How did you interact with your dealer for your Taycan?

Mr.Smith

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How did you work with your dealer to get your Taycan?
Would you do it differently next time around?

I always speak to the internet sales department on the phone, negotiate and have multiple dealers compete for the lowest price.
Internet sales departments are highly motivated compared to walking in, sitting with a sales person for an hour.
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Genau

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How did you work with your dealer to get your Taycan?
Would you do it differently next time around?

I always speak to the internet sales department on the phone, negotiate and have multiple dealers compete for the lowest price.
Internet sales departments are highly motivated compared to walking in, sitting with a sales person for an hour.
Many of us in the U.S. had to waitlist for a Taycan allocation. Would your method work in that scenario, or only when the dealerships have allocations? Or is your method only for dealer spec cars on the lot? I had no negotiating leverage when I was competing with many other customers for an allocation, so I paid MSRP. But others have posted on this forum that they were able to negotiate a discount on a factory order, perhaps when there were more allocations available.
 

Jhenson29

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I filled out the reservation request online in July of 2018. The local dealer’s internet sales manager contacted me and took a deposit after I confirmed that the sale would not be above MSRP, which I was expecting to be around the Panamera.

But I wanted a Taycan 4, to replace our Panamera 4, and that didn’t seem to be coming out. I actually called to cancel my deposit in late 2020, but they talked me into coming in for a test drive, which I still hadn’t done yet. I wasn’t able to make that work with my schedule until Jan 2021. We fell in love and ordered a 4S.

Our dealer is less than 10 miles from my house and we’ve been going to them since 2015 for cars and service.

The only thing I would do differently is order the car sooner…
 

SWORDER

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I've been doing business with the same individual at the same dealership for over twenty years.

I made an appointment to test drive, he showed me the car and we played with launch control a bit, and I was hooked! Placed my order and then four months later my Taycan TS arrived. Best car ever!

I will likely go with a different dealer next time though because:

  1. My contact person recently retired and
  2. This dealer insists on installing a tracking device in the car and then charging the customer for it. I described the issue here.
 

RoseyPSU

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How did you work with your dealer to get your Taycan?
Would you do it differently next time around?

I always speak to the internet sales department on the phone, negotiate and have multiple dealers compete for the lowest price.
Internet sales departments are highly motivated compared to walking in, sitting with a sales person for an hour.
I did this exact same method. I got several quotes from several dealers and worked them against each other. I got lucky and found a dealer not too far away with a build almost identical to what I had been putting together online, so that was the one I always wanted. But I was able to use the competition to get a better price.

The only thing I would have done differently in hindsight is to see if my local dealer (whom I really like) could have traded for the car and offered the same or better price to stay local.
 


rich_r

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I have not pulled the trigger on a Taycan yet, but in the past (mostly with BMWs), I would email the sales managers from various dealerships with an offer (either for a specific factory order or a particular car they had in inventory). Out of probably 5-7 dealers, I'd find one who'd "bite". It's a bit harder with Porsche since there are fewer dealers, and fewer allocations. The whole chip shortage/ vehicle shortage probably makes it even harder right now. What I will absolutely not do is walk in and deal with a regular salesperson...that just seems like an exercise in frustration. From reading these forums, I'm getting the sense that it's a miracle if you find a dealer who will do even a few % off on a factory order.... That's ok though-- just a sign for me to wait things out a bit
 
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Mr.Smith

Mr.Smith

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I did this exact same method. I got several quotes from several dealers and worked them against each other. I got lucky and found a dealer not too far away with a build almost identical to what I had been putting together online, so that was the one I always wanted. But I was able to use the competition to get a better price.

The only thing I would have done differently in hindsight is to see if my local dealer (whom I really like) could have traded for the car and offered the same or better price to stay local.
The best part of being in California is there are tons of dealerships.
I'm a big proponent of relationships with a dealer, but I can't handle a sales person being that snide to say Porsche doesn't discount.
 

PTEastBay

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Used the same method as outlined above in the Bay Area, probably got in touch with 5 dealerships until I found one that seemed to have allocations and was willing to play ball. This is also the dealer that seems to move the most Taycans in the area. Unfortunately only found this one dealer that was willing to entertain a discount, otherwise probably could have gotten more off.
 


