997 @ HBL in Tysons

Just saw a nice black one at HBL.

I just drove by HBL and there weren't any I was in the UK all week last week and missed the kick-off events in the area. I noticed the deep (sarcasm) $1k discounts off of list on the '04 996s though.

Yep - release party was Friday night but I couldn't make it. Is there anyone in the metro area that doesn't hate HBL???

They certainly lost my last purchase. I was on the verge of handing them a check for $75k, but their arrogance turned me off so much I gave up the car of my dreams just to not give them money. I had already purchased a new Porsche from them only two years ago, so it could not have been that they did not take me seriously (or at least should not have been). Who do you like now? TD in DC I feel like each of the local dealers has its own issues

I feel the same way. My family lives in McLean and I just moved from there to LV (temporarily) and after the several bouts of arrogance with them and 6 MB's and a P-Car later (all in 5 years) they still (and won't ever) get a sale from me or my family. By the way, we buy ALL of our cars from Euro Motorcars in Bethesda. GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE!!! I still dont' understand why some people put up with that place (HBL). Oh that's right, because they are so image conscious that they NEED that little black HBL frame on the car. Please. Materialistic losers that have to try and keep up with the Jones' so they can say they bought from HBL in Tyson's.

Is the HBL plate really prestigious? I yanked mine off my car as soon as I could. Wow, little did I know I could have impressed a few folks around here. With respect to Euromotorcars, I almost bought a CLK from them, and they were great. I decided against the MB, because I think they are marketed to a different customer segment than I am. The car felt fast and solid but heavy and not very sporty. In fact, that is how I have felt about nearly every MB that I have driven (apart from the C class loaners I have received from HBL, which I cannot stand). TD in DC

Apparently it is to some people. Obviously you are not one of them which is not who HBL markets to. Agree with you on the MB. We bought the ML430 (the other 5 MB's were my parents purchases) as a SUV Lowe's trip hauler which is just about EVERY frickin weekend with our new house. Seesm like it never ends. Seems like the projects the wife wants done just never end.

LOL! I have 3 pairs of those black HBL plastic license plate frames -- do you think they're worth much on eBay? I removed the frames as soon as I got the car home -- if they want to use my car as a billboard they should pay me for the ad space. I went to HBL just because of their close proximity to where I live but I agree, they are terrible. And thanks to another Rennlist thread I have switched to Intersport for service (been using HBL up to now just because my car was under warranty).

Charlie Murphy at Intersport is the man. He installed my PSS9s etc . . . I plan to use him for everything once I get out of warranty (If I don't succumb to new Porscheitis before then).

I have to agree with you guys on HBL.. I while back I was going to buy a Boxster S from them, but after we agreed on the price they were so overly pushy that I give them the money that day or the deal is off I said find sell it to someone else!! Bought the 911 from a different out-of-state dealer

HBL is terrible at customer service and they overly price their cars but damn that 997 looks hot.

I also missed the kick-off -- why they chose primetime Friday instead of slow Thursday for the kick-off is beyond me. I stopped by HBL briefly Saturday morning on my way to the 356 concours in Reston and saw the black Carrera outside (just like in the pictures). When I came back that afternoon though the dealership had already closed and the car moved inside the showroom. Are you saying that the black Carrera is gone? Do you know if they have any Carrera S's for test drives?

I asked a salesman there on Saturday when a test drive was possible. He said not likely anytime soon, they had sold their allotment of the S model through next June....

Why don't you guys use Porsche of Arlington? I have no personal or business interest in them. But, I bought my 996 from them and have it serviced there too. I am extremely happy with them. In particular, the mechanics and service managers are excellent. I have heard a lot of bad things about HBL so I never even came close to going there to buy a car or for service. b-man

I was thinking about using Porsche of Arlington for my next service. HBL had one S (black) in the showroom and two regular 997's (black and grey).

