BostonDMD

every dealer in my area seems to have 10-15 '06 Cayman S sitting in their lots.
Why is there such a surplus? What happens to them, do they sell them below invoice?
How does it affect the resale value of the current Cayman S?

ltc

Likely PCNA spec cars given to dealers to sell. Dealer doesn't have a whole lot of choice. Some dealers get better allocations on the desireable models (GT3, GT3RS, etc) based on their ability to move these spec/launch cars.

PAG/PCNA trying to make #'s, time of year in the NE isn't the best time to buy a sports car off the lot (couple of months till storage time)

Dealer will negotiate to move the cars. Invoice is relative.

No modern Porsche has a positive resale value, they tend to all be overproduced (GT2, CGT, etc are exceptions). Even the 996TT and 997TT's are way overproduced, hence their price being a bit lower than 993TT's. Such is the nature of the new Porsche.

wushuhsu

> Why is there such a surplus?

Basic economic theory says supply exceeds demand when the price is set too high. Porsche has already milked all they can out of the early must-have-it-all-cost adopters. Now it's time for Porsche to adjust the price to be more in line with the Boxster so they can sell more cars and ultimately improve their own earnings.

ltc

I can't remember the last time Porsche 'adjusted' prices, at least not MSRP/window stickers.....
Privately, during purchase negotiation perhaps......

mooty

surplus b/c it only has a few more hp than box s, and most ppl feel that drop tops should cost more and since in this case drop tops cost less, box s appears to be a bargain so no one buys cayman.

i have seen $1500 over invoice, never heard of selling below invoice. if that's the case, i may have to buy ANOTHER cayman. soon i will have one for each day of the week.

resale of current cayman S... hahhaahah you must be kidding.
they suck (and i am a big cayman fan).
even lease residual is bad on them, 50% at end of 36 months.
if you are worried about resale, this is not the car to get. 997 will have much better residual.

CP

Heheh....If you are concerned, think of the Porsche dealers. Once past Halloween, a significant part of the country will have lost their apetite for a sports car. Then they have to wait till March 2007 to see real movements.

CP

Doug&Julie

I think dealers are quietly adjusting their prices to the market. I've heard a lot about "great deals" on base Caymen on these boards. When Julie and I bought our Boxster, we looked at a base Cayman as an option. The dealer knocked off $5k w/o even asking (as a starting point to negotiations). That puts it right in line with a base Boxster. Not cheaper, but in line with.

Unfortunately, I fear that Porsche will adjust the Boxsters up to match the Cayman, rather than adjust the Cayman down to match the Boxster.

Likemystoppie?

Cayman S sales have been directly affected by the release of the 07 Cayman. Same situation we're seeing happened with the Boxster S and Boxster.

People are less willing to justify the price differential on the "S" version of these cars.

RaceCarDriver

I agree 100% and was told that by several dealers. This summer when I was looking, all the dealers in my area were sold out of the Boxster S but had all had 12-15 Cayman S in stock. Salepeople were saying that people came in looking for a CS, thought it was too expensive w/options and bought a cheaper Boxster S in stead.

All dealers offered me $5k to $6k off a CS right off the bat, w/o any negotiations.

I also agree that maybe the Boxster/Boxster S' prices will increase to equal the Cayman S/Cayman.

busaganashi

It's not that way in the NW. The dealers here have sold all of their Cayman S'. They have 07's coming in from October onward. After months of negotiation I could get $3000 off of an over-optioned model and had to go down to California to get a better deal on a car that was correctly optioned, i.e. without $3500 cocoa leather, etc.

Of course I doubt my local dealer had more than 5-6 Caymans in stock at any given time since launch.

fast1

every dealer in my area seems to have 10-15 '06 Cayman S sitting in their lots.
Why is there such a surplus

It's obviously their price. I went to my local Posche Dealer yesterday and saw two Cayman Ss on the lot, and the stickers on both cars was in the mid $70s. So if the lease residual on the CS is 50% in three years, that means a depreciation hit of over $35K and that's assuming you can sell it privately. The wholesale price will be much lower.

I don't believe Porsche sales in MD are strong based on the two Dealers near me. Valley Motors has 3 996s that have been languishing on its lot all summer. Two of the cars are '04 996s. The initial asking price on both cars was in the $60s. The prices have been reduced all the way down to $55K but still no takers.

It appears that the only Porsche to retain its value in the last ten years has been the 993. I don't know what the selling price is for late model 993s, but the asking prices have been generally much higher than early model 996s.

Noah leigh

"Porsche ragtop" is irrestible to many people, esp. those who have never owned either. For serious drivers, a convertible is unnecessary...actually, as we know, it's lessened structural integrity negatively effects handling. So, I think the sales differential between the Box and Cay represents the needs of their buyers.
I doubt pricing has anything to do with it, I'd like to think that people who buy Porsches aren't as effected by price differentials between models, making their decision more on needs and wants. Personally, I think the CS represents a great value, given it's performance.

Doug&Julie

Especially when you consider how "solid" the ragtop is, I can certainly understand why people might have a hard time doling out extra money for a coupe version. I want to believe the Cayman/Cayman S is a different car, but w/o having a higher horsepower motor, it's hard to justify paying more "for the coupe" for the mass public who buys Porsches anymore. "..you mean I pay less and get a convertible?!?! SOLD!!!"

It's ironic, a little bit, that Porsche finally makes a more involving "true" sports car in the Cayman, and "enthusiasts" who complained about Porsche not having a "true" sports car for so long aren't buying them.

..well, ok, there are a few..

M758

You forgot about over pricing it as compared to their other cars.

I am not a convertable fan, but do love the boxster both in 968 and 987 versions. I just don't want to spend $$$ on a convertable. So long comes the perfect solution. The cayman. Then they go and price the thing MORE than the boxster. Stupid if you ask me.

The cars is really nice car, but lets face it. I don't have money dripping out my butt to be able to get one. So to by ANY new Porsche is a strech for me. Boxster is great car, but I don't want to be stuck with a convertable after spending 40K+ for a new car. The base cayman is very appealing given the similar hp of my 944 Turbo S, coupe body and very nice chassis. At 45k the appeal is really waning and making me look more and more at resto work on Turbo S. Then again if cayman residuals are so damn bad... maybe in 3 year I can find a nice cheap off lease cayman.

Doug&Julie

Yeah, sorry...I should have qualified as "relatively speaking". I don't have the money for a new Porsche either. But there are a lot that do. It's those that I'm talking about.

That's my plan. Get one with a year or two left on original warranty...buy certified to get the extended warranty...boom, you've got a fantastic "new" Porsche w/o paying the high price of one.