Deposit etiquette

[vroomer]

I'm in the market for a Taycan GTS.

Is it acceptable to place orders with multiple local dealers (refundable deposits)?
Obviously just trying to see who can get an allocation the earliest.

Thanks for your opinions on this.

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[RAHRCR]

I'm in the market for a Taycan GTS.

Is it acceptable to place orders with multiple local dealers (refundable deposits)?
Obviously just trying to see who can get an allocation the earliest.

Thanks for your opinions on this.

I would get it in writing that its fully refundable at your discretion. Otherwise, wouldn’t worry about etiquette.

 

[Jasper4S]

I'm in the market for a Taycan GTS.

Is it acceptable to place orders with multiple local dealers (refundable deposits)?
Obviously just trying to see who can get an allocation the earliest.

Thanks for your opinions on this.

You can, but I think it is selfish. I’d just go with the dealer with the best deal, and wait like everyone else.

 

[WuffvonTrips]

I put down deposits with 2 of the GB dealerships (belonging to different groups) nearest me, and let them know of that- not just out of courtesy, but to give them the opportunity to compete (in timescales- not price, no deals) should they wish, which I suspect got me a build slot sooner than would otherwise have been the case.

 

[DerekS]

This might be unpopular...

I've been driving Porsches since 1998. For me I like to make a long term relationship with my sales person (and service people.) It makes each transaction easy for both sides; they know I'll buy another car one day and I know they aren't screwing me (too badly.)

I also have friends in the high end car industry (brands out of my price range) so I have some empathy for their side of the equation.

So long story short I don't play these games pitting dealer vs dealer.
I try to work with a person I trust and leave it at that.

 

[Away4good]

I placed two orders with two different dealerships here in London with both of them aware of the situation.

Eventually one of them got me a slot and the other refunded me easily.

 

[PanameraFrank]

So long story short I don't play these games pitting dealer vs dealer.
I try to work with a person I trust and leave it at that.

Until the SA you trust gets laid off before your order goes to the factory and the dealership decides to screw you over. This has happened to me twice with two different Porsche dealerships.

Place refundable deposits with anyone that'll take it. Cancel the others once a car enters production.

Having multiple cars in production when you only intend to buy one = bad.

Having multiple cars in pre-order/wait list = a smart business decision.

Every dealership will screw an individual customer if it's good for the dealership. Loyalty earns you nothing these days.

Should you try to find a SA you like and work with? Absolutely. But that relationship has far more value to you than it does to them, no one is struggling to sell a Taycan right now and your business can be instantly replaced. Just always keep in mind it's mostly a one way street if you're trying to be "loyal".

 

[Deleted member 6348]

This might be unpopular...

I've been driving Porsches since 1998. For me I like to make a long term relationship with my sales person (and service people.) It makes each transaction easy for both sides; they know I'll buy another car one day and I know they aren't screwing me (too badly.)

I also have friends in the high end car industry (brands out of my price range) so I have some empathy for their side of the equation.

So long story short I don't play these games pitting dealer vs dealer.
I try to work with a person I trust and leave it at that.

This 100%. Build a relationship with your dealer.

 

[whitex]

This might be unpopular...

I've been driving Porsches since 1998. For me I like to make a long term relationship with my sales person (and service people.) It makes each transaction easy for both sides; they know I'll buy another car one day and I know they aren't screwing me (too badly.)

I also have friends in the high end car industry (brands out of my price range) so I have some empathy for their side of the equation.

So long story short I don't play these games pitting dealer vs dealer.
I try to work with a person I trust and leave it at that.

Your approach worked during the old times, when the cars didn't sell themselves and dealers used to trade allocations.

I started with one dealer but quickly got on a multiple waiting lists after realizing that. I didn't hide that from any of them. Ironically, over a year later, none of those panned out. I ended up finding an allocation cold calling, which I started doing every once in a while. I pulled out from all the waitlists of course once I got a confirmed allocation.

Had I followed your approach, I'd have built a good relationship with an SA who has since left the dealership, and be looking at an extrapolated 4+ more years wait time to get one (based on the abysmal rate of allocations they received over the last year and a bit).

