Buying a Porsche Without a Test Drive

The other day, I was talking with an acquaintance, and the conversation turned to how I write a Porsche blog and recently bought my long-awaited first Porsche.

At that time, they were very surprised to hear that I purchased it without test driving.

“What? Isn’t it normal to test drive a car before buying it? And Porsche is such an expensive car—don’t you test drive before buying? Some Porsche models cost as much as a house, so that’s amazing…”

they said.

Indeed…

The Porsche I recently bought was a Carrera T, a model with a relatively low production volume. Naturally, there was no test drive vehicle available for the Carrera T, so I couldn’t test drive it. Also, when it comes to limited-production cars, if you hesitate and debate “Should I buy it or not…?” the reservation rights might be taken by someone else, so sometimes you have to make a bold decision. This is quite different from the usual way of buying a car.

That said, I also remember when I had no interest in cars and knew little about Porsche, I was very surprised to learn that some people buy such expensive cars without even test driving them.

What if after buying it, they think, “This isn’t what I expected…”? What would they do? It would be too late to regret it, so is that really okay? (I wondered if they must have a lot of extra money…)

So, I couldn’t understand that mindset at all.

But now, I feel I’m gradually starting to understand the mindset of people who buy Porsches without test driving.

The Latest Porsche Is the Best Porsche

That mindset is about absolute trust in Porsche.

The famous saying, “The latest Porsche is the best Porsche” (in terms of performance) really holds true. Porsche constantly exceeds owners’ expectations, and in terms of driving performance, it stands far above other cars. (Though it may lack flashy interiors…)

Having experienced this through previous Porsche purchases, even if there’s no test drive vehicle for the exact model I want, I might still buy it without hesitation.

On the other hand, I also think that there might actually be few people who buy Porsches solely for the driving performance.

My husband is more of a driving enthusiast than a car enthusiast. Every time he drives a loaner car, he talks like a car YouTube channel host, saying things like “The suspension on this is…” or “The handling is…” even without any video footage (laughs).

Watching him, I used to think, “Car enthusiasts are people like him,” but recently I’ve realized his car obsession (or rather, driving obsession) is on a whole different level.

So normally, most people don’t demand such detailed driving performance, and even if Porsche is an expensive car, they might buy it without test driving it (and many probably buy it as a collectible or for admiration).

An Honest Review

That said, thinking calmly… even if you can’t test drive, you still want information about the car.

What’s the ride like? How does it drive? What does the engine sound like? How does the engine feel? How’s the handling? Does it meet the conditions I want in a car?

Reviews that honestly and straightforwardly describe these things without bias are really helpful, and the more information like that, the better.

In that sense, I want this blog to continue being a small but useful resource for readers who are considering buying a Porsche but can’t test drive, providing the information they want to know.