[PSM3]

I have only had my 2007 Cayman S a month and a few hundred miles and this morning, it picks up a very small rock chip just aft of the driver's door, down low. It really ticks me off. I can't even figure out where the rock came from. The last car that passed going the other was was several seconds before, and can't see how the front tire could launch a rock to hit the flat side of the car (not on the fender bulge).

Maybe a psychological question, but how do you guys get past the damage that results from just driving the car? It is my pride and joy and to see it slowly aged through rock chips, and other environmental attacks is really difficult. Funny thing is, after I found the chip (I looked after hearing it), I seemed to be less paranoid about driving, and drove it with less stress.

- Phil

 

[ccd]

I do not yet own a Porsche, but I am looking at a Cayman AND contemplating that question all the time. My definition of daily driver is a car with enough sophistication and storage space to be used for daily drives and tasks and not so bloody expensive that you are basically afraid to take the car anywhere. So defined, there are, at my count, only three true sports cars that can come anywhere near meeting this definition: the RX-8 (particularly the R3), the Cayman (any flavor, base or S) and the Lotus Evora. Of the three, the Cayman is by far to most configurable to be either a DD or GQ. I would call the R3 a definite DD and the Evora a definite GQ.

I'm looking for a DD, so I am looking for a used '09 base Cayman with PDK, sports chrono, leather and HID. That car with reasonably low miles will probably cost me around $40k, give or take. Not cheap, but also not that expensive as cars go today and not a car that I would dread taking anywhere. DD are about enjoying the ride and not sweating the small stuff. Stuff like rock chips are going to happen to DDs. It may be a Porsche, but it is also a car which will depreciate and get old. Worry about every little thing that happens to the car and you will rob yourself of a lot of enjoyment.

Most of the distinction between DD and GQ is about mindset. I was at a RX-8 forum and a guy actually got rid of the car because he was sweating every little thing, like parking too close to other cars and possibly getting a ding, etc, etc. Personally, I thought he was crazy. If he owned a Cayman, I could have better understood it. But that was his perspective and shows that any car can become a GQ if you think of it that way. If you sweat every little thing that happens to your car, your DD will morph into a GQ before your eyes.

 

[gtkyl]

Don't worry about it; you can't avoid all the junk that's on the roads. I've been hit by a wrench thrown up by a truck - it hit the side intake of my Cayman. I have so many chips on the front spoilers on my RS60 that I'll have to take them off and paint them soon. Just touch up the chips and have a good paintless dent repair shop take care of any dents.

 

[808croc]

i purchased the car to drive it. after the first ding (caused by my father a couple of days after picking up the car), i no longer sweat the small stuff...now, if something major happened, that's another story.

 

[landrovered]

When I arrived home after picking up my new Boxster, I proudly parked next to my wife's Boxster. I opened the door of my car and just barely hit the door of my wife's car. It accidentally put a small but noticable ding in her door, I felt really bad. Nothing worse than dinging a Porsche with a Porsche. She is still pissed about it and that was two months ago.

 

[scottschoe]

You really only have two options. The first is to drive it, and accept whatever risks the road presents. The second is to garage it, which in itself still presents some risk. I know which one I'd pick...

 

[BadToTheBox]

I live in an area where pick up trucks jacked up six feet in the air riding on tires the size of jet aircraft tires is the norm so if I stressed out over every ding in my paint I'd buy an old used beater I didn't care about. Putting my top down and driving my Boxster anywhere makes up for the occasional ding and I figure that in three years I'll take it in and have it repainted as a part of maintenance upkeep.

 

[KS-CS]

I made the decision to accept whatever fate (and the road) throws at me, when I chose to make the Cayman my DD. As fate would have it, the first 2 scratches were through my own negligence (leaning over the rear fender into the trunk, and my jacket zipper lightly scratched the clear coat :wall: ). Since then, my car bears a number of tiny scars attesting to its use - and the satisfaction I get out of driving it every day.

If you intend to use the car as a DD, then you simply have to have the mindset that you will pick-up dings, chips, and scratches sooner or later. If I had a GQ, and it got chipped or scratched the one day a month I take it outside, then I would be really pissed.

 

[JamesThomas]

PSM3,

Here is an exercise that you may find helpful.

It will likely require several sessions so that synaptic patters can be developed.

Turn off phones and distractions and sit quietly alone. Take some deep breaths and relax the muscles in your body. Take your time and do not rush. Speak silently or in a low tone out-loud "relax", "relax" (it actually helps to say it out-loud as that will bring into play more senses of the body, which stimulates more areas of the mind.

When you are relaxed, close your eyes and imagine yourself walking up to your Cayman, opening the door, sitting quietly for a while, buckling your seat belt, starting her up and driving off. Feel the sensations of driving: hear the sounds, smell the smells, etc. Imaging yourself driving your Porsche as real as you can.

