Can Porsche compete with Mercedes deals at present?
Discussion
Sorry to say but after 3 years ownership of 997.2 C4S from new i'm jumping ship to a C63 AMG coupe. The deals on offer from MBUK are just too good to be true! My current car is on a PCP with a enhanced residual and Porsche have not been able to come up with anything like as good a deal in fact the local stealership has not even bothered to contact me to tempt me into anything else. A friend of mine who is a real petrolhead, running several exotics has just ditched his 997GT2 for an C63 AMG estate and says its just as much fun on a daily basis.
I really do like Porsche as a useable sports car but think they have overpriced the 991 and so have looked elsewhere and found them to be way off the mark. Perhaps that's what they want to have Porsche just driven by the uber rich or enthusiast.
Cheerio
I really do like Porsche as a useable sports car but think they have overpriced the 991 and so have looked elsewhere and found them to be way off the mark. Perhaps that's what they want to have Porsche just driven by the uber rich or enthusiast.
Cheerio
OP, I think I know what you mean....a friend has just taken delivery of a new Cayenne 3.0 diesel. The OPC glibly offered him a finance deal at something like 9% having just sent him a flyer for 991s at something like 4% - the friend wasn't best pleased 
I have several other friends who have come out of Audis and other Mercs tempted by MBZ's new car deals as they said it was foolish not to and the dealers must surely be doing a good trade in new AMG cars with the special offers.
I have several other friends who have come out of Audis and other Mercs tempted by MBZ's new car deals as they said it was foolish not to and the dealers must surely be doing a good trade in new AMG cars with the special offers.
I'm in the same position. Looking to get out of my 997 but VERY tempted by deals on AMG Mercs and BMW M5s.
My local OPC were not hugely interested in doing a deal with 8-9% APRs quoted and still doing the 'Porsche don't allow us to discount' line. Also the 3 year GFV was £10k less than in the example I received in a mailing from Porsche.
The C63 AMG deals are amazing, it's worth buying for the sound alone. Still think I would miss the 911 though...
My local OPC were not hugely interested in doing a deal with 8-9% APRs quoted and still doing the 'Porsche don't allow us to discount' line. Also the 3 year GFV was £10k less than in the example I received in a mailing from Porsche.
The C63 AMG deals are amazing, it's worth buying for the sound alone. Still think I would miss the 911 though...
alexisn said:
This is a wind up right ? If you want an estate car or saloon you don't go looking at Porsches. I don't think they need to compete with MB totally different products.
I use my 911 as a daily driver including carrying two young children around, commuting, etc. I only do about 7k miles per year so can't justify two cars. I think the E63AMG, C63 AMG and M5 are direct rivals to a 991 for someone like me.alexisn said:
This is a wind up right ? If you want an estate car or saloon you don't go looking at Porsches. I don't think they need to compete with MB totally different products.
Have you driven a 63 amg, if you had you would change your mind, I'm no Merc fan but the deals they are doing at the moment are so cheap its silly not to.sbirty said:
Sorry to say but after 3 years ownership of 997.2 C4S from new i'm jumping ship to a C63 AMG coupe. The deals on offer from MBUK are just too good to be true! My current car is on a PCP with a enhanced residual and Porsche have not been able to come up with anything like as good a deal in fact the local stealership has not even bothered to contact me to tempt me into anything else. A friend of mine who is a real petrolhead, running several exotics has just ditched his 997GT2 for an C63 AMG estate and says its just as much fun on a daily basis.
I really do like Porsche as a useable sports car but think they have overpriced the 991 and so have looked elsewhere and found them to be way off the mark. Perhaps that's what they want to have Porsche just driven by the uber rich or enthusiast.
Cheerio
Whats the deal on the C63 financially? Can you tell us why its so attractive? Have driven one for a month or so and have soft spot for them. In fact just bought the Mrs a new GL63 for Sept delivery and managed to get 15% of list without even trying - she needs a 7 seater hence it was another Disco or this and we're just bored of Discos.I really do like Porsche as a useable sports car but think they have overpriced the 991 and so have looked elsewhere and found them to be way off the mark. Perhaps that's what they want to have Porsche just driven by the uber rich or enthusiast.