TD, Here's my great sales experience with HBL. About a year ago I was looking for a daily driver and I saw an ad in the Post they were running for the Cayenne S - $600 a month, $3 or $4k down - don't remember..so I head over. As usual, a sales guy is on you as soon as you step out of your car in the parking lot so he takes me for a test drive. I liked it, so we sit down to talk about numbers. At the time, they had a BUNCH of them on the lot. I didn't ask for one with a lot of options, basically just 18's and litronics - that's it. All of a sudden, the price shot up to $800 a month with the sales guy explaining that for the $599 rate it had to be a Cayenne with no options, the 16 or 17" base wheels (which looked absolutely ridiculous on the car) and flat paint. I stated that I would not be opposed to having a slight difference above the $599, but not $800. I stated I would sign the deal that day if they gave it to me and spent about an hour running through the numbers with him showing him how they could meet that figure. After wasting that time, he said I'm sorry but there is no way they can do it - I said thank you and walked out the door. Two weeks later I end up buying an A6 4.2 (not from HBL). Two weeks after that, I get a call from the saleman stating that he is happy to let me know they can offer me the deal I asked for, and they subsequently advertised in the first place. In not so many words I told him to get bent. I'm sure there are many other stories like this. Moving forward I will not do business with them and as you said, any out of warranty work I have goes straight to Intersport across the street. They are great. I will try out the dealer in Arlinton when I get a chance but it's mainly their location which has kept that from happenening.

I used to work next door to HBL and sometimes went over there at lunch time. All in all I did not like the place, but I have to relate an experience in which an HBL sales guy was oddly honest. During the 17 months that passed between ordering an M5 at Fairfax BMW and the time that it arrived, I decided to take the wife to HBL one day and test drive an E55. I drove it about a mile with the sales guy, pulled off the road, and said "Would you drive it? I think there is something wrong with the transmission..." So he drives it, says it's fine, what was my complaint? I told him the first/second shift was really impotent, that it should be neck snapping with all that torque. So he says: "Our surveys indicate that Mercedes customers want things that way. I think you might be much happier in a BMW". Truer works were never spoke. Steve 99 996 00 M5 62 356B racer 98 E320/spousemobile

These guys in VA remind me of a dealer that is in my local area. Arrogance won't sell me a car.

I stopped by HBL the other day to pickup a 996 Tequipment catalog and to have a closer look at the 997. Unfortunately, all three 997's (2 Carreras and 1 Carrera S) that they had for the launch party were gone. The salesman told me that all their allotments from the factory were already spoken for through June 2005 (they had a pretentious whiteboard with a list of the cars and for how much they sold). Still, it makes me wish I had put down a deposit and sold my "slot" in the waiting list on eBay. I still want to test drive the 997 S if any of the dealers ever get one. I can't wait until the 997 S Cabriolet debuts at the Paris Auto Show. .: programmatore :.

I stopped by HBL yesterday and they had a black 997S on the floor. I walked around it for about 20 minutes, sat in it for about 10, and was never even approached (yeah, and my 996 was parked next to the windows and I did take a shower that morning! ). Overall I was still underwhelmed. It had the standard (not full leather) interior and I thought it looked and felt cheap. Maybe I'm spoiled by my leather interior? The texture was too pebbly and soft- I'm sure I'll get slammed for stating this, but it reminded me of the plastics used in my friend's entry level Chevrolet. Yecch. I guess in my old age that I'm still a fan of organic shapes, and though the 996 interior isn't Valhalla the angular 997 interior left me cold. The 19" wheels did look somewhat better in person, but still a bit overhanded. I still think the 993 is the penultimate in 911 design, and though I can see the resemblance between it and the 997 the proportions, angles and perspective just don't quite jive. I know, I know, this is all so subjective. But when I looked at the AS C4S outside on display my pulse started racing a bit more and that car held my attention. It'll probably grow on my as the 996 did. It just didn't take my breath away the way the 993 did when it was first introduced. Just my $.02 and worth less than half of that...

The salesman told me that all their allotments were already sold and they weren't getting any more cars into the showroom. I guess they pissed yet another guy off who cancelled his order. Scratch one car off their scoreboard.

If a salesman were to have approached me I was going to ask how the obtained it! programmatore you are probably right!