Cayman S Bargain of the year

[firstone]

Probably watching this tread. ?

[911sies]

Probably watching this tread. ?

I reckon so!. I randomly saved a cheap 987 Boxster that was mentioned the other day, and that went up by... $300!. Natural enough when the CarSales email tells you that "Interest is increasing"

[Plugger2]

A bit suss no photos still for that Cobalt Blue automatic. Not the way to sell a car on carsales!

[Whytar]

  That's always my 'argument' with hot hatch/WRX/EVO owners. They say their car will eat a Cayman for breakfast which is fair enough if they can, though looking back at your car and seeing a Porsche, or a car that you would go shopping/pick kids up in, which one would you prefer to see? 

 On another note: I see that Blue 07 Cayman went up by 3 grand to $38k

This is the thing so many people don't get. I have been bagged for years by non-car-loving family members and others by buying older (exciting) performance cars rather than opting for a more standard type of hot hatch etc. Sure, many modern daily driver type cars pull impressive performance figures, but once the novelty of straight out acceleration wears off, enthusiasts need a certain 'feel' in a car. Even my wife comments about how good the steering and body control are in Porsches we've owned (and she's not really a car person).

A few years ago I bought a brand new VW Golf R (Mk6) and waited 6 months for it. Read all the forums, watched all the YouTube vids, called into dealers just to 'sit' in one etc etc. The car turns up and I drive it for about 6 months. Great car. Very capable. But boring and almost too safe. So I sold it and bought a 13 year old E46 M3. Awesome awesome awesome.

Doesn't matter how fast the car is. How does it make you feel? That's the key to a great drivers car.

[CoSo]

A bit suss no photos still for that Cobalt Blue automatic. Not the way to sell a car on carsales!

It had some photos. 

Well it did, then got removed for some reason. 

[LeeM]

Fishy ad that one

[Apogee]

I waited a bit longer, but I also made the leap from Lotus to Cayman. I'll bore anyone who wants to listen how good the Hethel car was, but that writer nailed it. The Porsche just feels more grown up. 

As for speed, my buddy's 2015 Focus ST snaps at the heels of Das Croc, but after looking after it for a month and leaving the Cayman in it's garage, you can guess how stoked I was stepping back into the Porsche. I have more fun at legal speeds in the Cayman than I ever could in a hyper modern fast hatch. 

And this is the problem I have with the 981 Boxster/Caymans(and probably the 718) as well as the new VW GTIs (Mk6/7)- they are too refined/capable to be fun at legal speeds. In my Boxster 987S, I am just able to keep it at the speed limit and enjoy the drive (with Sport mode activated). Anymore refined and you would need to take the car up to at least 120km/hr  on the twisties (or to a track) to enjoy it properly. Which defeats the purpose of owning it IMO. 

[911sies]

And this is the problem I have with the 981 Boxster/Caymans(and probably the 718) as well as the new VW GTIs (Mk6/7)- they are too refined/capable to be fun at legal speeds. In my Boxster 987S, I am just able to keep it at the speed limit and enjoy the drive (with Sport mode activated). Anymore refined and you would need to take the car up to at least 120km/hr  on the twisties (or to a track) to enjoy it properly. Which defeats the purpose of owning it IMO. 

Exactly right. Couple that with your naturally aspirated engine and hydraulic steering and you have the makings of a classic. They're not there yet, but the ingredients that make up the Boxster /Cayman recipe will makes these cars sought after. Frankly they are bargains in the world of recent Porsches. 

The only thing I would change is the gear ratios. The Sharkwerks vid that I posted a few days ago is the first time I heard anyone swapping out a Cayman's ratios. Mine doesn't feel long geared in regular driving (helped by a fruity exhaust note), but when you're pressing on and look at the speed that it can do in 2nd gear....well, you get my drift.  

[CoSo]

The only thing I would change is the gear ratios. The Sharkwerks vid that I posted a few days ago is the first time I heard anyone swapping out a Cayman's ratios. Mine doesn't feel long geared in regular driving (helped by a fruity exhaust note), but when you're pressing on and look at the speed that it can do in 2nd gear....well, you get my drift.  

