Helo Driver

I was seriously considering buying both the 2006 Cayman S and the 2006 Corvette Z06. I talked to about 5 different dealerships for both Chevrolet and Porsche. I ended up buying the Cayman S. Here's why:

First off, I never had the opportunity to test drive the Corvette Z06. Why? Because suppossedly it's very rare and in very high demand. I only saw 2 within the last 6 weeks. I was trying very hard to see one in both Salt Lake City and in Nashville. No luck until 4 days ago. Nashville had a Yellow Z06 on their floor. I went and looked at it, sat in it, opened up the engine bay, etc. It was a nice car. Beautiful in fact. No dealership would let me test drive the Z06 or even the C6 with the Z51 (Z06 suspension). The C6 Corvette and the Z06 are very similar cars. It takes a trained eye to notice the difference. They all told me that Corvette buyers don't want any miles on their new car. Bottom line is that Z06 dealers were arrogant and 90% of them won't even consider selling or ordering a Z06 for you at MSRP. Ridiculous!

The Porsche dealerships were great. I only physically went to two. Salt Lake City and Nashville. I didn't order mine from either one. Both SLC and Nashville dealers were very nice. In Salt Lake the dealer let me test drive the Cayman (alone) and a used 2001 Twin Turbo (23k miles). Nashville was just very nice and I didn't ask for a test drive. He offered me one with him driving (no thanks). I ended up calling 5 different Porsche dealerships and bargaining via the phone. I got a pretty decent deal.

Why did I get the Cayman instead of the Z06? Because I wanted a Lemans Blue Z06 fully loaded and they told me they'd order me one at MSRP but it would be at least 6 months until delivery and the six months wasn't guaranteed. Porsche told me they can get me exactly what I want by ordering the Cayman as I want with a delivery of sometime in May '06. The Chevy Z06 seems nice but the interior quality didn't compare to the Porsche. Plus, I was concerned about paying $73k for a Chevy. I'm not the kind of guy who bought a Porsche just because it is a Porsche (although I do like the fact that I'll soon be driving a Porsche - What sexy cars!) The Chevy dealership's arrogance pissed me off. It turned me off. I'm big on people skills I guess and overall customer satisfaction. Plus, I was told I couldn't drive the Z06 until I'd already bought and signed for it (WTF?)

I've never owned a sports car before (I'm only 27), but I do have a passion for the driving experience. I love the idea of a performance vehicle. My last car was a '03 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V (Sporty 4-Door with a six speed and 17X7 performance wheels). I personally upgraded the car with a turbo, full NisMo suspension, performance clutch, and lightweight aluminum flywheel (not to mention several more performance upgrades). I dynoed 270 WHP/WTQ and ran 12.9 in the quarter at 105mph. It was a fun car for Auto-Cross and it was a fast, fun car but it was still a Nissan Sentra (granted... the SE-R Spec V version isn't really a Sentra). So, I bought the Porsche. A refined, mature sports car with unmatched performance.

As of now I'm happy with my decision and I don't think I'll look back with regret.

Shane
__________________
2006 Cayman S (Carrara White with Sea Blue Leather Sport Seats). PCM 2.1 Nav, Preffered Package, PASM, TPMS, 19" Carrera Classic Wheels, Xenon Headlights, Sport Chrono Plus, Sport Shifter, Auto Climate, and Sport Steering Wheel.

- Ordered the car on 25FEB06. Will receive car no later than 31MAY06.

KBS911

You did the right thing. The visual difference between the regular vette and the Z06 is not dramatic at a glance. You'll see one on every corner before long. On the other hand a Porsche, of any model, is more rare. I saw three, silver 06 vettes in a 5 mile stretch of I-95 this weekend. Two of them side by side. Familiarity aside, the Porsche driving feel is far superior. This is coming from a 2 time C-5 Z06 owner by the way. There is no subsitute. That's not just a slogan, it's for real!

BiggerTwin

Shane,

I sold my C6 Corvette to get a Cayman S. While the Corvette is a lot of fun when pushed hard, the Porsche is fun at all speeds. The Cayman steering is far superior and has much more feedback. The clutch and shift feel much better as well. I think you made the right choice.

Alan

ClassJ

Good luck with the new car when you get it. Sounds like a nice color combo.

Yea the chevy dealers are pissing me off as well. I am looking to pick something up this spring and have been casually looking around at at different cars.

I went to a couple chevy dealers, one of them I got totally ignored at. I went into the dealer, asked for a corvette salesperson, and I was left to stand around for 20 minutes while I looked at some standard C6's. This wasent on a saturday either, it was on a Friday afternoon and I no one could have cared less that I was there.

Another chevy dealer that moves alot of vettes was really nice and helpfull. But I was told outright that I would probably never get a ZO6 test drive at any dealer, and becasue it was a little salty outside I would have to come back another day to drive a regular C6. Which I guess I can understand but most of his stock was outside and a little salty anyway from the cars passing by etc.

I went to a Porsche dealer and they were great, within 10 minutes I had brochures in my hands and I was test driving a cayman with the salesperson telling me "you know where porsches makes their power, dont be shy with the throttle", as he told me about the car.

