How much do YOU think a Carrera S is really worth

[EKaru]

Porsche has been known to make the most profit per car for quite awhile..

article from 07'

Porsches may not be nearly as common as Pontiacs, but the German automaker is making a heck of a lot of dough selling those hot sports cars (and that one SUV they have). In fact, a current study has discovered that Porsche earns an average profit of $28,000 per vehicle sold. What this means is that with each Carrera that rolls off the lot, they have enough money to buy a couple of Pontiacs of their own.
That $28,000 figure “dwarfs the per-car earnings of virtually any other automaker.” By comparison, BMW makes about $3,200 per car, whereas Audi gets about $1,580. When you start looking at higher volume vehicles, the figure drops even further, with Chrysler only making $900 and VW netting $400.


Of course, Porsche doesn’t push out nearly as many units as Toyota or Ford, so how much money the company makes at the end of the day, in an absolute sense, could easily be a different picture altogether. But hey, $28k is $28k.

Porsche most profitable automaker, makes $28k per car sold - Mobile Magazine

 

[PC Valkyrie]

Interesting topic. I'm likely in the market for some version of the 991 in the next few years. Yes, it seems Porsche can get away with grossly inflated prices for its cars. However, it's obvious they have no problems selling their product.

Why is that? I can think of the following reasons: 1) the 911 simply does not go "out of style", despite that familiar shape for so many years; 2) it is a status symbol for many well to do folks who want a "sports car", but can't really afford the Ferrari's and Lambo's; 3) Porsche is able to exceed the performance of many other sports cars with relatively "low" HP levels in many versions of the 911 by sticking consistently to the formula of light weight, excellent handling/dynamics, and efficiency.

For me, that last point is what makes me want a 911. I'm always amazed how fast any version of the 911 is on tracks like the Ring when compared to other cars with similar or higher HP values.

To answer the original question of this thread, I guess you can subtract ~ $20-24,000 from the sticker price of the 911 if you want to achieve the profit margin of a company like BMW.

 

[wookieecrisp]

You know, this is just another testimony to the fact that IF you disregard style points and exterior design, Porsche is probably the best engineered car on the road.
That they can keep a classic car going for half a century, while still keeping it one of the best sports cars on the road and making $28K per car, that is simply unbelievable.

Also, on an off-topic note, say what you want about the ugliness (IMHO) of the Cayenne and Panamera, but the brilliance of their engineering supports my above statement.

 

[Centurion]

For me, that last point is what makes me want a 911. I'm always amazed how fast any version of the 911 is on tracks like the Ring when compared to other cars with similar or higher HP values.

There you have it. Not only is the 9 unique in it's technical layout but it out performs both lighter and more powerful cars in performance and fuel consumption.


In conclusion. Excellent products yield excellent profits. It's that simple.

 

[klier]

$96,000 is worth it, every single penny.

In Euro country, $96,000 is €69,000. Over here in my country a 991 Carrera S costs twice as much as in the U.S, €130,000. That's $180,000

 

[K-A]

Now I know how much wiggle room there really is on a Porsche.

I'm gonna be shopping for a 911, pushing for $25K down (giving them the otherwise normal $3K profit).

 

[Centurion]

Where most of the profit comes from is the options. I read somewhere that on average, customers add 20k worth of options to their Porsche.

 

[Mr Robert]

How much? A lot more than they are asking, it's bloody brilliant

 

[Sunny]

I love the 911 and I hope to have one some day, but I would never buy the base 911. To me it is too little car for the price. Yes, it will deliver on driving element, but so will a Cayman S while being easier on your wallet. Or a M3, which might not be as fun but is still lot of fun and will also offer a dash of practicality. It is almost like you buy a base 911 cause you are desperate to be seen driving a 911. For me perosnally, I at least need to be able to step up to a 'S' to justify the price. Again all very subjective personal opinion.

 

[Centurion]

I love the 911 and I hope to have one some day, but I would never buy the base 911. To me it is too little car for the price. Yes, it will deliver on driving element, but so will a Cayman S while being easier on your wallet. Or a M3, which might not be as fun but is still lot of fun and will also offer a dash of practicality. It is almost like you buy a base 911 cause you are desperate to be seen driving a 911. For me perosnally, I at least need to be able to step up to a 'S' to justify the price. Again all very subjective personal opinion.

I used to hold that very same opinion four years ago but post 997 mk.II things changed, and more so with the introduction of the 991. The 911 did used to be a poor value proposition. Weaker engine with performance figures that barely eclipsed the M3. But today the base 911, the Carrera is more relevant than ever before and is not a car anyone should be embarrassed over buying or driving. Although the Manual does 0-100km/h in 4.8 seconds, the PDK with Sports Chrono Plus does the same acceleration in just 4.4 sec! That's very competent if you ask me. In fact, I think with this generation 911 that the Carrera will sell in better volumes because of vastly boosted performance credentials relatively to how previous Carrera models measured up against their Carrera S counter part or other cars in the same price range.

IMO the Carrera model is no longer a poor proposition. It's a good car.

 

[Huckfeldt]

The 911 costs more, but not that much more, than the Boxster/Cayman to manufacture. They share tons of parts together.

The profit margin Porsche gets from a Boxster/Cayman is much less than a 911.

The good thing is, the profits from the 911 ensure high quality parts also enjoyed by Boxster/Cayman buyers who are smart buyers. On the other hand and very ironically, of course they are mocked by 911 buyers, eventhough they're not as smart (speaking from the consumer point of view).

So in summary :

Boxster/Cayman buyers = smart consumers who get mocked because they pay less.

911 buyers = they pay more for the right to mock.

All is fair in this world LOL

 

[Deckhook]

I love the 911 and I hope to have one some day, but I would never buy the base 911. To me it is too little car for the price. Yes, it will deliver on driving element, but so will a Cayman S while being easier on your wallet. Or a M3, which might not be as fun but is still lot of fun and will also offer a dash of practicality. It is almost like you buy a base 911 cause you are desperate to be seen driving a 911. For me perosnally, I at least need to be able to step up to a 'S' to justify the price. Again all very subjective personal opinion.

If looked at from what performance you get for the outlay then the 911 does look expensive but considering the pure emotion driving one gives that all Porsches have by the bucket load and more than almost all other cars with the possible exception of some Italian exotics then it's price doesn't seen so outrageous. Though I honestly don't see the fascination on a 911 over the likes of the Boxster or Cayman, each of these two offer just as much emotion and thrill with a better overall balance in all kinds of situations and talent.