Planet 9

I have owned several sports cars but never a Porsche or a mid-engine car. The exterior of the Cayman always cut my eyes out. I wanted a Cayman but did not want to spend a lot of money. Ended up finding a perfect '08 new leftover at a HUGE discount. That did it!

The fact that this site was so active was impressive. I found it several days before purchasing a car. Thank you for a most informative resource!

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- '08 Cayman Speed Yellow, 18" S Wheel w/ Colored Crests, Bi-Xenon
- '08 Hummer H3 Alpha Silver
- '06 Harley-Davidson VROD Night Rod
- '08 Newmar Kountry Star 39' DP Motorhome

I hope this is okay, but I am a yet-to-own CS and I have a 99 Boxster. I was able to sit in the 2009 CS in white at the NY Auto Show, which is the one I want and the right color too. It is still a couple years off, but I would be putting this site as a choice. I need to get to a dealer to try the PDK vs. the 6-speed next.
Chris

Go for it. There are some good deals to be had and Porsche is offering some good financing. If your thinking of going with the 6sp, seriously consider an '07 or '08 CS. Lots of well cared for babies need a home!

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'08 Guards Red CS, 6 sp, 19" Carrera Classic Wheels, Black Standard Leather Interior, Heated Sport Seats, Bose Sound System, Sport Chrono, Auto Climate, Auto Dimming Mirrors, Xenon HID and uh a rocket booster, yeah that's the ticket!

Test drove a lot of vehicles never thought I would buy a Porsche now I've owned two Caymans. Its happiest I ever been in an vehicle.....Love it also the most beatiful Porsche I,ve ever seen.

OK. Here's my deal. I've had this great '95 M3 for 14.5 years. I bought it new. I've tracked it every year since I bought it. I had an M3 before it and a 911SC before that. All had been on race tracks, but the '95 was the tool I used to really learn go-fast driving. It's been as reliable as a brick for all these years requiring minimal maintenance. It's just a terrific car, but this year, I was prepping it for Putnam Park and really was bored with the whole prospect of yet another year with the same car, same mods, same tracks. I just wanted something different. Last time I tried to sell the car, I got 1 call from a broker and no one else was interested. I did my track prep and taught at two consecutive weekends at Putnam. First was Rites of Spring with the Hoosier BMW club. Second was MVP Track Time with Mark Pfeffer. At the BMW school, there was a Cayman S on track with a trailer ball sticking out the back. The guy was flying and the car really got my attention. I got a chance to talk to the owner/driver and he was very enthusiastic about the car and told me that prices had really got attractive on them. I'm a sucker for a car that's a value and one that's capable of being better with a few well-considered tweaks.

Then I went to Mark's school. Roadsters, prepaired Vipers, lots of crazy machinery. Some of it piloted by less than experienced drivers, some pro level guys getting ready for race season. It was a lot of fun and I had my work cut out for me getting some novices "over the wall" with their driving skills.

There were a few more Caymans at Mark's event. There was also an interesting Audi TT that handled way better than I thought it should. It got me looking at the TTS coupe, which is a pretty cool piece of work. But the TTS is new this year so there are no used ones. It's also a small engined turbo, which doesn't attract me for track use.

So the Cayman was in first place. As the owner of the Cayman at the BMW event said, there were several lightly used examples around on eBay for under $40k. I made that my price ceiling and started looking in ernest. That's when I bumped into the Cayman Club. When I started reading this site, I knew I was hooked. This is the sort of community that provides the missing link for the enjoyment of complicated machinery.

I found a really perfect '07 Cayman S with only 7K miles on it...one owner. Midnite Blue with tan interior. Nice car! No PASM, No Chrono, standard 18" Cayman S wheels, which I didn't like much on the car. I turned it down and went for a 2 owner, 16K mile car in Savannah, GA. PASM, Carrera S 19's, SC+,Nav, heated seats and HID lights. Just the stuff I'd order if I was buying new. I am dileriously happy with this car.

So, watching some Caymans run on a track and talking with an actual owner got the Cayman on my "short list". This forum and the right price for the right car sealed the deal.

Over the last 12-24mos, I went through the value-criteria exercise; asking myself what sports or gt car meets my $40-50K budget, new or used? On the used side add: how many years/miles am I willing to discount? also, toying with the idea of pushing the buy-new budget into $50-60k...what could that offer?

my list of contenders
Corvettes: new C6, used Z06
BMW: New 335 or Z4, Used M3/5 or Z4coupe
Audi: New S5
Mazda: New RX or Mx5
Porsche: Used 997, 987 more or less.

