I am intrigued by the new Cayman. Is it the poor man's 911, and destined the same fate as the 914, or will it stand on it's own? It is only 10g less than a real 911, would I be better off geting a CPO 911 or the Cayman as a sporty daily driver?
No I am not joking on this, nor an I a Chick. I would much rather buy new than used, and the Cayman fits the budget. I am assuming that the newer design would have a much nore solid chassis and better rider than a 911. I would also not be getting some ones trouble ridden used car. Since I am not a dyed in the wool Porsche fan, I do not spend all my time studying the cars. So - Is a used 911 better than a new Cayman? Why?
If you get a CPO used 911, it will have a warranty and you won't have to worry about someone else's problems. The 911 will always be big brother and the Cayman/Boxster will always be little brother.
Fred Go drive both of them and see. I'm a Boxster fan and thought I'd love the Cayman, but found it wasn't for me. I found I couldn't quite get comfortable in the interior. Drives nice, tighter than the boxster, but lacks what I look for when I'm looking for a coupe. It's small on the inside(for reference I'm 6'1" and about 215lbs) and the roofline leaves precious little headroom. A neat car to be sure, but in the end I prefer that size and character of car to be a drop top. The new 911 is a neat car too. I never really cared for the 996 as I was a die hard 993 man. The 997S is really nicely done. Lot's more interior room and storage space than the Cayman and it does feel better built. However, I wouldn't get a 997 either as IMO it feels too fat and has WAY too many electronic gizmos for my taste in a sports car. Of course I feel that same way about modern Ferraris too. If you're not dead set against a convertible I think the 987S is the best car Porsche is currently producing for a daily runner.
The Cayman/Boxster will always be the superior platform however. And with a little tweaking, the far superior vehicle. Like say a Ruf RK Spyder... Image Unavailable, Please Login
Call it whatever you like, but right out of the box, the 911 is the superior performer and big brother.
If the Boxster's resale is any indication of the Cayman's fate, you would do much better in the long run (depreciation wise) with a 911. As for the Cayman, I can't wait for the used ones to start hitting the market. By then, I will be in the market for a good solid PCA racer!!!!
i don't understand the fascination with comparing the boxster/cayman with the 911 - i've posted this before and will post again, they're different cars. mid v. rear engine, GT cruiser v. go-kart feel, etc. i've owned a boxster and a bunch of 996's and currently own a gt3. IMO, the boxster is by far more fun to drive and has a better feel than any 911, except the gt3, of course i haven't gotten around to driving the cayman, but since it's basically a tightened up boxster, i will venture to guess it's more fun than the boxster. do people cross shop a 430 with a 575?!?!? i'm sure some do but most do NOT. it's the same concept, to me at least. different cars for different tastes. if you're concerned with status/image and/or you truly enjoy the feel of a rear-engine car and "have" to have that extra HP, then the 911 is probably for you. but i personally don't care about someone's opinion of MY car and want what i consider fun to drive... and would buy a cayman or boxster before i bought another 911 - 996 or 997. the 911 is a great car, but certainly not "better" than the others... just different. drive 'em both and get what you like. you can't go wrong if you do that
Tell that one to somebody who bought a 996 or 996tt brand new Not sure how the 997 will fare - probably a bit better than the 996, but not as well as the 993.
If it was between the Cayman the the 911 Carrera, I'd probably opt for the Cayman. Hell, I'm thinking about Cayman for Carrera S.
Uh huh, thanks to deliberate engineering. Its very easy to fix the things that Porsche did to the Cayman and make it a vehicle that will trounce the 911 in all regards. Though that involves in modifying the car. But then, why exactly does a 'S' model Porsche costing 60k come without an LSD? BMWs from twenty years ago came with LSDs standard and Porsche decides not to put one in the Cayman? Either way I'd take a Cayman S over a Carrera, Carrera S, C4 or C4S. Only when it comes to the Turbo would I take the 911.
The Cayman is the new spirtual Dino - small, nimble, curvaceous and fun - and the most bang for the buck anywhere.
Speaking strictly of performance, the Cayman cannot be called the best bang for the buck, it's ludacris. If you want to start including intangibles, you might be able to make an argument, and you'll have a lot of time because you'll be the slowest around the track.
First Cayman over 996 997 over Cayman second Z06, "best bang for buck." My opinion, I like the new 997 and Cayman, But I think the 997 will be cool forever, The Cayman will be the 914,924,944,968,986,987 of the future, Which is all right, but its always "not going to be a 911." Just a thought.
The new 3 BMW that I have does not have a LSD rear end. I think it is due to the stability control system using the brakes to act as a limited slip rear end. I'm sure that the engineers do not want the stability system to fight with the Limited Slip rear. I woulds not be surprised if the Porsche uses the same technology.
