Thank You Porsche For Giving Us The Option

"The World of Vee" (theworldofvee)
09/27/2013 at 13:44 • Filed to: Porsche

With the latest news of upcoming !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in the past 24 hours, I started to think about that $120k Porsche Boxster that someone optioned and has subsequently became infamous. For the record, to pay 120k$ for a Porsche Boxster is another level of crazy. The least Porsche could do for you at that point is buy you a table dance or hell, an old Panzer or something. Now that that’s cleared up, I want to officially say “Thank You” to Porsche for at least giving us the option to let our imaginations run wild and configure such monstrosities.

It is my belief that most people truly do not understand just what goes into making a car now a days. This isn’t the 60s, you don’t go to chevrolet pick options and pay the down payment and then wait a month and pick up your new custom car. You still can, almost any dealer will option out a specific car to your specific needs, but unless it is the normal options in the brochure just watch how “Porsche-like” your car’s price becomes. I conducted an experiment recently to see how it would play out. I decided on an Audi S5 Prestige with manual transmission, tobacco brown leather interior, electric green seat belts, leather topped dash, R8 wheels, and a very specific shade of blue that matched my Ray Bans to a T. I went to the dealer, sat down with a sales rep, showed him my sunglasses, gave him my list and I told him I was willing to wait however long it would take once I had a proper invoice and could decide if it was worth it. Here are some excerpts from the email the sales rep sent me back:

Mr. Vee,

The 2014 Audi S5 Prestige is the ultimate expression in automotive excellence and [dealer redacted] Audi of the [location redacted] area would love to be your dealer of choice to get the exact Audi S5 Prestige you desire...

...The Base Price of the 2014 Audi S5 Prestige is $52,800 + taxes and fees...Neon green seat belts with the dark brown leather interior is at a cost of $1876...A leather topped dashboard will be fitted at a cost of $4762...The wheel choice you have chosen is a dealer installed option and as such can be purchased separately from the dealer (in addition to the standard S5 Prestige wheels) at a cost of $5300 per wheel + $675 per tire (for a total of $23900)...The paint code you have chosen will be applied at a cost of $4346...

...If you have anymore questions, please do not hesitate to call me at the dealership [number redacted] or my personal cell phone [number redacted], I look forward to beginning a wonderful relationship between our two families...

Now this salesman must have been foaming at the mouth in anticipation of a potential sale of this magnitude. I mean who wouldn’t? There is $34,884 dollars worth of options for a grand total of $87,684! Now when you compare that to a Boxster S, I got the same exact options (colored seat belts, paint to sample, 911 Turbo wheels, leather dash) for a grand total of ~$13,000. Now I’m not saying that 13000$ is a small amount of money, but when you realize that every car company offers some sort of customization method and they charge much more for the chance to make your car truly your own, you can start to see why Porsche’s options are actually reasonable.

The reason for this? Importation and market understanding. Not everyone buying an Audi or Porsche wants green or yellow seat belts, or would even notice that a dashboard was covered in leather, but almost all of them probably want a navigation system, and cruise control and power windows/locks etc. So that’s why we get packages, when the only variable on a car is one of two packages and a handful of colors, the cars buzz through the production line extremely quick and can be sent to different markets relatively cheaply. But when I tell Audi that I want green seat belts, they have to take the car off the production line at the seatbelt phase and a worker has to specifically bring in green nylon belts and install them for my particular car. That takes time, time equals money. Porsche customization is sort of a red herring in the auto market, almost every Porsche comes with the same options, but because there aren’t many “trim levels” or “packages” they tend to not get them in uniform distribution. All of them will have the navigation and phone modules, but only some will get the chrono while some will get the factory exhaust. Because of this, dealers have to take a stab at which options and models will sell the best and only order those ones. Make no mistake, the crazy color options and leather and carbon fiber options are completely custom, but Porsche is upfront about the cost so you as a consumer can have an exact idea of what you will be paying. It’s transparent, it isn’t price gouging, it is honest. Porsche’s are expensive, and if you want one that is truly yours it is going to cost even more, that’s just the way it is.

