Help me help my friend with his first Porsche!
First of all, he says 'we are not Porsche people, but love the looks of the Panamera', meaning they don't care about performance, high HP, etc. They are looking at a Pan4 which is being driver by the dealer owner and it has 6k miles. MSRP is 86 and options include burl package, servotronic, xm(which he won't use), heated seats fr and rr with ruffled centers, 19 turbo wheels. It has parking sensors front and rear, but no camera. Dealer is offering the sale at 80 without cpo. I don't know alot about the Pan options, but I kinda stressed the 'camera' would be good and I didn't think the price was that great considering the car has 6k miles. The dealer has an almost identical Pan2 for 80, new with no miles, better option choices(at least for me) and I told him to buy this one. still, no camera. He wants to spend no more than 80k and both cars are white/luxor which is a must. He will not shop out of the area. Which one would be the better deal??? what would you offer on the Pan2? I told him to wait until the '12's come out to get a better deal since the local dealer is not too willing to negogiate too much from sticker. (I bought 3 Porsches from him at good prices, but my last 2 were bought out of state due to his 'new' pricing attitude)
Also, this will be his wife's car and she is coming out of a beetle cab!

thanks!

 

I don't think the price on the 6k mile car is realistic. It's effectively a 1-yr old car at this point and a 7.5% discount from the sticker price for a 1-yr old car is higher than the market level in my opinion. If your friend also lives in South Carolina, he probably doesn't need the 4WD, so I would encourage him to get the best deal he can negotiate on the Pana 2. I suspect the wife will still notice a difference from the Beetle.

 

I assume that we are talking about 2011 models on both of these...

I tend to agree with the previous post.. You should get at least another 2500-3000 or so off on this dealer car with 6k miles.. However, I agree that you would be better off to get a fresh new one and skip the 4 wheel drive.

I think your instincts are correct about the camera.. I think that the Panamera should come standard with the camera due to its outward rear and side visibility issues. I think that somebody who has been driving a compact Beetle will find the visibility and blind spots in the Panamera to be somewhat of an adjustment. The camera is a really valuable asset.

I suggest that they broaden the search to see what other options are available.. I'm not sure why somebody wouldn't want to survey other dealers in the region..? If you find the right car at a a more distant dealer and need to arrange delivery it should not be a big deal... IMO, you are always better off to survey the broader market and see what other options are out there. They can still get their car serviced at the local dealer.

 

You should be able to get 10% off MSRP.... Just e-mail a bunch of Porsche dealers & let them compete. You can service the car locally...most out if state dealers will deliver the car to your front door

 

First your instincts on the demo car are right. That price is high by at least 4k. The comment you should 10% off may apply to demos but not new v6s. For a new 2011 v6 the range I found was 2.5% to 4.8% off msrp. I walked out on 2 dealers who would not budge past 3% off a well optioned cars on their show floors. I bought a car with an msrp of 84k for 80k.

I have had my car a week and I think a camera is really valuable. If your not in in-climate weather I am not sure it is worth the $4.5 k extra for the p4.

 

Get the 2wd. Lighter weight, better fuel mileage, its new, no dealer shenanigans, full new car warranty, faster...... No question in my mind.

 

And I don't think the camera means anything. Have one in my esv and it is barely useful and could cause more problems than it solves.

 

I have camera on another one of my vehicles and it is nice but not necessary. The poor rear visibility on the P makes the camera a good option but again, not necessary.

 

The "10% off" comment was not for a demo. I got a "built to order" 2011 4S with MSRP of 115K for 10% off. I'm told there is about 13.5% in it for the dealer. Camera is very important for backing up in this car, especially around public parking lots. Lot of blind spots.

 

thanks for all the advice! I totally agree about getting the Pan 2 and it's brand new. I know my friend well enough to say he will haggle, better yet, his wife will haggle! I have a camera in my X5 and I really don't use it much. I would much prefer lane change assist. It will be a must for me in my next vehicle. I agree, there is no need in our area for the Pan4. so, I am going to tell him to make an offer on the Pan 2, where should he start at an MSRP of 80???

 

I'd order a 2012 optioned exactly how they want it and demand at least 4 or 5% off msrp, which should be achievable. Rear camera is a necessity in my opinion and 2012 models I hear will offer side assist which should help the car's main drawback, the very poor side visibilty.

 

Camera is a must - would be almost impossible to park w/out it. Completely blind when reversing.

 

I used to be one who could take or leave the rear camera in my past cars, but the Panamera, with its limited lines of rear sight, really benefits from having the camera in a big way.. I would not own one without this option.

 

Get the camera, if they try to parallel park without it.....they'll be sorry!

 

You guys need to learn to turn your head around. PLUS, there is a full graphic of the car in the display showing a visual of objects near the car with audible warnings. The camera is redundant and unnessesary.

ParkAssist.

ParkAssist is standard in all
Panamera models. With four
inconspicuous sensors in the rear
end, it audibly alerts the driver
when detecting an obstacle
behind the vehicle. An intermittent
warning tone increases in rapidity
as the obstacle is approached.
Convenient and safe.
An enhanced version of ParkAssist,
which includes six sensors in the
front end, is fitted as standard in
the Panamera Turbo and available
as an option in the other models.
The audible alert is supplemented
by a visual warning in the central
display screen which provides
a graphical representation of the

vehicle’s proximity to obstacles.