GhettoJack

So I'm looking to replace my 2005 Mazdaspeed Miata with a 2007-2008ish Cayman S. I've never owned any European car, let alone anything this exotic, so I have a ton of questions.

1. I put 50,000 miles per year on the Miata. Can I do this to the Cayman without it breaking all the time? With the Miata, I just change the fluids and replace wear items. I'm hoping the Cayman will be similar.

2. How comfortable are the seats on long road trips? That's my biggest gripe with the Miata, the seats hurt my back.

3. What sort of maintenance does the Cayman require? Can I do it myself?

Thanks.

zedcat

The general opinion you'll usually get here is the 09 and later models are better cars, especially if you plan to track the car. But the earlier cars are cheaper to buy. My 2c worth-

50k per year is a lot of miles for most any car. the Cayman is heavier than a Miata and you will buy more and (and more expensive) tires. Oil changes and brakes are easy DIYs. Water pumps are a common replacement. I think spark plugs are every 40k mi. Overall pretty reliable in my experience.

You'll need to test drive a few cars to see if the seats work for you. There was an option for "adaptive sport seats" which have the most adjustability but a lot of cars have the base seats.

hope that helps, best of luck.

GhettoJack

Thanks. The newer cars are a bit out of my price range, and I can only swing $1500-$2500 per year for maintenance. So I'm hoping it's not too much for me.

Sven76

For regular maintenance, your budget is just ok, but you need to check on tire sizes. 18/19 inch set ups might be too expensive. And you should have a fund for bigger repairs, because Porsche spare parts are always $$$

extanker

you will have to start with an 09 up to even think about the car lasting. you must increase your maintenance budget .the car should hold up as long as your checkbook does.find a good mechanic

f4 plt

It's a newer model but I have a friend that has a 2010 base Cayman (2.9 engine) with PDK. He tracks and autocracies the car frequently and has done nothing but normal scheduled maintenance plus tires and replaced the front rotors. Oh, he has 120,000 miles ( YES approximately 120,000 miles) on the car with no issues. That alone should be a testimony for the engine and PDK

By the way the 2.9 engine is the one used in the Caymans that run in the Continental Tire challenge

STLPCA

Like most absolute pronouncements, this one is nonsense.

golfnutintib

smells troll-ish