Doug&Julie

Both cars are brilliant, so really it comes down to your personal taste. I would suggest that the C4S will be the bigger, heavier car, while the Cayman S will be far more nimble and involving. If you're looking for a daily driver, you'll never find the limits in either of these cars, so go with what feels good to you.

The Cayman S will depreciate faster because it's a brand new car, not because it's "not a 911". The way Porsche is putting out cars these days will follow typical car values; i.e. new cars will depreciate fast, while cars a few years old will depreciate more slowly. There's nothing magical about the 911 to change this. (..ask early 996 owners why their magical 911s aren't worth half of their original price now..) But the bottom line here is don't buy a new Porsche as an investment.

My dream garage would have one of each, but if I had to chose one, I'd go with the Cayman S. It'll feel more like a sports car.

By the way, check the Cayman board for similar discussions. At least over there you'll never hear the "it's not a 911" argument.

RaceCarDriver

I was seriously considering a new Cayman S, but I test drove an 02 996 back to back with a Cayman and to me it was no contest. I picked an 02 C4S.

Cayman is a great car but IMO overpriced with all the options. Even a basic car would have cost be $60 to 65k. Afraid there would be steep depreciation, since all my local dealers still have about 15 in stock.

Plus with the C4S is great in the rain with the all wheel drive.

I would do a ppi of the C4S, and everything checks out, the car should be find and the depreciation won't be as bad.

If both cars are at the same dealer, ask to test drive both back to back.

busaganashi

Actually, I've been reading your C4S threads lately. I was also considering an Audi S4 or probably an RS-4 so your comments were especially on point. I have a 3 month old baby and want to take him for rides when he's able to sit forward facing. I could do this in the Cayman, but the wife couldn't come along. This is another reason to buy the C4S. The car I'm interested in is in Chicago at the Porsche Exchange. Dealer says it is in showroom condition and I'm going to get an Easycare 4 year/60,000 mile warranty on it. I hope his idea of showroom and mine are the same. I just gotta pull the trigger.

Wellardmac

To be honest, depreciation is an issue with all the cars except the 911.

Boxsters are selling for crazy low prices right now. It amazes me that I can pick up a 5 year old Boxster for $15-20K. That would never happen with a 911. The 911 holds value very well (of course it does depreciate) and you'll be lucky if the value ever dips below $20K.

If you don't believe me take a look on autotrader.com. You'll see that the value of a 911 tracks more with mileage, rather than age.

Think about it. You can buy a new Boxster for $60-70K. You can buy a 911 for the same (The Boxster will have more options of course), at 5 years old, which is selling for the lowest price? Now come back and tell me that the 911 depreciates the same as the other P-cars.

busaganashi

I'm selling my 1986 911 Targa with 97K miles for about $20K. I paid $19K for it about 18 months ago. It only cost me oil changes, gas, insurance, and a $650 alternator to drive it.

mooty

every car depreciates, including 911.
my gt3's are all around 106k, they are all sold b/n 75k-80k. all less than 12 months old.
this rate of dep'n is not any steeper than boxster or cayman.
buy the car that speaks to your heart, forget dep'n. if you want to worry about dep'n buy a lexus RX350, or prius or mini. really sometimes you can sell them for more than you paid for.

busaganashi

To me the first year hit is the thing to avoid. I was looking at Cayman's and new they are $71K, but dealers are offering $4-6K off to clear 2006 stock. People are trying to sell them for $65K on autotrader. I actually made an offer on one about three weeks ago for $59K and the guy acted insulted. His car is still for sale. I figure his used Cayman with 3000 miles on it was worth about $6K less than a new one with the same options/color, etc. My reasoning on the depreciation for the C4S is that it will be a somewhat steady decline over the next couple years.

The car also speaks to my heart. I have to do the math though, cause hearts can be broken.

