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A little history: My first Porsche was a 987.1 base Cayman, I owned that car for about 3 years; I really regretted selling it to get my first 997. I had that 997.1 for 2 years, at which time I traded it for a 997.1TT.
I remembered that Cayman fondly and always appreciated it's looks and feel behind the wheel. Your first one always feels special I did my first autocross and HPDEs in that Cayman.
I even tracked down the current owner of my original car (2 owners later) and debated making an offer to buy it back..I then started looking at the 981s and pretty quickly decided this was the model I wanted. The number of options to choose from is dizzying; I only had a few "must haves"
Color - No blacks, silvers, or grays. That narrowed down my selections pretty quick
"S" model
PDK - my turbo is a stick so I have that option when I want to row my own..
Sport Chrono
I did the usual searches online and started narrowing down my choices. Test drove a few locally, even had one shipped in from 5 hours away (no cost to do this) so I could see in person..After a few weeks I settled on one of the first ones I test drove;
2014 Cayman S - Guards Red ext, black interior
35K miles
PDK
20" Carrerra S wheels
Sport Chrono
PSE
PASM
Bose
Sport Seats Plus
SportDesign wheel
Power folding mirrors
Seat Belts in Guards Red
2 more years of CPO
I think I got a pretty good deal as the original MSRP was almost 81K.
The only options I really wish I got was heated seats, although everything else was what I wanted, so I took the plunge.
I don't have much seat time in it yet (I pick it up tomorrow!) but I must say this things sounds GREAT, especially with the PSE.. Man, I miss that exhaust sound having driven a turbo for the past 4 years..
I'm looking forward to driving this thing more frequently than my turbo.. No, it doesn't have the torque that the turbo does (mine has over 600+ as it's slightly tuned), but it sure is nimble and has a completely different feel behind the wheel..
Looks fantastic. Looking at a similar car in San Diego. 2014 Cayman S with 37,000 miles. CPO in blue/beige. PDK with 20 inch wheels. Asking a pretty stiff $50,000. Mind if I ask what you paid? RJ
Thanks. Yes, the blue/beige combo is awesome. Love the red/black too. Sounds like the two cars are very similar, so the $50,000 starting price for the blue one seems o.k. now. Wasn't sure. Have fun with that beautiful car. RJ
^ Well, an update to my original post.. long story short, I sold this original car only a month or so after acquiring it; my wife decided she wanted to retire, so the new toy would have to take a back seat to family needs..
Fast forward to now, and I'm back in a position to make a new addition, in addition to making room by selling 2 of by beloved Saabs
The new car is a similar-spec Cayman S, Guards Red over black interior, but has less mileage and more options, and cost a few Gs less than I paid for the last one..
-2014 Cayman S - Guards Red ext, black interior
22K miles
PDLS
PDK
Forgeline GA1R wheels
Sport Chrono
PSE
Convenience Package (heated seats, advanced climate control)
Navigation/Infotainment w/ BOSE
Sport Seats Plus
Bottom of side mirrors painted guards red (seems like a weird $600 option..)
Dimming mirrors/rain sensor (also seems like a strange option, I haven't figured this one out yet)
8 more months of factory warranty.
I was originally neutral on the wheels, but they have grown on me, especially after seeing how much they cost new..
I'm not particularly a fan of the red center caps, so I need to figure out the correct finish/color on the wheels and get a matching center cap. Already ordered a set of rubber floor mats and some maintenance items.
This is my first car with PCM 3.1, so far I'm liking the capabilities..
Hope to drive this one more and keep the mileage on the turbo to less than 3K/year.
Full circle indeed! Minus the red center caps, your new Cayman looks even better than the last one that you had for a month. Did you end up taking a big hit when selling your old one? I was shopping for awhile and found a car spec'd out almost exactly like I wanted, so I bought it. Then 2 months later I found one spec'd EXACTLY like I wanted and seriously considered trading, but the loss in money from selling the car I just bought wouldn't have made it a good deal so I passed.
