Dealerships and initial contacts

[tchavei]

At this point I might be writing for myself but who cares, right?

My local dealer called me (first time. I've been the one doing all the calling) to tell me that the unlicensed car they have at the dealership won't become a demonstration car as planned but will be sold directly (it's a CT). They predict they could have a car for me to test somewhere around January.

I called the dealer 400km away from me. Asked him if I could test a car if I went there. He replied "just tell me when and I'll have a car ready"

Grabbed my keys, drove for 3h30m and met him at the dealership.
They actually opened the door for me and asked if I wanted a coffee! Surprised by the difference in treatment.

Anyway, we grabbed a car, drove around for almost an hour while he explained day-to-day particularities.

In the end, I signed the contract, paid the deposit and I'm happy.

He's trying to get an allocation for March 23. Fingers crossed.

Oh and I got a bottle of wine (probably to ease the pain of the deposit), Porsche chocolates for the kids, a cayman puzzle (they didn't have taycan one) and a pen for the wife (as a teacher, she loves office stuff)

I hope my local dealer won't be too mad at me but hey, I lost almost a month trying for them to accommodate a simple request. I wanted this done and signed before January 1st.

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[800v]

At this point I might be writing for myself but who cares, right?

No no, we are following your story! As someone who plans to buy new in the future I find these stories very interesting; really helps when it comes time to buy to understand better how dealerships work and what is "normal" or not .

 

[tchavei]

Thank you.

Regarding the test drive, I want to add a explanation as it might be seen as throwing a fit or insisting on it when many have ordered the car without seeing it even (I bought several cars like that in the past)

First off, I generally don't buy 6 figure cars. It's not an investment so I usually buy cars for practical reasons (or at least attempt to justify the acquisition).

Secondly, around 15 years ago, I was casually driving with my wife to a restaurant when I noticed a huge black car in front of us. It was gorgeous. Looked like a Colombian drug dealer's pickup van (remember, here in Europe we aren't used seeing big pickups, even less 15 years ago).

We followed the pickup for a few km and I noted down the brand and model. It was the latest Nissan Navara with hard top from Alpine.

Next day I drove to the local dealership to ask about the car, specs, price, etc.

Car wasn't too expensive and at that time there was a tax incentive and due to one of my hobbies it would actually become handy.

I asked for a test drive but the dealer didn't have one. I was undecided for a few days but eventually ordered one anyway. What could go wrong, right?

2 months later the pickup arrived according to spec. I was thrilled. Rushed to the dealer, paid the bill, received the keys and got into the car.

OK, I was sitting higher than I imagined. It's a pickup. I turned the ignition and I heard the diesel engine come to life. A bit noisier than my previous BMW. OK. Fine. I put in the first and drove off... My heart cracked... It felt like driving a bus. Jesus Christ crossed my mind. What have I done?

I eventually learned to live with it and I kept it for about 2 years but I swore that first day I would never ever again buy a car without test driving it first no matter how beautiful, cool or whatever the car would look like.

Lesson learned for life.

That's why I refused to commit to the Taycan unless I could sit in it and feel if I was the right person for the car (or vice versa).

OK. It was a 4S, not an RWD but I switched it to range mode so it would disengage the front motor to have a better idea of the feel.

I'm convinced now.

 

[tchavei]

Aaannnd we have an update!

Dealer called me a few minutes ago to give me the progress status of my order.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have an allocation!

Estimated production date: last week of March
Estimated delivery date: April 7th

Yay. I know it won't be April 7th because it's Holy Friday and everything will be closed but at least I have an aproximate idea of delivery. Of course that the dealer warned this wasn't written in stone and there could be some minor shifting occuring with those dates but he expects the order to reach feeze point by end of the month.

PS: my local dealer STILL hasn't called me to try to arrange a test drive ?. By the time they call me (if ever), I'll probably have the car already.

 

[OTPSkipper]

Congrats! It’s a heavy car. I was used to a boxster. So much heavier and longer than my old car. Getting used to it. I still love it. Love the steering feel on the rwd. Not as numb as the 4s.

 

[tchavei]

Congrats! It’s a heavy car. I was used to a boxster. So much heavier and longer than my old car. Getting used to it. I still love it. Love the steering feel on the rwd. Not as numb as the 4s.

