Do I have to order through a dealer??

[cyndiw]

Test drove a 4 yesterday and loved it! Seems like the perfect replacement for my nearly 10yo Macan Turbo. Spent last night building my new “Turbo” Electric, and getting ready to place an order.

My question: do I need to order from a dealership if I’m planning the LA delivery center experience?

Background/context: I hate car dealers. I am a technical woman in the tech industry and I am so over being talked down to every time I set foot in a Porsche dealership/service center. It took me three tries to find a car to test drive yesterday. Two dealerships didn’t respect my time enough to keep the appointments that I had made. The third honored my appointment, but sent me off with a whackadoodle sales rep who didn’t listen to me at all (had to tell him three times that i currently drive a Turbo and that performance is important to me, so no, I do not want to buy the 4 that I’m test driving), and who went off on a bizarre tangent about Beyoncé being part of the Illuminati and murdering someone (????) when one of her songs came on the radio. Needless to say, I’m not excited about buying a car from this schmuck.

If not possible to place an order directly with Porsche for LA delivery, is there some way to RFP dealers to find one who I can actually tolerate working with? The price is what it is, but it is important to me to buy from someone I respect if I have to go through a dealer at all. Also, timing is not critical here. I love my old Macan, but need to upgrade at some point. Recommendations appreciated!

 

[ssim]

Yes, you do have to order through a dealer, even for PEC LA Delivery. If you'd like the contact to a dealer who will treat you with respect and has no problem facilitating PEC LA Delivery, please let me know. I'd be happy to share my sales associate's contact - he's great! @cyndiw

 

[Awaz]

As you currently drive a Macan Turbo, I presume you already know that you can only buy a Porsche from a dealer

 

[cyndiw]

As you currently drive a Macan Turbo, I presume you already know that you can only buy a Porsche from a dealer

Yes. However given that I purchased my Macan 10 years ago and the relatively recent innovations in various manufacturers’ auto purchasing business models, I was hoping there may be a way around this. Going through a dealer seems very 2010.

 

[Dragon Tourniquet]

Going through a dealer seems very 2010.

You can blame National Automobile Dealers Association for that. Manufacturers aren't allowed to compete with dealers because of franchise rules they got put into place. Tesla, Lucid, and Rivian are able to avoid that in some states because they never had franchises, but there have been court battles everywhere as dealers try to block them.

 

[Awaz]

Going through a dealer seems very 2010.

Yes, but as far as I understand, only Tesla sell direct. All others through dealerships.

 

[cyndiw]

Yes, but as far as I understand, only Tesla sell direct. All others through dealerships.

not true. Rivian also. And Lucid.

 

[cyndiw]

You can blame National Automobile Dealers Association for that. Manufacturers aren't allowed to compete with dealers because of franchise rules they got put into place. Tesla, Lucid, and Rivian are able to avoid that in some states because they never had franchises, but there have been court battles everywhere as dealers try to block them.

Ahhh I did not realize this was the issue. It always comes down to protecting the amount of money in someone’s pocket, doesn’t it? Even at the expense of the consumer.

 

[Awaz]

not true. Rivian also. And Lucid.

I wasn't meaning to be lying here, or not telling the truth deliberately.
I mentioned Tesla, as its generally known to sell direct.
My point was no legacy carmaker does that.
In any case, you seem to know which ones sell direct!!

 

[krissrock]

Ahhh I did not realize this was the issue. It always comes down to protecting the amount of money in someone’s pocket, doesn’t it? Even at the expense of the consumer.

crony capitalism at its best

 

[rmwrip]

You also need to find a dealership that has an open turbo allocation.

 

[cyndiw]

You also need to find a dealership that has an open turbo allocation.

Yep. And that’s going to be another challenge, I’m sure. Fortunately I don’t care about timing and would be willing to wait a year+ to get a slot. I just want to work with a respectful professional who won’t jerk me around. Sadly that seems like a big ask!

Honestly this all makes me want to just order a Rivian R1S and be done with it. Had an outstanding test drive experience with Rivian, just did not love the way it looks compared to the Macan.

 

[nulled]

I also wished they offered direct to consumer…

 

[byebye]

If your main criteria is no dealership, go for Lucid, Rivian or Tesla. They are good cars.
In the end, you will visit a dealership for the maintenance, even thought it’s very light for EVs

 

[Diego]

I bought my Tesla M3 back in the 2021 directly online (tried my friends' M3 the day before). Unfortunately I leased it and had a lot of stupid problems to get the car: for example Tesla said Bank need a paper signed by me BUT I cannot sign it since they asked me to declare that the car was perfect... 1 months before the car arrival....
The same happened last week when I had to return: bank needs 1 month before the lease end a paper from Tesla saying that they accept my car but Tesla never asked me to show them the car....
Dealing with people is often frustrating, but it is worse to deal with poorly programmed information systems.
With my Porsche SA the first question I made was: "Are you my one and only contact person for everything from purchase to service?" the answer was "yes" and now I got the Macan