So thank you Porsche, thank you for offering all of these customizations and making it reasonably easy to get them. In a world where every car is white, black, or silver and has a beige or black interior, I truly would like some green seat belts. I think it’d be refreshing and cool and the thought of a Mocha Brown 911 with racing yellow wheels increases pressure in places that aren’t fit to be spoken of. I probably won’t be able to afford one of your custom cars in the foreseeable future, but it’s nice to know that when I can, I can get the exact Vee Edition 911 that I’ve always imagined.

DISCUSSION (40)

HammerheadFistpunch > The World of Vee
09/27/2013 at 13:51

There are always options, how much do you want to spend.

The World of Vee > HammerheadFistpunch
09/27/2013 at 13:53

Sorry, I think I'm missing something here

HammerheadFistpunch > The World of Vee
09/27/2013 at 13:55

just agreeing with you, in a round about kind of way that yes, you can get customization anywhere, if you are willing to pay for it.

Turner950s > The World of Vee
09/27/2013 at 13:56

$5300 per wheel? (BEFORE TIRES?)
BBS RSs are just over $1300 per wheel (new). Buy something in this price range and put them on yourself and save $16,000.

$4700 for a leather dash?
I'll get you a leather dash for $500 out of an L6 BMW

Kinja'd!!!

Excuse my excitement, but let's just say if you added together the prices of the 5 cars I've owned, including gas and all maintenance, it wouldn't even come close to that $87k subtotal.

The World of Vee > HammerheadFistpunch
09/27/2013 at 13:57

oh ok! yeah lol sorry I'm on an airplane right now flying back to NY the altitude must have gotten to my brain

The World of Vee > Turner950s
09/27/2013 at 13:59

Trust me, I was just as shocked as you were. I did this about 2 weeks ago because I was planning on writing an article on the "porsche tax" and when I read the new leaks it just seemed like the right time. I did not expect R8 wheels to be so expensive, but I guess they're completely custom forged pieces plus dealer markup explains some of it.

Personally, I'm a BBS LM guy, it looks good on basically every car known to man.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > The World of Vee
09/27/2013 at 14:16

Why won't they let me have the flat black with the martini wrap? It's just an online configuration, so why not?

Jayhawk Jake > The World of Vee
09/27/2013 at 14:21

I don't understand the point you're making.

Are you thanking porsche for letting you do this customization online?

It sounds like Audi is way better about the customization than Porsche, as it's much less expensive to customize. You may have optioned $34,000 on top of an S5, but $23,000 of that was the wheels.

So basically, it sounds like you can get a custom order from anyone, it just costs way more to do that through Porsche than Audi.

The World of Vee > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
09/27/2013 at 14:21

call and ask? maybe the martini and rossi stuff is copyrighted and can only be on specific colors?

The World of Vee > Jayhawk Jake
09/27/2013 at 14:27

The same exact custom options were almost 20k cheaper with Porsche than it was with Audi.

The point I'm trying to make is that while Porsche gets a ton of flak all the time because of their expensive options, at least they're being upfront and honest about it and that every higher end company offers these types of customizations so this isn't a Porsche specific problem.

Jayhawk Jake > The World of Vee
09/27/2013 at 14:30

Ah, I see now.

I'm still curious though, how much were the 911 Turbo wheels compared to the R8 wheels? It seems a bit ridiculous that of the $35000 options on the Audi, the wheels were $22000. Are the other options comparable to Porsche, or way more expensive?

The World of Vee > Jayhawk Jake
09/27/2013 at 14:35

you can actually do it yourself if you go to Porsche's site, but the skinny:

The Turbo Rims were 5k

The custom color was 5.5k

the seatbelts and leather dash were ~2k

Yeah they were MUCH cheaper than audi. To be fair, Porsche lets you choose Turbo rims as an option for the boxster S and audi doesn't let you choose R8 rims for the S8. But still, I could buy equally impressive aftermarket rims for 4/5k total versus the 5k EACH for R8 rims.

Jayhawk Jake > The World of Vee
09/27/2013 at 14:44

Does Audi even make a leather dash for the A5/S5 standard?