Cheerio
Why would Porsche want to compete with Mercedes with their current range of cars? Porsche only produce about 150k cars per year, Merc produce around 1.5m. Porsche don't need to offer knockdown deals on their cars to shift the volumes that they produce, which are tiny in comparison to Mercedes. Carefully managing demand and supply of their cars is one of the things that makes Porsche the most profitable car manufacturer in the world, and finance rates are one of the ways they do this. High enough to put off time wasters / indecisive / or financially careful types, but affordable enough to be 'doable' by those that want a Porsche but can't / won't use cash. You buy a Porsche because you want a Porsche, you buy a Mercedes because you need a car.
It's surely not rocket science is it? Having been down a similar exploratory route, Mercedes are offering big discounts, subsidised finance rates etc to shift massive volumes of cars that are heading to the UK making minimal profit on every example that it sells. So for example, if they sell 120,000 cars in the UK P.A. at £1000 profit per unit, that's a total of £120,000,000.
The owners are tied into their cars by the fact that if they want to change prior to the end of their finance agreement (to another brand) they will nearly always be in negative equity and are therefore committed to having to run the full two/three years and hand the car back with no equity. That gets them back into the Mercedes showroom and the whole cycle starts again. With all the financial incentives available on a new Mercedes, a used one has to depreciate so fast that buying a new one isn't financially attractive anymore. So basically once you're in the car you're stuck with it for the whole term, unless you have deep pockets.
Porsche on the other hand, sell 8,500 cars PA in the UK and to make the same total profit (as Mercedes do in the UK) would have to make £14,118.00 per vehicle sold, with no finance subsidies, discounts and so on.
So, Porsche have the better cars, but not the financial clout to match the same deals that Mercedes are offering. I had all this explained to me in detail quite recently and ultimately it does make sense, and yes the AMG C63 is a great car but sometimes you need to look beyond the initial deal you're being offered.
I'll get back to selling my home cinema systems now. Same rules apply!
The owners are tied into their cars by the fact that if they want to change prior to the end of their finance agreement (to another brand) they will nearly always be in negative equity and are therefore committed to having to run the full two/three years and hand the car back with no equity. That gets them back into the Mercedes showroom and the whole cycle starts again. With all the financial incentives available on a new Mercedes, a used one has to depreciate so fast that buying a new one isn't financially attractive anymore. So basically once you're in the car you're stuck with it for the whole term, unless you have deep pockets.
Porsche on the other hand, sell 8,500 cars PA in the UK and to make the same total profit (as Mercedes do in the UK) would have to make £14,118.00 per vehicle sold, with no finance subsidies, discounts and so on.
So, Porsche have the better cars, but not the financial clout to match the same deals that Mercedes are offering. I had all this explained to me in detail quite recently and ultimately it does make sense, and yes the AMG C63 is a great car but sometimes you need to look beyond the initial deal you're being offered.
I'll get back to selling my home cinema systems now. Same rules apply!
I agree that that deals have been offered recently by MB, Audi & BMW recently for circa £50 - £60k cars have been incredible and if that is the type of car you are looking for then they are a good buy as long as you are aware that you will not have any equity at the end of the agreement. All of the above manufacturers have been competing recently for world domination in the luxury car sector. I believe that MB won last year with the number of sales in the USA. As a result Audi have invested an additional €13 billion this year to make sure they win for 2013.
Porsche are not interested in this type of market and never will be. People need to remember that when you buy a Porsche you not just buying a car with a good engine. Every component has been tested to destruction and carefully to make sure it meets with the philosophy behind the name. Porsche make sports cars with a luxury feel, everyone else makes luxury cars with a sporting feel.
When i get in a C63 i turn the key and think waw what a sound but then i look at the dash finish and the seats and think this is the same finish as a £20k car not a £60k car! Basically C63's have an old but fantastic engine and that is where it stops. Try throwing into a bend like a Porsche....no chance, try the gearbox in manual....maybe it will change gear by the time you have finished your journey. Try stopping like a Porsche....forget it!!....and don't get me started on high volume manufacturer customer service!!!
At the end of the day you get what you pay for and if you want to buy something half the price of a Porsche you will get half of what a Porsche really is.
Anyway each to their own and this is just my personal opinion.
Porsche are not interested in this type of market and never will be. People need to remember that when you buy a Porsche you not just buying a car with a good engine. Every component has been tested to destruction and carefully to make sure it meets with the philosophy behind the name. Porsche make sports cars with a luxury feel, everyone else makes luxury cars with a sporting feel.
