Telepierre

Now I understand your opinion but I probably disagree with the underlying premise that Corvette is in a different "class" than 911s. Maybe Porsche's emphasizes this abstract concept as a marketing differentiator and some may as well "bite" but the automotive industry classifies both as sport luxury with many similarities and most often portrayed as direct competitors in trade/marketing magazines. with ZR1 sales numbers at hand, I could argue the inverse and state that in the 50K-150K class Corvette is a different story as well.

pdiddy972

nexxis

Telepierre

Good points as well. I think both names understand the need to luxu-rize sports cars (see Z06 "track capable" but spewing gizmos left and right). I think 911s are ahead with "precision" aesthetics (finishes like you put it) whether Corvette is ahead with luxury content such as ventilated seats, surround cameras and tech in general.


Given our different "biases" sport vs luxury..I suppose the key for me is price for HP/TQ. At the moment I am actually concerned that for either fuel mandated legislation or platform space constraint the Corvette ME will loose the V8 and that key differentiator Torque! Time will tell but I am willing to pay "premium" if they keep the V8 in there...I'll also be impressed technically...

Cheers!

Michael A

What do you mean "always add 10K to base"? You can order it anyway you want., including base, and get a discount on top of that.

Telepierre

Indeed it "seems" that way.. but I can tell you that coming from the Corvette "world" there is a big difference in Corvette pricing model and Porsche pricing model. One is simple (maybe too simple to the point of fault) and the other is extremely ala carte it cleverly masks "mandatory" options with real options with huge price creeps.

I'll save you the details of my personal experience with my son inquiry and attempted purchase of a 911..but bottom line he really thought he could really walk out with a "base" 911 plus few "indispensables" for MSRP 91100 + indispensables at about 95/96K to find out he was not even close and the best they could do for him is 105K base no indispensables.

Bottom line, no 911 "anything" for less than 100K.

I bet its the same for the cayman MSRP of 55K...

nexxis

jcsperson

I shopped for a Cayman S at the same time I was looking a a Corvette GS. The MSRP on both cars was similar for the features I wanted.

I figured I might have to compromise on color based on inventory, but Kerbeck had the exact car I wanted down to the color, trim level, options and transmission. It was advertised at 13.5% off. I think at the time I bought mine they had over 100 Corvettes in stock.

It was exactly the opposite with the Cayman. There was no inventory to speak of. You were lucky if a dealership had three or four in stock. I didn't get to the pricing stage because I never found a car equipped the way I wanted.

Michael A

Are you talking about buying a car out of dealer stock, or ordering one? Big difference. I have seen several Caymans that were ordered "no options", and they were sold at or below MSRP. It's when people get impatient is when they can't get the car they want at the price they want.

fasttoys

nyca

If you read any Porsche forums, the upcoming 992 is not being well received. Being called the "Panamera Coupe", the car moving away from its sports car roots. Truth be told, if McClaren came out with a "stripper" car at the $100K price point, alot of the 911 faithful would now make the jump. Whether the C8 can attract some of these disaffected Porsche people is yet to be known.

Michael A

What a find! How did you come across this?

pietro c7

fasttoys

JerriVette

Michael A

Nice! Sounds like you have a seasonal arbitrage situation going. I'm not sure it would work quite as well here in sunny SoCal.

Michael A

There is a lot to be said for Chevy maintenance costs. A guy on a BMW forum lost his 5 series key fob. It cost him $850 to replace it, and it needed to be programmed by the dealer. The same Corvette part is about $100, and you can program it yourself.

If you want service manuals, they might be $3000 if you can get them at all. Chevy? $250.

The Corvette Forum is much more hands-on, than the Porsche and BMW forums, too, if you are a DIYer. After about two years into the model run, somebody has taken their Corvette's entire interior apart, engines apart, and just about everything else you can think of. You can pretty much always get an answer to your question. I've never seen any forum where so many people literally tear their brand new cars apart, and put them back together. Even the Camaro and Mustang forums aren't quite this hands on. It's rather remarkable really. That's another reason why I hope Chevy keeps the C8 affordable, so it is within financial reach of the DIY people. It's what makes the Corvette community special.

Mike Campbell

So very true and well said. And I like to quote Jay Leno when asked about his ZO6 and compared it to one of his friends that ran into a curb and the damage was $26,000.00 dollars! He said, "After all the Corvette is a Chevy and you can fix it with a hammer!" I always remember that quote while chatting about cars with my Porsche owner friends.

ByByBMW

Viet Nam Vett

I Myself think that JerriVette as whacked the nail on the head here. I will Say that Porsche is Beautiful well engineered car. It truly has a very nice fit and finish and does handle extremely well. But as JerriVette has pointed out their is more to a good looking well made car.

Having been in Business and have worked with the Mfg for the product I rep-ed and repaired , I can say that the cost diff between what I pay and the Mark up was 50% for parts. If I Paid $50.00 for an item the Mfg's retail price I charged the customer was $100.00. That was the Norm per the MFG. I could charge less but why should I.

Now this was in the Pro Audio Business. In reference to Large Format Mixing consoles used for Sound systems for Top Preforming Live acts. This was the Norm In the entire Live Sound Industry.

So we know what the Auto industry charges us for parts on American Cars... Their is a High Mark up and prices can Vary form one supplier to another . Now when you look at what The Top Euro High end Car guys charge... That's Just Stupid. I will not pay $500.00 Plus for Brake pads.. or any other item that has a Ware factor in normal use.

Also because of the way these hi end cars are made Labor is out of site. You might have to dismantle a large potion of the car to get to a $5.00 Part.

Me....I'll stick with Corvette... Might still cost a few bucks to service ...but I won't have to take a second Mortgage On my house for Auto repairs. And I feel good about paying $90.00 for a set of front standard Brake pads instead of $500.00 Plus.