I thought you had a 6 speed? Still feels long?

[911sies]

I thought you had a 6 speed? Still feels long?

I do, and it does!. I think it's something like 115kmh for 2nd gear, and then 162kmh for 3rd. When you consider that most of the magic from the cams does its stuff at 4,000rpm and above, you need to be travelling at a hell of a speed to explore it. Way faster than I would dare on public roads.

6th feels quite well matched on the highway, but I think the reason the gearing doesn't really bother me is that the motor is still quite torquey below 4,000rpms. 

[Plugger2]

I see this 2006 Cayman S manual has been hanging around for some time without selling at a $45 asking price:

https://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Porsche-Cayman-2006/SSE-AD-4379611/?Cr=1

To me, that doesn't suggest an overly strong market at the moment. Maybe the sub-$40K cars selling or for sale are just a bit ahead of the rest of the market. If they aren't moving at the mid to low $40K mark, $35-40K is the next stop...

[Peter M]

I also think this market is also particularly sensitive to km - rightly or wrongly - and you can pick up ones with half the km for not much more and not much of a wait required either.

[CoSo]

I've been following Cayman prices pretty closely and 987.1 Cayman S prices really haven't moved anywhere the past 4 months. 987.2 prices are also steady. 

[911sies]

I see this 2006 Cayman S manual has been hanging around for some time without selling at a $45 asking price:

https://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Porsche-Cayman-2006/SSE-AD-4379611/?Cr=1

To me, that doesn't suggest an overly strong market at the moment. Maybe the sub-$40K cars selling or for sale are just a bit ahead of the rest of the market. If they aren't moving at the mid to low $40K mark, $35-40K is the next stop...

Alright, deep breath as this will be long. No offence intended Plugger as you may well be right, but you're also in the market and I suspect you (like me when I was in the market) are applying wishful thinking as to what you want to pay. Nothing wrong with that, and if you hold out, you'll get your car. 

As for where the market is headed, I've been saving every single manual Cayman S since before August. There are fifteen of them. I wish I could attach the screen, but it shows 9 cars sold. All 1st gen manual Cayman S's. ranging from 40,000kms to 128,000kms and prices from $44k (UK imports) to a slightly opportunistic $68k. The mid point and most popular sticker price was $54k and around 60,000kms. The cars saved in August took about three months to sell, and there were only a couple of adjustments to the price on those cars ($1-2k reduction).Did they drop from $53-4k down to $40k?. No way. I suspect $50k is where they ended up, and theses are all recent sales.

As usual with value discussions on here, nobody knows the final price, of if the seller is "distressed" and has to get rid of their car. I suspect some of them are the classic ads where the wife has been told that "it's on the 'net love, won't be long until it sells". 

So again, with no offence intended I have been through all of this myself two years ago when very few people would advertise their cars for under $60k. The exceptions were high km cars. A $40k Cayman S (far rarer than a Boxster) would represent a car worth 25% of it original value.That's big depreciation and I don't feel that the premium cars out there will drop to that level.. 

Peter M is right, people are sensitive to mileage and I sort of get that. Doesn't mean that over 100,000km cars should be ignored if they've been maintained. Nobody pays sticker price, so why not take a look at the red one?. It's around the price you want to pay, it's an "S" and it looks well cared for.

 

 

[LeeM]

Liking the red one

[911sies]

Liking the red one

Really well cared for by the sounds of it. Full history and a new clutch (big $$ that someone doesn't have to spend). 

[Plugger2]

Alright, deep breath as this will be long. No offence intended Plugger as you may well be right, but you're also in the market and I suspect you (like me when I was in the market) are applying wishful thinking as to what you want to pay. Nothing wrong with that, and if you hold out, you'll get your car.

No offense taken at all. Merely musing and speculation on my part... I was just considering the S that sold for $30K, the S listed (now) at $38K, and the red one that has been on the market for a few weeks now at $45. What does it all mean? I make no claim to oracular insight. I accept everyone else's guess is every bit as good as mine.  

As Yogi Berra famously said: "Predicting is hard, especially when it concerns the future."

[LeeM]

Oracular? Well that's a new word for me! 

