Good point about PAG. But when I've asked about several over spec'd cars if they were customer back outs, they say it was spec'd by the dealership GM usually. So who knows how much truth that is. The 718 GTS I test drove this summer had a slew of two-toned leather options and carried a MSRP of nearly $110K. It was on the lot for over a year with an oil change by date pop up message already. They were going to take off $18K but I still was not paying over $90K for a year old car with a bunch of stuff I had absolutely no desire for even if it was "free". They told me it was spec'd by their GM.

 

I don't believe these cars are over specced, my ideal Cayman GTS is around $105k. They're just not specced the way customers like them. If I'm paying $80k+ for a car, I'd want it exactly how I would spec it. Not a compromise of things missing and things I don't want. This is exaggerated by the fact that there are hundreds of different options on a Porsche. I'll never find one exactly match what I want in stock, so I have to order. But allocations haven't been available for 6+ months so people are just on the side lines.

 

I consider a base with $4K in wheel options alone as picked by the dealer for an inventory car to be over spec'd. I'm not saying that buyers are over spec'ing.

 

A 2018 brand new with a MSRP of 105k what would you guys pay?

 

Depends on the specs!

 

Brand New 2019 BASE 718 Cayman with 60k MSRP can be had for around 53-55k. Low mileage clean 991.2 2016 are in low 70s wholesale. Where can I ‘pick up a low mile CPO 991.2 for similar money’?

 

Im in the market for my first Porsche. I agree with a lot of the discussion in this thread about over-specking the cars and not being able to find what you want when you’re paying $60-70-80k.

QUESTION: How are you guys tracking how long a car has been on the market?
Also, if I’m looking for a CPO car, are dealer’s sites and NationalPreownedPorsche the best places to look or are there other better places, like cars.com etc?

 

The cars are overspecced only if they have things you don't want in them. One dealership where I purchased told me that the GM picked the options. The old GM kept the cars on the floor fairly simple, adding only performance options and staying away form the appearance options. The cars were usually in more conservative colors and were oriented to performance. He was fired. The next GM went for the brighter colors with more emphasis on things like leather and 18 way seats. All good if that's what you want.

The only way to get exactly what you want is to place an order. My last CPO 911 had a bunch of things I wouldn't have paid for - crests on seats and console and some other things that just wouldn't have been on my list. However, because it was CPO, they were free to me and didn't particularly bother me since the main things that I wanted were there. But, this was a 911. The Boxster/Cayman market is different. My SA told me that they expected much more bargaining there than from the average 911 buyer. Since, like it or not, the Boxster/Cayman is an entry level car for Porsche, there is a large subset of people who do not want to spend $100K or more on the car. This feeling was made even worse by the change to a 4T, performance be damned.

All buyers are different. Personally, I don't need extra crests or two tone leather but I do like heated and ventilated seats. It's all personal choice. If some, like you, think $105K for the car is a good price then it is a good price for you. For others who want to spend $60K, they probably could care less about leather or 18 way seats.

 

Best place to look for a CPO car is Porsche's national inventory search tool. Yes there are some CPO cars with partial warranties sold independently or other dealers but they will be on their 2nd owners at least and the buying experience may not be as good. The number of owners matters to me as I want the full CPO warranty and when you buy a CPO from a Porsche dealer, the experience is almost the same as buying new.

I've found that nearly every car available is listed on Autotrader so you may find a year old dealer inventory car that still has it's full factory warranty.

 

Cargurus will tell you how long the car has been listed on Car Gurus. Lots of 718's listed

 

A T is only comparable to base Carrera if spec'd like one. Many who spec'd the T didn't do so as the car was truly intended. It needs at a minimum, no sunroof, RAS, LWBs and yes ideally manual gearbox otherwise what's the point. Gearbox alone isn't a deal breaker. Some may just want it based on where they live or if they want others driving it who don't want to drive a manual car.

Many T's were spec'd inappropriately based on above, which is unfortunate as it'll make finding a used one you want much more difficult. But it's a far better car than a Cayman and worth consideration now that prices are coming down.

 

What?

Having driven manual cars all my life and still driving a manual track car, if I order a “T” it is going to be with a PDK. It is faster around the track than a manual version and the chances of a missed gear shift are gone and no over revolutions of the motor too.

It is my understanding that the “T” comes standard with 20 inch wheels, Sports Chrono and PTV which includes the LSD wether it is the manual of PDK gear box.

Also I have been reading lots of comments on the sound of the flat six vs the flat four turbo and I’m not buying it. Yes they sound different and to each his own but the flat turbo in sport plus mode sound pretty good and it is not as if the flat six in the Cayman and that includes the previous gen GT4 is the end of the world. In fact the GT4’s sound is no where near the music of the high revving GT3/GT3RS’ motors so I can definitely live with the flat four turbos which btw in a GTS form is faster around a track than the previous gen GT4.

Imho, the 718 is an improvement and a better car that handles better and is faster than the previous gen Cayman.

My $0.02.

PS... The 718 market in Canada is doing just fine, not too many left over of the 2019 models. I was looking at getting one but none are speced with options or colours that I want so I am waiting to see when the “T” or the regular 2020 models becomes available to order.

 

^^ The Carrera T is the context of this conversation, which is why most you wrote makes no sense. The Carrera T can't be ordered anymore. I contend the Carrera T is a better car than any Cayman (I've owned 3, a '12 Cayman R, '14 Cayman S, and still own a '16 GT4) including my GT4 when spec'd properly.

Do some more research on the 718 market, it's dead everywhere but China.

 

Weighing in from the cheap, and biased, seats here. Had a '14 981 CS and now a '19 991 CT. Both MT.

I totally agree with the superiority of the 991. But it, of course, should be given how I could spec it and what I paid for it. I absolutely miss the 6 MT, but not the tall gearing. I can choose not to use all the gears, but I can't change the wonky ergos. It's the only complaint. With RAS, and the PTV/mLSD, the T rotates just as well and nimbly as the Cayman ever did and isn't hamstrung from the factory. I loved the mid engine dynamic. I'll take the tech and hardware/software that enable the same dynamic now on the balance. Would I love what I have now in a Cayman? Absolutely, but Porsche would not build it. I don't even really miss the NA that much anymore... But none of this really matters.

In my opinion, the only thing that will save/grow the Cayman and Boxster line at this point is electrification. I think it is a brilliant move, and bravo on Porsche. A great use of this platform, a niche to fill and really exploit, and I hope they sell a ton of them.

ẞ

 

So I’m possibly in the market for a 718 (it would be my first Porsche). Anyways, the sales rep at my local dealer (he used to be the GM for decades before retiring and then coming back to work/sell part time) told me over the weekend, after checking, that 2020 718 base/S/GTS would like become available (allocation) in the Spring. He then emailed me a few hours later to say that they won’t be available until July 2020.

To me that sounds like they will be 2021 cars by then. Sure sounds like no 718 base/S/GTS cars coming to US for 2020 MY. Anyone agree/disagree?

And with that I'm thinking that 2021 will be a 982.2 redesign.