A pleasant dilemma

997man · 7 Nov 2015

My mother (a long time sportscar fan) has let me enough money (I have up to £46k to spend) in her will to buy my dream car – a Porsche.

My dilemma is – buy a 997 (hence my Forum name) or a Cayman
I want PDK, Sports Chrono, PASM
I'd like Sports exhaust + open to other suggestions

997
Positive - it's a 911 !
Residual values seem static or even starting to rise
Minus – The money I have would only buy a higher mileage 2009 (ish) model

Cayman
Positive – I could buy a much younger car with less miles with more 'toys'
Minus – like the 924/boxter etc seen as a poor mans Porsche ?
Residual values seem to drop quicker than those of 911s
Less power/performance (valid in the 'real'/driven everyday world ?)

911 - a legend but you pay through the nose for the experience ?
Cayman - a poor mans Porsche but, a better driving experience ?

I have posted this in both sections as I'd like a balance of opinions

masher964 · 7 Nov 2015

Condolences.

With respect to the car choice I just had a similar budget to spend and ended up in a Cayman R. Is it a poor mans Porsche - judging by the fact that so many people have come over to ask me about the car whilst filling up or parking I am not sure a Cayman is generally regarded as a poor mans Porsche. Is it fun - sure is!

If this is a pot of money that is a one-off, you want to strongly consider keeping enough back for keeping the car on the road and also consider the longer term prospects for value retention. How many standard 997's are there? Great car as they are, I cannot see values doing anything positive in the medium term. Will the Cayman R hold its value? No idea but with only 200 in the UK and not one bad review out there and a strong band of passionate owners it has a better chance. As a passionate fan you don't buy a car for investment but as a passionate fan who does not trip over £20k+ every few years, value retention is somewhat more important.

Ultimately it has to put a smile on your face and you have to be proud of it. If YOU think a Cayman is a poor mans Porsche then buy one and you'll probably look at it with that in mind and never be truely proud of it.

997man · 7 Nov 2015

Thanks for that masher964

Running costs, although an issue, I'm guessing there isn't going to be much difference - I've budgeted for £2k per year, reasonable ?

I personally don't consider the Cayman a PMP

I had written the R off as too hardcore for daily use and had been only looking at the S - could I live with an R as a daily driver ?

Regards

Boggle73 · 7 Nov 2015

masher964 said:
Ultimately it has to put a smile on your face and you have to be proud of it. If YOU think a Cayman is a poor mans Porsche then buy one and you'll probably look at it with that in mind and never be truely proud of it.

^^^ All you ever needed to know about picking the car YOU want.

It took me nearly 6 months to pick the car I wanted. Loads of visits to dealers, loads of test drives. I ended up with a choice of 3 cars, but ended up wanting a Boxster GTS. Did I pick it because of what people would say or think, no chance. Will I give two hoots if someone says it's a girls car or a poor mans Porsche, no chance. For me, it was the best car out of the 3 that I shortlisted.

Unless you have some urgent reason to purchase, get out there and do your research. Take as long as it needs to find the one you want, from that you will gain all the things you need to know. Don't feel pressure to buy after a test drive, they are just doing their job. Don't give two hoots what you think the dealers think of you, ultimately YOU are a potential customer. Just get out and use all the tools available to you.

Cayman / Boxster have loads of great reviews. Find a decent Porsche dealer near you and try 911 & Cayman back to back. If neither light that desire in you, move on. The only car i had desired for the last 5 years was an Audi R8 V10 Spyder, but could never afford one. Hence I have been through loads of different cars in that time, nothing really that I wanted. I decided it was time to buy an R8 about 6 months ago, did my research and went for test drives. Didn't like the R8, 5 years of desire down the toilet. :sad:

Sorry to hear of your loss. Go out and spend wisely.
Jay.

mark pearce · 7 Nov 2015

Dependent on your annual mileage
a good well sorted car before you buy it should cost you less than £2000 a year to run, ( with the exception of Insurance)
don't forget you have a 2 year service interval
and with most owners tending to do 4/6000 miles a year, you should get 10/14,000 miles from a set of tyres
30mpg on a long run at motorway speeds
you might surprised at how affordable they are

ragpicker · 7 Nov 2015

mark pearce said:
Dependent on your annual mileage
a good well sorted car before you buy it should cost you less than £2000 a year to run, ( with the exception of Insurance)
don't forget you have a 2 year service interval
and with most owners tending to do 4/6000 miles a year, you should get 10/14,000 miles from a set of tyres
30mpg on a long run at motorway speeds
you might surprised at how affordable they are

Does anyone on here actually leave it 2 years in between servicing??

