How Do I Visit a Porsche Dealership?

"Money Hustard" (moneyhustard) 05/20/2015 at 19:44 • Filed to: Car Buying, Porsche, 911, Cayman

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My dad wants to buy a Cayman or a 911 as his next car. He’s spent most of the past decade in 7-Series BMWs and his lease runs up in the next few weeks. He was about to hop into yet another 750, but they are redesigned for 2016 and won’t be available til the fall. As a joke I offered that !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to trade with him when he needed cargo or passenger capacity if he’s get a fun car to trade. The planets have aligned, my mom has given her blessing, and finally he’s looking at something fun to drive.

As many of you likely are, I’m the guy people come to to help with a car purchase in my family and social circles. I’ve visited at least 100 dealerships in my life and have a bit of a car buying problem. However, I’ve never shopped Porsches.

I’m headed with my paps to the dealership on Friday night, and I’m as read up on 911 and Caymans as can be. Are they going to just let us test drive a couple Porsches? Should I call ahead or something?

Also, with the 40932820398 different 911 variations out there, each dealership only carries a handful of units. This is a purchase that will need to happen in the next few weeks, but at the same time should be “take whatever you can get” how does one go about getting the trim they are looking for?

Is this going to be just another terrible car buying scenario? Or is there a way to get in front of a knowledgeable sales person that will allow test driving of multiple units?

Longshot : anyone work at a Porsche Dealership in driving distance to Central Florida?

jkm7680 > Money Hustard 05/20/2015 at 19:45

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1. Locate the nearest Porsche dealer.

2. Put the address into a GPS system or navigate to it.

3. Arrive at the dealer and park.

4. Open the front door and go inside.

There ya go. You’re welcome!

TheHondaBro > jkm7680 05/20/2015 at 19:47

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Instructions not clear enough; got gentlemen’s dodgeballs caught in carburetor.

jkm7680 > TheHondaBro 05/20/2015 at 19:48

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I’m not sure why, but that seems to happen a bit more than it should for some reason.

ranwhenparked > Money Hustard 05/20/2015 at 19:50

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You may be overthinking a bit. I once visited a Rolls-Royce/Bentley dealership after school with a friend who just wanted to gawk, and the salesman couldn’t have been nicer - actually spent a lot of time going over features on the Silver Seraph and letting use go all through the car, etc. By the end, he was actually trying to get me to check out a used Silver Spirit on the lot as if there was any way I was at all in the market for that, which should have been pretty obvious.

Porsche is pretty much a normal, volume, luxury brand these days, not much different from Jaguar or Audi, so I’d say you just go in like any other dealership and go about your business.

Pdb > Money Hustard 05/20/2015 at 19:54

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Dont “take whatever you can get”. Order one new, with his exact specs he wants. It’ll take 6 weeks to get there.

Money Hustard > Pdb 05/20/2015 at 20:05

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6 weeks? That quick?

Supercharged-V8-Jag > Money Hustard 05/20/2015 at 20:12

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I test drove the Cayman GTS, at my local dealership, when it was nearly brand new; and I’m no where near to buying one. I think really it just depends on the salesman..I’ve become friends with the local ambassador, so I get to test drive these cool cars ;-). Next up (hopefully) will be the new 911 GTS.

Textured Soy Protein > Money Hustard 05/20/2015 at 20:12

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Hell, I had to fill out more paperwork to test drive a ‘15 Mustang GT than I did to drive a Boxster S. And I showed up to drive the Boxster in a Miata, and the Mustang in a 135is.

As for wanting something specific and not wanting to wait, you still have options. Your local dealer can probably work a trade with another dealer for a car with the options you want. Or just find something at some other dealer and have it shipped, or drive it back home yourself.

Money Hustard > Textured Soy Protein 05/20/2015 at 20:23

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I’m now rooting that this will require me to drive it from somewhere a few hundred miles away.

Money Hustard > Supercharged-V8-Jag 05/20/2015 at 20:25

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I will say, having been car shopping with my dad before, it’s like a whole other world. They don’t even check his license, they just hand him the keys to a new vehicle and let him drive away without a salesman. When I go to dealerships it’s a legit 20-30 minute process just to get into a car to drive it.

bryan40oop > Money Hustard 05/20/2015 at 20:54

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no, probably not. No idea where this guy got his info. FFS the car has to float over from Deutschland after all. Probably takes that long in customs.