In today's market your best bet of getting a car is to cast your net wide. No matter how good your relationship with an SA is, they cannot hatch you a Taycan they don't have an allocation for. They also cannot override owners who can, and sometimes do, prioritize the highest bidder. The worse part is that with no allocation traded, the dealers which get most allocations end up selling most cars, therefore earning most future allocations, even if they don't have the best SAs. Of course they might have the longest lists too, hence the need to get on a many lists to maximize your chances of getting a car.

 

[DerekS]

I started with one dealer but quickly got on a multiple waiting lists after realizing that. I didn't hide that from any of them. Ironically, over a year later, none of those panned out.

I wonder why!

Picture yourself as one of those salespeople. Your allocation would be the most expendable and top of the list to give to other good customers.

When people know you're playing them, they aren't going to go out of their way for you.

Empathize with the other side.

 

[whitex]

I wonder why!

Picture yourself as one of those salespeople. Your allocation would be the most expendable and top of the list to give to other good customers.

When people know you're playing them, they aren't going to go out of their way for you.

Empathize with the other side.

I don't think this is the case. They had one allocation of TTCT in well over a year. It went to someone ahead of me on the list (who ironically backed out once the car arrived, I was offered that car, but too far off my spec). That temporarily moved me up, but then the merge of sedan and CT lists put me right back where I started. There is no way I would have been anywhere closer to having a car had I not gotten on other lists. Also, if as you say they prioritize good customers, I had no chance at all as I never bought from them before. I sincerely doubt not telling them I am looking elsewhere would have made me any better customer, but I could see the opposite - if they know they have your sale no matter the wait, they could prioritize allocations for customers with lower threshold of waiting, maximize the sales (much like the ADM approach - highest ADM wins, not best customer).

 

[charliemathilde]

If there are more customers than cars, somebody has to lose. Dealers generally prioritize long term customers by the amount of business they’ve done, local customers who may service their vehicle, and of course ADM.

That doesn’t mean you always get what you want. The VIPs in major metropolitan areas are doing $1M+ in business per year. Every year. You’re not a vip. Still, generally, it’s more helpful than not to build a relationship with a local dealer. The larger volume, less “special” the car the easier it is to shop around, even nationally.

 

[whitex]

If there are more customers than cars, somebody has to lose. Dealers generally prioritize long term customers by the amount of business they’ve done, local customers who may service their vehicle, and of course ADM.

That doesn’t mean you always get what you want. The VIPs in major metropolitan areas are doing $1M+ in business per year. Every year. You’re not a vip. Still, generally, it’s more helpful than not to build a relationship with a local dealer. The larger volume, less “special” the car the easier it is to shop around, even nationally.

Of course it's helpful to build a relationship. I did that with SA's at a couple of dealerships near me. I will end up servicing my Taycan at one of those dealerships (probably the one which had a more knowledgeable and honest SA who advised me I should look nationally if I want a car in the next couple of years). However, building a relationship doesn't mean you cannot shop nationally, given the lack of allocations. The difference between the old days and now is that you could in fact build a relationship with an SA and the good ones would do the national car hunt for you, then figure out how to swap allocations, whatever it took to get you the car. Today the SA cannot do any of that anymore, meaning this function falls on the customer, or at least the customer who is willing to do this work.

 

[charliemathilde]

Of course it's helpful to build a relationship. I did that with SA's at a couple of dealerships near me. I will end up servicing my Taycan at one of those dealerships (probably the one which had a more knowledgeable and honest SA who advised me I should look nationally if I want a car in the next couple of years). However, building a relationship doesn't mean you cannot shop nationally, given the lack of allocations. The difference between the old days and now is that you could in fact build a relationship with an SA and the good ones would do the national car hunt for you, then figure out how to swap allocations, whatever it took to get you the car. Today the SA cannot do any of that anymore, meaning this function falls on the customer, or at least the customer who is willing to do this work.

didn’t say you couldn’t. But if the national dealer doesn’t have a lonely allocation without a local customer right now, your deposit for their waitlist isn’t likely to help all that much without a relationship. You’re going to be at the bottom of the list compared to any local customer unless you up your adm bid.

plenty of folks have gotten allocations from across the country. It’s usually because the dealer did’t have a local customer interested or they paid more adm

 

[Dan1923]

Just a guess but...

1. I don't think a dealer would accept a refund on demand deposit unless the car you order is "vanilla" enough that they feel they could move it off of their lot quickly.

2. Even if you didn't get a guarantee of refund on demand I think most dealers would give your deposit back if they felt they could sell the car quickly.

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