Doug&Julie

Do you really believe that? Maybe you need to spend a little more time shopping around like I have. And we're not talking about bottom dollar here, depreciation is more about percentage. Early Boxsters are dropping below the $20s, but they started in the $40s. The post '00 cars are holding above the $20s. So that's about half their original "value". More and more of the same era 911s are dropping comfortably below $30k, where they were originally sold for $60 - $70k. So about half...just like the Boxster. Of course, then there are the extreme cases, like the one bnewport illustrates in this thread:

https://rennlist.com/forums/996-forum/287302-996-my-99-with-less-than-50k-miles-now-for-29-000-a.html

I'm looking at selling my Arena Red 99 C4 Tip with 18" turbo wheels, full leather and wood interior. Price in 1999 was 98.5k, it's pretty heavily optioned. It has 43k miles and has a 3 year extended warranty remaining. I'm looking for 34k.

...that's one-third of the original price! Not typical, but more and more common. Regardless, don't tell me 911 are immune to depreciation.

Doug&Julie

Excellent points and smart buying. The trade off on the "new vs. just a few years old" will be in the warranty. So one has to decide what is more important...lower initial cost (and lower rate of depreciation) or having brand spanking new with complete factory warranty. With the quality of cars like Porsche, you're probably safe without the warranty. But there's always something about having a car that is completely your own and only your own.

Wellardmac

You are totally mis-quoting. I very specifically said that Carreras do depreciate. Only a moron would believe otherwise. I said that the do not lose their value as quickly as other p-cars and they do not drop as low as other p-cars. It really is that simple. I'm a researcher. I do research for a living. I spent the last year researching resale values before I bought my car this spring.

I challenge you to put up numbers. It's really simple. A 25 year old Carrera will still be worth $20K. You will never be able to say that of a Boxster. A colleague of mine spent $64K on this Boxster, it's not worth a fraction of that now. If he had spent the same money on a Carrara he would have lost less of his investment.

I don't know you and I'm never disrespectful to people I don't know (well, unless they desperve it!), but spend 5 minutes comparing cars on the used market and you'll see the error of your ways.

fast1

I challenge you to put up numbers. It's really simple. A 25 year old Carrera will still be worth $20K. You will never be able to say that of a Boxster. A colleague of mine spent $64K on this Boxster, it's not worth a fraction of that now. If he had spent the same money on a Carrara he would have lost less of his investment.

A 911 will hold its value quite well provided that you are able to sell it privately. Take an $80K '04 996 to the Dealer and ask him what they will give you for that car. A coworker of mine took his '04 996 C2 with 25K miles to the Dealer and asked them what they would pay for his car. This was after he negotiated a deal on an '06 997S. They were only willing to give him $48K for a car that apperared to me to be in excellent condition. Fortunately, my friend was able to sell his car privtaely for $56K.

Wellardmac

True, but that's the case with any car dealership. They aim to buy at less than wholesale and you're wanting to sell at retail. The two sides are never going to meet. The private market is the only way to get fair value on any car. It's just a question of whether the hassle of a private sale is worth more than the hit you would take on a dealership trade.

Personally, I'd only buy a used p-car on the private market, as you tend to get better value and a better vehicle history.... not always true, but you stand a better chance than with a dealership.

Nicolaasdb

I love my 996...but saw a cayman yesterday...black with 19" rims and I have to say the car looked great....I have read a couple of articles about the handling of the Cayman and they were very good!
I haven't driven one, but sat in one and it gave me a real sportscar feel..without the backseats!

It all depends on what your needs and wants are....I need rearseat so my kid can come along or I am doomed to drive my wifes X5 all the time.

Benjamin Choi

911 v. Cayman S is way too broad as some of you are discussing. A 911 GT3 is totally more desireable than a CS. A 996 Turbo, 997S is way more desireable than a CS. To me, but it's not a far stretch for many.

What we have here is the 996 C4S to the Cayman S. The 996 C4S is the most corpulent 996 out of the entire line-up and likely the slowest in a straightline.

How is the Cayman S slower than the 996 C4S in the straights? In the turns, the Cayman S is still a class above the 996 C4S.

I understand the attraction to the 911 history, but the Cayman S, done right, looks waaaay better and drives far better like a true sports car than the 996 C4S ever will - way too piggy!

mooty

well, to me, i take CS over both of those cars. but that's just ME.