. I am sure there are dealers who do a great job on this one way or another, but I don't know how to assess if the dealer we bought our cars from is one of those. In maybe an irrational way, I worry a little about the ceramic coating bonding with the new paint on my new car, and then what happens to that ceramic coat in 2-3 years? Do you do another ceramic coat over the first coat or do they polish it off first? And your statement about how PPF installers take some parts of the brand new car is not appealing to me either.
I'm probably overthinking this but I am leaning toward doing a wax job 3 times a year.
Pleiades Leader arrived in San Diego at about 4pm local time today. Let’s see how quickly they can unload my car, put it on a truck, and send it to the dealer. After so many months of waiting, it feels surreal!
@Gator Fan 1957, I also need to prepare my garage haha. First step is installing a NEMA 14-50 outlet for EV charging (happening tomorrow if the electrician shows up… already delayed once).
@jbkanas, true the subtle green in the model designation isn’t too bad. So we’re both waiting for a truck now to get our early Christmas present! Do you plan to have the dealership do anything with your car like PPF or ceramic coat?
I'm in Colorado; There's lots and lots of sand / gravel on the roads all the time; The mask is mandatory here. I am having a local shop to a front clip mask using Xpel ultimate, and window tint. The dealer I am using quoted me a price that was more than double what my specialist will charge, and they outsource the work to a tint shop that I do not know close to their location. My local shop has been doing masks and tinting for as least 30yrs. They have done our Macan, Boxster, 912 and Subaru over the years, so I am very comfortable with them.
As of tonight, I'm on the fence about the ceramic; I had a full paint correction done and ceramic applied to my 1937 Buick that I restored about a decade ago. I'm very impressed with the outcome of this work, so I'm definitely considering doing the ceramic to the Panamera. I'd like to do the ceramic myself if I can quickly learn how to apply and what products to use. I don't think it's rocket science to learn to apply the ceramic.
@Gator Fan 1957, great news! Now you can join in the fun of tracking your ship!
@Tosa5, good points. I’m not gonna do PPF, but if I were, I’d be concerned if the dealer gave it to the lowest bidder who wouldn’t do the best job. I’m only considering a ceramic cost and it’s really hard to mess that up on perfect paint. Ceramic coats typically last 2-5 years depending on the quality of the ceramic coat used, how much the car is exposed to the elements (which includes how often it’s washed). As time passes, the ceramic coat slowly deteriorates and so you just do a new application. They don’t take off the old coat (as far as I understand ceramic coating). Also, it’s best to do ceramic coating on brand new paint because it has no imperfections. On older paint, best practice would be to do paint correction and remove any imperfections before applying the ceramic coat. The benefit of ceramic coating over just waxing is that it stays on your car for at least a couple years, makes washing very easy (stuff just glides off), car gets dirty less often, it protects the clear coat and paint against bird poop or tree sap or things like that, and also gives the paint a nice shine.
@jbkanas, I was thinking of doing it myself too. I’ve never done it before and would be a little nervous to do it on my first Porsche. But it sounds like all you do with a brand new car is give it a spotless wash, be out of the sun and in moderate temperature, and then use a good product and patiently apply it and dry it with micro fiber towels. Here’s a video done on a chalk Panamera. Seems easy enough but looks like it may only last 6-12 months.
Still awaiting feedback that my car made it on the Aristotle, but they were able to see that she was at the port, ready to load, so I'm pretty confident Gator and I will be heading west soon!
The garage is prepped. I added a rack for the all-season tires and installed the 220 plug and charger. I went with an aftermarket charger (actually an EVSE) because it was wifi connected, and will allow me to keep the Porsche one in the travel case. The one I got had a rebate from the electric company since they can turn it off in a peak power time. Speaking of EVSE, there is a 30% tax credit this year only (unless the law changes). Includes installation I think.
I hung the 25' charging cable from some pulleys and a tool holder, which is an adjustable tension retractor so it can hang overhead until needed. JuiceBox charger in lower left Charger plug (white handle) hanging from ceiling
@orca15, nice set up. I plan to just use the Porsche charging unit and I doubt it has WiFi, which is a cool feature. You’re right about the 30% tax credit; it covers the cost of EV charging installation and hardware for your house (up to $1,000 credit) so keep your invoices/receipts. Hopefully your car can get to you in December as Congress is all but certain to change the EV tax credit (the $7500 one) for 2022 and Panameras would no longer qualify (current bill caps the price at $55k).
SS22 - I had two 240 volt outlets installed - one for our Tesla and the other for the Panamera, which I hope to take delivery on soon (see picture of outlet below). I also plan to use the charger that comes with the car, and I just found the summary of what comes with that charger (see below), which said the supplied 240V cable is NEMA 6-50. I will have to buy a $27 NEMA 6-50 to NEMA 14-50 adapter cable that is available on Amazon. I am far from fully understanding electricity, so if anyone sees a problem going from my NEMA 14-50 240 V outlet through that adapter cable to the Porsche Charger's 6-50 plug, for home charging, please let me know. By the way - the veteran electrician who installed my outlet put the 'part circle/part square' hole at the bottom, which doesn't work for electric cars - he came back and swapped it to what you see here, in a few minutes, and he said the 99% of the NEMA 14-50 outlets he installs have that hole at the bottom and apparently electric cars are the exception, so verify with your electrician what they plan to install.
(sorry for the electrical lesson, but since you asked...)
My ground is on the bottom but that's because the charger cord/plug comes from above, where the charger is hanging on the wall. The 6-50 will work fine, the adapter just blocks the 4th wire which is a neutral, so instead of 2 hots, a ground, and a neutral, you will have 2 hots and a ground. The neutral is primarily for 120V applications as it sits (voltage wise) exactly between the 2 hots (which are 220 to 240V apart). Back at the main panel the neutral and ground are connected. After that, the neutral is there to give you a 110/120 circuit, the ground is for safety.
