Recently, after writing an article about luxury import car dealers, I received quite a bit of feedback. So this time, I decided to organize the process of “from ordering to delivery.” While there may be differences depending on the dealer or the model you purchase, I want to write this based on “our family’s experience buying a Porsche.”

About Ordering

Buying Without a Test Drive

I used to think that “since cars are expensive purchases, you should test drive, check, and be convinced before buying.” Especially for luxury cars like Porsche, I thought this was even more true. However, I heard that some people buy Porsches without even test driving or seeing the actual car, which surprised me at first.

In fact, when my husband bought the GT3, he didn’t test drive it at all. When I asked him, “It’s amazing to buy without test driving. What if you get the car and it’s not what you expected? Haha, what would you do?” he said:

There aren’t many GT3 test cars available. When I bought my Boxster years ago, the dealer told me, ‘Many customers buy without test driving. Everyone trusts that Porsche never disappoints.‘ But back then, I thought, ‘Buying without a test drive makes no sense.’ After driving several Porsches, I finally understood. Now I know Porsche’s new models never disappoint, and I trust their engineering, so it’s okay.

Once the car is delivered and you drive it, you immediately realize it “far exceeds the expectations you’ve held.” After experiencing this several times, Porsche owners’ trust in Porsche becomes unshakably strong, leading to situations where they “don’t test drive, don’t even see the actual car, and even place orders before the model is officially announced or arrives in Japan.”

Not to mention, my husband had already reserved a Taycan last month.

Production Allocation

When buying a new Porsche at a dealer, you rarely hear, “If you decide by the end of this month, we’ll give you a discount and can deliver immediately!” This is because Porsche cars are highly customizable, essentially made-to-order, and production slots are limited, so even if you want one, you might not be able to get it.

Of course, if you buy an existing stock car already in Japan, you might get a slight discount and quicker delivery, but the stock might not be the model you want, and even if it is, the options may not match your preferences.

Each Porsche dealer is allocated production slots from Porsche headquarters in Germany for each model. So even if you want a car immediately, if the dealer hasn’t secured a production slot, it’s impossible.

The number of production slots varies by dealer, but the dealer we use is said to have relatively many slots based on past sales performance.

By the way, the “911 Targa” I once wanted is a regular model but has very limited production slots. I heard it’s produced even less than the GT3. No wonder you rarely see Targas on the street.

Also, when my husband bought his first Boxster GTS with a manual transmission, the production slots for manuals were far fewer than for automatics, so the delivery took longer than for an automatic.

Because of this, even for regular Porsche models, it often takes more than six months, sometimes nearly a year, from order to delivery.

At the time of ordering, you won’t know exactly when the production slot will be secured, so the delivery date is also uncertain. You place the order after hearing an approximate schedule like “probably around this time.”

That said, timing matters, so the delivery date can vary quite a bit depending on when you order.

Reservation Deposit (Down Payment)

To order a Porsche, you need a reservation deposit (something like that). The amount varies by dealer and model, but from what I know, it’s often between 1 million and 5 million yen. Of course, this money is credited toward the car’s purchase price later.

You can use the deposit as a down payment at delivery and finance the remainder with a loan, or you can get the deposit refunded and finance the entire amount with a loan.

The deposit usually must be paid within a few days to a week after ordering. (This may vary by dealer.) At first, I was surprised, thinking, “We don’t even know when it will be produced or delivered, but we have to pay the deposit so quickly…!”

Regarding discounts, Porsche rarely offers large discounts on custom orders like other brands. However, for stock or ready-made cars, some discount may be possible.