Tariff anxiety . . .

[KombuchaBioleather]

If the car is still on the boat on April 2, and the threatened tariffs go into effect, I'm assuming Porsche will pass the expense on to the consumer (me). What if the car is off the boat but still at the port? Is the result the same? Unfortunately, I'm going to be white knuckling this, as my TYD shows the vehicle near Jacksonville, FL currently, and my car's stop is Houston (Freeport), so it has to get around Florida and across the Gulf of (whatever you want to call it) to H-town. I'm hoping 12 days is long enough - the weather looks ok - but if the vehicle sits on the boat, or on the dock before clearing customs for more than a few days, I could be screwed.

I assume clearing customs is the key for determining whether the tariff applies or not. Is that right? Does anyone on here have knowledge/experience re: how long customs typically takes for cars in Houston?

Sponsored

 

[KombuchaBioleather]

Relatedly, it looks like the boat could be stopping at Jacksonville. Anyone know if I could potentially get my SA/Dealership to get Porsche to let the car off the boat there (I'd pay for transportation to TX) in order to protect against getting hit with the tariff?

 

[PrudentOcean]

The car has to clear customs at the port and receive the Monroney sticker in order to officially have been imported.

I would hope that Porsche would consider offloading all vehicles at the first US port and then trucking them to their final destination. That's more expensive than shipping would have been, but if it avoid the tariff it would save substantial money.

 

[TurboSpain]

I'm assuming Porsche will pass the expense on to the consumer (me).

I'm not a lawyer (thank goodness) nor a US resident, but I understand that
in the United States, a change in tariff rates between the signing of the import contract and the arrival of the product generally has a financial impact on the importer, who is obligated to pay the rate in effect at the time of importation.

So, if there's no clause against this in the sales contract with your importer (Porsche USA), you don't have to bear it.

A lawyer (a real one) could take a look at your contract.

 

[Dragon Tourniquet]

I'm not a lawyer (thank goodness) nor a US resident, but I understand that
in the United States, a change in tariff rates between the signing of the import contract and the arrival of the product generally has a financial impact on the importer, who is obligated to pay the rate in effect at the time of importation.

So, if there's no clause against this in the sales contract with your importer (Porsche USA), you don't have to bear it.

A lawyer (a real one) could take a look at your contract.

Also not a lawyer, but unfortunately most sales in the US aren't allowed to be finalized until the car is in the possession of the dealership, and instead it is just based on a refundable deposit. If Porsche increases the price, the dealership would have to decide if they want to eat the difference or just cancel the deal and refund the deposit.

The car has to clear customs at the port and receive the Monroney sticker in order to officially have been imported.

I would hope that Porsche would consider offloading all vehicles at the first US port and then trucking them to their final destination. That's more expensive than shipping would have been, but if it avoid the tariff it would save substantial money.

I wondered that as well as my car was getting closer, and at least in my case, the dealer said Porsche generally won't change where the offload is planned because of the lead time on logistics, especially if the car is already on the boat.

If the car is still on the boat on April 2, and the threatened tariffs go into effect, I'm assuming Porsche will pass the expense on to the consumer (me). What if the car is off the boat but still at the port? Is the result the same? Unfortunately, I'm going to be white knuckling this, as my TYD shows the vehicle near Jacksonville, FL currently, and my car's stop is Houston (Freeport), so it has to get around Florida and across the Gulf of (whatever you want to call it) to H-town. I'm hoping 12 days is long enough - the weather looks ok - but if the vehicle sits on the boat, or on the dock before clearing customs for more than a few days, I could be screwed.

I assume clearing customs is the key for determining whether the tariff applies or not. Is that right? Does anyone on here have knowledge/experience re: how long customs typically takes for cars in Houston?

@PrudentOcean is correct that the car has to clear customs at the port, and then the sticker is created based on the imported price (which will likely be increased to account for any additional tariffs).

Time between the ship docking and clearing customs varies, and they can get backed up at the port. Also, if the car was damaged in transit (it apparently happens to ~1% of cars, with paint scratches being the most common), I believe the repairs are done before the car goes through customs so they don't have to change the value of the car based on the damage.

 

[PrudentOcean]

My dealer refused to do any paperwork for the purchase of the car I had ordered until after it cleared customs. They don't actually own the car until then.

I was trying to sign a purchase agreement and fix the price (something I was worried about because of markups on the Turbo), and my SA said they can't do that until they own the car.

Any open recalls for the car also must be addressed before the car can clear customs.

 

[masmole]

My car is still at the factory and eta is not until late April/early May, but I have already decided that I'm only going to buy a $137k Macan Turbo and not a $171k one. I'm walking if it's the latter and I'm not going to stress over it until then.

 

[Tacoman]

Mine sits in Jacksonville.... Been there for 4 days now. SA swears up and down it should be in their possession next week.
Will see....

Re tariffs...fairly certain 90% of us will decline the car should a 10,15,20% tariff be applied on April 1st. Assume Porsche has planned for this scenario...... If not, shame on them!

 

[Dragon Tourniquet]

Mine sits in Jacksonville.... Been there for 4 days now. SA swears up and down it should be in their possession next week.
Will see....

Re tariffs...fairly certain 90% of us will decline the car should a 10,15,20% tariff be applied on April 1st. Assume Porsche has planned for this scenario...... If not, shame on them!

It will definitely depress sales, but it will affect all the German cars, so maybe not as much as anticipated. The US luxury and performance cars just don't feel the same.

To see what it would be like if they did a 100% tariff like they did from China, just look at the Lotus Eletra. Until that tariff went in it was kind of appealing. After, I can't imagine anyone wanting it.

 

[Paris92]

Mine is on the Daisy Leader between Bermuda and Cuba, heading for Panama and through the canal. No way it gets to port in LA and clears prior to the supposed April 2nd date of tariff announcements. Lots of anxiety playing beat the clock. Maybe the announcement and/or date of implementation will push. Lets hope so.

 

[Tacoman]

It will definitely depress sales, but it will affect all the German cars, so maybe not as much as anticipated. The US luxury and performance cars just don't feel the same.

To see what it would be like if they did a 100% tariff like they did from China, just look at the Lotus Eletra. Until that tariff went in it was kind of appealing. After, I can't imagine anyone wanting it.

Starts at 230k...hhheeeelllll no.

 

[krissrock]

My dealer refused to do any paperwork for the purchase of the car I had ordered until after it cleared customs. They don't actually own the car until then.

I was trying to sign a purchase agreement and fix the price (something I was worried about because of markups on the Turbo), and my SA said they can't do that until they own the car.

i don't think this is abnormal. it was the same for me and i got my car back in december. The dealer account couldn't talk number with me cuz the car didn't exist in her software...it has to hit the dealer inventory first

 

[cometguy]

My dealership says that they assume that the 25% tariff will be passed on to their customers (if/when it happens). If Porsche gets 25% tariffs on all incoming cars to the US, Porsche may struggle to survive, given how important the US market is to them (and given that perhaps 90% of Porsche buyers will not buy cars that cost 25% more than already-very-high MSRPs) -- especially given the depreciation in all 4-door Porsches.

 

[tmrqs]

BMW has announced that they will absorb the possible tariffs through May 1st - and may pass them to the customers after that.

Not heard anything similar from Porsche so it's anyone's guess what'll happen.

 

[PrudentOcean]

I'm not convinced that the expected tariff will ever take effect, and if it does, it probably won't last very long. The tariffs are nothing but a bit of blustering and a threat, and the parties involved will likely negotiate something to avoid a tit-for-tat.

Sponsored