Being dedicated (or sad[
] ) enough to watch Spyder prices over the last 2 years of ownership & a few months of hunting prior to buying in a February, I've seen Spyder sales pass through 3 winters. They certainly are not seasonal and I have seen quicker sales in winter months than in summer. Yes its odd but my only guess is that being a specialised taste, buyers will pick up a car whenever they become aware of these and see one they want. It doesn't seem to be a whimsical summer purchase nor typical Boxster clientele.
The first Spyder I missed out on was because the test drive in a January was cancelled due to snow. They said the car had been sold to a collector abroad. I rang my second choice straight away - sold. Third choice - sold. 4th choice - out of budget (some nearly new cars fell by £2k to £4k after already being heavily discounted, before they started to sell). Then another car that I thought had sold popped back up but I had originally dismissed it for wrong wheels. The original buyer had fallen through so I swooped in and insisted on Spyder wheels and put a deposit over the phone in a wet and windy Feb.
By the summer, cars were hanging around in double digit numbers then sales picked again as notoriety picked up regardless of season.
So I don't think the roof has any effect on seasonal sales. Yes that lead to its initial sales failure because most existing Boxster customers shunned it ( and it was a huge disappointment for Porsche because they introduced it not as a limited production model but as an addition, like the 981 GTS. They couldn't even sell the ~230 they preallocated to the UK but they ended up here, many having to be spec'd by dealers and passed off as used car bargains). A different type of buyer stepped for for whom the roof is no issue, whether that be because they're coming from a worse roof or no roof in a Lotus or Atom or because its a 2nd or 3rd car and have no use for a roof such is how they use the car.
] ) enough to watch Spyder prices over the last 2 years of ownership & a few months of hunting prior to buying in a February, I've seen Spyder sales pass through 3 winters. They certainly are not seasonal and I have seen quicker sales in winter months than in summer. Yes its odd but my only guess is that being a specialised taste, buyers will pick up a car whenever they become aware of these and see one they want. It doesn't seem to be a whimsical summer purchase nor typical Boxster clientele. The first Spyder I missed out on was because the test drive in a January was cancelled due to snow. They said the car had been sold to a collector abroad. I rang my second choice straight away - sold. Third choice - sold. 4th choice - out of budget (some nearly new cars fell by £2k to £4k after already being heavily discounted, before they started to sell). Then another car that I thought had sold popped back up but I had originally dismissed it for wrong wheels. The original buyer had fallen through so I swooped in and insisted on Spyder wheels and put a deposit over the phone in a wet and windy Feb.
By the summer, cars were hanging around in double digit numbers then sales picked again as notoriety picked up regardless of season.
So I don't think the roof has any effect on seasonal sales. Yes that lead to its initial sales failure because most existing Boxster customers shunned it ( and it was a huge disappointment for Porsche because they introduced it not as a limited production model but as an addition, like the 981 GTS. They couldn't even sell the ~230 they preallocated to the UK but they ended up here, many having to be spec'd by dealers and passed off as used car bargains). A different type of buyer stepped for for whom the roof is no issue, whether that be because they're coming from a worse roof or no roof in a Lotus or Atom or because its a 2nd or 3rd car and have no use for a roof such is how they use the car.
