Advice please, researching a sub £35k Approved 981. - Page 1 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

(for my partner) She wants a pretty much stock car, no big wheels etc, nothing to scare her too much performance wise. Looking for blue or black metallic with tan interior. I imagine it'll be a '12 or newer. Frankly, she just likes the look of it and will never come close to appreciating even 60% of its true potential - but I want her to enjoy it, it'll give me a big kick - you know what I mean? What headline items should I be considering? Are Porsche dealers offering decent deals on new models? The reason for spreading our search is thst we specced a new model (mild) TT Roadster before Xmas that came in at 42k - madness. Many thanks.

£35k is just about as low as you will find an Approved 981 (the lowest on the Porsche list at the moment is £37k), so you will probably have to accept a lightly speced manual car. Not a problem - as you will read elsewhere they are great out of the box. However I would recommend rear parking sensors (front if you can too) as the rear visibility isn't great and the nose sticks out quite a way. Telephone preparation or module is a must if you (or other half) use the phone on the move, and I'd recommend dual zone climate if you go long distances (the standard aircon is NOT climate). Anything else would be a bonus. You might have more options if you are more flexible on colour - but there are quite a few black ones around.

Personally I would try to increase your budget by a few K if possible. This will land you a much more desirable car and a greater choice to pick from rather than having to take whatever comes up, or even potentially wait for a car. When spending nearly £40k anyway another couple should be achievable and might make the difference when it comes to enjoying the car as much as possible. Also above is speaking from recent experience. See my thread yesterday, just bought something not far from what you are talking and ended up paying just over £40k purely because there was a car at our local dealer, it was easy, and once we started thinking about spec we absolutely wanted 20" wheels, sat nav, parking sensors front and rear , phone prep... Car also a late 14 car with 4k miles so loads of warranty still on it etc etc. Personally think all of that adds up to being a worthwhile few K more compared to the absolute cheapest Cayman in the network right now. Edited by UH-Matt on Friday 2nd January 10:16

Thanks, both - very useful points. The issue about the cost of a new car had occurred to me, especially if good finance deals were available for new cars.

I think Porsche are doing 7% pcp on boxster/Cayman this month.

Jim909 said: I think Porsche are doing 7% pcp on boxster/Cayman this month. On the Porsche UK website they are quoting 7.8% APR so dealer may have a small amount of wriggle room to get down to 7.0% let us know how you get on.

You might find it difficult to find a car with tan interior (called Luxor Beige) Nearly all Porsches seem to have black interiors. Obviously ordering a new one will get you your choice. If you go for leather seats try and get heated seats

I sold my ten month old/24, 000 mile cayman in October and 35k would have bought it. Car was low spec but had pdk and parking sensors both of which were useful for a commuter car. As others have said at this price point you'll need to be flexible on spec but you should get into something.

I have been quoted 7.7% on a new Cayman as long as i order before end of Jan, as i want a pcp this deal on a new car works out better than a lightly used.

I would wait for the right car , I paid 38k for the wife's from an OPc , had 5000 miles on clock and 20k worth of options , takes it to Another level over the base models, I waited a few months after mKing the decision and was rewarded for my patience.

"she just likes the look of it and will never come close to appreciating even 60% of its true potential " you could buy her a Mr2 then for about £5k :-)

I have a silver MR2 needing a new home in a month or 2, she's currently having new clutch and a service, PM if interested....

Jim909 said: I have been quoted 7.7% on a new Cayman as long as i order before end of Jan, as i want a pcp this deal on a new car works out better than a lightly used. With a bit of luck I think there will be greater support from Porsche GB on the finance rates and may be some extra dealer margin to shift the last flat 6 cars before the new one arrives back end of this year. That's what I am hoping anyway