Thank you. I appreciate it. Yeah, it's an RWD too. Hopefully it will be as easy to slide in corners like my previous rwd cars (joking. I'm an responsible person now. I don't slide my butt around corners anymore... cof cof cof)

 

[tchavei]

Tiny update

This morning I sent my dealer a short email asking if anything like "track your dream" is available for Portugal since it appears to be exclusive to a few selected countries / areas.

I was informed that Portugal would be included in TYD starting April 2023. Of course the dealer added jokingly that most likely it would be too late for me since the delivery is scheduled for April ?

On the other hand, he informed me that once the car enters production, I'm supposed to receive an email to be able to add the car to my profile inside myporsche to get extra information about the build, etc. Let's see what happens.

Coincidentially, I received an email from mother Porsche in Spain greeting me to their family and directing me to porsche charge services to request my porsche charging card. Of course the link then says that I'm required to have a car associated to my account which I don't have yet. Maybe once I get that other email to add it to my garage.

Why is time now passing so slowly? Wish it was April already.

On another note, I bought a noco gbx45 booster today... Just in case... You know... (joking. I bought it to wake up a Mazda 2 I forgot family owns but it still could come handy later on...)

Oh and I've been checking wheels and tires. Decided on some nice 21'' wheels (in my view) but finding the tires has been challenging. Currently pondering between the Michelin Pilot Sport EV (if I can find the rear size somewhere) and the new Hankook iON EV which look impressive by the specs and the EU rating they received (A / A /A in consumption, noise and grip).

 

[tigerbalm]

On the other hand, he informed me that once the car enters production, I'm supposed to receive an email to be able to add the car to my profile inside myporsche to get extra information about the build, etc. Let's see what happens.

I can say that here in Ireland we don't have TYD either, but my car once it exited production – I did get an email with a link to add it to My Porsche account.

 

[tigerbalm]

Coincidentially, I received an email from mother Porsche in Spain greeting me to their family and directing me to porsche charge services to request my porsche charging card.

You get a three year free subscription to Porsche Charging Service. When you car does turn up on your My Porsche account you can activate the charging service and they'll post you out the card.

However, I advise you do not activate it until a few days before you're due to collect the car from your Porsche Centre – so as to maximise your three year free period.

For me, it only took four days from activating the charging service to receiving the RFID card.

 

[tchavei]

I can say that here in Ireland we don't have TYD either, but my car once it exited production – I did get an email with a link to add it to My Porsche account.

Thank you for the insight. I can assume that we, Europeans, don't get to see our baby's first ultrasound pictures (also known as factory production pictures) like our American friends?

That's something I really find cool in TYD.

You get a three year free subscription to Porsche Charging Service. When you car does turn up on your My Porsche account you can activate the charging service and they'll post you out the card.

However, I advise you do not activate it until a few days before you're due to collect the car from your Porsche Centre – so as to maximise your three year free period.

For me, it only took four days from activating the charging service to receiving the RFID card.

That's a good idea. Thank you. The truth though is that here the card most likely won't have much use (if any at all) since the Portuguese charging network works in a different way than the rest of the world. I still haven't figured it out completely (it's a comercial, financial and mathematical mess to be honest) but basically the price you pay at any given time on a charging station depends on several factors. You also can't pay directly (using a credit card for example) which prompts people to make contracts (without subscription costs) with multiple energy providers. Personally I've started to collect contracts since January 1st (already have contracts with 7 different providers) and apparently, through several simulation apps, the porsche charge card only has advantage on ionity stations as it only charges per kw and not time at these stations during the first 3 years. Ionity is still a rarity around here, covering only main highways.

I hope I'll understand the system a little better in the next few months as it has been a steep learning curve so far. There's always the ideal provider, charging station and speed at every moment in the day/night. You just need to figure out which one it is (there can be differences of up to 300% depending on which card you swipe before you start charging).

Feels like I should go back to school for this ?

 

[tigerbalm]

Thank you for the insight. I can assume that we, Europeans, don't get to see our baby's first ultrasound pictures (also known as factory production pictures) like our American friends?

I think they also get it in the UK. But for EU, I've not been able to find the pictures.

