Carsly

some food for thought: I started out looking at sub-$25k 996's and early Caymans. Over time, and with research, moved my sights up to a 996 C4S, 40th anniversary, base 997 or Cayman S.

After a year of research, consideration, looking at cars, speaking with owners, etc and discussing with the wife and family decided the back seats were a big plus and that I didn't want to deal with IMS risk, bore scoring and other 996 maladies so eventually settled on a low mileage 996 Turbo well above my initial price range.

That was four years ago, couldn't be happier with the car or decision. Take your time and don't rush it, the hunt is a big part of the experience.

SomnoBoost

Yeah I'm starting my "journey" now but I do not plan to buy until October. That should give me time to learn enough to make a well informed decision and network with some Porsche owners to find a local mechanic. And come up with a maintenance budget. I will have at least $2k set aside after I make the purchase. Just to take care of as much preventive maintenance or loose ends as I can when i take the car home.

Whitesheep

Be patient and surely you will find what you are looking for SomnoBoost. If you find a CPO at a dealer I wouldn't hesitate buying it before you see it in person (I did). If purchasing from a private party investing a weekend driving or even flying long distance to view a car is part of the Porsche Purchase Adventure (PPA).

I found my '14 CS 6MT in Atlanta and drove it the 2000 miles back to Phoenix as part of my personal PPA and was really glad I did. As Porsche says "It is only a mid life crisis if you DON'T buy one"

SomnoBoost

Thanks for all the replies. Very helpful! I'm more excited than ever about the idea of getting a Cayman. This is just the first of many more questions to come after I get it. Ha!!

SomnoBoost

I know there won't be a definitive answer, but... Let's assume that all maintenance and servicing was properly done on a Cayman (base and/or S) and no issues hidden. What would be the ceiling you guys would draw the line at as far as maximum mileage you would consider purchasing?
I understand that a 20k miles car can be far worse off than a 80k car if if not properly maintained, but let's just assume all things equal for this scenario. Considering that I will only put no more than 5k miles per year on it.

Thanks!

sugarwood

It's a weekend car, and probably will not suffer catastrophic damage.
You might sell it after 2 years and get a good chunk of your money back.

Boxsters seem to be a much better bargain if money is a concern.

You seem interested in learning some basic DIY, I assume there is at least some Cayman DIY info out there.
Generally, the older the car, the more it's been worked on and documented on the internet.

Make sure you find some local non-dealer shops who can work on it. (within 45 mins)


Go for it.
Enjoy the research and the shopping, it is a big part of the fun.

TexasRider

It depends. 10- 12-15,000 a year might be about the upward for me.

So for a 4 year old car it could be I'd be looking up to somewhere around 50,000 miles. 30-40,00 might be better. Or not. Then again those might need brakes. Or a big service. Or tires. Or have more interior wear.

What do you want to fix and redress? What moves you the most if it's less than perfect? A bit more mechanical wear, or a bit more interior wear, or a bit more body wear. For me, I'd rather fix mechanical wear than interior or body work any day. Or, do you want to just get in it and drive it.

The idea that they will otherwise be equal really may not hold true too much.

I believe you are better off evaluating each one that makes your list on its own merit.

You can get your own tail caught in a trap of X mileage or X cost. I've seen it. I also have buds who always want a 20,000 mile Cayman S driven by ChurchLady that's in pristine shape for 10,000$, because well its an older Porsche and things "could" be wrong with it and then they say I saw a 150,000 mile Boxster with a broken speedo for $8000. They still don't have a car either. Im obviously not implying this is you, or any of us. But they keep whittling off both ends of the stick a little at a time, under the idea that those numbers are a bit better, until no stick matches it and no stick is left. Then they say Ok lets look at a 911 air cooled. Ha - yeah do that, is what I say to them.

What you have to do is decide what you want first. Like I want a blue Cayman 981 with grey interior in S trim and with a manual. Or a black base 987 Cayman with a black interior and a Tiptronic. The price range and general mileage and availability will soon shake out. A handful will be "better" than the others.

If you say here is one for $20 K and I can live with a silver one and black interior then great. But often what happens is you don't get what you want and you are right back trying to buy and sell one. For some guys they like it. For many - they don't , and get disillusioned when they end up spending on it or servicing it.

There is some old Porsche buying logic that many of you might have seen. It says get the newest Porsche you can afford. I think that is exactly where to start if you don't have experience with Porsches. Then you can back up in to a 930 Turbo later.

