MSGGrunt

My Porsche buying experience took a few twists and turns but, ultimately I ended up with a nice 2007 Cayman S, back to that in a bit.

I originally started looking at 996 911's as they were the only Porsche, or so I thought, that was within my budget. Along the way I learned about IMS and RMS. Learned about AOS and composite water pump impellers. My search was done locally and on the web. I drove several cars and knew some things I had to have... coupe, manual and I wanted a cool (red, white, blue, yellow maybe) color, not a "safe" color like silver or grey or even black. All was going well until work took me from Massachusetts to Monterey, CA and on the one down day I had I discovered that the local San Francisco PCCA chapter was having an Event at Laguna Seca. I thought to myself, what better way to see a bunch of Porsches...

This is where my quest gets sidetracked... I see a guards red with tan leather interior Cayman S.

I do more research... I can get a newer model year Cayman within my budget than a 996, the mid-engine gets rave reviews, less RMS/IMS issues and the true 2-seater isn't an issue for me.

After many days of searching I narrowed the field down to two cars.

Car #1
06 Cayman S
Silver with black interior
36,700 miles
1 owner
Being sold by original selling dealership
Always dealer maintained
$27,900


Car#2
07 Cayman S
Midnight Blue with tan interior
36,000 miles
4 owners
Good maintenance history but, not as good as car #1
$27,700

I drove 5 hours from MA to NJ to look at car #1. It drove tight but was boring, if that can be said about any Porsche. It didn't have a single option... No sport chrono, no sport package, no upgraded sound system, standard 18" wheels, nothing. Well, it did have Makkassar wood trim on the dash but, that was it. The car was nice but, it didn't evoke anything in me and the dealer would only drop the price to $27,000 with all fees, not state taxes, included.

Another 1.5 hour drive south to PA where I met the owner of the 07. The car drove as nice as the 06 but was a nicely optioned car. The midnight blue looked amazing in the sun. The tan leather interior was spotless. No wear on the driver's seat bolster, no wear on any of the control switches, had very clean original floor matts, Sport Chrono package, Sport package, upgraded 19" wheels, etc... The maintenance history on this car isn't as solid as the dealership maintained car but, the owner, self admittedly, is only a driver and has a mechanic look after the car when it is time for maintenance. It has had regular oil changes, brake pads, new tires etc... but, for piece of mind I will plan on things like new spark plugs, water pump, low temp thermostat, serpentine belt, brake fluid flush, etc... All the things I normally do when I buy a new used car.

We negotiated a price of $26,000. This may be on the higher end for an 07 but, I liked it over the 06 for the supposedly upgraded engine/IMS bearing design, like that it has only 36,000ish miles, loved the Midnight blue over tan leather, and I like how the car was optioned.

Paperwork was done and I will be flying down next week to pick up the car and drive it back the MA.

danschy

Very nice! For clarification, 06-08 Caymans (987.1) had identical M97 engines/IMS bearings. Early 987.1 Boxsters, which started shipping before Caymans, had the trouble-prone M96 engine.

RWPinNC

Beautiful car, and I think you got a very good deal. Our searches have been somewhat parallel. I started out looking for a 996 or 997, ultimately a 997. Every car that seemed affordable appeared to have "a story". attached to it. Paid for two PPI's and pulled the plug on both. Drove a friend's Boxster and decided on a Cayman. Picked up my '06 Seal Gray S with similar equipment this week. Have about $31,000 in it with 42,000 miles, complete maintenance records, and new tires, excellent condition. Best of luck with yours.

Suicide Jockey

Great story, Grunt, and wonderful color combo. Midnight Blue really does "pop" in the sun.

I had to laugh when you said Car #1 had zero options -- except for a wood dash! How random and what an oddity.

Have fun gettting to know your car on the drive back to MA. Enjoy!

MSGGrunt

I guess the owner was looking for a stripped down car. The Makkassar wood was really nice and if not so expensive I think I would swap out the silver bits in the Cayman for Makkassar. Reminds me of Mercedes Zebrano (Zebra Wood trim) that was in an old 1982 W126 300 turbo diesel I used to own.


https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...e-console.html

Milehigh981

Beautiful car and thanks for sharing the story. Good choice on the color, midnight is a great color. Enjoy the car!

PelicanParts.com

Hello and congrats on the new ride! I'm attaching a link to our site's DIY tech articles on the 987 platform. Please let us know if you have any questions!

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...n_987_Tech.htm