The new PCCM units

[Mike G]

Porsche classic have been promoting their official range of merch locally and nationally.

Therefore I enquired through Porsche Colchesters FB page as to the cost of the PCCM, +  double din unit supplied and fitted

£ 1124.99 plus vat for unit

£ 432.00 fitting

£ 2.99 plus vat for a reqd earth lead

TOTAL  £ 1872.00 for a radio 

NB, it is not compatible with BOSE audio pilot or a CD multichanger

I think I'll stick with my old out of date unit thanks

[red rocket]

Porsche tax!

[Menoporsche]

I mentioned elsewhere, this makes economic sense for cars of value 20k plus, like 993. Not Boxsters. 

[edc]

For the OE look try a Continental unit. 

[Berni29]

The VDO Continental units are great value and look good in Porsches. I have one in my 993. 

I cannot be arsed to faf around to do the whole change stereo thing in the 986 because I have the CDR23.

Berni

 

[iborguk]

On 10/16/2020 at 10:04 PM, Menoporsche said:

I mentioned elsewhere, this makes economic sense for cars of value 20k plus, like 993. Not Boxsters. 

Can't argue the economics, the want is still there for some to keep the car's "original" and if the 987 gets the PCCM plus retrofits at some stage and if Porsche did other retrofits such as LED Headlights there are people who would want them.

[GmanB]

£1872 for a head unit, nuts! I think you'd struggle to get a top end Pioneer unit, amp and speakers for that price. Does it fully integrate with PCM? 

[Pinewood]

The pursuit of purity is penny prohibitism punched in the paunch

[gIzzE]

The thing is, the 986 is from an era when we were still using din sized radios, from Becker, so not like it was ever a totally integrated system that looks really odd when you put in an aftermarket unit. On some cars they are off centre etc. and just look awful. Now we have units that don't even have physical buttons, they are just screen, and fascias that butt up to the screen perfectly. 

I have always, always been someone who needs it to look like it could have left the factory with it, and think with the 986 there are some nice options now that achieve that. 

This is the new Pioneer 250DAB Carplay unit. £420 including the Metra fascia which comes with the pocket underneath to replace the cd drawer/nav unit.

 

I'm sure the PCCM looks even better, but think it needed to be £999 to really sell well and compete these days. 

[the baron]

I have actually have been considering the the single din model as I have the non aircon model so is a right pain to move the controls down to the bottom to allow a double din unit to be fitted, they are just so bloody expensive though which is my only hesitation

[½cwt]

Value add, virtually nil. Functionality can be had elsewhere for a fraction of the price.  Porsche look and feel, good.

Your call!

[map]

3 hours ago, the baron said:

I have actually have been considering the the single din model as I have the non aircon model so is a right pain to move the controls down to the bottom to allow a double din unit to be fitted, they are just so bloody expensive though which is my only hesitation

At this time the Porsche single DIN you mention is the only single DIN CarPlay unit I can find that doesn't have a pop out screen.  Not a fan of that type of solution.

Am after single DIN because my ghetto relocation of the Climate Control unit in a car with the console delete is starting to grate a little.

There's got to be a manufacturer somewhere that produces a decent Single DIN CarPlay unit that doesn't light up like Vegas - if anyone has any pointers I'd appreciate them.

[the baron]

2 hours ago, map said:

At this time the Porsche single DIN you mention is the only single DIN CarPlay unit I can find that doesn't have a pop out screen.  Not a fan of that type of solution.

Am after single DIN because my ghetto relocation of the Climate Control unit in a car with the console delete is starting to grate a little.

There's got to be a manufacturer somewhere that produces a decent Single DIN CarPlay unit that doesn't light up like Vegas - if anyone has any pointers I'd appreciate them.