When i get in a C63 i turn the key and think waw what a sound but then i look at the dash finish and the seats and think this is the same finish as a £20k car not a £60k car! Basically C63's have an old but fantastic engine and that is where it stops. Try throwing into a bend like a Porsche....no chance, try the gearbox in manual....maybe it will change gear by the time you have finished your journey. Try stopping like a Porsche....forget it!!....and don't get me started on high volume manufacturer customer service!!!
At the end of the day you get what you pay for and if you want to buy something half the price of a Porsche you will get half of what a Porsche really is.
Anyway each to their own and this is just my personal opinion.
you can't compare a car with heritage and class like a 911 with Mercedes.
If the deals aren't on the table it's because it reflects it's brand position in the market unlike Mercedes which mass produces all types of models from small A class for the stay at home mums, the C class for the road warriors or the M/G class for the chelsea tracker market.
If the deals aren't on the table it's because it reflects it's brand position in the market unlike Mercedes which mass produces all types of models from small A class for the stay at home mums, the C class for the road warriors or the M/G class for the chelsea tracker market.
not sure the high residuals or quality argument holds for Porsche anymore. As i said bought mine 3 years ago with hefty deposit and 9.9%apr credit and i'm lucky to walk away from the car with nothing to pay ( i'm sure they'll be after me for the seat and wheel scuffs) so they've really had my trousers down. The 991 seems a step up in terms of equipment but is it that much better than a C63? I think not for an extra 40K! The engine of the C63 is sublime and p***es all over my 997.2 pdk for mid range grunt and the noise just makes you smile. To be honest was getting a bit bored with the pdk in non sport mode made the car feel very ordinary. Yes Porsche are very well engineered but lets face it they are now mass produced and part of the VAG empire. I think the AMG cars are just a little bit special from yes a mass production company but are similar to the GT or M sport products and at the moment represent unbeatable value for money.
IMI A said:
sbirty said:
Sorry to say but after 3 years ownership of 997.2 C4S from new i'm jumping ship to a C63 AMG coupe. The deals on offer from MBUK are just too good to be true! My current car is on a PCP with a enhanced residual and Porsche have not been able to come up with anything like as good a deal in fact the local stealership has not even bothered to contact me to tempt me into anything else. A friend of mine who is a real petrolhead, running several exotics has just ditched his 997GT2 for an C63 AMG estate and says its just as much fun on a daily basis.
I really do like Porsche as a useable sports car but think they have overpriced the 991 and so have looked elsewhere and found them to be way off the mark. Perhaps that's what they want to have Porsche just driven by the uber rich or enthusiast.
Cheerio
Whats the deal on the C63 financially? Can you tell us why its so attractive? Have driven one for a month or so and have soft spot for them. In fact just bought the Mrs a new GL63 for Sept delivery and managed to get 15% of list without even trying - she needs a 7 seater hence it was another Disco or this and we're just bored of Discos.I really do like Porsche as a useable sports car but think they have overpriced the 991 and so have looked elsewhere and found them to be way off the mark. Perhaps that's what they want to have Porsche just driven by the uber rich or enthusiast.
Cheerio
- the keys to both gives you the best of all worlds (unless you need a jeep thingy then its Pork and RR).interesting how some posters on this thread make comments like "you can't compare a car with heritage and class like a 911 with Mercedes." or state that every component of a porsche is tested and designed to last forever.
Well:
1) Mercedes have more 'heritage' than Porsche given they invented the motorcar as we know it, and the 'silver arrows' race teams.
2) Boxster = SLK, Panamera = CLS, Cayenne = ML/GL, 911 = SL so lots of direct competition there.
3) bore scoring? rattling targa roofs, IMS/RMS etc etc etc... I really don't think you can claim Porshce is more reliable than a Merc.
So a very valid question by the original poster!! a C63 on those deals has to be a very tempting proposition next to a bogo Cayman or Boxster which would cost similar money....
Well:
1) Mercedes have more 'heritage' than Porsche given they invented the motorcar as we know it, and the 'silver arrows' race teams.
2) Boxster = SLK, Panamera = CLS, Cayenne = ML/GL, 911 = SL so lots of direct competition there.
3) bore scoring? rattling targa roofs, IMS/RMS etc etc etc... I really don't think you can claim Porshce is more reliable than a Merc.
So a very valid question by the original poster!! a C63 on those deals has to be a very tempting proposition next to a bogo Cayman or Boxster which would cost similar money....
Gassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff