alcantara

I must admit, that although I've always been a huge fan of Porsche and have had friends and family with them, this is my first Porsche. I've been on the board for a couple of months now, and I've always driven *gasp* Japanese sports cars...mostly rotaries.

Well the story goes that I work in an industry where your car and your image can mean life or death, and I often tote around very high end clients. I also have a large dog (german shepherd) who could hardly fit in my little sports car. So I needed an SUV...a luxurious SUV...but I'm a sports car guy, so I bought the sportiest SUV I could think of...well within my budget anyways.

Cayenne S. I've read about all the quirks, but it's been nothing but smiles for me since I got it in early February.

Fast forward to today. I've been on this board pretty regularly at the office and at home, and I find myself even more drawn to the Porsche line. Today on my lunch break I went down to the Porsche dealership and was looking at the Cayman S. I know I can afford it if I really wanted to, but...logically I don't know if I could justify having both cars.

Every bone in my body wants to buy the Cayman S...I've never driven a 911, but I loved the Cayman S. Every part of me wants that car except for the logical part of my brain that keeps telling me the money is better spent elsewhere.

I think later on this week I'm going to go look at some of the used older 911's. I'm slowly turning into a Porsche die hard. Imagine that...me, a die hard rotor head until now, turning into a full fledged Porsche-file.

I guess the point I'm trying to make here is that Porsche introduced the Cayenne as a way to capitalize on their current customers' needs for an SUV parked next to their Boxsters and 911's and retain them as constant consumers of the Porsche brand. But with me, the Cayenne earned them a new customer.

I suppose this will all be out the window if I ever try to tow

LVDell

I have bought 2 Porsche from Gaudin in the last 4 years I have been in Vegas.....a 911CAB and a Cayenne and will be buying a GT3 this summer. You are not alone. Porsche is an addiction.

ltc

It tows just fine, don't worry about it. Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise.....

Why a Cayman? It's just a Boxster with a hardtop filled with 9x7 electronics. Nothing special, nothing that's going to keep it from depreciating as bad as other 9x6's have in the past.

I would suggest DRIVING the 'other' Porsches....especially those that were around before Dr W began ruining the company and the marque for eternity. The older 911's have a nice connection to the driver, the 968 may be the most well balanced Porsche ever produced, a 914 will remind you of a go-kart...all of these together could be yours for the price of a new Cayman/Boxster/911.......

Each have their own history and character and I'm sure one will appeal to you as much, if not more, than a Cayman.

Wander into the other forums, go to your local PCA meetings/gatherings...I'm sure most people would be glad to tell you about their various Porsches and take you for a spin.

If you do decide to buy 'new', I would strongly suggest a CPO, the 6/100 warranty will likely become your best friend.

Thanks to the Cayenne, Porsche made it easy for me to not buy the Carrera GT nor the Panamera. Funny how the same vehicle can have different effects on people.

Best of luck with your search.

alcantara

hmmm thanks for the info. I was thinking of checking out the last of the air cooled 911's. Everyone always seems to rave about those...HOWEVER...I do live in Vegas.

I don't know yet what I'm going to do, but I know one thing for certain. I am getting addicted.

Anyone else with RX-7 FD3S experience? I loved that car...looking for a similar Porsche experience.

I like the Cayman S just from the test drive I took, but ltc if you say those other cars are worlds above it, it sounds like I'm definitely in for a treat

skl

My suggestion is a good 993- wish I'd never sold my 030 '95 coupe... oh well, you can't keep them all... wish I hadn't sold my 914-6... wish I hadn't...........................................

LVDell

The Cayman is GREAT as long as you are ALWAYS in the top of the power band. If not, you will be VERY disappointed. I was really anticipating it but was let down.

JARO

forget it.....just get a 6 series bimmer....I did and love it!! .....but in the future will get a 911...PERIOD

ltc

It's not really air cooled, it's oil cooled with a fan blowing air across the motor and some oil coolers up front......you will hear them called air cooled, or 'dry' motors.
The 996, 986, 997, 987 motors are water cooled (they have air-water radiators and antifreeze), they are called 'wet' motors.

The pinnacle of 911 development is generally accepted to be the 993 series.
Aircooled motor, all the nice to haves (yes, A/C that really works well), classic lines (especially Turbo bodies.....no woman's rear can compare to a 993 Widebody), 6 speed, very good reliability (M64/GT1 derived motor.....a classic).

You would have no issues with a 993 in Vegas.

Don't listen to ltc....he spent years in a 'vacation villa', wearing tight fitting pajamas with the arms in the back (but with the really cool little feet sewn in and the flap in the back), tied down to his bed and his only means for communication was typing with a pencil inbetween his teeth with a laptop computer.

ltc

You had/sold an M030 993
THAT hurts.

Kooser

Dude, I am right there with you. Every time I go to the dealer for an addition to the car or service or mod I spend hours with each model (all new) and have to really hold myself back from just taking the plunge. I was trying to justiy the purchase tonight even with my wife at dinner and I couldn't really argue with her point. Why do we need three cars? And Why isn't the Cayenne Turbo good enough for you anymore?

But maybe once she gets into a new BMW M3 cab, maybe she will be so distracted that it won't matter if I showed up with a GT3! As an investment of course. Something that we really NEED!
It will put a hurt on my paper stack, but that I can handle. It is the rath of my wife that I can't handle!

tkerrmd

depends on if you want new or not. I was in the same boat, looking at new porsches, then I realized how much money I was going to spend and started looking at used cars in the same price range. I settled on a TT, couldnt be happier. If you want something tamer the cayman was my next choice, just too little hp for me. The decision to finally go to two porsches has been one of the best so far!!

MadFox

All in all.. what I really wanted was the opposite purchase sequence of most of you. I wanted a 928 back in my Navy days.. but, alas Reagan changed the import laws and you couldn't gray-market (for those that don't know - a less expensive European) to the U.S. direct while serving in the military "legally". So, I finally got my Porsche (ltc let it alone) in the form of a Cayenne in May '03 because I couldn't rationalize a sports car with 3 kids still at home. I have loved it and hated it since day one. I'm an enabler of the damn addictive thing. But, alas, I will finally get my sports car in a 997 cab. (as now two will be off to college) ..... I've been looking for a CPO but as soon as they get them, they are out the door. Since the 997 seems to have no RMS issues now, then it is in my near future.. the question is only whether or not the Cayenne gets to continue to be loved/hated in my stable.... er, fleet of vehicles (me, wife, 3 at home/college drivers)

ltc

I prefer hated and loved (and it's never a 50/50).....Alright, screw the loved, simply 'hated and tolerated'



BURN IT, it's a witch!

Stone43

I was at the dealer for some parts yesterday and noticed that they had a new Cayman, Discounted (they openly advertised this) by $6000!!!!

This car was anticipated for years, waiting lists and all and already they are discounting them? What is the story with that?

ltc

Where have you been lately?
100K/year car goal...no matter what.

Sales are off across the board, dealers are still stuck with cars assigned by PCNA. Refuse these cars and your ability to get the ones you want later are greatly diminished.

And thanks to overproduction, high depreciation, the dealer now has CPO vehicles (and in many cases, they wont' even CPO them, just sell them as used....helps to get $$ in thru the service department if you can no longer get it thru new sales), so buyers now have a greater # of choices/vehicles availble.

Dr. W will ruin this company for good, trust me.