+1

[jonbad]

Considering you can go out and buy an iPad that is far more refined and powerful for a fraction of this price, I think Porsche are playing a daft game really. How many would they have had produced and how many units will be sat on a shelf unwanted and unused? Sure, those with pots of money and a 996 'might' get one, but I think it's a tough sell and I bet they're not selling. Give it a couple of years and these new Classic Porsche PCCM's will be out of date themselves anyway. Marketing departments set pricing, and this shrieks of them having not done their research adequately. They flew a kite, it landed in a tree.

[gIzzE]

They were on back order before Xmas, and still in short supply with many dealers, they can't make enough of them. 

I bought a Pioneer 250DAB for my Boxster, see above, but I can see me putting one of these in my 911. 

You have to remember that over 70% of every Porsche ever made is still on the roads today, that is a hell of a lot of people who have a 'classic' Porsche, many are still worth more than most people spend on their daily and so when something like this comes along which allows you to get all the modern features while looking like it came from the factory like that, it will appeal to a lot of people. 

 

I agree, spending £1300 on a unit in a £5k car, even a £10k car is maybe a bit over the top, but when it is going in a £15-30k car that is appreciating, and a car that you are spending a grand or two on every year on to keep it like new, it makes far more sense. 

 

They won't be out of date either though will they? 
The whole point is Carplay and Android auto, it is Apple and Google that controls the updates. 
It has the latest, finalised DAB, so there is nothing to really go out of date. It will feel newer and add more as you upgrade the phone that you use with it. 

Don't get me wrong, £420 for the Pioneer 250DAB and Metra fascia vs £1350 for the PCCM+ is a lot, but the way it looks completely factory is worth it for many. 

The thought of an iPad stuck somewhere makes me shudder. 🤣

My main gripe is the box for plugging in cables etc. Personally I would tuck that behind the cubby hole and just have the cable for my iPhone coming though, so you can actually fit your phone in the cubby hole. 
A few guys on the 996 forums have used a wireless dongle instead, far neater and easier for quick journeys. 

[Menoporsche]

18 minutes ago, gIzzE said:

You have to remember that over 70% of every Porsche ever made is still on the roads today, that is a hell of a lot of people who have a 'classic' Porsche,

No that is a hell of a lot of Cayenne and Macan owners. Look at the numbers. 
 

It is valid that there are many classic Porsche owners whose cars are worth 30k plus and who can afford to put this in. 
 

They might not be so happy to pay another 400 for the map update later. 

[gIzzE]

5 minutes ago, Menoporsche said:

No that is a hell of a lot of Cayenne and Macan owners. Look at the numbers. 

 

Have you got a link to the numbers? 

Would like to see that. 

[K.I.T.T.]

11 minutes ago, Menoporsche said:

They might not be so happy to pay another 400 for the map update later.

Not a concern on a Android Auto / CarPlay compatible unit.

 

1 hour ago, jonbad said:

an iPad that is far more refined and powerful for a fraction of this price, I think Porsche are playing a daft game really

I'd suggest this isn't targeted at owners who want to superglue an iPad to their dash. Considering ticking the PCM option on 9x7 cars would set you back £1,260 back in the day, I feel the PCCM Plus unit isn't unreasonably priced.

Owners of 9x6 who want to bring their in-car tech up to date, and have a stock / OE looking install are the targeted audience. Sure, there are cheaper ways of achieving similar results, whether that is a double-DIN HU from Pioneer / Alpine et al, or the tacky iPad suggestion. But the fact that the PCCM Plus option exists is a good thing. It's nice to see these cars being supported by Porsche.

Personally, I miss the days of factory single / double DIN units, where you could easily upgrade later down the line. I feel Android Auto / CarPlay addresses this to a certain degree in the current day and age, mitigating against inevitable obsolescence to a certain degree, if not eliminating it.

[jonbad]

Interesting and thanks for the comments – but I still can't help feel this is overpriced regardless of whether there's a market for them or not. It won't be Porsche making these anyway, it will be by someone like Pioneer and to order/specification. THAT might actually push the price up, as it may screw with production lines and so on.