The custom color cost less on your Audi example, the custom interior color and seatbelts didn't cost any more than seatbelts and leather dash on the Porsche.

I suppose I still don't understand the point you are trying to make about the Audi, or the Porsche for that matter. Okay, Porsche lets you configure the car online, sweet. But it's not like Audi isn't transparent about options, I mean you did just walk into a dealer with a list of what you wanted and they told you how much it would cost.

If the point is the cost of the actual options, it seems a little unfair depending on the options. If the leather dash is an option that you can get for the S5 and it costs 3k more than the Porsche, well okay, that's a bit ridiculous. But if it's going to have to be custom designed and fitted to the Audi, obviously it's going to cost a bit more if it's not designed to be an option from the start.

We tend to make fun of Porsche for all the options simply because it's so easy to go to their website and list it out. Any new car can be customized, even if it's not custom ordered there's plenty of ways to get a car made to your specifications, and it will likely always cost an arm and a leg to do so.

The World of Vee > Jayhawk Jake
09/27/2013 at 14:57

That's the point I'm trying to make, Porsche readily makes it 100% clear how much a certain, completely 100% custom part is going to cost you as an end user. The leather dash isn't something that porsche has bins full of just waiting for boxsters, they take leather and stitch it onto an existing dash...it's custom and time consuming.

The point is that custom work is expensive and just because one brand is upfront about the costs and the others require you to specifically ask, shouldn't make them the butt of every options joke.

SLR999 > The World of Vee
09/27/2013 at 15:09

Or cognac metallic Caymans...

Kinja'd!!!

The World of Vee > SLR999
09/27/2013 at 15:11

a little bright for my tastes, but equally delicious. Mocha is a little darker and it just hits all the right buttons for me.

Though I saw this color on a Panamera Turbo with black Turbo wheels and holy crap it looked absolutely wonderful

SLR999 > The World of Vee
09/27/2013 at 17:52

I wouldn't think it would work on a Panamera. But then I don't think any colour would work on a Panamera.

Maybe black. At night. With the lights dimmed.

They're the Aztek of Porsches.

The World of Vee > SLR999
09/27/2013 at 19:08

They're actually very, very good looking cars in the flesh. My sister and I actually bought our dad one because he liked it so much.

SLR999 > The World of Vee
09/27/2013 at 19:14

I see them more than I see 981s. And I'm disappointed every time.

Look at the Model S for a successful sports sedan design. Similar, but the hatch is resolved much better.

Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment > The World of Vee
09/28/2013 at 02:11

Great point, and I agree. Although some of their options seems quite expensive, I'm sure that honestly, with how few people will take advantage of them, they are priced within reason. Hell how many people every year actually get the leather air vent slats? I love spending time on the Porsche Configurator, it makes the OCD part of my brain explode with happiness. Quit apart from seeing any reference on here, I decided to see what I could do to a Cayman S, and got it up to 116k before I just couldn't find anything else I wanted to add. I also spec'd up a 212k Panamera Turbo that might have been the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Thank you indeed.

Alex87f > The World of Vee
09/28/2013 at 07:19

It can get really much worse than what you're describing..

Take a look at that:

Kinja'd!!!

Yes, this is a 90 000€ (or 99 000$ before tax for your americans) Audi A5 3.0 TDI. It has approximately 35 000$ worth of options.

The worse thing is that those crazy options list are there for a reason. I remember the story of how someone bought a 72 000€ A5 2.0 TDI (81 000$ before tax). There are people out there buying this.

Heck, just got to the Audi website and try to configure any car.. I'd love a TT and even whilst being reasonable I have trouble configuring one with less than 7 - 8 000$ worth of options (which really only is the cost for metallic paint, 18" rims, leather interior and a couple other goodies)

The World of Vee > Alex87f
09/28/2013 at 07:50

See people in the states don't see the Audi individual options because we only get one of three packages and a few dealer installed options.

When I lived in Bavaria you could option an A4 with cloth seats...that's not an option in the states.

Squabbler > The World of Vee
09/28/2013 at 08:08

Any of the browns looks Mr. Goodbar w/ yellow wheels.

