Most Porsche owners are not average Americans (financially).

I would bet most Porsche owners have title in hand and paid cash for their cars. These are toys. Personally, I would never buy a toy without cash. I paid cash for my Carrera 4S (above) as well as my new Turbo S. I wouldn't have bought my Turbo S unless I had the cash in hand.

(Glad I did pay cash as the market would've taken that money and left me a large loan to pay)!

 

I live in Atlanta and flew to Pennsylvania to buy my C2S from a private seller. The seller was really cool and didn't even request certified funds - I just wrote a personal check after test driving and inspecting the car. I also got the transfer title (we went to PA DMV together) and drove it 700 miles home to register it in GA. Everything went very smoothly. The great part about buying from a private seller if you live in GA (and most other states) is no sales tax!

 

JTaylorGT: Cool...I really haven't see too many 911 in general. I think it's because it's Atlanta. Lucky you.....I have to come up with sales tax... do you get get to drive for 30 days without plate? That's situation I am in now. Nice PCCB!

 

Thanks, if I remember correctly you still have 30 days from date of sale (regardless of private seller or dealer) to register the car in GA. I also remember not having to pay any ad valorem tax until my birthday. If you can time it just right, buy the car right after your birthday and you get a whole year with no ad valorem tax.

I did get pulled over for speeding my first week in Atlanta with the car (before I had time to go to DMV and register it). I had put the tag from my old car on the 997 just to avoid being pulled over for no plates. The cop asked why the tag registered to my S2000, and I explained. With the transfer title and bill of sale, I was 'legal' . . . minus the speeding ticket of course.

 

lol, it's ludicrous to assume Porsche owners as average.

 

Cool..so I don't have to pay for sales tax until March...how would DMV know how much I pay for the car? My bill of sale is left blank on sales price.... : )

So cop asked you to put old plate from S2000? I hate to get pulled over because car doesn't match the plate... Should I stick w/ my dealer plate? Also do I need to carry my title w/ me? I think it's risky...I do carry everything else w/ me until I get the plate.

 

Before I wired my money to dealer....I did plenty of back ground check w/ the dealer.. I even made a request for copy of title front and back just to be sure....I was pain in the *** and if GM doesn't do what I requested..I was going to back out. But he stayed cool all the way. It was a smooth transaction from beginning to end for me.

 

I can assure you that the average Porsche buyer does not buy a $120k car with cash. And with interest rates as low as they have been for the past few years, paying cash for a $120k+ car seems like a questionable financial decision. That kind of cash should be working elsewhere. Even the most conservative investments will return in excess of what you'd save on interest on a low interest car loan.

 

Yes, before the market crashed, it might have been smart... but not today. It's just me, but I don't buy things I can't pay cash with (except my home). Not a fan of carrying any debt even with a low interest rate, it's still debt.

 

i think most us can do simple interest math..

i thought we were talking about buying a used car from a private seller.. i don't know any private seller that provides financing.

most of us would use our own money or the money financed from credit union at a low interest.. either way, it's cash in hand to the seller.

and last i checked, u cannot sell a car u don't own.. meaning the seller should have the title in his possession.

 

Last time I checked the true rate on cash ( after inflation ) is negative. If you have the cash use it.

 

Hey, ad valorem tax is different than sales tax. If you buy from an out-of-state dealer, you will still owe sales tax in GA when you register the car - bill of sale required. If it's from a private seller, no sales tax. They can tell based on the signed over title where the car came from.

Ad valorem tax (or 'birthday tax' as we call it) is the tax you pay every year based on the market value of your car to get renewed tags. Ad valorem tax is not pro-rated, and only charged on your birthday every year, so if you buy right after your birthday, nice move. You'll also need to get emissions every year for tag renewal if you live in metro Atlanta and the car is more than 3 years old.

 

Fly in on a Friday a.m. and do the bank things and drive the car home....
700 miles will fly by

 

When you get the PPI done, have the dealer take a photo of the title +registration docs so you have at least a copy of it. Some dealers (depends) may also broker the sale for a small fee, especially if you use them for a PPI. sometimes the comfort of a unbiased/reputable middle man is worth the fee.