Fully appreciate that Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are the updatable bits, but working in the car industry as I do, I can assure you that they won't last. Apple and Google devices are on a very short life-cycle, hence the annual updates with new models and software. A ten-year old computer is ancient in today's money, even if that ten-year old machine cost thousands new. Such is the pace of technology change etc. Latest Android Auto (not sure about Apple) systems are wire-free too, which I don't think this PCCM unit offers – so it's actually already out of date in that regard.

On the £400 per map update thing, that's probably a licensing cost imposed by Here maps (that I think Porsche use?) and they're just passing it onto the customer... with Porsche tax added, of course. But if you can use the unit with Android/Apple then I guess that gets around that issue a bit.

I guess this boils down to, do you want one badly enough? For me, the answer is a hard no, but I totally get the appeal for others.

It'd be nice if we as a club could buy a load from Porsche and get a hearty discount, then I might change my mind!

[gIzzE]

The fact Porsche can't keep up with the orders tells you they priced it right. 

I reckon we will see it drop to £999 in 18 months or so. 

 

The processing power for Carplay and Android Auto is not much at all, it is just mirroring the display with touch control back to the device. 
The processing is in the phone. 

[jonbad]

14 hours ago, gIzzE said:

The fact Porsche can't keep up with the orders tells you they priced it right.

I suggest that this is not something that can be ratified without knowing the number of units sold and in-demand. They can be out of stock due to high demand, if each dealer only had one unit each and two customers came along. Without knowing the production numbers and actual sales, it's impossible to say with any certainty either way.

But on principle, I was suggesting that the unit is overpriced in relation to its true production values, rather than in terms of its asking price and what people are prepared to pay. In other words, Porsche has marked it up with a lot of profit.

[gIzzE]

5 hours ago, jonbad said:

I suggest that this is not something that can be ratified without knowing the number of units sold and in-demand. They can be out of stock due to high demand, if each dealer only had one unit each and two customers came along. Without knowing the production numbers and actual sales, it's impossible to say with any certainty either way.

But on principle, I was suggesting that the unit is overpriced in relation to its true production values, rather than in terms of its asking price and what people are prepared to pay. In other words, Porsche has marked it up with a lot of profit.

 

 

Hmm? Not sure really. 

Pioneer charge £999 for the VW Evo custom fit unit, which is £399 for the regular double din version. 

 

Alpine charge £1300 for their custom fit units which are £699 for the regular double din version. 

 

The fact is, if you tool up for a smaller market it costs money, and that gets passed onto the customer with a higher retail. 

 

I'm sure the numbers they produced are small, but they have had to make more to keep up with demand. 

 

Of course I wish it was £800, if it was I would pop down and buy one today. But it is what it is and there seems to be a lot of people fitting them on the 911 forums. 

[½cwt]

3 minutes ago, gIzzE said:

The fact is, if you tool up for a smaller market it costs money, and that gets passed onto the customer with a higher retail. 

I'm sure the numbers they produced are small, but they have had to make more to keep up with demand. 

Of course I wish it was £800, if it was I would pop down and buy one today. But it is what it is and there seems to be a lot of people fitting them on the 911 forums. 

A much lower %age of the value of a 911....  I'm with you, at £800 I'd possibly consider it, although I'm not sure that I want to go from single to double DIN...

Tooling up for the supplier and manufacturer approval all cost, because if Porsche are supplying and fitting, they are also providing support, training and warranty, a lot less spread over say 100,000 units that over 10,000 units.

[gIzzE]

I have the GT3 console delete for the 911, and would have to put the climate in the carpet under the dash if going PCCM+. 

But also like the idea of the single din version. I really do like the retro feel of the single din units. 

[K.I.T.T.]

6 hours ago, jonbad said:

But on principle, I was suggesting that the unit is overpriced in relation to its true production values, rather than in terms of its asking price and what people are prepared to pay. In other words, Porsche has marked it up with a lot of profit.

That's called capitalism.

I may use this as an example when explaining the concept to befuddled economics students.