Porsche Cayman

[kingkaiser]

Hey all - going through a late-20s mid-life crisis and since getting a girl 20 years younger than me is out of the question, I'm settling for a car (and maybe an AP rep later this year). Has anyone here owned a Cayman, and what are you opinions of it? I've driven one and the ride was incredible, as was the engine growl. Interior is pretty cruddy for a $60k car, but the driving experience more than makes up for it.

My main question surrounds service/reliability - how is this car in terms of maintenance? Thinking of getting a pre-owned one, so that someone else can take the massive initial depreciation (~50% in 3 yrs) on this car, so may not get a warranty, which is why the reliability issue is more important than it normally would be. Would love to hear feedback!

[watcher]

We have owned a Boxster for the last 5 years and it has been good but only does around 5000 miles a year. I have heard a few horror stories though! They do sound sweet though, ours is the 3.2S

[Nanuq]

Here's a good resource for owner experiences.

http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f0d65f0/

[smc]

I ended up buying a 335. take them for test drives

[chefcook]

I have my second Cayman at the moment.

Started with a 2.7 two years ago which I traded for a facelift 3.4 (dealer demo car) half a year ago.

If you live in a country with speed limits and do not track your car the 2.7 is powerful enough for quite good fun on bendy roads and motorways. Make sure it is equipped with the sports package; otherwise it will only have a five speed transmission which means very long upper gears (even the 2.7 tops 160mph!) and will cause excessive use of lower gears and high revs on track or the autobahn.

The facelift 2.9 has the six speed tranny as standard and with the slightly increased capacity it is more entertaining in low revs. If buying a young or new cayman is within reach the 2.9 definitely is the better choice over the old 2.7.

The differences on the road are not so big between facelifted and old 3.4. The new one has more grunt, the old car sounds nicer (not louder!).

The radio and navigation systems on the MK1 Caymans sucked. No bluetooth, no ipod / iphone connectivity! Actually the newer navigation stuff would be reason enough to get a MK2 Cayman.

I agree that the interior is not amazing for a $60k car, but only if you do not opt for the full leather interior. With full leather it is simply amazing. Porsche is the only big car manufacturer in the world besides Bentley / Rolls Royce that still does all leather work in house and the full leather is worth every penny.

The options list definitely should include the following for all versions:

- PASM active suspension

- Full leather interior

- 18" or 19" wheels

- Sound package plus (standard speackers suck, Bose is better but more expensive)

- Xenon headlights

Nice, but not necessary is the sports exhaust. Even with standard exhaust it sounds wonderful.

The ceramic brakes (PCCB) are a no go. Extremely expensive, pedal feeling somewhere near pudding, will break on the race track. Replacing all four discs and brake pads is around $15k.

The Cayman S is my daily driver and it does about 20.6mpg. Trunks are well big enough, even my golf clubs fit in the back. I can fully recommend it When it comes to cornering and fun a good alternative could be a Nissan 370Z or a Corvette. Both have interiors that even in best trim are worse than the caymans standard trim but both are fun to drive, too. The Audi TT is only a souped up Golf and drives like that and Audi A5 or BMW 328 / 330 / 335 basically are two door sedans.

[kingkaiser]

Thanks for all your input guys. Finding out about bonuses in the next few weeks, so will hopefully have the money to get a Cayman S. Worried about the design change next yr, but if I can pick one up on the cheap, I might be able to still not lose much.

@ watcher and SMC - Thanks for sharing - seems like your experiences have been positive.

@ nanuq - thanks, that website helped no end!

@ chefcook, thanks for taking the time to type that first hand review. Great overview of the options available to me, and which would add value. Thanks again!

[marinamm20]

one Q - is the 60K$ from new, or is this the used car price ?

a use 2006 3.4S model will cost you 136k$ here in Denmark.

I just love the profil look of the cayman - Porsche really have a unik and beautifull design......

[kingkaiser]

$60-70k is around what a Cayman S, averagely spec'ed will cost you brand new. Clearly luxury taxes are crazy in Denmark!

[marinamm20]

hehe that is not luxury taxes ;-) - just ordinary taxes on cars, 180% on the retail price

[Scruffy]

Wow - In the UK, a 2006/7 Cayman S (3.4) can be purchased for as little as $29500 (US).

[Defender110]

I have a lot of experience with most makes...

while Porsche makes a great car you might want to look at some other brands in this price group.. if you are reluctant to jump to a 911

A. BMW 3 series

B. MB SL series it might end up a few years older but you can get one thats certifed and most have extremely LOW LOW miles, which IMHO more than makes ups for it. Only repair I have had to do is installing new batteries when they drain out from inactivity.

C. Luxury SUV -extremely comfortable and truly upscale and most can be had with honking motors.. ie: BMW X5 w/ 4.4, 4.6, 4.8 and 5.0.

you are correct the Cayman interior is low rent for the group, its really a money maker for Porsche because people can have a Porsche with out the New 911 price of admission.