Note - you could have ordered the 14-50 cable plug on the configurator but at this point your solution is best.
Also, as far as the wifi, I don't think the Porsche one does, but the car has an app for starting and stopping charging, etc., so same functionality in the end. Mostly I got it because it can stay hooked up, leaving the Porsche one for travel, it had a long cable, and I can limit the amps if needed since it is a shared circuit in my house.
Thank you orca15 - that is very helpful! It's been so long since I ordered my car that I forgot that I did select the 14-50 cable plug - thanks for jogging my memory. In Northern California premium gas is about $5.50 per gallon, so I plan to drive all electric around town. Looking forward to fewer trips to the gas station.
I concur with @orca15 although he seems to have more expertise than me! I ordered the NEMA 14-50 cable from the configurator (as Orca said) for no cost.
I also had the electrician put the ground on my outlet on the bottom as it seems that’s best with the Porsche charger at least from what I could tell from photos… you want the set-up in the first photo below and not the second (it’ll still work obviously).
This is my new outlet, waiting impatiently to charge a Porsche!!
Also, as far as the wifi, I don't think the Porsche one does, but the car has an app for starting and stopping charging, etc., so same functionality in the end. Mostly I got it because it can stay hooked up, leaving the Porsche one for travel, it had a long cable, and I can limit the amps if needed since it is a shared circuit in my house.
Waiting to hear if I made the ship!!!
Oh yea! I forgot about the Porsche Car Connect app (not to be confused with the Porsche Connect app)!
I got a good feeling you’ll make the ship. By the way, my car was released from the port for transport to the dealer today and dealer confirmed again that it’s not missing any parts. I hope that’s an indication that everyone else waiting will also get their cars with all parts intact.
@Gator Fan 1957, great news! Now you can join in the fun of tracking your ship!
@Tosa5, good points. I’m not gonna do PPF, but if I were, I’d be concerned if the dealer gave it to the lowest bidder who wouldn’t do the best job. I’m only considering a ceramic cost and it’s really hard to mess that up on perfect paint. Ceramic coats typically last 2-5 years depending on the quality of the ceramic coat used, how much the car is exposed to the elements (which includes how often it’s washed). As time passes, the ceramic coat slowly deteriorates and so you just do a new application. They don’t take off the old coat (as far as I understand ceramic coating). Also, it’s best to do ceramic coating on brand new paint because it has no imperfections. On older paint, best practice would be to do paint correction and remove any imperfections before applying the ceramic coat. The benefit of ceramic coating over just waxing is that it stays on your car for at least a couple years, makes washing very easy (stuff just glides off), car gets dirty less often, it protects the clear coat and paint against bird poop or tree sap or things like that, and also gives the paint a nice shine.
@jbkanas, I was thinking of doing it myself too. I’ve never done it before and would be a little nervous to do it on my first Porsche. But it sounds like all you do with a brand new car is give it a spotless wash, be out of the sun and in moderate temperature, and then use a good product and patiently apply it and dry it with micro fiber towels. Here’s a video done on a chalk Panamera. Seems easy enough but looks like it may only last 6-12 months. Video Link
I decided to try ceramic at home today on my 912, which has a 40yr old repaint of dubious quality. Using a orbital buffer, I compounded the entire car, and managed to get the paint looking pretty spiffy. It's not great paint, but I'm much more comfortable experimenting on it's marginal paint than on my new Panamera when it arrives. Long story short, I used Groit's Garage spray ceramic (fairly inexpensive). Incredibly easy to apply on the newly compounded finish (much easier than waxing). The results look good. I'm taking the 912 to a Porsche Breakfast Club meeting tomorrow morning; Hope it looks as nice outside as it does in my garage.
While I was investigating this process, I came across a YouTube channel from a detailer in Chicago. Excellent product test videos, and several "how-to" related to ceramic applications. Check here:
Still awaiting feedback that my car made it on the Aristotle, but they were able to see that she was at the port, ready to load, so I'm pretty confident Gator and I will be heading west soon!
The garage is prepped. I added a rack for the all-season tires and installed the 220 plug and charger. I went with an aftermarket charger (actually an EVSE) because it was wifi connected, and will allow me to keep the Porsche one in the travel case. The one I got had a rebate from the electric company since they can turn it off in a peak power time. Speaking of EVSE, there is a 30% tax credit this year only (unless the law changes). Includes installation I think.
I hung the 25' charging cable from some pulleys and a tool holder, which is an adjustable tension retractor so it can hang overhead until needed. JuiceBox charger in lower left Charger plug (white handle) hanging from ceiling
Just got a notice that the Siem Aristotle has left Emden. Short stop for a day in Rotterdam and then headed to Jacksonville. Orca15......did you confirm if your car made it on the ship?
My dealer is in Riverside. When my car arrived in SD a few weeks ago, it was received the very next day (well evening, actually) at the dealership. I hope yours is that quick too! Which dealer in LA are you working with?
Just got a notice that the Siem Aristotle has left Emden. Short stop for a day in Rotterdam and then headed to Jacksonville. Orca15......did you confirm if your car made it on the ship?
Unfortunately, no, the last I heard (Friday afternoon) the car was checked in at the port and awaiting loading, then my dealer got busy. He promised me an update tomorrow. I'm pretending she is on the ship anyway Did you get confirmation yours is on? Since I will likely get mine after you (because I am doing the ATL PEC), if you like, I'll try to meet you somewhere on the way home from ATL (I'll probably be on I-85) and we can praise each other's choice of options