Planet 9

Hi Guys,

I was just wondering if I could have your opinions on whether I would be better off buying a 2008 brand new Cayman or a 2006 Cayman S with 15,000km on it?


*TeeJ*

if you're worried about resale, i'd go for 08

if you're buying it for fun, the 06 are going for bargain prices...

i say go for the 06.

I just picked up an 06 CS. The price was a steal. Less than half of the original $73K USD sticker price.

I think, more than resale, if your concern is warrantee work, go for the 08. I'm hoping that by buying a 3 year old vehicle with a clean bill of health, I've avoided all the possible quirks from the factory.

__________________
2006 Cayman S [Arctic Silver/ Full Leather in Cocoa]
Sport Chrono Plus, PCM 2.1, Heated Seats, Bose
30,010 miles (2/05/2009)

There is virtually no difference between an '06 and an '08. I'd go for the '06 if you can find a good low mileage example.

Depends on the options.Assuming all else is equal i would go for the 06.

__________________

What are the prices of each car? If the difference is less then 10k, I'd go for the 08.

Price is the same for both. What I'm really interested about is whether the Cayman S is really a lot different to the Cayman.

Also 06' CS is the first Cayman out so I was also wondering if there are any problems with that particular model?

Thanks Guys
*Teej*

I just picked up an 07 CS with 11.5k mi, very clean and certified for 39,000. I
also shopped the 08's but that extra ten grand I would have had to spend was too much for me.

__________________

formerly dyager

I have discovered that the potential problems with the 06 are no different than those for 07-08's The cayman s to me is the better buy than the base Cayman ,but that is because i like to have as much horsepower as is possible from the start.It is my opinion that there will be a larger market for the S over a base Cayman upon resale (if you do sell it again).There are those that consider the base car as sufficient for there needs But i again feel (imo) that that demographic is smaller in number than those wanting the Cayman S

__________________

I just bought an '06 Cayman S with 16K miles. It's Artic/Black. I had my eye on a blue/tan '07 with only 7K miles. That's almost not enough miles! I want a car that's been driven periodically and cared for. Mine was not certified, but it's really in impeccable condition. I just did the trunk thump service on it in my garage. I like doing that kind of stuff and thing this car is extremely interesting from an engineering point of view.

I chose this car because:

1. It's an S.

2. the blue one had the very plain looking 18" wheels...the only style wheels I don't think add to the car's looks...literally all the others are great. The one I bought has 19" Carrera S wheels, which look great on this car.

3. I got PASM, which I really wanted because I wanted it to be a comfortable touring car as well as a great track or fun machine...we have terrible roads in N. Illinois.

4. I got Sport Chrono Plus and PCM2.1 (Navigation). I didn't really care about Navigation. I have a Garmin that works better that can stick on the window for a long trip, but I wanted the SC + for the throttle mapping and the little extra tweaking it allows.

Caymans are pretty sound cars if they're taken care of. They're expensive and most people who buy them understand the value of not letting them go to seed. They are rewarding cars to to take care of, so the number of really abused ones is pretty small. The one I got was obviously driven by people who were not mechanical. The tool kit on mine was obviously original and obviously never opened. The air pump was never used. The original Michelins are only about half gone in 16+K miles.

The price on mine with all this stuff and in immaculate condtion, checked out by a Porsche dealer but not officially certified, was $38,650. What I'm saving on this car gives me a bit of money for tweaks, new tires etc. I plan to track this car at least occasionally and want to do the power steering fix and the oil separator fix before trouble shows itself and before I do any perfomance tweaks. I want a set of R-tires and 18" wheels for it. It will continue to be well taken care of, but I didn't want to do these needed mods on a new one. It still has a bit of warranty left if it requires something, but I drove it home from Savannah, GA through the mountains and it's looking and running great. Had fresh fluids and all is humming and fine with it. With PASM, the wife even likes to go for an occasional spin...and she's picky!

So far, I'm pretty happy with my purchase. I would not hesitate to buy an '06 in good shape. I don't see much value in paying a lot more for an '08. I'm handy with tools and such and this site is a great resource.

I had a '95 M3 for almost 15 years and went to the dealer very seldom. It only had 55K on it when I sold it...about half were track miles, but it was still a very strong and good looking car. I priced it fairly and someone got a great deal. If you like fixing them up, get an older one. If you just want it to treasure and drive and can't fix anything, maybe the warranty aspect is worth the extra bucks.

The '09s have significant improvements, but '08s are not much different from '07 and '06.

The standard Cayman might be great for a sporty commuter/daily driver. If you have any sporting intentions, get the S.

Oh, and check out eBay Motors for a good representation of cars and prices and features. You can learn a lot just from the descriptions and photos. A lot of dealers are using eBay now to get national exposure for more expensive machines. You get photos of the real innards of the cars that you'd never see during a normal vehicle inspection.

As far as weaknesses.... All years of Caymans except possibly the '09s have a tendency to overheat and melt their power steering pumps when driven very hard for prolonged periods, like at a driving event. Most Porsches also have a tendency to blow oil through the engines under very hard cornering, like autocross or driving events. This oil issue isn't catastrophic for the engine but it's sort of unpleasant. I've got an allowance for installing fixes for both these problems before going to the track.