Porsche dealers are being accused of manipulating the market and encouraging speculators when it comes to limited run vehicles such as the new Porsche Cayman GT4.
Auto Express reader and Porsche enthusiast Paul Nicola from Wimborne in Dorset contacted us to vent his frustration at being unable to buy certain Porsche models when new, only to be offered nearly new models at tens of thousands of pounds over list price by Porsche dealers.
“Over the past five years I have contacted my local Porsche dealer on numerous occasions in the hope of getting a GT3, GT3 RS a Cayman GT4 and more recently a 911 R,” said Mr Nicola.
“My requests were mostly ignored, sometimes laughed at, and they always said that these cars were in very short supply and were only sold to very 'loyal' Porsche customers.”
However, just weeks after the Cayman GT4 was launched with a list price of £64,451. Mr Nicola was contacted by a dealer offering him a GT4 that he had in stock and was fitted with a few extras for £103,000.
At the time of writing, Porsche dealers across the country had 16 Cayman GT4s advertised on Porsche’s Approved Used website, with prices ranging from £94,981 to £109,990. Most cars advertised showing prices and details had just a few hundred miles on the clock. Numerous other GT4s are for sale from specialist retailers with prices starting at £94,995.
Mr Nicola told us, “Maybe the dealers and their 'loyal customers' who have been fortunate enough to get on the waiting list for one of these are actually manipulating a black market in these cars for huge profit and are stopping buyers who want a car to drive from getting one? This stinks.”
A Porsche GB spokesman told us that over 400 Cayman GT4s have already been delivered and that demand had outstripped supply. However, he denied any wrongdoing by dealers, telling us the cars for sale could well have been from people who had changed their minds about the car at the last minute.
“We leave allocation of cars to individual Porsche centres,” he told us. “They know the customers best. And we would always encourage people to buy the cars to drive them.”
“The market decides on value and Porsche dealers will look outside of the network when they decide what to price a used car at.”
What do you think about the practice of speculating on the value of performance cars? Let us know in the comments section below...