I've had older Porsches and older cars too. When it came to my Cayman S I knew very well what I wanted.

billwot

Everyone's priorities are different, but for me, how many future, trouble-free miles can I expect to get is really more important than how many it already has. If your only looking at ~5K miles a year, I wouldn't worry about a 50-60K car.

My purchase was not a "midlife crisis" purchase, but an "end of the road" purchase. Age 75, many sports cars in my past, and wanted one more to last me from here on out. Its the car we will take to mountains, to the beach, to the bluegrass festivals, etc. You get the picture. I'll probably drive it 7-8K a year. I only considered <50k miles cars, so I hope I live long enough to roll up another 100K.

Whitesheep

Great point billwot. The one thing missing until your post is clearly addressing the assumption that you plan on selling the car someday. If resale value is of concern, then mileage at time of purchase should be important. For billwot and me where we plan to keep the car for our forever and don't plan on selling the car, high mileage is a reason for a discount at purchase.

The '14 CS MT I purchased on the last day of 2016 had 39k on the clock. Now it has 43k and 2k of those were getting it to Phoenix from Atlanta. In a couple of years it will have "normal" mileage and I'll have made good on the mileage discount.

Have what you like, like what you have!

TexasRider

Kind of. Maybe. ^

These cars will deprecate for probably 8 or 10 years. Then maybe just hold. Or come up some. But the majority of these cars will never be like a GT or a 930. And if they are, then you probably better be really young today to see it.

In between that then enjoy these cars. If you see a 930 you want along the way then your Cayman will still have some value.

SomnoBoost

My plan is to drive the Cayman during the spring through fall months, not as my daily car but weekends, and commuting my 12 mile journey to work sometimes isn't out of the question. I plan to keep the car at least a few years, if not quite a few. If I make close to what I paid back when/if I sell it, I'd be happy. Not crushing if I lose a couple/few thousand. I look at it as paying rent! lol

conceptDawg

I'm in almost your exact situation. My wife and I make decent money, one kid, no debts, good retirement savings, no car notes (until the Cayman, that is). We've always been relatively frugal.

Well, I bought mine last December and it's 100%, absolutely, positively the best decision I've made in YEARS. It brings me so much joy and I can't put that in a spreadsheet.

I will also say that I had no intentions of tracking it when I bought it. It was just going to be a "weekend car." I was lying to myself. Once I did my first track day I was hooked. Once you start tracking it the expenses will multiply: new tires are needed very quickly, you'll probably want a set of track wheels so that you don't mar your nice ones, and you'll probably want some race brake pads so that you don't burn through the stock pads after a long track weekend, and more oil changes.

But if you don't track it the car is solid and reliable. I've had to replace the engine coils (under warranty) which seems to be the "thing" with 981s but other than that I've had no problems at all. Even if it were out of warranty the coils are only about $75 each, so it wouldn't be a huge deal.

I will say that I bought this thing to be a weekend car but it's turned into almost a daily driver because every time I go out I want to take it. I look for reasons to drive it. I take the long route home. Every time. So you'll put some miles on it unless you have better self control than I do.

Mickeyfin

midlife crisis occurred at 66. Just bought a new Cayman [2016] for my retirement gift. There were 2 left at the dealer lot. This one came with a few more options. A crazy option was the heated AND cooling seats. After looking at 10 year old 911's for $40K and up it made sense to make the check out the poor mans 911. I couldn't be happier! I don't know anything about the used Cayman market but when I looked for one there were barely any for sale in So. Cal.
go Gettum'
Mick

TexasRider

You made a good choice ^. And welcome to RL too Mickey.

I could have got the 991 911 or stretched it for a new 911S. There was one used one in 991.1 that had my attention because of color combo and somewhat on price. That one got sold later that day, telling you that the good ones don't last long.

The CS was the car I wanted, although I likely wouldn't have gotten it in black had I had gotten to dealer in time to order a 981. Mine is loaded to the gills with Porsche options and I don't have a single thought about it being any less than a 911. Coming from a bunch of years of racing, and running them on the track vs 911s, I said to the Porsche instructor, I could pass the 911 in front right here. He said I see that.

But my CS puts a smile on my face every time I uncover it.

GTgears

If you are patient, I would shop for an '09 not S. Best bang for the buck Cayman.

I'm not patient. I bought an 08S with 175k from a member. Even has a bad engine. But I can repair it and be into the car for a good margin under $20k. It was a commuter that looks and has wear like it's a 75k car. Was well maintained just bad luck on the engine. For a 2-3 year car I rolled the dice.