I'd ring the bloke and offer something crazy. He'll need some decent coin if he wants to change a clutch on the 360 in the future

[911sies]

No offense taken at all. Merely musing and speculation on my part... I was just considering the S that sold for $30K, the S listed (now) at $38K, and the red one that has been on the market for a few weeks now at $45. What does it all mean? I make no claim to oracular insight. I accept everyone else's guess is every bit as good as mine.  

As Yogi Berra famously said: "Predicting is hard, especially when it concerns the future."

That's a damn fine word, and I need to find a reason to use it, starting tomorrow!. 

You're right, there have been those examples of stand-out low-ball priced Caymans over the last couple of weeks. I never saw the $30,000 one, and don't know the seller's motivations but good on the new owner. That's a huge bargain.

The $38k one on the other hand is dodgy with a capital D. It's Tiptronic, so it should be cheaper but it also no longer has pictures, and its price changed at the same time the pics went down. Tread on egg shells when dealing with that one. 

It comes back to the red one, and given what I know he spent on that clutch and flywheel, coupled with the kms, I think it's priced well. 

Anyway, good on you for taking my post the way it was intended. Aside from the excitement of searching for my car back in 2014, the whole market guessing thing was getting me down. I definitely over-paid (and that was after bargaining down), but it ticked the boxes. Keep looking and you will find your Zen!. 

 

[MFX]

I also think the red one is let down by the absolutely terrible taste is accent pieces. The matt black fuel flap.... Why???? .. and the red accents inside belong in a Hyundai, not a Porsche.

[CoSo]

I honestly think of those recently posted for sale there has only been a handful that are good value - one with almost all the good options and only 40k km that was $54k, one 70k km auto for $45k in QLD and the one @LeeM's friend got. I also think the 2011 Cayman S Black Edition for mid 70s i think it was, was good value and I'm a big fan of @911sies car too. 

[911sies]

I honestly think of those recently posted for sale there has only been a handful that are good value - one with almost all the good options and only 40k km that was $54k, one 70k km auto for $45k in QLD and the one @LeeM's friend got. I also think the 2011 Cayman S Black Edition for mid 70s i think it was, was good value and I'm a big fan of @911sies car too. 

Thanks CoSo, appreciate it. I agree, there's very few that you would call "value cars" out there.They do seem to be selling, but when you look at the tiny amount of 987's sold here, and the fact that most of them arrived in the two years before the GFC hit (hence not many 2008's come up), there's an adequate demand, and an adequate supply to keep things ticking along. 

The question on future prices for them comes down to whether that demand grows, and there aren't many out there to choose from. That's not happening yet. 

[Plugger2]

I honestly think of those recently posted for sale there has only been a handful that are good value - one with almost all the good options and only 40k km that was $54k, one 70k km auto for $45k in QLD and the one @LeeM's friend got. I also think the 2011 Cayman S Black Edition for mid 70s i think it was, was good value and I'm a big fan of @911sies car too. 

There was also this one, 2006 Cayman S manual @ 128K kms

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Porsche-Cayman-2006/SSE-AD-4413074/?Cr=4

which was listed for a bit under two weeks at just under $45K, Sold last week, it looked like a nice example with a nice option set.

[911sies]

There was also this one, 2006 Cayman S manual @ 128K kms

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Porsche-Cayman-2006/SSE-AD-4413074/?Cr=4

which was listed for a bit under two weeks at just under $45K, Sold last week, it looked like a nice example with a nice option set.

That car was a peach and good buying at that price. The leather interior didn't stack up, as it has the same plastic dash / console as mine. He got the price of the option right though. It also had the Bose option, which was pricey at the time. At 128,000 kms, it almost certainly had a new clutch at some point. Decent tyre too, which is a good "tell" on cars of this age. If someone skimps on the tyres, what else have they skimped on.  That kind of car, you jump on, see if everything checks out and pull the trigger.  

[Plugger2]

Does anyone know how much a dealer would pay for one of these cars? The reason I ask is that I was thinking if I was a "distressed seller", accepting a low-ball offer of $30K would be odd if a dealer would pay more than that. Would a dealer really be offering < $30K for a 2006 Cayman S manual @ 95K kms?