You arrive at a wonderful stretch of winding mountain road, the weather is beautiful and you're the only car around. You giver her the gas and fly through the turns. Really feel the joy and excitement.

You're coming up to a turn very fast, something out of the corner of your eye catches your attention, you look away from the road for a fraction of a second then back to realize the turn is extremely sharp and partially blocked by a small rock slid. You swerve at too high a speed, hit your brakes and loose control as the passanger side of the care drops into a ditch and in the briefest of moments you are spinning in the air and then engulfed in the loudest sound you have ever heard as you hit the ground and the car continues its roll, over, and over, and over. Then, all is silent, all is still.

You're sitting in your seat upside-down with all airbags deployed and your seat-belt cutting into your shoulders.

It takes a while, but you manage to crawl out through the opening where the wind shield once was. You lie still on soft grass staring up at the blue sky and big fluffy white clouds. You feel the sweet air enter your nose and fill your lungs with a deep appreciation never felt before. You're alive and unhurt.

You slowly stand and inspect what's left of your car. There's not a square inch that's not scraped of paint or not dented. It's a total wreck. How did you make it out of that mess unhurt?

You laugh with joy at being alive and your heart swells with love for family and friends, and the beauty of nature as you feel intimately embraced with the warmth of the sun and the cool-warm breeze pregnant with the fragrances of spring. Life is good. Life, is damn good!

You realize how fortunate you are. You've lost nothing of non-replaceable value, and you've gained a new appreciation for life.

Visualizations like this can help us to become more grounded in life and help us see what is truly important, and what is not.

A Cayman is simply a tool (indeed a very special one, but a tool nonetheless). A tool meant to be used. A tool which will get some dents and scratches.

It's not a problem.

Edited to add: There is a saying: "Don't sweat the small stuff. It's all small stuff."

 

[gomarlins3]

You can do everything possible to protect the car, but sooner or later, something from the road or the environment is going to make it's mark. I have another car that had only been in the rain once in the first 6 years I owned it. I did everything I could think of to protect it, but it still would get little rock chips and such.

Just drive the car and enjoy it. It can always be repaired if it bothers you that much.

 

[lspain]

It is quite simply a matter of choice. The poll asks "Why did you buy your Porsche?" Did you select appearance....or did you select one of the "performance" choices? If a scratch or ding upsets your personal tranquility then don't drive it. As for me, I bought the car to drive because, even in traffic, it adds enjoyment to my commute. I bought the car because I recognize something special in the marque. A Porsche is something special and I get to enjoy that feeling every time I turn the key. Enjoy your car....because life is short.

 

[YellowBirdII]

There are several areas of the car that are prone to damage from flying debris (the entire front end for example). The area you mentioned is another area.

One way to minimize (not prevent all of it) the potential damage is to have one of the clear bra applications to the front end and other vulnerable areas.

A lot of people like the work done by Premier. They are, or used to be, a sponsor here.

I had all the sensitive areas of my car done over 4 years ago, and there are nearly 0 pits and scratches from flying debris.

In any event, drive the car and accept that it will get damaged. It will, in ways you never expect. One day you might even spill humming bird feeder fluid in the passenger seat. Like me.

 

[MM3.9GT3]

I get a sense of relief when I get the first blemish. I keep all my cars in great mechanical and cosmetic shape, but, after that first blemish, I realize that it's just a car. I never fix that first blemish (I do fix everything after that), just as a reminder that it's just a car.

Life goes on, and there are far too many things that are much more important than a small blemish on a car.

 

[UberXY]

I had to repair some damage to a garage queen 996 I had - because a motorcycle fell over on it in the garage.

You can't win, so just drive it. Seriously, it's not like it's a Bugatti Atlantic you just spent a few million on to restore.

Steve

 

[dmk]

I have a 2007 Cayman S that I have pampered and now only has 9200 miles and have struggled with this question for a long time.

My solution, I had the entire front of the car covered in a clear bra.

It has since become a daily driver and I enjoy it more! These cars are a lot of fun to drive, and even more fun to track!

Drive, DE, race, and enjoy.

 

[jake]

At the end of the day, it's only a car. Damage can be repaired or, in the worst case, the car can be replaced. I take reasonable precautions, like having a clear bra, being careful where I park, etc., but it's not a 100% guarantee against something happening. These cars were designed to be driven and not garaged all the time. Otherwise, why buy it?

 

[austinwi80]

+1 JamesThomas

 

[Schwabe]

drive it, that's what you bought it for. You can always have it fixed but you cannot recreate he feeling driving it.

 

[Croctor]

Noticed a small rock chip on my hood doing a quick detail tonite. The car is new and has only 1600 Kms. I consider the car now officially baptized and will be out on the roads again soon, rigs and small rocks be damned. Whew,that's out of the way now I'll drive and forget about it. You should see my STI after three BC winters!:hilarious:

 

[Capercat]

I had three stone chips on the front bumper the very first week. Nothing since so fingers crossed.