Production Date Confirmation

A few months after ordering, when the production date is confirmed, delivery starts to feel real. When the production date is confirmed, our contact person H always contacts us immediately, but I’ve heard some dealers don’t notify customers, so it’s good to check proactively in those cases.

Timing is also important, but Porsche model years change around summer (July to August) (which is different from the vehicle inspection year shown on the Japanese registration). For example, models produced after summer 2019 are 2020 models.

Porsches receive minor improvements every year, so the same model may have slight specification changes depending on the production year (model year). Think of it as a very minor facelift or update.

Therefore, the year on the registration certificate at delivery often differs from the production year (model year). For example, our Panamera Turbo’s registration shows 2017, but it was actually produced as a 2018 model (MY2018). (Also, I’ve heard Porsche factories close for a while in summer, so production stops during that time.)

Because of this, the price at order and the final price often differ. For the Boxster GTS and Panamera Turbo, the final price was about 200,000 to 300,000 yen higher than the order price.

When I asked, “Why!? Isn’t the price fixed at order? Isn’t it strange for them to raise the price due to their circumstances!?” my husband said:

Well, that’s how it is with Porsche. They explained this at order. The final price is the one at delivery. Price increases or specification changes during production are common.

Once production starts, it takes about a month to complete the car (though this varies by model).

Final Order Procedures at the Dealer

When production nears completion, you complete the final order procedures at the dealer. You bring necessary documents like the parking certificate, confirm the final price, and sign the dealer’s order forms. Even then, my husband always says, “I still don’t feel like it’s really coming.”

It’s hard to feel it until you actually see the car. Regarding the GT3, he said:

“Even when I see the actual car, it doesn’t feel real. It feels like someone else’s car.”

Transport and Arrival at Dealer

After production finishes and the car rolls off the line, it’s shipped by sea from Germany to Toyohashi Port in Japan (all Porsches are unloaded here).

Since sea transport takes about a month and a half to reach Toyohashi Port, if you “can’t wait that long!“, there’s an express delivery option called the “Air Delivery Service” that ships the car by plane. This can shorten delivery from line-off to delivery to just one week. However, as of this article, it costs an extra 600,000 yen. (Source: Response: “As expected of Porsche, the fastest delivery in the world!”)

Once the Porsche arrives at Toyohashi Port, it’s inspected again and then transported to each dealer for final checks. Our contact H always sends us photos of the Porsche as soon as it arrives at the dealer, saying, “It just arrived. We’re sending it for coating and inspection now!” (This is very much appreciated.)

It takes about a week for all the maintenance and coating before the car returns to the dealer. For the GT3, since it was just before Golden Week and the factory was closed, the inspection took a bit longer.

Delivery

After that, the dealer and you arrange the delivery date, and finally, the delivery day is set. In our case, H picks us up at home and we complete the delivery at the dealer, but I imagine there are other delivery methods as well.

I wrote about the delivery day for the GT3 in this article, so please take a look if you like:

ポルシェ 911 GT3がついに納車！ – 納車日ドキュメンタリー

Finally, here is a summary of the timeline from order to delivery for our 971 Panamera Turbo:

■ Early March 2017: Order placed
(At this time, delivery was expected earliest in October, probably around November.)
■ August 2017: Production line start
(Model year changed from 2017 at order to 2018 model.)
■ Late September 2017: Arrival at dealer
■ Mid-October 2017: Delivery

Lastly, about ordering and delivery, my husband said:

When ordering, it’s best to think of it as “the price and delivery date might change.” Japanese people tend to be very particular about delivery dates, so if you treat it like ordering a regular domestic car, some might get upset saying, ‘That’s impossible!’