jsykes

My experience with the insurance is not the same as yours. When I was shopping, I had been considering a 2008 987 S and called the insurance company to get an estimate for how it would change from my 2015 S4. Turned out it would only go up $5/month.

I ended up finally with a 2014 981 S, when I changed the insurance, turns out it only went up $9/month.

So for me, the 2014 S was only $4/month more expensive than a 2008 S.

tomhartzell

Best of luck finding your car! When I did my search this past March, the 987.2 cars were very rare. (And still are) I was initially looking at a 2012 CS out of state that was very attractively priced but also had very high mileage. There were no service records available, and I offered to have a PPI done at their local Porsche dealership. The dealership felt it would have required over $13K in service / repairs. (An immediate red flag!) I ended up finding a CPO 2012 CS with a 2-yr warranty at a dealership less than 100 miles away. Part of the delivery package was the PPI they had performed on my car, as well as the other services they had performed. (i.e Like the 40K mile service -- even though the car only had 34K miles on it -- as well as the brake fluid flush and related maintenance. These services wouldn't have been required to sell it, but just routine things done by the dealership to ensure you're getting a quality car that's fun and safe to drive.)

Bottom line is that I would highly recommend getting a PPI done if you're not buying a CPO car from a dealership, with your offer contingent upon the results of that inspection. (Regardless of the year of the Cayman you're looking at.)

A/S

987.2S because of the 3.4. Nice torque and fun acceleration. The base engine (987.2 and 981) is weak on the mid range.

daylorb

I personally prefer the 12 S, if for no other reason you are not sitting in a car that you know could have come equipped with larger engine/brakes/etc. You'll always know that a Cayman S was as maxed-out as possible (R not withstanding) and you get to enjoy all of that performance... and potentially better handling to boot over a 14.

firefoxUSSR

^^ what he said. I had only been considering the 987.2 and was mulling over which was the best base model that I could find for months.
Fast-forward to late December... a one-owner, low mileage, manual shift, S-model came up for sale; I snapped it up quick.

I like the 981 Cayman's looks, but the 981 Boxster got so pretty compared to previous generations. I could go for either in 981. However... clear win for the Cayman 987 aesthetically.

clib