Miwa

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Emailed my salesperson at the dealer once they had the demo car. Drove it, and put down deposit. Worked with him on options (he was really helpful providing specific answers). They said it'd take a year for me to get allocation (Bay Area), but covid happened, and enough people cancelled that I only sat on the waitlist for 7 months.

I didn't bother shopping around, because of how well I was treated on my previous purchases from them.
 

NC_Taycan

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I put an initial deposit down in mid 2019, with some reservations as my dealer at the time had not been the best on a past purchase. Communication was poor, zero acknowledgement of me committing to buy one of the most expensive cars they sell, and despite moving a decent volume on Porsche, they couldn't seem to get me an allocation. By late December, I had decided to shop. I found a dealer about 150 miles away who was willing to give me an allocation. Sent them my configuration, placed the order, and my car was delivered to my driveway (April 2020 so Covid lock-downs were in place). Still no word from my original dealer so I called and cancelled my original deposit. A few months later I finally met my salesperson live plus a few others in the dealership and I would go out of my way to work with these folks again.

Bottom line - if you have a relationship with a dealer where you have had good experience and have been dealing with them for several years, they strive to keep you as a customer (with service and some discounting) and you should value the relationship by giving them the first and last chance to earn your business, even if someone else is willing to discount a little bit more. If you don't have this relationship and/or don't want it, then shop around, but I feel you are missing out on the overall experience. But finding that good dealer is key, and potentially difficult.
 

ampitup

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My Taycan 4S is my 8th Porsche in the last 8 years. I always deal with my sales associate. He knows what I what and always give me the best deal.
 

ThumbsUp

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I shop around online in the region for a good deal on the spec I want. While I’d like to purchase locally, the best deals are usually elsewhere. Living in Indianapolis gives me easy access to lots of dealerships within a 4-hour driving radius. Over the years I’ve bought several Mercedes and all my Porsches this way.
 

menzz

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Interacted with the ones around me over the internet. Only one was through text as I was looking into a macan few months ago. Set up appointments with 2 of them and the third was over the phone. I went with the one with the earliest allocation and he matched the discount that I was given through the phone.
 

PT Addiction

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I put an initial deposit down in mid 2019, with some reservations as my dealer at the time had not been the best on a past purchase. Communication was poor, zero acknowledgement of me committing to buy one of the most expensive cars they sell, and despite moving a decent volume on Porsche, they couldn't seem to get me an allocation. By late December, I had decided to shop. I found a dealer about 150 miles away who was willing to give me an allocation. Sent them my configuration, placed the order, and my car was delivered to my driveway (April 2020 so Covid lock-downs were in place). Still no word from my original dealer so I called and cancelled my original deposit. A few months later I finally met my salesperson live plus a few others in the dealership and I would go out of my way to work with these folks again.

Bottom line - if you have a relationship with a dealer where you have had good experience and have been dealing with them for several years, they strive to keep you as a customer (with service and some discounting) and you should value the relationship by giving them the first and last chance to earn your business, even if someone else is willing to discount a little bit more. If you don't have this relationship and/or don't want it, then shop around, but I feel you are missing out on the overall experience. But finding that good dealer is key, and potentially difficult.
Experience very similar to yours except I travelled 200 mi to a smaller town to be put on the reservation list after test-driving a Taycan Turbo. Local dealers had a limited max reservation list and many more people out the wazoo on a waiting list where I was positioned. After being informed I'd get updates, never heard even the slightest ping.

Interestingly, when the EPA came out with their ridiculous and underestimated range numbers, a lot people dropped out of the reservation list. That moved me up into one of 6 allocation slots available. So I was set, and in an EPA defiant mode.

The dealership experience was ok. The sales rep was great. He had his act together with timely text and email responses, got me free 10-12k mi PMI. The guy in finance on the other hand, not so much so. Similar to other statements here, having an interest rate quote from a non-dealer financial institution was a great tool to mess with the dealer, allowing me to bargain which I eventually got a good rate.

Edit: In bold above
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