lencap

Greetings -

I have a similar post in the general forum, but no replies yet. The issue is simple - I have a deposit on a 2016 CPO base manual Cayman, and I have to make a purchase decision on Monday.

I've owned several sports cars, everything from a Ferrari 360 spider to an Alfa Romeo Spider, and as a senior citizen, I'm attracted to owning my "last sports car" from Porsche. I've owned a 1987 911 purchased new, but only owned it for a short time.

I no longer care very much about 0-60 times, and will rarely drive the car much above 6/10 of its capability. My goal is to have an exceptional handling car, enjoyable to drive when I want to. The Cayman/Boxster S models are wonderful machines, but seem like overkill for my intended use. The CPO coverage expires in September 2021, a very reasonable timeframe. The car has only 6500 miles.

I assume that the last of the six cylinder cars with a manual transmission and CPO designation will always find someone that wants to own it, if I do resell it.

The questions are: For my needs is the base Cayman manual transmission the right car for what I want to use it for? Are there any significant issues with the car that I should be concerned about - some posts suggest engine issues.

Thanks in advance for the replies.

extanker

sounds like the car will fit your needs aplenty btw......do not turn down one with PDK if you can find one

lencap

Extender -

Thanks for the comment. I realize the PDK is a wonderful transmission, but for me, a sports car has three pedals on the floor. I really enjoy "rowing my own".

My DD is a VW Sportwagen - 5 speed manual. It does everything I need (carries grandkids and their stuff, is cheap to run/maintain, is very enjoyable to drive), and it's versatile and "under the radar". The base car isn't a rocket ship, but it's perfect for a urban environment DD where I live. In fact, part of me is wondering if the Porsche will be overkill - I really don't anticipate ever exploring the 160+MPH top speed of the car, and rarely will drive it the way Porsche intended. Still, there is something magical about enjoying a sports car, even if it isn't as often as we'd like it to be.

extanker

have you road tested one yet ? overkill is not how i would describe them power wise

lencap

Yes, I did, but it was an bit older with more mileage than the car I'm considering now. I have an appointment to visit the dealer Monday - it's a 5 hour ride from my house. The older car seemed fine for my needs, but it was a bit louder than my friend's Boxster. I realized afterward that the open top Boxster dissipates the sound compared to the Cayman where the engine sounds are amplified by the large glass window over the engine.

The car I'm considering has 19" Cayman S wheels, Bi-Xenon PDLS lights, Power steering Plus, XM radio, Multifunction steering wheel, convenience package, sport tailpipes, tinted taillights. I am interested to see if the sport tailpipes change to interior resonances in the car compared to the other versions I've driven. The car I'm considering is CPO certified, has under 7K miles, manual tranny, whit/black color combo. CPO expires 9/2021.

extanker

you might wanna check on a garage in your hood that can service them properly [service light etc] .....dealer oil changes 470.00 min in my area

Macster

IMHO the base Boxster and Cayman models are the best balanced Porsches. Balanced in every sense of the word. Just the right amount of power, braking, gearing, purchase cost, running costs, etc.

(I did some preliminary research on a 2015 Cayman base with low miles and a CPO warranty out to Feb. 2021. Tempting. Very tempting. But I balked because I could not decide which car: 2002 Boxster or 2003 996 Turbo; to get rid of. Even though I have put around 312K miles on my base 2002 Boxster 5-speed it is still a great car. The Turbo with over 155K miles is likewise a great car.)

My usage is about on par with your intended usage. I use my Boxster for my 60 mile a day work commute and for around town errands. Earlier in its life I used it for my several times a year 4K mile road trips. The car was quite at home on the open road.

Nowadays I don't have time to take any road trips but after I retire I plan on reacquainting the Boxster with the open road at least in part by taking the Boxster on a road trip through all 48 of the contiguous states.

With low miles and a CPO warranty you are pretty much covered unless you just don't drive the car very much. When my 2002 Bxoster came out of warranty it did so based on miles, 50K, and I decided to hold on to the car and let the chips fall where they may. That proved to be the right decision.