I'd decided I'd pretty much max'd out my Ford quota for this lifetime, having owned or driven routinely 7+ mustangs, covering 5 gens; unmodified to highly. Many fond memories.

each of the contenders have strong selling points to argue

in Mar. '09, a used '06 CS w/11K miles caught my sensations. done

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'06 Cayman S
'65 Chevy C10
'61 Tbird

OK, I have to resurrect this one. Tonight I was searching the forum to try and find a post on a turbo'ed time and ran across a AMG 55 thread. Story goes:

My wife decided she wanted an up-market sporty car (she drives a '97 240SX & a Mercury Mariner). She started naming off cars she had seen and admired- Jaguar (too much $ for too many miles she said...), Audi (same), New Volvo C30- nice car, can afford optioned, lets go look.

No cars on the lot were optioned the way I would buy, but still viable- *ME* "What would we trade?" "Nothing- I want my Nissan- It's my Winter car (Blizzaks & 100 lbs rock)" *ME* "Um... I'll bet this is really good in the snow." "No, we would keep the Nissan"

Then I spotted a car across the street- Mercedes AMG tough-looking. So, as we left the Volvo dealership, we went through the Mercedes dealership to turn around and 'decided' to have a look. On the lot they had 2 AMG 55s parked next to each other- one was spec and white, the other was lowered, spoilered, suspensioned, and silver-grey. Oh, my heart! That was my car! I went home and looked it up and for that year it had 500HP! Plus it was the s*hit! ...but it was $42K and had 45K Miles on it, which DID NOT fly with the wife. *sigh*

So, we went home for a couple weeks and went back to the Volvo dealer hoping they had an optioned-out car. They didn't- but there was something interesting in the Mercedes dealership...

We looked at the car, I said "I can see myself in that" with apparently enough conviction... I had off work the next day and my wife called and asked if I was "going to go test-drive the Porsche today" and that's all it took; one drive and I bought the car (more to follow).

My wife wouldn't 'Let Me' buy the car until she had a drive. Well, we got to the dealer late on Saturday and they were closing. So Sunday we found a Porsche dealer open and they let her drive a Cayman.

BUT, being the diligent guy I am, I looked for everything I could find new or used in this price range-

2005 Corvette Z06 18K miles (wife: they're too big)
Audi TT ?? miles (can't tell which way they're going)
2009 Z370 0 miles (I already have a good Nissan & I can downshift... and it's my Winter car)

And so, I was summarily dismissed. The rest is my blissful history... still loving it... both the car & the marriage.

If you actually read through this long post-

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chas

2006 CS Midnight Blue, Bi-Xenon, SportDesign Wheels, Heated Seats, Automatic Climate, Sport Shifter, SS Tailpipe

I had a MK2 GT3 on order for july, but due to the economic climate had to cancel it last minute unofrtunately and I decided to do a big budget cut for the next car. It was either used Cayman S or used BMW Z4M coupé. Nearly gotten the Z4M coz I couldn't find a nicely specced cayman (seems in Europe everyone buys these without options and 19", sport seats + sport steering wheel were must-haves for me). Last minute I happened to find one (was about to take the plunge for a Z4M the day after), 1.5y old, a lot of goodies on it, at an official Porsche dealer, in extremely good condition. Did a testdrive, approved it. Gonna pick it up next week

A few reasons for me. When I was a kid (long time ago...) my Dad always talked about wanting to own a Porsche. I have been around racing off and on throughout my life including a stint with the Olive Garden Team in ALMS and have seen first hand Porsche performance. Specifically, why the CS? I test drove an 08 Carrera (low mileage), a new 09 Carrera and the CS all on the same day. My wife and I found the CS to handle the best and provide the best overall driving experience. It reminded me some of when I was racing sprint Karts and it reminded my wife of her 04 Mini S owned a few years back.
It is the only car I have ever owned that I truly cannot wait to get in and drive every day. Those other cars have included C5 Vette, Audi S4 (2000), )3 E46 M3, 08 TT.

My brother has turned wrenches on all kinds of "high-end" exotics. He used to be the main guy at the "Autothority" in Fairfax VA. (They closed their doors when he left to go work at Washington Ferrari). Anyway, after working on Ferrari's and Lambos for 5+? years he still says "if someone gave me $200K, I'd buy a 911 and put the rest in the bank"...

I dig the 911, but prefer the looks of the Cayman... (and price was a concern too).

I've always dreamed of owning a Porsche, but didn't think they were "in reach", until I compared prices to some '08 C6 vettes I was looking at.

I am thrilled w/ my CS. It feels pretty "exclusive" at this point. Awesome car.