 

[tchavei]

I think they also get it in the UK. But for EU, I've not been able to find the pictures.

I guess we'll have to wait until delivery to know if it's a boy or a girl!

 

[Scandinavian]

Personally I've started to collect contracts since January 1st (already have contracts with 7 different providers) and apparently, through several simulation apps, the porsche charge card only has advantage on ionity stations as it only charges per kw and not time at these stations during the first 3 years. Ionity is still a rarity around here, covering only main highways.

I hope I'll understand the system a little better in the next few months as it has been a steep learning curve so far.

We had planned a trip to Portugal in mid 2021, but held off using the Taycan. There were few charging stations then. Ionity have improved a bit now, but still scarce.

I came to the conclusion as well that the 22 kW charger might have come in handy. Seemed to be quite a lot of these around, but I only have 11 kW in my car.

Would be interested in your optimisation spread sheet about chargers in Portugal, once you have worked that out.

At the moment though it looks like we will take an ICE car instead.

 

[tchavei]

We had planned a trip to Portugal in mid 2021, but held off using the Taycan. There were few charging stations then. Ionity have improved a bit now, but still scarce.

I came to the conclusion as well that the 22 kW charger might have come in handy. Seemed to be quite a lot of these around, but I only have 11 kW in my car.

Would be interested in your optimisation spread sheet about chargers in Portugal, once you have worked that out.

At the moment though it looks like we will take an ICE car instead.

Oh the charging network is expanding fast and I can't complain about availability (last week I had over 22 charging stations in a 1 mile radius) and the city is adding 23 more stations this year alone.

The problem (especially for tourists and new comers like me) is to learn how the whole charging system works. And it's not only foreigners and myself. Portugal has been excluded from programs like the Tesla open charge that is spreading in Europe because tesla can't cope with the local regulations either.

Porsche Dealers, for example, are letting Taycans charge for free on their premises (350kw) because they haven't still registered as an CEME here (energy provider). On the other hand, they might not register at all and eat the loss because once registered as a CEME they'll be forced to open their gates for 24/7 accessibility by ANY brand.

I'm not sure how much a Porsche dealership would like to wake up just to find its front entrance full of BMWs charging on their porsche chargers. Imagine potential customers having to pass by a queue of sporty, sexy BMWs, Teslas and Mercedes EQS to enter the dealership.

Yeah... They probably gonna eat the loss ?

 

[McgR]

Thank you for the insight. I can assume that we, Europeans, don't get to see our baby's first ultrasound pictures (also known as factory production pictures) like our American friends?

That's something I really find cool in TYD.



That's a good idea. Thank you. The truth though is that here the card most likely won't have much use (if any at all) since the Portuguese charging network works in a different way than the rest of the world. I still haven't figured it out completely (it's a comercial, financial and mathematical mess to be honest) but basically the price you pay at any given time on a charging station depends on several factors. You also can't pay directly (using a credit card for example) which prompts people to make contracts (without subscription costs) with multiple energy providers. Personally I've started to collect contracts since January 1st (already have contracts with 7 different providers) and apparently, through several simulation apps, the porsche charge card only has advantage on ionity stations as it only charges per kw and not time at these stations during the first 3 years. Ionity is still a rarity around here, covering only main highways.

I hope I'll understand the system a little better in the next few months as it has been a steep learning curve so far. There's always the ideal provider, charging station and speed at every moment in the day/night. You just need to figure out which one it is (there can be differences of up to 300% depending on which card you swipe before you start charging).

Feels like I should go back to school for this ?

The Portuguese charging system doesn’t sound that different than in the rest of Europe.

Porsche card is good for Ionity but also for other fast chargers. 0,35 cent per kWh and 0,45 cent per minute is still cheaper than others because charging times are short with really fast charging.

I have a shell recharge rfid card for slower chargers and fast chargers where Porsche doesn’t work. Further Maingau for D, Juice Pass for I and Plugsurfing. Usually I use the Porsche card and Shell. Juice pass just once on the Alps and it was the only one that worked and I needed to charge there.

I activated the Fastned app. Works well with plug and charge but much more expensive than Ionity with Porsche card. They are at good locations. And at the end I prefer to pay more and have a good charger location than having to do a detour.

Also activated Tesla app for the same reason. Charging is slower.

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