Everything a car salesman tells you is intended to get you to buy the car as soon as possible...

Talking to the Porsche salesperson, there is not much more time to order a 2014 S. He says that the 2015's will be the same, will probably cost 2-4% more, and that my tradein (2003 S) will be worth less if I wait.

Is this good advice?

thanks

Keith

Quote
kmmcdonald
Talking to the Porsche salesperson, there is not much more time to order a 2014 S. He says that the 2015's will be the same, will probably cost 2-4% more, and that my tradein (2003 S) will be worth less if I wait.

Is this good advice?

thanks

Keith

I don't know about the 2 - 4% price increase. If you're thinking of ordering one now, I don't think it would be a 2014. Based on my experience last year, I completed the deal on May 16th and the car went into production June 10 and was completed by June 10. It was one of the first 2014's. I believe they do a switch over to the next model year around the beginning of June.

To get my car changed to the specs that I wanted, the sales manager had to talk with both Porsche Canada and Porsche in Germany to get the order unlocked so they could change the order to get the options changed to what I wanted. 3 - 4 weeks is a pretty short lead time to change an order because the parts for the car have to be ordered and don't arrive at the factory until they car is built.

Ask your salesman if it would be a June production.

Last year, there was a price increase, but they also included some equipment as standard that were extra cost options in 2013.

I wouldn't let myself get rushed unless you're happy with the deal you're getting.

Quote
kmmcdonald
Talking to the Porsche salesperson, there is not much more time to order a 2014 S. He says that the 2015's will be the same, will probably cost 2-4% more, and that my tradein (2003 S) will be worth less if I wait.

Is this good advice?

thanks

Keith

I wouldn't be in a rush, though as Guenter mentioned, it's unlikely it'll be a '14 unless he's got an allocation to fill before the model year cut-over. I would expect a small price bump. Can't say on the options, typically some of the colors change a bit, and sometimes things show up, e.g., a '13 had only Bose audio as an option, in '14 you could get a Burmester.

One thing is for sure, I *would* be in a hurry to get a '15. The normally aspirated flat six will be smoother, more responsive, and sound better. The flat 4 turbo in '16 will have a small power bump I expect, slightly better mileage, but more complexity and heat to eliminate from the engine compartment. One of my Dad's rules was never to buy a first-year car or engine. Not that Porsche doesn't have turbo expertise, but nobody's perfect.

The sole job of a sports car is to make the driver happy, and for me (and Gordon Murray), that would be via a normally aspirated engine.

Jim

My current car (997S) is an '09. First year without IMS and first year with DFI. So far, knock on wood, bullet proof. My previous Porsches ('98 Boxster and '02 Boxster S) both had issues and were not first-year cars. My '98's production was delayed by four months due to porous engine blocks. My '02 S had the IMS fail at 10,001 miles. So, my experience has been, the first year car has been much better than my previous non-first-year cars. Granted, some of the first Boxsters in '97 had issues with slipped cylinder sleeves. So, it's really a crap shoot. Normally, I'd say wait until October of 2015 and look for a model year 2015 Boxster and get a great deal as the new car will be in production, but lots of the 15s will get snapped up because people won't want a four banger, even if it is Turbo charged. So, those left over 15s, if there even are any, will probably not go at much of a discount.

I just briefly spoke on the phone with my Porsche salesperson. If I order a car today, it will be a 2015. There are no changes of which he is aware. So, I'm in no hurry. My previous impression that 2014's could still be ordered was due to another Porsche salesperson telling me a few weeks ago that 2014's would be the available model until mid-June.

I agree with Jim about normal aspiration. My other car is a 2005 Golf TDI, which is the best car that I have ever owned. However, the only major repair that it has required was replacement of the turbocharger, which was fortunately covered by warranty at that time.

Keith

and pay as much for as possible. What did you expect the salesman to say? No, don't buy now. Wait a few months. No hurry and oh BTW the cars will cheaper then.