Sam > Money Hustard 05/20/2015 at 21:25

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Usually they come from another dealership in the country that has the one you want. They throw it on a truck and send it over to the dealership that is local to you.

CallMeTURBO > Money Hustard 05/20/2015 at 21:51

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do you usually show up in his 750i? I’ve found dealerships are more likely to trust you with their nice cars if you show up in one of equivalent value, or are older

Money Hustard > CallMeTURBO 05/20/2015 at 21:54

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I thought that at first, but we rolled up in my ‘12 Maxima and the same thing happened. He is a fairly distinguished-looking fellow though, I suppose.

Tapas > Money Hustard 05/20/2015 at 22:04

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See if the F-Type Coupes interest him. I have a bias toward the F-Type :P

But since you are gonna go to a Porsche dealership - test drive the Cayman GTS and a 911 back to back. Trust me, the GTS is awesome!

I would say GT4, if it weren’t for the the limited run.

Also, configure the car the way you want it. Porsche has a shit ton of options...

105 HP of fury > Money Hustard 05/20/2015 at 23:05

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Make an appointment, it will let them know you’re serious about the test drives. Plus, if there’s a particular model / spec you’re looking for, you can know for sure if they have one on the lot.

Svend > Money Hustard 05/20/2015 at 23:07

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When your checking specs for Porsches also check some Porsche forums and groups for things to look out for and to ask about, they are really helpful and a wealth of information. If you can find a few dealerships in the area, make a day of it and start late morning, dress smart/casual, too smart and they’ll be on you before you’ve entered the forecourt, too casual and they won’t entertain your. As I say if you can visit a few dealerships you’ll build up a better image of who has what and who’s likely to be more helpful, you’ll probably get even more helpful assistance when you visit one of them again in the same day as it shows you’ve likely seen something you like to come back straight away.

Deputy Kovacs > Money Hustard 05/20/2015 at 23:43

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My dad has purchased quite a few Porsches over the years. I’ve done most of the shopping and picking out the right car for him, all when I was late high school to college aged. At our local dealer I’ve had awesome treatment by the sales team, regardless of age. They’ll let you test drive whichever you’re interested in and will most likely let you guys take them out by yourselves for an extended drive. The Porsche sales experience is much higher scale than any other luxury brand. It’s a step into the exotic territory, which brings in pickier clients with higher expectations.

This is probably not the case with every dealer, but ours (Porsche Exchange in Highland Park, IL) is full of car guys that know miles more about the product than your typical MB, BMW or LR salesman (I’ve had experience with all), and making it clear to them that you know what you’re talking about can only be beneficial. But obviously don’t be annoying about it. Best of luck! Give us a review or follow up to this, I’m interested to hear what other dealers are like.

Stef Schrader > Money Hustard 05/20/2015 at 23:49

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Wear Parsh shirt. Very important! Open Parsh. Sit in Parsh. Parsh the Parsh. Put ‘lump in Parsh. Paaaaarsh.

PARSHHHHH.

Money Hustard > Deputy Kovacs 05/21/2015 at 00:01

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Fingers crossed.

Trust me, if I get ready access to a 911, I’ll produce a thoroughly irritating amount of content about it.

I’ve genuinely never had a good car dealership experience, I’m interested to see if any brand consistently pulls of a reasonable sales experience.

Deputy Kovacs > Money Hustard 05/21/2015 at 00:02

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Welcome to the Porsche Experience, you’ll never want to leave.

Pdb > bryan40oop 05/21/2015 at 14:43

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Its 10-14 days on the boat. They are never held up in customs. It might wait a day or so for a truck. Delays can creep in, but it’s 6-8 weeks for a new build from Germany, as long its not a limited production where you are waiting for a build allocation.

Nick George > Money Hustard 05/21/2015 at 15:42

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I’m a regular at my local Porsche dealership (Monterey). I’m in no way in the market for buying one; my friend and I just like to stop by and drool when we’re bored. I’ve test driven a Cayman GTS and a Carrera 4S just because I was friendly and knowledgeable with the salespeople. They even invited us back to test drive whatever we want on slow days. Definitely an awesome experience.