Hell, I knew one guy that bought a Ferrari. He went to the dealer and got to drive a 360 and one of the 2+2's and even talked his way into getting a passenger seat ride in an enzo (even though it was out of his reach) that was in for service and was being test driven by a mechanic.

So I am sorry Chevy, there is no way you can sell a 65K dollar car and not offer some type of test drive protocol. I can see not being able to drive a CGT or something like that, but not a ZO6. They did the same thing to dad years ago with the impala SS they had out in 1995. Went to three dealers, no one would allow a test drive, he told them all what they could do with their car.

These dealers are not used to handling cars like this. My biggest concern with the ZO6 is service. If it has to go in for service, it is going to a chevy dealer. Makes the hair on the back of my kneck stand up.

perfectlap

Corvette interiors always reminded me of rental cars.

Why can't they ever get it right! They did the hard part (performance) amazing they can't figure out
how to get the interior right. They should just order all the parts for the GT40 interior and call it a day.

Helo Driver

Thanks for all the great feedback guys! That's why I love forums. It looks like I found a good one. It's going to be a long 3 months waiting for the car though. Oh well, it'll give me a chance to get to know some of you on the forum and learn more about the car I just bought.

Shane

carreracup21

With GM's financial woes, I would think that they would be kissing some butt and providing great customer service, but maybe that's why they have financial woes to begin with. I will say that I have always been treated well at Porsche dealerships. The first 996 I bought, the salesperson came to my location with the car from about 30 miles away for me to try it out. They treat you right because that's what it's all about. GM just doesn't get it. Welcome to the Porsche world !!

teoh2005

Congratulations on the order...looking to order a new Cayman S also...can you tell me the name of the Dealership you used???....thanks

-Kevin

CP

Shane,

Great job with the hunt. Besides the dealership, please tell us your color combo. and options ordered. Care to givethe name of the saleman as well?

Thanks.

CP

03-turbo911

Congratulations, you'll love the Cayman S. Post pictures when you get it.

fast1

Bottom line is that Z06 dealers were arrogant and 90% of them won't even consider selling or ordering a Z06 for you at MSRP

You found 10% that are willing to sell at MSRP? I couldn't find any.

Another chevy dealer that moves alot of vettes was really nice and helpfull. But I was told outright that I would probably never get a ZO6 test drive at any dealer,

Actually I favor the policy of not giving test drives of high performance cars, unless only one car is designated as a demo. My son worked as a lot boy last summer at a local Porsche Dealer, and he told me how people abuse Porsches during test drives. Burning rubber off the lot is common. Most drivers take the car to red line right out of the Dealer's lot when the engine is cold because they have no intention of buying that car. So be careful if you buy a Porsche with more than a few miles on the odometer.

Helo Driver

Yeah, I ordered my car so it shouldn't have any miles. When I test drove the Cayman it was a demo car. I red-lined it but it was warmed up (it had just come back from a test drive).

At the very bottom of my first post you can see the color and options I got.

Shane

Doug&Julie

Excellent choice! Nice write-up. While he wasn't shopping for corvettes, the dealership experience my brother had here had a lot to do with his purchasing a Cayman S. He was going to wait until spring or even summer, but when we went to just casually look, he was treated so well he decided to put a deposit down on one in the lot. He picked it up a week later. (..and yes, he got a "non-demo" car..)

It wasn't like they kissed his butt or anything, they just made him feel very comfortable and were very casual about the whole thing. That makes a big difference to a car buyer.

ClassJ

I wouldent want someone beating on my ZO6 either. But they should have a demo car. Or at least chevy should have one demo around out of every so many dealers.

SO maybe only the high volume dealers have one and you call chevy and they tell you where to go for a test drive. That would be fine and cut down on the number of demo cars. I mean I am in a major metro area, alot of corvettes are sold around here, if there was anyplace that you would think you could get a drive in one, one of the places would be here.

The cayman I drove had just come back from another drive so it was all warmed up and I know they set aside demo cars. Still, I dont get how guys crank out of dealer lots on test drives especially in ice cold cars. It is a car you have never driven before, you are not used to the shifter, brakes, steering etc. And you are going to start beating on it immediatly.

At least get used to the thing, drive it normally for a while to get used to the ride and stopping capabilities, then try to see how many shades of green you can make the salesperson. After all, it is a porsche.

fast1

I wouldent want someone beating on my ZO6 either. But they should have a demo car. Or at least chevy should have one demo around out of every so many dealers.

The only way that you can buy a Z06 off the Dealer's showroom is if you are willing to pay a substantial premium. There's a long waiting list of buyers who ordered cars at MSRP. Hence there's no need to "sell" people on the car at the present time, so demos are unnecessary. I would imagine that this will change in about a year or so.

I agree with comments about Chevy Dealerships. They are so bad it's almost comical. It's unfortunate because based on the very brief time that I had behind the wheel of a friend's Z, it is one hell of a car. A little over 3100 lbs and around 470 lb/ft of torque. This car will take you from 40 to 65 in about the blink of an eye. If they sold this car at Cadillac Dealerships, I would buy one. The Caddy Dealer near me offers service at a level far superior to the Chevy Dealers and at least on a par with the two Porsche Dealers near me.