As the 2015 arrival time gets closer if there any 2014's around you can probably swing a pretty good deal. When the new models arrive Porsche refunds some of the dealer's cost of the car back to the dealer so the dealer has some room to bargain with.

But even before the new models arrive, the factory can also offer other factory to dealer incentives. To give you an idea of how good a deal can be had back in April of 2009 I bought a new 2008 Cayman S for $12K under sticker. The car listed for $62.6K and I bought it for $50.6K. The dealer had the car listed for this amount and other dealers in the area had similar discounts on not only Caymans but Boxsters and Carreras including Cabs. Anyhow, the Cayman S was a brand new car with just a couple of months of its 4 year warranty gone, but not enough to cause me any concern.

Is there any reliable place a potential buyer can find out what the factory to dealer incentives, rebates, trunk money, etc. is?

"A mile of highway will take you one mile. A mile of runway will take you anywhere."

offer both new and used cars for sale info.

Here are 3 of the links I found:

[www.edmunds.com]

[www.cars.com]

[www.kbb.com]

Not sure how complete the info is at these sites.

I didn't bother to cross check the info.

Some incentives are not publicized. The intent is to help the dealer not the individual buyer. The factory's customer is the dealer.

One can at least get a hint that incentives are available as the supply of cars increases. Generally the more days' supply of cars on hand the more likely the factory will give out incentives and the more likely the dealer will publicize these by lowering prices. I do not have specific numbers on hand but hot selling cars can sometimes see the supply get down to under 30 days and in some cases a lot lower, a few weeks, even less. Slower selling cars have the supply out to 60 days, or more. Back in 2001 when I bought my 2001 Camaro for $5K under sticker, the factory had a 200+ day supply of these cars.

For example, when you see, from today's SF Chronicle, a new car price listed, followed by a "dealer discount", "factory rebate", and a "Memorial Day Retail Bonus Cash", you can be pretty sure there's an oversupply of cars, 2014 Dodge Journey in this case. While the ad says "1 at this price" (MSRP of $22,490 with a net cost (after all the discounts listed above) of $17,888) and off to one side "15 in stock" you know the factory has a lot of these vehicles sitting on dealer lots, or on factory storage lots scattered about the country.

Anyone of those 15 cars I suspect could be had for that discounted price, and maybe even less. The dealer is not losing money on the sale even at the $17,888 price so I believe the dealer has some room to move (lower) on the price.

"A mile of highway will take you one mile. A mile of runway will take you anywhere."

Only issue with that is we are talking 2009, that was the start of the real doldrums for the car industry. In Nov. 2009, I got 27% off sticker for my 2009 997S Cab. So, your results may vary if comparing things to today. Plus, if Porsche is going four cylinder with the Boxster, people will be snapping up the flat sixes in droves, most likely, which means, less of MSRP, if anything at all. Porsche was phasing out the model around 2009, I believe, and cut back Boxster production. That's why I went the 911 route, no dealer was dealing much on Boxsters, even in Nov. 2009. In 2002, I got 10% off MSRP on my Boxster S, and in Nov. 2009, they weren't even going that far down on discounts. I live on the east coast and checked dealers from Richmond, VA, up into CT. Nobody was dealing, but they kept pushing the 911s. So, I bit and brought one from a dealer in CT (live outside of DC). All on line. My mom still lives in CT, so got to visit her and pickup my new car. Win/win.

I was given the option of a 2013, or a 2014. I called around to the different dealers and asked what kind of a deal I could get and the deliver date. The answers were all over the place. I ended up ordering a 2014 and received a 6.5% discount with delivery in Aug. ..... I had originally had a 2013 on order but the dealer failed to tell me about some costs, they would not negotiate, so I cancelled the order. I was to have delivery in June so I was anxious to get my car since I was Boxsterless since Oct 2012.

I was not a very patient person waiting for my Boxster, as all can attest here ...... It did arrive and I'm extremely happy that I did wait. I was able to get a good deal, plus the value of the car will be better when I sell than a 2013.

I would weight the financial and how soon you want the car.

Joanne