Anyway, I digress. Mark is a good person to trust your £40k with, he only gets good feedback from the folks who use him to source their cars.

The only thing I would add is that it is only those who have never owned a Porsche, in particular a boxster/Cayman that consider them a poor mans porsche.

Having had 2 911s and a boxster I would jump back into a boxster or a Cayman in a heartbeat, and often think about getting another one. The boxster has to be one of the most fun, useable cars ever made. If you are lucky enough to get a dry day and have heated seats the driving experience, with that engine just behind your ears, is something else!

If it were my £40k I would probably go for a Cayman R or a 996 turbo with slush fund (but you won't have many 'toys')
:thumb:

wilpert · 9 Nov 2015

Sorry on the loss of your mother.

Cayman is not a poor mans Porsche but tbh the fact that the idea is in your head already, then for you it is and always will be.

Go and spend the extra 10k on a same age 911 but remember...it's still not a Cayman.

Happy hunting

MJA911 · 9 Nov 2015

Best thing you can do is take advice already given and don't give a moments thought to any poor-mans Porsche rubbish. Yes, the 911 is fantastic and iconic and different and an itch that has to be scratched for many people. That in itself means it has to be taken seriously, but a Cayman/Boxster is still very much a Porsche so don't discount them before trying!

It will take a lot to get me out of a 911, but I will look hard at a 981 Boxster S (preferably GTS) should I change my 997 in the future :thumb:

MJA911 · 9 Nov 2015

mark pearce said:
Dependent on your annual mileage
a good well sorted car before you buy it should cost you less than £2000 a year to run, ( with the exception of Insurance)
don't forget you have a 2 year service interval
and with most owners tending to do 4/6000 miles a year, you should get 10/14,000 miles from a set of tyres
30mpg on a long run at motorway speeds
you might surprised at how affordable they are

Mark, I suspect not, but do your numbers include warranty costs?

fodo69 · 12 Nov 2015

ragpicker said:
mark pearce said:

Dependent on your annual mileage
a good well sorted car before you buy it should cost you less than £2000 a year to run, ( with the exception of Insurance)
don't forget you have a 2 year service interval
and with most owners tending to do 4/6000 miles a year, you should get 10/14,000 miles from a set of tyres
30mpg on a long run at motorway speeds
you might surprised at how affordable they are

Click to expand...

Does anyone on here actually leave it 2 years in between servicing??

Anyway, I digress. Mark is a good person to trust your £40k with, he only gets good feedback from the folks who use him to source their cars.

The only thing I would add is that it is only those who have never owned a Porsche, in particular a boxster/Cayman that consider them a poor mans porsche.

Having had 2 911s and a boxster I would jump back into a boxster or a Cayman in a heartbeat, and often think about getting another one. The boxster has to be one of the most fun, useable cars ever made. If you are lucky enough to get a dry day and have heated seats the driving experience, with that engine just behind your ears, is something else!

If it were my £40k I would probably go for a Cayman R or a 996 turbo with slush fund (but you won't have many 'toys')
:thumb:

My cayman is now 18 months old from brand new and it wont see the dealership until my 2 year service is due in May 2016. i check the oil monthly and only topped up twice in 18 months

A pleasant dilemma

997man

Monza

masher964

Trainee

997man

Monza

Boggle73

New member

mark pearce

Singapore

ragpicker

Portimao

wilpert

Indianapolis

MJA911

Singapore

MJA911

Singapore

fodo69

New member

Similar threads

Latest posts

New Threads

Porsche Model Range

Porsche 911

Porsche Hypercars

Other Current Porsche Model

Porsche Legacy Models

Forum statistics