Also, I used to have a 997.1TT as well. The one you have in your avatar picture looks great! Sometimes I miss having the sledgehammer like acceleration and one of the most stout engines that Porsche has ever made, but if I'm being completely honest, I find the Cayman more fun to drive 90% of the time. The TT was awesome on the highway and would have made a great road trip car and even daily driver...but when it came to road trips and daily driving, I preferred my truck. The Cayman is just an absolute pleasure to take on twisty roads and fun runs. It's not so powerful that you feel it is being wasted, and it is more rev happy. The sound and feel are superior to the 911 even though my 911TT had over double the MSRP of my Cayman. It took me awhile to really accept that the less expensive car was the more fun car to own, but it is. Glad to see you came back to the Cayman!
Any remarkable diffs between the 987.1 and the 981 you can poing out?
I think there are lots of threads on the differences between the two, written by much more capable writers than myself. Suffice it to say it's better at everything (power, sound, tech, etc. etc.) I will say that I specifically wanted this gen (981) for the NA engine and did not have any interest in the newer 718s.
Originally Posted by vbb
Full circle indeed! Minus the red center caps, your new Cayman looks even better than the last one that you had for a month. Did you end up taking a big hit when selling your old one? I was shopping for awhile and found a car spec'd out almost exactly like I wanted, so I bought it. Then 2 months later I found one spec'd EXACTLY like I wanted and seriously considered trading, but the loss in money from selling the car I just bought wouldn't have made it a good deal so I passed.
Long story short, but I sold it (private party) for what I paid for it, so I was out the dealer fees (~$300) and 6.25% tax, although I could write-off the tax on my fed tax return last year. I'm sure if I had traded/sold it back to a dealer I would have taken a bigger hit
Originally Posted by vbb
Also, I used to have a 997.1TT as well. The one you have in your avatar picture looks great! Sometimes I miss having the sledgehammer like acceleration and one of the most stout engines that Porsche has ever made, but if I'm being completely honest, I find the Cayman more fun to drive 90% of the time. The TT was awesome on the highway and would have made a great road trip car and even daily driver...but when it came to road trips and daily driving, I preferred my truck. The Cayman is just an absolute pleasure to take on twisty roads and fun runs. It's not so powerful that you feel it is being wasted, and it is more rev happy. The sound and feel are superior to the 911 even though my 911TT had over double the MSRP of my Cayman. It took me awhile to really accept that the less expensive car was the more fun car to own, but it is. Glad to see you came back to the Cayman!
I kinda agree with you as well, from a pure drivers perspective, the Cayman is a dream to drive and things are effortless.. The turbo is not as refined and the sledgehammer analogy is apt, especially with almost 600hp available. I couldn't give it up, though (especially now that at this point it will only appreciate if I don't drive it too much.) so I chose to add to the fleet as opposed to replace it. Making room by selling my Saabs though was a bit tough!
I kinda agree with you as well, from a pure drivers perspective, the Cayman is a dream to drive and things are effortless.. The turbo is not as refined and the sledgehammer analogy is apt, especially with almost 600hp available. I couldn't give it up, though (especially now that at this point it will only appreciate if I don't drive it too much.) so I chose to add to the fleet as opposed to replace it. Making room by selling my Saabs though was a bit tough!
Don't get me wrong, if I could have kept both and my daily, I would have. You honestly have two of my favorite Porsches. The dream garage would be a 997.1TT with the PDK (and tuned up like yours, because why not?) and a Cayman GTS with a 6MT. Each one does something the other does not. I'm guessing that maybe a 991.2 GT3 with a manual and sport chrono is kind of like the closest thing to a combination of the two, but that's really out of range. I happen to think that the 997 is the best 911 to buy (the 993 looks the best, but the 997 has just enough modern amenities to make it the better one to own) and I've always said the 981 Cayman body style has the best lines of ANY modern Porsche.
You have a fantastic stable of cars my friend. Congrats.
10-27-2017, 03:29 AM
Back in a Cayman!
I did my first autocross and HPDEs in that Cayman.