Glad to have found this site too... lots of good info

JT

We drove from Raleigh to Charlotte to look at a blk/blk Cadillac XLR and was disappointed in the lack of pep and comfort. When we got back into the Raleigh area I told my wife that we should check out the Porsche dealership for the hell of it. We saw our 09 blk/blk Cayman w/PDK on the lot and fell in love with it but it wasn't until we went for a test drive that sold us on the spot. The salesman took me for a ride first and I thought I may be in for a treat when he grabbed his radar detector. He showed me what the car can do as he went over the details of the car. He was taking corners at 70mph and the car held the road like it was on rails. It started raining and he wasn't slowing down. I thought I was going to see how well the air bags function but the Cayman never slipped or slid once. I would have never tried what he was doing in our Vette because I have started sliding at lower speeds than this. After driving it myself at a more conservative speed than he was, I was convinced that this was going to be our next toy. We left the Vette at the dealer and drove the Cayman home.

This picture on Google finally pushed me over the edge. I had been eyeing it for a couple of years, but never totally fell in love with it until I found this. Bought mine to match.

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I remember back in 2004 the announcements in the press about the 'affordable Porsche', since then I have hankered after a Cayman.

The main reason however is my wife's experience with her Boxster - it's an awesome car - I get to drive it maybe 4 times a year and it's such a treat.

So I voted "Spouse or significant other" The fact that it looks so good, drives like a dream and fits my budget is a bonus

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MY2010 Cayman 2.9 - Speed Yellow : Manual : Cayman S II wheels : Boy racer Aerokit : Exterior Aluminium kit & Sports Tailpipe - bling bling : Black Heated Leather with Crests : Various other ridiculously expensive bits.

Started out with a trip downtown to order more "su misura" shirts from the Zegna store. It was lunchtime when we finished and my wife's car (Range Rover Sport) was parked in front of the BMW dealer which includes a small restaurant (do they do this in the U.S.? Very popular here these days). So we had lunch at BMW while looking over a new Z4. At first the wife insisted she did not need a new car - halfway home, we were discussing exterior colours.

In researching the Z4, I found the Cayman coming up in comparisons. Never a Porsche fan, I had loved the lines of the Cayman the first time I saw one. This was a "pretty" Porsche as far as I was concerned. The idea of the Z4 faded fast when I realized the Cayman was in the same financial ballpark as a Z4 3.5i.

My wife, who loves the lines of my TT, found the Cayman even prettier. From there, it was a short leap to deciding on a Cayman S for all but the most rational reasons.

I then discovered this site which has been a treasure trove of information to help me sort out the final config.

I remain grateful to every contributor - not all topics are directly relevant, but all are informative in their own way. Cheers from a Canuck in Belgium.

I've always taken handling very seriously, I spent $10K on my VW MK5 Golf GTI on suspension/bars etc. Needless to say it handled like a go-cart.
I test drove the Audi TT-S, C63 AMG, M3, Audi S3, RS4 etc but my modified GTI out handled them all...

I drove a 2009 Cayman S, the first corner I entered was approx 90 degrees just down the road from the dealer at only 35kph...I was sold!! it put my beloved GTI to shame and everything else I previously had driven. Yes at only 35kph around a corner I knew this was exactly what I was looking for. The Cayman is a seriously magical car pure & simple. I've driven many high end German cars, but the Cayman is in a league of its own.

PORSCHE

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987.2 Cayman S
Arctic Silver : Mechanical Diff Lock : 6MT Sports Shifter : Heated Sports Seats : PCM 3.0 : BOSE : Embossed Crests : Aluminium II lever/gear : Wheel Centre Set
Softronic

I have ALWAYS wanted a Porsche (and a black 1977 Trans Am, but that's another story) and when I saw my first Cayman, I knew I wanted one. Reading about them in the magazines helped confirm my decision, but I wouldn't say they significantly influenced me.

I would not own a Cayman right now if it were not for this website.

Ladies & Gentleman,

Break out the Champage, today I bought a 2010 Cayman S. Without the information that was available on this site, I can say that this purchase would not have happen. The specific informtion on the Cayman S features,options etc. that I wanted was not available anywhere else. Once again thank you Planet Porsche "Great Job".

Falcon7"

I just happened to see one when it parked next to my car in a car park and liked it. Looked around, found a car with a good spec at a Porsche Centre and bought it.
Im still looking for a pristine 1980s Ford Capri though.

went to the dealer last year to help my dad choose a new car. Among other, we went to see Porsche cayenne and there it was, a black cayman. at first I thought it was some kind of high performance Porsche car faster and more expensive than the 911. It sure was better looking then 911... when I found out what it was I knew it was my next car. It was simple a question of "when" rather then "if". A year and couple of mounts later I was selling my bmw 3 coup (gave it away earlier today, sob ) and a mx-5 and eagerly expecting my new toy... i guess I'll be picking it up next week.

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2001-2009 Mazda MX-5 1.8
2002-2009 BMW 320ci
2006-2008 BMW X5 3.0
2008-2009 Chrysler 300c srt
2009-2009 Porsche cayman pdk