EuroGermantown

To be frank and very honest, we are going to keep the car specd by Shahul and myself and wait until the car is at least coming up on production to start considering deposits or any kind of commitment. We have built several expensive cars with forum members that have backed out and left us with very individually specd cars.. We built a $145k E63s Wagon that a member bailed on when it finally got here. We built another Blue GTR for a member who cancelled because they got bored waiting and got something else. We have only been allocated one pro. Unfortunately we cant afford to have someone back out and leave us with a super expensive, oddly optioned car.

As for the Market Adjustments to the MSRP, it’s a wait and see thing. Hypothetically, come October/ November if our sister stores sell these cars for $50k over and we promise one at MSRP, we will be under extreme scrutiny. Our competence and ability to do our jobs will be questioned. If the market is MSRP like I hope it is then fantastic. Nobody likes “Market Adjustments”, one of the many reasons we never posted any official for sale posts of our G 550s and 63’s was for this very reason. We don’t want to come across distasteful in the community.

WhiteBlack

Just sounds like you want to have your cake and eat it too.

Vancrypto

Sad. This is why the whole dealer model is broken. I would never do business with a dealer like this. Pathetic.

thebishman

It's a tragedy if a very well respected dealership in this community, one that has I'm sure received referrals from members even if we haven't purchased from them, turns it's back on 'us' by charging an ADM. It's not like the 'Pro' will even be a 'numbered' car! Hence its collectability is essentially zero.

Let's hope their corporate 'Mothership' understands the importance of allowing them to remain an MSRP dealership. One sale with an additional $50K over MSRP sounds like a great short term gain, but long term it will cost them custom I'm sure. There is a list of Porsche dealerships on RL that true enthusiasts won't purchase from due to ADMs.

Bish

Td33

most pathetic response I’ve ever heard!!! This is why dealers get the reputation they due.

anyone paying over sticker has more money than brains. It’s nothing more than the first GTR.

Td33

wow we are 100% in agreement and very well articulated.

AtTheGlen

I know for a fact that Steve and Shahul do not like operating in this auto-ADM environment. As car guys, I'm sure that they'd like to confirm an order with one of their established customers. But when the CEO of a dealership like theirs or mine in SoCal hears about ADM opportunities that drop big bucks directly to the bottom line, the sales guys and their customers have little influence regardless of how loyal customers have been and how good forum members like us are as brand ambassadors at the track, at cars & coffee, at gas stations, etc. It's hard to monetize that kind of marketing and brand support.

Here at Fletcher Jones in SoCal, my sales guy wanted me to talk to the GM about the unavoidable markup on a PRO even though I was originally told there wouldn't be an ADM given my customer loyalty when I would be trading in the DB11. The GM (a car enthusiast) said they would wait to see what the market was like when the cars became available. So two or three of us (their expected allocation) submitted build specs to see if they were worthy (to Steve's point, in case someone backed out). The GM said that they would use the profits to offset low-margin deals on the entry-level cars (along the lines of the GLB intro in Shanghai last night). It's a sad realization that auto manufacturers put profit and margins first before optimizing the experience for their enthusiast sales personnel and car buyers. The dealership planned to finalize the specs themselves and at least one would be PTS - perhaps as much for margin as for show. I've decided not to pursue a PRO given the inevitable markup.

When my Porsche dealer miraculously found me a 991.2 GT3 build slot late in the game and I asked how much I'd pay in ADM, he said "nothing!". I had bought my last two 911s there and the dealership is part of a family-owned group of dealerships besides Porsche. I'm sure that provided the flexibility to give me a break and he, too, is a car/motorsports enthusiast. Sadly, I don't think Steve and Shahul have that flexibility if their CEO, like others, is competing in the region for top performance = units + $$$ profit.

Steve and Shahul have been active supporters of this forum and are bringing dealer-side insights to us. I don't think it's fair to rail on them for being put into this position. A GT R PRO would be nice to have, but given the ADM, a GT C/R would likely fill my needs just fine if I go that route later this year. M-B needs to stop building these special models in such low numbers as it's clearly creating frustration all around.

Am I upset because Porsche increased production of the GT3? Heck no. I got one! And at MSRP. I don't care how much it depreciates because I love every tenth of a mile that I drive it. I think M-B is over-stretching their production capacity and benefitting SUVs and entry-level models to bring long-term buyers into the fold as early as possible. As a result, enthusiasts' cars like the GT R or the PRO are in short supply.