Interesting. I had that experience when I visited their Thousand Oaks location.

Then, had a totally great experience @ Pasadena where I actually bought my car. For the record, Ricki Williams was my sales guy and it was low key, no problem all the way.

Anyway, I agree the encounter's definately a 2 way street.

 

I would have assumed that would be true. Then again I've seen some of the same used cars priced at $15k+ over market just sitting on dealers' lots for months and months. Strange - maybe per prior comments they are waiting for some chump to "fall in love" with the particular car and pay much more than it's actually worth. Who knows, this may actually be the better strategy for them in the end.

For an example, take a look at this 2007 911 Turbo at Rector Porsche in Burlingame. It's a normal black/black car, not particularly clean, 13k miles, supple leather. They had it priced at 102k for 3-4 months and then recently dropped it down to 100k. I can't imagine anyone in their right mind biting on a deal that is that far off of market. Cars like this have been trading at 80-90k for months.

 

Maybe they are just waiting for that high tech CFO wife to walk in anytime and just pay cash for it. With that margin, they don't mind if the car sits on the lot for months.

 

Right, I've been following the '09 2S market for a while and prices are all over the place. One dealer quoted original MSRP on car with 5500 miles on it and was asking 10K off of list. That's nuts. The car has already depreciate 20 - 30% so it really should be priced in the mid 70s at the most.

Go figure.

 

a basic strategy i use is to always call, talk with a salesperson, see if they have any vehicles that fit your criteria. Most important, see if you get along with them and only then schedule a meeting. Not sure if everyone does this but I think it eliminates 'bad chemistry' a little and also reduces the obnoxious 'qualifying' moment that happens when you walk in with no prior appointment.

 

Porsche always had the snobiest salesmen, made me enjoy it even more when they were kissing my ars two months trying to unloud the remaining '09's.

 

When I decided to get a Porsche a couple of years ago, I perused AutoTrader ads and checked out cars close to me. When looking for used Porsches, I found that dealers want a way too much money. The only thing they can offer is CPO, and if they are unwilling to do that, why even waste your time with them? There are tons of good used cars out there, and most dealers advertise on Autotrader and Cars.com. I've even found many of the local Porsche dealer's used cars on Craigslist. I bought both of my cars (a 05 C2S cab and current 07 T4S) in private party deals, and had no issues, and saved a considerable amount compared to buying similar models from dealers. Good luck in your search.

 

+1
When I was looking, I couldn't believe the attitude of the four dealerships I visited. Even if I found a car that fit what I was looking for and the price was "reasonable", I'm not sure I would have wanted to part with my money to any of them. I found my car thru Autotrader and the seller turned out to be one of the coolest guys around plus a great car guy who really takes perfect care of his cars. For example, he always had his car garaged and I'm pretty sure if a local dealer had this car for sale, it would have been sitting out in the elements for who knows how long.

 

I did most of my research online and I bought new so I wasn't exactly in your same situation. I did find that there were some dealerships that were bored with my requests and some that were helpful. My local dealership in Rocklin was great but they wouldn't come down on the price. I eventually bought from Livermore, but my salesman seemed less than interested throughout the whole process. Either way, I got a great price and a great car.

 

I can relate to lazy, less than enthusiastic salesmen. I went to a local dealer near me in southern Florida in June 09, wont say which one- the salesman showed me a few Carreras-an 08 with 3,000 miles that he told me the guy traded in for a new turbo, and an 07 Carrera S with 7,000 miles........Both CPO............
The salesman had no idea I had access to motor vehicle info- so I told him the guy's name that traded in the 08, and told him the guy also had an 08 Hummer, an 07 Harley and a boat but NO Carrera turbo.
I also told him the 07 Carrera S had a $1,300 rear bumper repair......... After a flustered look and an awkward silence-he came back with some unacceptable "answer" that he was thinking of another vehicle, and the slight damage was something he was going to tell me about.
Aftger leaving and going to a dealer that was about 50 miles further south from me and purchasing a new 09 black Carrera with satellite, sports chrono, PDK, power seats, bluetooth.I made it a point to go back and say "hi" to both the sales guy I dealt with and his sales manager!!!
Certified or not, salesmen will say whatever they think you want to hear, always check Carfax..."Caveat Emptor" buyer beware............

 

Hang in there mate. In the end, when you find your perfect car (and you will) it'll all be worth it!

Porsche salesguys are generally known to be jack a$$'s (don't know why tho)

if it makes you feel better, the country I'm in only has one distributor per car manufacturer/brand, so imagine the incompetent sales that are fostered in that environment! I nearly has to punch my salesguys out! I was so furious w some his suggestions/tactics and general lack of product knowledge! It was as if they didn't care! Aarrghh

 

No one has any skills! And that's really what we're talking about here.......skills and common sense! Things that are obvious to you aren't to some of the salespeople you've spoken with and those salespeople will eventually find another line of work because they won't be able to make a living selling!

Everything is a learning experience so look at the bright side and Good Luck to you!!!

Tom