I have seen guys post questions about the car or price --sometimes over a years time. I have seen one or two actually buy a car after an extremely long time. I have seen others .. even ask the same questions a year later without a car.

How long did it take you after you decided that you really were serious about the car?

For me it takes a three step process
1) Can I afford to buy it
2) Which dealership has one close to what i like
3) Price

I have never custom ordered a car .
I have limited my distance to price .
The entire thing usually takes about 3 days but i have waited as long as one week and as quick as buying a car right on the spot without even being sure if I was going to buy it .

I could not imagine a year , two years, three years of question asking and waiting to buy the car . I am open to hearing what the appeal of this is. To me it's like some sort of self induced prolonged anticipation . It's sound exhausting but I am sure everyones story is different . How long did it take ?

 

Well, I was 7 years old when I saw my first Porsche, so let's see...(carry the 2...)...about 25 years!

But seriously, I decided to buy, did some searching online to get some idea of pricing and what options I wanted (1mo), got some advice from friends (got talked into 4WD by my Dad) and was in San Diego for a business trip, met the guy at 7am at the dealer for PPI, some wrangling over insurance with Geico (mis-quotes FTW, but they honored it), some haggling over 2 hours in the dealer's lounge, had the check cut and was driving my new car by 1pm. Great drive back to San Francisco on the 1 - with work paying mileage for the trip.

 

I've been looking to buy a new car for 6 months. I looked at the SLS AMG the V8 Vantage, Audi S4, C63, M3 and did about 3 months of solid research before I finally decided on the C4S. I put down my deposit this past Saturday and have a July delivery.

I think it's worth taking the time to do your research especially on a $100k vehicle. After all my research I found Porsche had the best overall package in terms of driving feel, looks, reliability, performance and efficiency.

 

For me it was about four or five months from deciding I wanted a 911 until I had one in my garage. Did my research on models and options, checked pricing on AutoTrader.com, eBay, Craigslist, KBB, Edmunds, and Porsche dealers. Searched the forums here on 6speed as well as asking questions here on 6speed (with great help from Larry). During that time, I found two cars that I really liked but both sold before I could decide to make an offer. Looking back on it now, I'm glad they sold before I could make a decision as the third time was the charm. The car I ended up with was more car than I originally planned on buying (newer model year, less miles, 4S vs. 2S, better options) at a price lower than I was planning on paying. Once I bought it, I've never looked back.

 

Great thread ...duh what else would I expect from you. Now for my response: I have never custom ordered a car . Larry, believe it or not it took me just 7 days for me between wanting to actually buy a Porsche and then getting into one. Where I am probably different from most Porsche buyers is that it only took me one week to decide on the P-brand after never ever lusting or dreaming of a Porsche car. To kill some time one evening I was looking at Aston, Ferrari, Maserati and Porsche websites and the 911 spoke to me through it's drop dead gorgeous looks. Then it was a matter of the same three steps for me too along with about 5 hours of 6speedonline trespassing. This is where I learnt about need for sports chrono with a PDK, 20 % discounts on new 911's (got 14% on mine but had all the options that mattered to me and the exterior and interior choice of colors) and was a local dealer. Spent even less time deciding/buying my wife's ride (4 days)...the MINI cooper convertible (sidewalk edition..which was a special edition/ final hurrah for the first gen MINI)...and even less time for the family hauler, Toyota Sienna (3 days) (bought 7 years ago when we were looking at a minivan with AWD drivetrain). Do you want to know the final shocker..I never even test drove any Sienna's, MINI's or 911's before I wrote the check for the dealer. I would go literally crazy if I were to spend one year thinking about what to buy, when to buy and where to buy. Tell me Larry how many can claim owning three cars that they have not even test drove? Do you think I am crazy and represent the other end of the spectrum. On a side note...my marriage was an "arranged one" and I never test drove (dated) my wife before the marriage 15 years ago. Call me crazy, but guess what...I've always made the right choice for me

 

Wow -- very interesting replies that it opens many sub topics .

1) Some looked at other manufacturers . This was something that i did not go through. Any time I ever considered another manufacturer it was trying to be practical and the car of choice was usually BMW (not always though) .
I knew that I wanted a Porsche and had researched them beginning in childhood.

2) There just came a point of no return when it came to buying the car . It varied at different times in my life since i have bought 8 of them. There were times that I could not afford it . I guess I could never afford it in some way because if i look at practical spending .. expensive cars counter financial logic . However -- as nervous as i would feel buying a 911 the 40 or 50K jump to the Turbo led to this tug of war of pratical Porsche vs extravagant Porsche.

3) The non test drive (Woot) . I have never bought a car sight unseen but I do feel that many of my test drives have been brief. One time I only drove it around the block. I usually advise others to go over all the details of the car .

Now I did get lost on a test drive once while the salesman was getting my car appraised at a dealership further from home (my first 993) . I came back with 50 miles and bought the car but even on that drive I was more concerned that I had no idea of that area.

4) There was one topic that no one mentioned yet. There have been a few Porsches that after i bought it I said to myself "this was a big expense and my last porsche" . I don't say that anymore.
I won't say i will.
I won't say I won't.
I simply accept the next potential Porsche purchase as having unknown status .

 

I went for a test drive on a saturday. Emailed the dealer to start negotiating. Monday afternoon we agreed on the deal. He located the perfect car and I picks it up Wednesday.

