Considering 4S Order - Some Questions

[G6JOJ]

Hi all,

I've been keenly reading this forum for a couple of months, starting to consider a Taycan and have a few questions, mostly related to finance. I currently drive a Tesla Model 3 Performance.

I appreciate some will be difficult to answer (since you aren't a finance company!) but appreciate thoughts based on experience/knowledge. I also fully expect a lot of you to say "don't be so stupid - you shouldn't be spending that much on a car in your current financial position" which I totally appreciate and welcome, but if you could answer the questions regardless that would be great!

1. How likely am I to be able to secure finance on a circa £100k 4S purchase with £10-15k deposit? For context, my current income is circa. £3800 p/m, with fixed outgoings of circa £1200 (inc. joint Resi mortgage, BTL mortgage, PCP on my dad's car - exc. bills/living/current personal PCP)
2. Unless the answer to question 1 is no chance - what would be my best route? Porsche finance or something else?
3. If using Porsche finance, at what point do you 'apply' - point of order or nearer delivery? (I expect at least a £5k p/a pay rise in the next 6 months)
4. I think I read £5k reservation deposit - is that refundable should I not be able to secure finance?
5. Can I live without rear axle steering?
6. I've seen bunch of threads about lead time but none from recent orders - any idea what it is? I'm guessing at least 5-6 months at this point?

Thanks in advance!

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[jontybutts]

No idea about the finance bit as paid cash but coming from a bunch of Tesla’s, last being an M3P i will comment on RWS. I don’t have it and have no issues, it gets in and out of exactly the same spaces as the Teslas have without any problem.
I will also add that moving to a Taycan from a Tesla is a huge step forward in quality, design and driver enjoyment, do it if you feel you can afford too.

 

[OPLA1925]

With a 100K purchase of a 4S and that deposit, you will be paying £1,000pm out of your net income on PCP. That's more than 25% of your income. I strongly urge you not to do that, even if you are approved. In fact, without being crass, I reckon most people are uncomfortable at anything over 10% of their net income.

They ask you to complete a financial proposal when you place the £5k deposit. It's not particularly involved.

Deposit is refundable without reason so finance rejection would be fine.

My lead time is 8 months apparently but might be sooner.

 

[OPLA1925]

Ps. I know you didn't want financial advice but your PCP monthly could actually be as big as your monthly mortgage payment and that's obviously nuts for a depreciating asset - particularly when you already have a good motor in the Tesla.

 

[G6JOJ]

Thanks. I know it’s pretty ridiculous to spend that much - maybe I was secretly looking for people to talk me out of it.

That said, I’m already at 750 p/m with the Tesla so it doesn’t seem that much of a stretch considering my student loans have finished and I’m expecting my earnings to increase fairly significantly before delivery.

Maybe I’m nuts but I’ve got a reasonable ‘rainy day fund’, some investments and have no plans to start a family or buy a new house (at least for 5 years) so aside from worrying about retirement I don’t have any need to hoard cash.

Perhaps I’m nuts!

 

[OPLA1925]

Look it's your money but it's still going to be £300-500 more pm and that's before you take into account the £15,000 deposit + £1,000 home charger etc.

You do what you like just be careful I don't want you to suffer from it. You could just buy a RWD and save like £30,000. The Tesla is already fast so you won't be going radically faster anyway.

 

[G6JOJ]

The performance of the Tesla is exactly the reason I went straight to the 4S. Even the 4S is almost a second slower than M3P.

That and the air suspension as standard.

Good thing to think about though. I just worry I’ll regret not going big.

 

[im85288]

That’s the problem with owning a Tesla Model 3 Performance as I do too. The standard Taycan with a 0-60 of 5.4 seconds is just too slow to contemplate. I test drove a 4S and loved the majority of things (rear view camera is borderline ridiculous for a car of that value and the software/app is also a step backward) but even found that to feel a little bit sluggish in acceleration compared to my M3P.

The Turbo at 35K more for a 0.8 second gain in performance is to me not a good deal at all…so I am holding off for the GTS model expected to be announced in November which hopefully will be closer to the M3P in regards acceleration and fingers crossed a more sensible price than the Turbo.

 

[G6JOJ]

I didn’t know that was coming down the line - interesting.

What’s the deal with reservations/locking in spec. Can you switch models before locking in?

 

[im85288]

Best to check with the dealer directly, here’s a thread debating some of this: https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/threads/taycan-gts-to-be-announced-this-year.6672/

To answer your question, my dealer has let me put a deposit down on the GTS and confirmed if I want to switch once it’s announced that’s not an issue. My deposit has been down since April and initially I got impatient and asked him to put me on the 4S list whilst giving me the option to switch to the GTS which he did..but then I decided there’s no rush so waiting it out to see what happens in November.

 

[mutanthands]

In answer to your questions;

1. I know you anticipated this response, but at your current income it's pretty financially reckless. It doesn't give you much overhead for any unforeseen circumstances' life might throw at you. I would wait until you can save more of a deposit and (at the very minimum) when the £5k pay rise is confirmed and your Dad's PCP is paid off.
My personal ethos is that if I can't afford something 3 times over in cash, I'll wait until I can. That's just me, YMMV.

2. Check price comparison websites and see how Porsche Finance stacks up.

3. I suspect you'll sort it once you have a build slot date. (maybe another member can step in here, I'm still waiting for an allocation)

4. I paid £4k for the reservation deposit a few weeks ago.

5. It's a large car, rear axle steering is very recommended. It'll also help with residual in the future.

6. I was quoted around a 10 month wait by Porsche Leeds when I put my deposit down. They were being quite conservative, but expect the worse and hope for the best is much better than over promising.

Best of luck, please don't screw yourself over

 

[G6JOJ]

Thanks! I do know it's pretty reckless but at the same time, I love nice cars and this is a bit of a dream purchase for me - well a 911 was until EVs were a thing. Feels like the time to do it and enjoy it - however risky a strategy that may be!

You're probably right on the pay rise for the extra comfort that will give. If it's a 10 month wait that will certainly have happened.

Appreicate the answers!

I'm really hoping someone will wade in with spend the money YOLO why not at some point haha!

 

[OPLA1925]

I am actually quite surprised you think a car that sells for a sum that exceeds your annual salary is even entertainable. The only thing that might mitigate your risk is if residuals prove strong so you can pull the rip cord if need be.

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