While problems have appeared as the miles accumulated this is to be expected. But no serious problems have appeared. Except to replace a bad VarioCam solenoid and actuator the engine has never been opened up. The transmission was out once at 25K miles to replace the leaking RMS (rear main seal) under warranty.

My advice is to give the car -- even though it has a CPO -- a thorough road test to make sure it drives ok. Afterwards get the car in the air and check underneath for any leaks.

If you buy the car change the engine oil/filter on a regular schedule. Early (at around 4K miles) I decided (based on the results of an oil analysis) to change the Boxster oil/filter every 5K miles instead of the factory's recommendation of 15K/30K miles. Best decision I ever made as I think this has played a major role in the engine's longevity.

The other fluid and plug and filter services do when due on time or miles. That 2 year brake and with a manual clutch fluid flush/bleed is very important. Do not skip it.

Keep the radiator ducts free of debris build up and likewise the body water drains.

Then just drive the car. Lots.

Jack-Porsche

Certainly sounds like the right choice for you. Plenty of power, but not too much. Also, the handling is fantastic.
I think you are correct in that there will always be a market for a 3 pedal, flat 6 Cayman! I would be less concerned with CPO, as you are paying a premium for it, but it doesn't hurt.
I have a 2007 with 3 pedals....PDK is great if you are trying to beat lap times, but if you like "driving", there is no replacement for taking a leisure drive and going through the gears!
enjoy and post pics.

TexasRider

It depends.

They are great cars.

They are great feeling and great handling cars.

I personally didn't tell much difference in the Cayman, Boxster, or 991 in terms of noise as the tire road noise is much of it.

Whether you want a manual vs PDK is up to you. I like them both. If you are in lots of stop and go freeway traffic and using it as a daily driver then that might be a consideration. If not then go how you want.

lencap

Thanks for the replies -- much appreciated.

I usually agree about the cost of CPO warranty, but in this case the dealer has the car on his lot for too long and is anxious to let it go. It's a base Cayman, a bit over 6100 miles on the odometer with CPO coverage until September 2021, convenience package, Bi-Xenon PDLS, tinted taillights, power steering plus, sport tailpipes, 19" Cayman S wheels, auto dimming mirrors/rain sensors, multifunction steering wheel, XM radio. From what I've seen, he's priced the car very aggressively, and the CPO isn't adding much, if anything, to the cost.

Most similarly equipped cars are priced several thousand dollars higher. The combination of a manual transmission and low miles is my main attraction - the CPO is a nice bonus. The options pack isn't exceptional. The only thing missing would be the Sport steering wheel in place of the multifunction wheel.

TMc993

I don't think this is the car for you. If it was, you'd know it and would have already purchased it.

lencap

TMC - thanks for the comment, but I just found the car late last week and have placed a deposit on it to hold it until I can get to the dealership tomorrow. I may indeed find that it's not what I want when I get there, but until then I've got an open mind and hope to react accordingly.

I admit that price has a lot to do with it, but moving to the "S" version has some drawbacks for me. For instance, the larger wheels/lower profile tires will likely provide a harsher ride. At least it does in a local car that I've driven. For me, that's a positive for track or high energy driving, but a drawback for the more relaxed driving a I plan to do. The "S" has clearly stronger acceleration - and that may indeed be missed. I'll know more after I get a test drive.

The positives, from my perspective - a low mileage last year of production 6 cylinder engine, CPO warranty until 2021, equipped reasonably, even though some options I would likely not have ordered if I were buying new. Depreciation isn't my number one concern, but it is something to consider. I believe that a last year base model will hold value relatively well, being a manual transmission, low miles, CPO. The difference in depreciation to the "S" isn't likely very much, so again I'll try to keep an open mind.