I bought a boxster s and my 997.1 without ever test driving. I thought, there is no way I won't love the way these cars drive. I didn't need to test the 997.2 but I just wanted to try the pdk and launch control

I always do all my negotiating over email. No reason to waste time in dealership while the salesman goes back and forth. I'd rather just go on with my life while I email.
If I have yo, I send emails to all the dealerships within a few hundred miles in search of the best deal. I have bought porsches, bmws, mercs, lexuses, an Acura and a Toyota this way

 

TBH the search time often comes down to how much money you have. The majority of people with enough money for a well optioned new P-car will take far less than someone like myself who has to find the right used car at the right price. I hope to purchase just after May 1st and that will be 3 months after I sold my last car (needed the time to gather the funds). Problem is, if the right car doesnt come along it could be much longer

 

For some most my previous cars, including P-cars, I spent differing amount of time researching,finding and/or pulling trigger on them.

But my current 09 C2S Cab is a totally different issue.

This was a 100% impulse buy!

I was just in the neighborhood of the P-car dealer and decided to stop in to test dive any 911 with PDK. I heard nothing but good about PDK and since I was "planning" on another 911 in a year or so, I figured this test drive would provide me with some valuable input for this future purchase.

They gave me an 09 C2S Cab. (later to find out it was a 997.2 launch car)

I came back after a spirited test drive, loving the PDK and not believing I would actually consider this over a 6 speed, and started to thank the salesman. Then the "sales pitch" - what would it take to buy one today ....

I basically said not to waste our time but he managed to say how about $20K off?

Without knowing the current climate, options ... I decided to sit down with him and hear him out. I never expected that amount of a discount ever on a 911.

Well the rest is history - I signed on the dotted line and drove her home.

Since I was out of the 911 arena for about 4 years. I was not even educated on a ".2" version....

So to answer your questions:

1) Can I afford to buy it - It was more than my 2010 budget of "zero", but yes.
2) Which dealership has one close to what i like - Not a consideration, as I got one on the lot without researching what options I REALLY wanted.
3) Price - almost 19% off MSRP - got my attention

Regrets - I was going to say "none really" but...
1 - No Sport Chrono - When this was 1st introduced (prior to PDK) it was not a desirable/functional option. Boy, not true today!!
2 - My plan was to custom order my next 911 (in late 2010-ish) with a factory pick-up.
3 - Maybe I would have one or two "luxury" options (Nav, parking sensors), but these are very minor items.

 

Impuse buy is killing me.

 

I knew I wanted a 911 from the start. Didn't even want to look at Cayman (though I really liked the look of the car when I saw new one in a CostCo parking lot and started talking to the owner.) I didn't consider any other makes. I've wanted one ever since I was a kid.

I did 3 weeks of online research (started here on the advice of a colleague), started looking all over the west coast (dealers, autotrader, cars.com) for a used 06/07 C2S or C4S. After I talked to a friend who had just bought a leftover 2009 PDK C2 in 12/09 for 20K under sticker, the gap between used and new was getting small enough that I gave it a go.

I spent 3 more weeks searching every single Porsche dealer in the country for an 09 C2 or C4 with the options I wanted. After a few frustrating deals (with dealers who just didn't want to play with the 20% discount), I finally found my car on the west coast, got my 22% discount, and got my car! I bought it sight unseen. I had never even test drove a 911.

I love the car. It drives better than I could have imagined. I can't wait til the stupid engine breakin period goes by. More waiting...!

 

Great thread, where do I start...

My first Porsche was a 1996 993 Targa, custom ordered from MCL Porsche.

Then I have CS, CTT, GT3RS, all custom ordered and wait 3 to 6 months till delivery.

Currently configurating a Panamera 4 for my wife.

Club coupe was bought pre-owned as I didn't win the lottery to buy one.

I am definitely not an impulse buyer, never ever walked into dealer and bought cars on the floor.

I don't mind waiting few months for the car as there are always enough cars to play with.

I usually keep my cars for 4 or more years, so I want exactly the way I wanted them.

As for doing car researches, this is an ongoing thing daily each time I go on the internet.

 

ASAP

once the make, model, options and price was set.. it was all about finding the right Pcar and negotiating the terms.

 

I went back and forth between a 2008 Porsche Design Edition 1 Cayman and a 997.1. In the end, after 2 months of searching for both, I found my 2007 C2 coupe with every optioni wanted but one... Of course it was outside my budget, but after about 50 emails with the Porsche stealership ( about a 100 miles away) and me walking away from the deal a few times, they finally came down to where I felt it was a great deal.

So, I bought it.

1500 miles later, I have absolutely no regrets.

Steve

 

I picked thse quotes by Targa Tim and Doug2255 because it is so interesting to see to opposite approaches produce the same result. A Porsche 911.

I have been somewhat in the middle but also opted for the PDK on a whim and with the same discounts as what attracted Doug .
On the other hand taking the time to spec a car or having patience won't overloook an option . In my case -I have no heated seats.

There is also a distiction with a few who bought used cars on the thread because the decision weighs more factors (like mileage , warranty, previous wear) .
Since both Carlos and Joe placed a lot of thought into their cars they did end up finding the right car. One big difference though was that at the time Joe was looking his region was priced so much higher than everywhere else. It was just unreal to look with him for cars. That made his search very challenging because even distance added another factor and in his case ending up with the great car that he found probably adds more to its enjoyment .