Hi, looking into getting either a 08 Cayenne or CS but the Porsche dealer closest to me (Fremont, CA) does not seem to be very friendly. I recently purchased a Mercedes from Fletcher Jones Mercedes (same owner, next to the Porsche) and they seem to be nicer. Anyone has recommendations on which Porsche dealer or sales rep to talk to in the bay area? It is just nicer to deal with someone who is more helpful and reasonable and could establish a longer term relationship for future purchases. Owned a few Porsches before but not purchased through the bay area dealers. Thanks for the suggestion.

Hiro

 

Once you know exactly what you want, I would just negotiate online instead of wasting your time at the dealership. We bought our CS without test driving it prior to purchase and negotiated everything online. I contacted 10+ dealers via internet and got from 3% - 7% off MSRP. If not because of the freight, I would get it from this dealer who offered me 7% in East Coast... very friendly, too.

Most dealers I contacted in Southern California gives you at least 5% easily once you ask... Not sure if the fact because it was year end (2007) made much difference but try them. Good luck.

 

Thanks for the advise. 5-7% from MSRP is also the numbers i am getting from brief research on various forums. As for the internet resources, i tried carsdirect.com in the past but their pricing was not really competitive. If you have other sources you can recommend, it will be helpful. Thanks.

Hiro

 

Hiro,
You need to go to individual Porsche dealer sites and fill out their inquiry forms individually... It's hard at beginning but will pay off. You'll get to see which dealers treat you with respect, too. Some dealers just ignore you after 1 or 2 emails...LOL...

Go here: http://www.porsche.com/usa/dealers/ and select your surrounding states (OR, CA...whatever) and it'll list all dealer sites at that state. Click on them individually and find a Cayenne you like on their inventory list. You then submit the form...

 

+1 on cellg8's suggestions.

You've got Sonnen, Rector, Carlsen, Stevens Creek and Fremont Porsche to choose from.

Decide what options you want and go to each dealer's website to check their inventory. See which dealer(s) has the Cayenne configured exactly the way you want.

From there you have two choices:

1. Negotiate with that dealer and if all goes well bring it home.
2. Find a dealer you are comfortable working with and ask them to get that particular unit from the dealer that has the Cayenne you want (dealer-to-dealer transfer).

All of this you can do online or by phone. Don't be in a hurry, give them a serious offer and let them think about it. They may call you back in a couple of days and you have a deal. Everyone's hungry for business.

Good luck and let us know what you get.

 

HK brought up a good point... you have to let them know that you're a serious buyer (I think you are). Otherwise, they'll not take you seriously.

As far as #2 that HK mentioned, the dealers I talked to added the 'trucking' fees when there's a transfer...so keep that in mind. They might be able to waive that if you're a good negotiator... apparently I'm not.

John

 

Thanks a lot for all the inputs. I guess this is the safest process and like you stated John i would have a better feel of who is more pleasant to do business with. Also stopped by the Land Rover dealer last weekend, and sort of in between a Cayenne/S or a RR Sport at this moment. Pricing and discount level appear to be similar, and rest is all preferences (reliability difference to me a big question mark). Thanks for the suggestions hk_usp9f.

 

I would recommend the Cayenne. The Land Rover is nice but reliability is an issue (we have an LR3 which the RR Sport is based on). It's not a problem since you will get a warranty and free service but is it just a real pain to go to the service department all the time. Our brand new LR3 had three "out of round tires" which took months to replace and the dealer sent us to the local Les Schawb Tires since they didn't "do" tires....go figure. Resale on the Land Rovers aren't so great either. Anyways we have a 08 Cayenne TT now, great vehicle.

 

If you go to the Rennlist Cayenne forum (http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforum...?s=&forumid=77) and do a search on Range Rover and/or Land Rover you will find several comparison threads between the two. Of course since it is a Porsche forum there is a bit of bias but you'll get the picture.
I was also in a similar situation a couple of years ago and chose the Cayenne S.

 

It also bothers me on the reliability issue but it seems to be getting better. There also seem to be individuals that have never had any issues with their RR (a colleague bought the first RR Sport in bay area) other than a few recalls. Consumer Reports says the quality is "spotty", which i assume you get some really bad ones and some good ones. On RR Forum, also see the same comments that certain indiviuals never had issues while others do. I understand it doesnt make sense for someone to be spending 60k ish to take a chance on the reliability of a vehicle. Reliability question has been the only issue that prevents me from moving forward since i like the looks of RR better than Cayenne/S (CTT looks the best, but those are outside of my budget for an SUV). Such a pity that they build such great vehicle with amazing off road capability yet reliability is an issue. Having warranty therefore is the only reason that i would still be looking at this vehicle.

I will go checkout the Cayenne this coming weekend if the storm doesnt get too bad. Again, thanks for all your comments and Rennlist is a great website that provides good diversified point of view.

 

Btw, as far as depreciation on the RR Sport, it seems like they are holding the value quite well relatively speaking. Most of vehicles i saw on Autotrader and Craigslist are listed from between $45k-55k for 06. I dont know how much they are sold at, but i sent a few emails to the sellers and most people doesnt seem to have much flexibility in their prices. The LR3s resale value however are great deals for used car buyers.

 

Call Perry Eyges at Porsche of Livermore. New dealership that just moved out there from Oakland. I've personally purchased 3 cars from Perry in the last 3 years and 7 cars overall from this dealership. He can be reached at 510-502-0172. Tell him Andre referred you.

Good luck with your search.

 

I talked with all of the BayArea dealerships during my purchase. I actually got great service from Porsche of Fremont, and bought the car from them. I would definitely consider Carlsen as well, since they are a "volume" dealership, with a great selection and good prices. Anyways, based on my experience, those would be the two dealerships I would buy from.

 

Keep in mind that the RRS has all Jaguar drivetrain. They had lots of problems integrating the electricals with Jaguar when the model first came out. Even with that all sorted now, Jaguar's reliability is mediocre at best. Part of the problem is that the suppliers in Britain aren't up to par when compared with those in Germany and Japan. From an engineering perspective, British cars aren't fastidiously designed like those from Germany/Japan. Things break because the engineers haven't considered all of the parameters that can possibly occur during use. Thirdly, the manufacturing process and the materials used in the UK made cars are lagging as well. This includes everything from rubber parts, gaskets, to leather, to wood on the dash. Just look at a 5 year old British car to a comparable German or Japanese car, and there's a distinguishable amount of difference in the wear and tear seen. In summary, even if you're lucky to get a RRS that runs reliably now, chances are it's not going to stay reliable for too long.

 

Anyone you can recommend at Porsche in Fremont? It is 5 min away from my office so would be most convenient to deal with. I will start calling the Porsche dealers next week. Two of the LandRover dealers I've been to called me this weekend and try to fight to get the deal. It is certainly a good time for buyers.

As for the reliability, my assumption is that as long as there is warranty, then the only issue will be the hassle of going to dealers. I still love the appearance, inside and out, of the RRS, but more things to consider than just the appearance. Thanks for all the comments.

Hiro