Does anyone know what Porsche does with the test cars that the dealers have been using for the recent Cayman training/introduction??
For example, it seems like most of the Midwest Porsche dealers were recently in Atlanta test driving the Caymans for several days.
What's done with these cars afterwards?
I bet they beat the pi$$ out of em! No proper break-in period for these poor cars.
They sell them as "demonstrators" at a very nominal discount. And then hassle you when you come in with the inevitable warranty call. Sorry, feeling a bit cynical today.
I have a friend that did some test driving for Audi, and got a new car every month or two. He told me the test cars came into the country under some kind of emissions/safety exemption and could not be sold. They must either be returned to the country of origin or crushed.
I'm willing to put money on a bet that my 97 was a demonstration vehicle... it was one of the first boxsters off the assembly line. I know this because the earliest ones did not have an outside temperature sensor.
I also suspect my car was a demo car because it's in such poor condition
Randall...careful, she might be listening and in the process of breaking in the garage as we speak.
Quote: They must either be returned to the country of origin or crushed.
Maybe they could sell me one for 2-3 grand to use as a track car.... :dance:
It seems like a huge investment to bring 100 plus Cayman demonstrator cars to the US and Spain to be driven very hard by dealers and other folk.
If you are talking about the cars that are loaned to Porsche staff for testing, I would NOT be afraid to purchase these cars.
I know these guys and they do NOT hammer the cars.
My original question was in reference to the cars driven by the dealers for showcasing the new Cayman the past few weeks. Or other Porsches for that matter. For example a bunch of the dealers were in Atlanta a couple weeks ago.
I have seen two Boxsters driven as you state above, and both were pretty beaten. One was in Cincinnati (6,000 miles) and another was in south Florida (16,000 miles). Both driven by Porsche North America executives.
Then do you mean "launch" cars, not "test" cars?
To me the "launch" cars are the ones the dealers have that are new, in the showroom, ready to sell, and have all very similar colors and options.
The "test" cars are the ones the dealers have been given the opportunity to test drive for their sales training.
How this makes sense.
Actually the test cars have to be returned and are normally crushed.
Right. Test cars never get a VIN number, never get legalized, just get crushed.
There are however "dollar cars", which DO get VIN'd and sold to journalists and people who know people...
... I only wish I knew someone