Much prefer the darkers, though, especially if we're talking chocolate.

chriswhotakesphotos > The World of Vee
09/28/2013 at 08:11

I feel the same way, and in fact was pretty excited when I found out that the German marques are so enabling with custom colors. I'm glad to know that when I go to get my Porsche I'll be able to get it in "Just look at my iPad smart cover" green.

Alex87f > The World of Vee
09/28/2013 at 08:17

Funny, I did not know that.

I reckon 50% of A4's here are sold with cloth interiors.. Heck, even a base Q7 comes with cloth seats.

At some point, Jaguar even sold XJ's with cloth seats, manual climate control and steelies with plastic hubcaps, just in order to offer an entry price under 300 000 francs (probably around 60 000$ at the time)

xen0blade > The World of Vee
09/28/2013 at 08:24

This. They look surprisingly good on: [insert car of choice here]. Now I must find a ridiculous car with that wheel. Umm....perhaps a HMMWV....or....ermmm....I got nothing. HELP! Ideas, anyone? What would BBS LM wheels look objectively terrible on?

Le Monstre > The World of Vee
09/28/2013 at 09:30

Another offender of this is MINI. Damn do I love my MINI (2005 R53), but a new Cooper S is close to the upper 20- lower 30K range with a few personal options, which they "gloat" about being not normal. Granted, there is so many options, the skies the limit, but it's hard to drop 30K on a FWD 181HP hatchback, when the Abarth is sitting in the lower 20's, hell, you could pick up a 300HP V6 Mustang for that (beating a dead horse, but being serious).

The World of Vee > xen0blade
09/28/2013 at 10:53

LMs would look good on a Humvee. They'd look good on the tumbler too.

The World of Vee > chriswhotakesphotos
09/28/2013 at 10:56

Exactly. In a world of black white silver and dark gray cars, a bit of color is always welcome

chriswhotakesphotos > The World of Vee
09/28/2013 at 11:33

Mine is bright green!

The Sparkytooth Ring Lapper > The World of Vee
09/28/2013 at 11:38

Kinja'd!!!

Dose wheels....

SgtHop > Alex87f
09/28/2013 at 11:41

You also have to keep in mind that prices do not translate directly. We wouldn't pay anywhere near that much here in the States for that car.

wagontastic > The World of Vee
09/28/2013 at 13:06

When I first saw a Touareg with a V10 diesel I went to the VW website to check it out further. A base model V6 Touareg was in the low to mid 40's, by the time I optioned up the diesel I was almost at 80k. Almost DOUBLE the base model, base price. HA!

In a Mini; let them mock me as My Mini Countryman is higher than you > Le Monstre
09/28/2013 at 13:12

That was a truly ASSinine pun

Senorbolsa > xen0blade
09/28/2013 at 14:43

Kinja'd!!!

Yup I got nothing, they actually look incredible on this van even.

Alex87f > SgtHop
09/28/2013 at 23:07

Well, once you take the VAT out of the European prices (which I did whilst converting them), the prices are actually quite similar, though probably a bit higher in Europe.

SgtHop > Alex87f
09/29/2013 at 02:11

The closest thing we have to the lead is the 2.0TFSI, which starts at $39k. I think the 2.0 might be a little more base-like, but it's still a pretty marked difference.

Alex87f > SgtHop
09/29/2013 at 08:11

No that much though... A 2.0 TFSI (FWD 6MT) base model starts at 39k€. Convert that in USD and remove the 19.6%VAT and you end up around 44.5k$. Still higher but not that much.

We also have a 1.8 TFSI that starts at 37.8k$ using the same calculation.

TylerLinner > The World of Vee
09/30/2013 at 12:12

Thank you very much for going in and asking about this. For years I have been wondering whether new cars could be ordered with custom paint colors, and it is heartening to know the answer is yes! Considering the cost of a full respray, and the value inherent in a factory-correct custom job, I think $4500 could be worth it, especially for an Audi. When I go to buy a new car I will surely inquire about getting a non-factory paint color.

PS- Check your comma splices! :)

TylerLinner > The Sparkytooth Ring Lapper
09/30/2013 at 12:13

...are very phallic.