Demo cars?

[unbiased]

Close to signing a GTS lease. Can anyone more knowledgeable explain to me why the dealership had so many “demo” cars? They were very low mileage (<30) and clearly not used by anyone for daily driving. However, the warranty had already kicked in weeks/months ago. Explanation they gave me was that Porsche asked them to do it so they can offer bigger discounts compared to a brand new care. That does not make sense to me since warranty period having started makes it more difficult to sell the car (unless they provide a huge discount). Car I am interested in ended up being a brand new car, I made them match discounts given on those demo cars for that new car as well. Just curious whether someone here has a better explanation that actually makes sense.

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[whitex]

Perhaps they purchased them in order to claim the $7,500 federal incentive available for cars purchased by businesses, which is likely to disappear next year? So in a way, this does allow them to offer a lower price. Also, they may have some agreement with Porsche about advertising discounts on new cars which does not apply to demo/used cars, so even if they are willing to offer it on a new car, they may not be able to officially advertise it unless the car is considered used/demo.

 

[ShiftyWolf]

If they sell the demo as a used CPO, won't that actually extend the warranty beyond what it would have been if sold new?

 

[unbiased]

If they sell the demo as a used CPO, won't that actually extend the warranty beyond what it would have been if sold new?

They were selling the demo cars as new…not even disclosing it until I started asking some very specific questions

 

[unbiased]

Perhaps they purchased them in order to claim the $7,500 federal incentive available for cars purchased by businesses, which is likely to disappear next year? So in a way, this does allow them to offer a lower price. Also, they may have some agreement with Porsche about advertising discounts on new cars which does not apply to demo/used cars, so even if they are willing to offer it on a new car, they may not be able to officially advertise it unless the car is considered used/demo.

Giving the same $7500 discount on new car as well, only when leasing the car. That discount does not apply if you but any of those cars (demo or new). That what makes it puzzling…

 

[whitex]

Giving the same $7500 discount on new car as well, only when leasing the car. That discount does not apply if you but any of those cars (demo or new). That what makes it puzzling…

If they already got that money:
a) they captured it before it goes away (as soon as next week)
b) they can now offer you a better deal, without saying it's from the $7,500 (and of course not offer it up front, they always try to sell for highest price possible).

A good test of this would be to ask if you can lease one of those demo cars which have had their warranty already stared and whether the $7,500 would still apply. If not, that tells you for sure they already claimed it for themselves.

 

[WattTurbo]

I heard of something similar for the Corvette C8's. The dealers were not allowed to mark up the prices, so they sold them as "used" and was able to get around the loophole. At least, that's what I heard.

 

[unbiased]

If they already got that money:
a) they captured it before it goes away (as soon as next week)
b) they can now offer you a better deal, without saying it's from the $7,500 (and of course not offer it up front, they always try to sell for highest price possible).

A good test of this would be to ask if you can lease one of those demo cars which have had their warranty already stared and whether the $7,500 would still apply. If not, that tells you for sure they already claimed it for themselves.

Yes, that discount applies to all cars when leased. Irrespective of demo or new.

 

[Avantgarde]

Giving the same $7500 discount on new car as well, only when leasing the car. That discount does not apply if you but any of those cars (demo or new). That what makes it puzzling…

When they buy it as part of a “commercial fleet” they can still claim the $7500 when they title it. If they don’t title it, and sell/lease as brand new they can only claim the $7500 if the customer is leasing. This seems to give them more optionality (claim the $7500 and then potentially sell it to the customers who prefer buying vs leasing).

 

[WasserGKuehlt]

Another angle may be the allocation one - they may have simply misjudged demand, came upon a lot of allocations and burned it on 'dealer inventory'-type cars (ie not customer/to order). Some may be assigned service loaner status, others as company cars for the dealership's staff.

 

[whitex]

Another angle may be the allocation one - they may have simply misjudged demand, came upon a lot of allocations and burned it on 'dealer inventory'-type cars (ie not customer/to order). Some may be assigned service loaner status, others as company cars for the dealership's staff.

I think that's different. They can use the allocation and keep the car "unpurchased" (i.e. warranty does not start) on the lot, even use it as a demo. I've purchased cars like this in the past, OEM warranty started on day I bought it. I think @Avantgarde is right, it's about capturing the federal incentive for all cars, vs. only ones leased before it goes away (since any car sold, not leased does not get the incentive, and any car leased or sold after inventive rules change next year also does not get it).

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