I hate ordering cars Waiting three or more months for it to arrive, with the last 2 weeks being an insomniac. I ordered a car back in 03' and it was hell waiting. Since then I have just taken something off the lot with the closest specs to my liking and for the best discounts, and have been just as happy.
I am ordering my new RRSC because there will be none on the lot for many months. I ordered it in Sept and will not see it till first week of March. That is not cool!

 

Sure, it does vary.

Generally what I gather is as long as the car is not too far out the dealer will let the buyer back out.

There sometimes has to be a good story though. Walk in and cancel a $100K car ordered just like you like it for a cheaper one down the street and the dealer is likely to be upset. (Unless he owns the car dealer down the street and believes he can make enough on that deal to cover his potential losses on the car he just let the buyer walk away from...)

But there are some customers who can get away with changing their mind on even a far out car. They have a long term car buying relationship with the dealer and the dealer is willing to oblige the customer.

But my point is one shouldn't assume he can order a car just like he likes it then change his mind and expect the dealer to be willing to let him change his mind, refuse the car, and leave the dealer holding the car, potentially one that is hard to move and requires a discount to do so or worse: the dealer has to put the car up on a Porsche auction site and take his lumps.

 

As an update, being unable to find a car that met my specs I decided to place an order. Much to my surprise my salesman said he could get me a FEB build with delivery mid MAR. I can only guess that the dealer somehow had an open slot - I was expecting a build date 2 to 3 months out, so, needless to say I was ecstatic. The odd thing though was the fact that, other than the downpayment, there was no mention of price negotiation. Sounds like they want to wait until the car is delivered to discuss the $$ details. Bottom line, I'm extremely happy about the short wait, but a bit confused about the actual transaction.

 

Get the negotiation done now. Your down payment is most probably nonrefundable and you won't have any negotiation power once you are locked in.

 

I agree, always negotiate the deal before you order or pay anything.

 

I assume that by down payment you actually mean deposit for your order (it was $2k for my recent order). Your location shows you in California, so by state law you will get the deposit back if you decide to cancel your order. That said you should definitely negotiate the sale price now and get it in writing.

 

Get the price in writing NOW. Otherwise you might find a mysterious "market value adjustment" (i.e. sell above list to whomever is willing to fork over the extra $'s) once your beautiful and highly desirable car appears. It happened once to me from a dealer I knew and trusted, due to a chance in sales management while my car was being built.