Porsche Cars North America (PCNA) will now help you buy a used Porsche from the comfort of your couch. Porsche Finder is an online platform that lets buyers search for pre-owned and certified pre-owned cars at all 192 of the company's U.S. dealers, and the transaction is finalized through those dealerships.
Announced in a press release Thursday, the platform includes search filters for model and generation, equipment and packages, pricing, colors, and dealership availability. Porsche Finder is part of Porsche's U.S. website, but it is also optimized for use on mobile devices, Porsche said.
While Porsche Finder lists most models sold in the U.S., from the 356 to the Carrera GT, that doesn't mean they are all available. A search for some of the older models at the time of publication did not turn up any results. This may be more of a tool for buying used cars of a recent vintage, rather than true classics.
Porsche Finder could also serve as a foundation for future online sales of new cars.
Porsche Finder
"Providing seamless access to our products is a top priority in our existing e-commerce strategy, with the goal of creating a one-stop shop for new and pre-owned vehicle search and purchase, which will follow down the road," Klaus Zellmer, CEO of Porsche Cars North America, said in a statement.
Porsche announced a trial of online sales at 25 of its 192 independently-owned U.S. dealerships in late 2019. Under the trial, most of a transaction was handled through a dealership's website. The customer only needed to visit a dealership to sign paperwork and drive the car away.
Tesla is the only automaker to implement online sales of new and used cars on a large scale so far. The company has faced a significant backlash from dealer trade groups, and has been unable to sell cars in some states due to franchise laws that prevent automakers from selling directly to customers.