todbod

Hi Guys,

I have a 918 on deposit, and can afford one because I've always been a cheap bastard.. a lot of pennies pinched...

I had a question for other depositors:
Were you guys able to push your dealer below sticker. My dealer wasn't budging, but the fact that they haven't sold out tells me they might be more open to negotiations (i.e. throwing in some options, etc)

Any other folks care to share their experience?

nuvolari612

The dealers main incentive for 918 sales - earns them more allocations on desirable models.

Maybe a full clear bra worth 8k is doable.

LexVan

Best to negotiate price first, then give a deposit. They have you on the hook and know it. You have little walking power now. But if you can afford a $1MM supercar, you don't need advice from me.

Ask for your deposit back. See what happens. Good luck and congrats on a very special purchase!

ipse dixit

While it's true that there are still some 300+ (or more) 918 allocations to be spoken for, I'm not sure that in and of itself will motivate dealers to negotiate for a couple of reasons.

1. They don't have to sell a 918 (unlike a 911 allocation)
2. What's your real alternative if you wanted a hybrid "hypercar"? The P1 is sold out and so is the LaFerrari. So you have no leverage.

Just my 0.02.

Look at it this way, you're about to put down close to a $1M for a car. Anything you negotiate at this point doesn't even really count as a rounding error.

Sort of like buying a $10M mansion and asking the previous owner to mow the lawn before you sign the papers ...

wtdoom

Below is what you will get off the price :

swb3

Maybe I should have asked...but I did not. They did buy my wife and I a bottle of wine and a steak dinner in the Christophorus restaurant in Stuttgart so I guess I got $200 off lol.

mtbscott

Although not in the market for one, I'm kind of thinking there's not any reason for a dealer to give any concessions right now on a 918. As one poster said, the dealer might be willing to sweeten the deal by offering some other frou frou, maybe some free services, but no price discount. The fact that Porsche the manufacturer hasn't sold all of their 918's means squat to individual dealers.
Now if you wait long enough, like a year or two, then there could be some dealer incentives (there allegedly was on leftover C-GT's) but that's a long way off.
Or you wait for the inevitable used one that comes to market quickly because its owner decided he needs to get out from under it in a hurry, but again, that will be months at the earliest before we see any of those.

todbod

I was thinking that as long as the dealer is making a juicy margin (which clearly they will be), they would always be willing to be flexible. Once/If the car sells out, then economics change and the scarcity game comes into play.

Just wanted a few options.. is that so much to ask? Clearly a first world problem since the options on this car cost about as much as another Porsche.

Macster

Generally the way to get any flexibility on price or options etc is to convince the dealer (seller) that if you don't get your price you walk and go buy another car. The dealer/seller has to believe that not only does he lose a sale if you don't buy he loses a sale to another dealer/seller, that you won't be back in a week or two with your tail between your legs, with a sheepish look in your face, and your hand holding the money.

By giving the dealer a deposit you have substantially weakened your ability to negotiate. Unless you go in and attempt to set a hard price and let it be known if you do not get it in writing that you will take your deposit and go buy elsewhere. It helps to be able to mention in some detail what other cars are available and their price. Given the particular model we are talking about though, this may be a bit hard to do.

The dealer can of course balk at giving you your deposit back. He could argue you made the deposit based on knowing what the price was and he ordered the car for you, or declined to sell it to another buyer because of your deposit. In short he could make life difficult for you.

I can't really imagine a few dollars one way or the other is going to matter for a car that cost this much. My experience with much less expensive cars is one can usually get perks from the dealer that in some ways are nearly as good as discount up front. Better loaner cars. Personal pick up and delivery of cars. Invites to dealer open houses, and other gatherings, with food and drinks and goodies. Special consideration when you bring a car in for service, and so on.

'course, I negotiate a good price too but before I agree to buy a car and certainly before I put any money down. Generally when I decide to buy a car I just buy it for a price the seller and I have have worked out. I do *not* put any money down while I decide what I want to pay, or even if I really want the car.

todbod

Hmmm... I recently learned that less than 200 918s have been sold to date.... That definitely doesn't bode too well for Porsche on this program. It also may help explain why Daniel is no more, and suddenly Porsche is launching test drives, 918 Circle, etc..

LexVan

So your limited production hypercar just go more limited. Sounds like prices might be going up.

heynow

You may be confusing sold / deliveries vs. # of deposits. The factory is pumping out 2 cars a day and has been doing so since march. They had close to 600 deposits a year ago, so it is a stretch to think that 400 of them have been canceled. If that is the case, like the previous commenter said, great, now the 918 is super collectable .

todbod

I had never seen anything official from porsche on the number of deposits, but had heard a lot of double speak.

I saw month by month scheduled deliveries (because my car is one of them) and they are not pretty.

Reddy Kilowatt

If you have as much negotiating power as you imply, it should be easy, right?

todbod

I haven't tried yet, but am working up the nerve and the knowledge to do so

I'm not sure it can be done given how the high end typically works, but if there is healthy dealer competition, it should be possible.

Which is why I ended up here trying to get some tribal knowledge from folks who may have done this before. I've gotten a good deal on Porsche's before, (typically at the end of model year), but the rules of the 918 world are a bit new to me. I've never ordered a car like this... Like all good things, a lot of the fun is in the hunt!