Porsche Australia price cuts in excess of $36,000 irks customers

Tue, 04 Jun 2013

Have you ever gone to the store, only to become irked after learning that the new [*insert widget here*] that you bought just last week has gone through a price drop? If you're particularly thrifty, even if it's only a couple of bucks, you probably brought in your receipt to see if the store would issue you a credit for the difference. Now, imagine that the widget in question isn't a minor purchase, it's a Porsche – and the price drop isn't just a few bucks – it's thousands.

That's the unhappy scenario that recently faced a number of Australian luxury car buyers and the uncomfortable conversation awaiting the German automaker. According to GoAuto, Porsche Australia recently whacked up to $36,000 off the price of its models in order to jumpstart sales Down Under – the Panamera range itself saw cuts between $5,500 and more than $36,000. The aggressive price cut was a strategy designed to drive sales of more than 3,000 cars locally, a yearly goal originally set for 2018, but now hoped for as early as 2016.

Australia is known for its comparatively high car prices, so the dramatic price cuts were undoubtedly welcome news to potential Porsche shoppers. However, around 50 existing customers were understandably agitated by the reductions because they purchased their cars just before the adjustments took effect. Not only did they stand to lose out on the deals, they also had good reason to fear that their new cars' residual values would take a beating.

GoAuto indicates the automaker was prepared for exactly this scenario, however, and they even had "a process in place for customers to address their concerns." That's according to Porsche Australia managing director Michael Winkler, who also noted that of the 50 or so concerns, 40 of them were "of a very minor nature." Each case was reviewed and, Porsche maintains, resolved amicably, though it isn't going into the details of how each customer was satisfied.

By Chris Paukert