For George Gee Automotive Group, bringing a Porsche dealership to Spokane was just one more way to prevent longtime customers from going elsewhere for their vehicle purchases.


If weve sold someone cars for 15 or 20 years, we dont want them leaving our relationship and going to Seattle or Utah to buy a Porsche, says Steve Marshalek , general manager of Porsche of Spokane. Thats why we acquired the franchise. Our goal is to meet the needs of our clients from the time they are 18 years old to the time they retire.


The dealership, now just over a year old, joined Gees Buick, Pontiac, GMC, and Hummer lines at the dealership groups Liberty Lake campus. George Gee Automotive Group also has Cadillac, Isuzu, and Kia dealerships in Coeur dAlene, as well as auto dealerships in Seattle and Pasco, Wash.


Marshalek says it took four years of negotiations to obtain the Porsche dealership.


Its hard to get a Porsche store, he says. Porsche is proud of the product, and for the right reasons. They dont want the market oversaturated.


Porsche dealers have to demonstrate a passion for the cars, which are hand-built in limited numbers in Germany, he asserts.


Who else would buy a franchise knowing they are only going to sell six to 10 cars per month? Marshalek says.


Selling Porches isnt a high-volume business. Prices start at around $48,000 for a Boxster Coupe and top out at about $147,000 for a 911 Turbo, he says.


Owning a Porsche franchise is an expensive endeavor, too, Marshalek says.


Gees Liberty Lake Porsche dealership occupies a new, 10,000-square-foot building the company built just east of its Hummer dealership. Both are visible on the north side of Interstate 90, west of North Liberty Lake Road.


Its all designed around customer ease, he says. There are no closed spaces and sales is integrated with service.


Porsche of Spokane keeps a low profile compared with other car dealerships, Marshalek says.


We absolutely dont spend any money on advertising the (Porsche) product, he says.


He says the sales style is relaxed.


The decision to purchase a Porsche is usually emotional rather than financial, Marshalek says. When somebody comes to buy a vehicle, its an all-day event.


On a recent weekend, a pair of customers arrived from Billings Mont., which is more than 500 miles east.


We paid for their hotel and took them to dinner, he says. We finished the paperwork the next day.


Marshalek says Porsche of Spokane offers services unheard of at other auto dealerships.


If someone who buys a Porsche here wants to go somewhere on vacation, well drive them to the airport and they can leave their car here, he says.


Porsche of Spokane opened with nine employees, including a sales staff of three people. Marshalek says he may add a fourth sales person.


He declines to disclose the dealerships annual revenue, but says Gee Automotive is successful.


Were not out to set the world on fire, but were making money, and I attribute that to our team, he says.


Marshalek describes the Porsche as a performance vehicle rather than a luxury vehicle.


People buy one because they love to drive and they want to feel the road, he says. Ive never heard anyone whos driven a Porsche for the first time come back and say they didnt like it.


Most people looking to buy a Porsche are professionals who are 42 years old to retirement age, Marshalek says. They generally already have two cars.


They dont want something to just take them to work, he says. They want something to take out for a drive. Most have driven (high-performance vehicles), and they want to go the next step.


The Porsche Turbo has a top rated speed of 193 mph and the Carrera 4S is rated at 182 mph. Marshalek says he doesnt know of anyone who routinely drives at such speeds, but owners know they can accelerate with confidence when they need to.


Porsches also have excellent stopping power. With four-piston brakes on each wheel, Porsche has one of the best braking systems in the automotive industry, he contends, adding that a high-tech suspension and handling system keeps the vehicles hugging the road.


Porsche fanciers also want to be unique.


Customers dont want to see 25 of them at a shopping center parking lot, he says. When they buy one of these, they know theyre not going to see many out there.


With that in mind, Porsche might only provide the dealership with 10 Carrera-model cars each year. And only three 911 Turbo models, Marshalek says.


The dealerships total inventory is only around 20 vehicles.


Porsche of Spokane primarily serves Eastern Washington, North Idaho, and Montana, but fields calls from all over the country from people seeking hard-to-find models, because of Porsches limited production.


We get a lot of customers from Montana, he says. They have some long, pristine roads there.


Contact Mike McLean at (509) 344-1266 or via e-mail at mikem@spokanejournal.com.