SoCal-NSX

I've been tempted by super clean gated manual ..... my friend at the local exotic car dealership almost had me in divorce court the other day when he tried to get me into an R8 I've always had a crush on.

They have a minty 2008 with only 19000 miles and I have to admit, I'm currently trying to talk the boss into letting me get


He offered me $50K for my CS and came down on the price to get me into one of my dream cars, but I just cant pull it off right now with two kids in college and two other car payments, but I might give it a try,

Somebody talk me off the cliff

Thacker

Replacing the AC compressor on an R8 is a $4000+ job.....

Laszlo_Laz

Go for it!

BondJ

A good mate has had one of these early R8s for several years…loves it! Only thing against… can’t get the hood down when the sun comes out

Ffre92

If you take a test drive let us know what you think. I’ve always been curious. I like the looks of early v8 r8s, before they got angular.

I’ve always assumed, without any evidence, that our 981s would be more fun to drive since they are lighter, smaller, and more nimble. I don’t know if the extra power will impart that much more fun. For example, I test drove a 458, it was definitely an impressive car, but after I got back into my 6mt cayman gts, I decided I still liked the cayman better, it just felt right.

SoCal-NSX

I'm afraid to test drive it to tell you the truth....then I will want it for sure.

I think that is kinda what got me thinking about this move....I miss my manual. I love my cayman s, but I admit I regret not holding out for a manual. It just took so long finding the spec I wanted with all my other must haves that when one popped up I jumped on a flight and went and got it thinking I could live with the PDK...don't get me wrong, its an amazing transmission, but I just miss rowing gears




I've even been looking at 718's to get back into a manual

Part of the allure and reasoning(justification) is knowing the minty gated R8 is probably only to go up in value like they already have....and I've just always loved the look of the original

9eight7

Go for it! IMO finding a gated mint R8 is going to be more difficult than finding a nicely specified 718. The R8 definitely has the sex appeal which is an experience of it's own.

dav9515

I agree if you get it for the right price you won't lose money on it, basically a free rental if you don't need to spend any on maintenance. I have never driven an R8 but ridden in a few with the Twin Turbo kit on them at a buddies shop. Very interesting with the turbo kit but it seems many owners went that route because they surprisingly became quickly bored with the stock power levels of the V8 and it not "feeling" fast due to weight and overall smoothness of the car. I really think white needs the CF side blades though!!! would look amazing with the black wheels.

I say drive it, the only way you'll know for sure, and you may be surprised. There were a lot of cars I was positive I was going to have to get after a test drive that actually left me feeling a bit flat and made me glad i had the experience so i could stop wondering "what if". I have a very well spec'd 13' BS and for what I have invested into it there isn't another car that can touch the feel of it for similar money. I wish I could drive it more but with 3 kids there are too many situations where 2 seats just isn't enough....so i just picked up a 4 dr 6-Speed 03' BMW 330i ZHP as a daily driver family car that scratches the itch in between boxster drives.

SoCal-NSX

yeah, good point....I've been watching a bunch YouTube lately on the gen 1 R8 and was surprised that it seems people like the 420hp V8 over the V10 due to the balance and more playful V8. Most people cant wipe their grin off their face in the gated manual that's for sure.

I also played around on the configuration tool on Porsche.com and could get a brand new one of these with fat warrantee for about $15K less

Ffre92

I know what you mean. When the 981s first came out, I tested a pdk s, really like it, but not enough to buy at the time. Years later I tested my 6mt and was immediately smitten. The 6mt really does add to the fun. There’s not much better than banging out double clutch downshifts on a tight turn.

When the lotus emira shows up that may tempt me away, but the cayman really has spoilt a lot of cars for me.

9731O

Going to voice what everybody else has already said, but definitely drive it and see if it is worth the experience. I never given the 981s a chance prior to owning one, and after test driving it, I knew I had to have one.

In a similar vein as you, I partially wish I had out for a manual instead of "settling" for a PDK, but what matters is you only live one life. Enjoy the car, sell it for little to no loss, and move on to the next toy. Heck if I held onto every penny and invested instead, I would be down so much in the market that I would have wished I splurged on a car instead, but I digress. As long as you can comfortably afford the car and it is a logical "upgrade" from your 981CS, make the move and come back in the future to a 718 GTS 4.0 or GT4 manual.

Do your due diligence with a PPI and understand the nature of car you're getting into, you'll be fine. Worst case scenario, this is a segue into a better Porsche that is a manual if you decide to come back like I mentioned

Gotshotgun

I know how you feel. I sold my near twin of your car because as good as PDK is, I was yearning for the manual experience. I think that Audi would great fun.

$50k for your car seems low. How many miles does it have?

CaymanCarver

If this R8 is a V10 I say go for it!
Nothing quite like a the massive torque from a V10 and manual transmission. It can take you to the limits so much quicker!

SoCal-NSX

52K miles.... it's a pretty good trade in offer, but I would have better luck selling it myself or even trying BaT

Someone hit me up on YouTube and offered me more than the trade in, so I have options.

The R8 will be harder to pull off money wise, but I think in long run it will become a great investment .... as I tell my wife everyday

ICNU

Here is a really cool site with good data on what our cars are selling for. It gathers real time sales data from multiple auction sources including BAT and the PCA market, and plots it all out in a usable format that is highly configurable any way you want it. Very good source of up to date info, even for the car you may want buy!

A 2014 Cayman S manual with 24K sold in my state on BAT yesterday for $62,500. You can see the depreciation curve go flat in 2020 when the pandemic hit, and its actually higher now than its ever been as the sales averages are ticking it upwards now in recent months, starting in February of 2022.

https://www.classic.com/m/porsche/cayman/year-2014/