I was minutes away from buying a Corvette Grand Sport, equipped exactly like I wanted - brand new 2017 at a 14% discount from list price. Quite a deal, but in the end I didn't enjoy the test ride - the view to the front of the car was somewhat vague (hard to see where the wheels are placed given the higher hump in the front of the hood and the very long view to the tip of the hood - I'm 5'7", and the lower angle of view is significant), and the steering lacked a lot of feel. I also realized that I don't need, and will never use 460 HP/460TQ, and revving it out got me to super legal speeds very quickly. It's not a lot of fun having to short shift the car, or to be unable to use the majority of the RPM range. That's my concern for the "S" Cayman as well - with the lower HP car I can rev more aggressively - something that I enjoy.

Again, thanks for the post, you are making me think and focus - exactly what I need for tomorrow.

TMc993

FOLLOW-UP:

I didn't notice until I re-read the thread that you had to drive five hours to see the car. Makes sense that you haven't purchased it yet.

My driving patterns are the same as yours except that my Cayman is my daily driver. I don't track the car and other than some "brisk" driving in the mountains in my area, I don't really drive hard at all.

When looking for a car, I drove a 2014 S before I purchased my 2014 base and didn't notice a great deal of difference in ride on the test drive. Power and acceleration was another story, but the differences between the two cars weren't enough to justify the premium on the S. The base was the best choice for me.

I will say that at 70 years of age, and after driving nothing but manual transmissions since I bought my first Porsche 356 in 1972, I sprung for PDK and find it to be perfect for my needs and amazingly fast and efficient.

Good luck in your search.

Porsch2018

Hello...I have driven manual transmission cars for over thirty years and was sure I wanted one prior to going to the dealership. Though, for me clutch was very heavy, and the thought of driving it around town didn't seem that appealing. In addition, the PDK on the all the Caymans' I drove the gears changed so seamlessly. I ordered a Cayman S with PDK.....In my opinion, it's all about the ride so go with the car that was/is the most fun to drive. Good Luck!

lencap

Thanks to everyone for the help, suggestions, thoughts.

Today was decision day, and to my great surprise I didn't buy the Cayman. There was nothing wrong with the car, it was me. I had great expectations for the car, and many were achieved, but in the end the car didn't force me to buy it.

Not sure if it was the color (white/black) which seemed OK, but didn't really excite me, or the driving experience itself. The dealer was in a modest sized town, and the weather was overcast with some rain. With damp roads I didn't want to press the car, and like anywhere else in the rain the ride was less than ideal. My wife also liked, but didn't love the car. Seating position was/is a challenge, especially given her arthritis. She is also "petite" - just over 5 feet, and didn't get a very good view of the road. She said she would certainly drive the car, but wouldn't really do it often - she wasn't really comfortable and didn't enjoy it very much.

Again, not blaming the car, it's us. I'm not even sure why I didn't buy it, but my feeling was consistently "this is a very nice car", and I was expecting to say "I love this thing". I drove the Cayman S and it was certainly more powerful, but it was a PDK transmission and my bias toward manual transmissions made it less attractive to me. Without my bias it would have certainly been a fun machine to own.

Lastly, and this is really unfair, I realized that my DD VW 5 speed manual SportWagen, although certainly not a Porsche, would likely continue to get more use and be more versatile for grandkids, etc. My wife asked me a great question: "If we're going to visit the kids for the day, would you really want to make that visit in a 2 seater?" She has a point. We often take the kids to "do things", including lots of things to carry. My kids have their own cars, but the whole point of visiting is to be with the family. My son's house is about 90 miles from me; my daughter about 165. Those are great distances for a Porsche ride, and until my wife raised the question I didn't really appreciate that the family demands would often create a conflict between my desire to take the side roads to visit the families so I could enjoy the ride, or the wagon to be able to interact with them when we arrived.

All's not lost - I still have the Moto Guzzi.

Thanks again for the help. I'm as surprised as you may be that I didn't buy the car - I really thought it was a near certainty. The car is still for sale, and it is a screaming deal for someone looking for a very nice 2016 Cayman base car, 6K miles, and CPO.