2008 Cayman S or 2005 Carrera 911?

Hey Guys, I am new here and I need your help to decide: I want to buy either 2008 Cayman S or 2005-2008 Carrera 911 , and I am really confused about 1- Daily life driving, which one more fun to drive? 2- Two seats for Cayman , I have two kids so I am kinda not sure about the two seats. FYI: I do have another car thou. 3- Maintinance, which one is cheaper and easy to fix? 4- Manual or Automatic, driving in traffic with manual is pain in the a** but still I think it's better for a sport car. On the other hand, Automatic now days is very powerfull and easy to drive. 5- Insurance, I am 30, married, two kids, no grage, and I don't drive long distances (max a day: 10 miles if not less). 6- Warrenty, how much to get a good one? So, if you have any ideas plz share it.

1. CS will be more fun to drive, and easier at/near the limit. 2. 911 is the marque of the Porsche brand. (if that matters to you) 3. I doubt you'd take both your kids in a 911 much anyway 4. 2005 was the first year of the 997. 2008 was the 3rd year, so they fixed some things 5. Neither will be cheap to maintain if something breaks, but routine stuff isn't painful. nod goes to the 2008 here. 6. PDK is OK, Tiptronic - no so much. Get the manual. 7. I would assume insurance on the 911 would be more? 8. Guys post about getting 36k miles or 3 year warranties for 3-5k. Me, i'd pass on that, but it depends on your financial situation. End of the day, get what YOU like/want.

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Thank you very much for your great answer, I feel going to Cayman S is what I want but the problem is the two seats cuz I do have a two seats car now which is not helpfull sometimes but as you said I wont take my kids that much, and I do have another car anyways.

I've owned both a 987 Cayman and a 997 911 : 1. Cayman . Hands down. The 911 is fun, but the Cayman is as fun as a go-kart. 2. Seats on the 911 can handle small children, but not adolescents. If they grow like most, those rear seats are gonna be useless anyhow. 3. Cayman . Everything is cheaper on a Cayman, but not by much. 4. The automatic on the 2008 987 is the Porsche Tiptronic transmission. You will rapidly wish you had a manual. Tiptronic is no PDK. Believe me, I know. 5. Cayman again. Insurance is substantially cheaper. 6. Not a clue. Seems like, looking at my answers. that the Cayman wins. But here's the deal: I just went out to dinner with my wife. There is nothing - nothing - like driving up in a highly polished, beautifully kept 911. The Cayman wins everything else, but the feeling of having made it goes to the Carrera. Whatever you do, you've found the right brand. Good luck.:cheers:

Said so well!

I'll agree that a 911 S makes a statement with it's more impressive stance but I really don't think a base 911 does. Then again, the more people talk about the message a 911 sends out, the less I want one.

Mine is a Carrera 911S . So I guess we're both right.:cheers:

So the question here, which one has the "wider hips"?????

I faced the same decision last year, I went with the Cayman S because its smaller, more fun, cheaper maintenance (Clutch, Brakes, etc), looks nicer then then the 05-08 997 but not as nice as the 09-12 997. the CaymanS is the most "masculine" and "youthful" in the porsche range IMO. The CaymanS is not a car for brand shoppers, its not a fashion item, its a drivers only market car. CaymanS is mid-engine (key selling point for me) I would encourage you to only consider the 6 speed, I had a Cayenne Turbo with tiptronic and I always wished it was Manual. This includes city traffic.

I just went through the same dilema as well. I really thought I wanted a 911S and nothing else. After everything I read I was not going to get one older than a 2006. The only problem now was finding one in my price range. I shopped them for almost 2yrs. I eventually found a beautiful black one with black rims in excellent condition with a lot of the major matainance work already done (Clutch, AOS , Brakes, Rotors, Tires , Battery , Rims). The previous owner actually had a binder with everything he had ever done to the vehicle, very meticulous. The only problem was I couldn't get over the fact that the car did have 80k miles. even though it wasn't going to be my DD I just didn't feel comfortable. I decided that for my money I could get a newer cayman S with a lot less miles. Took me about another 4months but I eventually found what I was looking for. 2008 midnight blue CS with 33k miles and it's a CPO. Since this is my first Porsche I definitely feel more comfortable with this purchase and I have absolutely no regrets. The car is beautiful and fun to drive. On the plus side the Cayman is the best option if you play a lot golf like myself. There was no difference in the cost of insurance for me. I do however think that I will eventually own a 911 in the future............

I have a question about this comment. for those of you who have own a cayman, how are the maintenance cost for this car? I understand cheaper than the 911, but can you guys give some examples please on actual cost for brakes (parts) clutch, and tires and other things that needs to be done? and how often thanks I'm thinking about getting one but scared of the brand in regards to reliability and cost of ownership... thanks for the input

The hourly rate is the same at dealers/independents regardless if the car being serviced is a Cayman or 911 . I think the parts are comparable as well. So, unless your mechanic tries to hit you with a " 911 Tax", overall repair costs should be about the same.

Having had a 2007 Cayman S and now a 2006 911 Carrera S, I have to say the 911 hands down for me. I feel like there is just a lot more room in the car. I'm 6ft tall and I just couldn't get the Cayman seat back far enough. Having the back seat is a nice storage bin. The power from the 911 S is amazing and I have fun every time I get in the car. Mine is specked out a bit more than some, Sport Seats, Short Shift Kit, Porsche Sport Exhaust . I always wanted a 911 since my father had one in 88 so maybe I'm biased. Pictures for comparison.

I owned both a 2007 Cayman S and a 2010 Carrera both are manual transmission cars. Maintenance and Insurance costs are about the same. If you want an automatic, I would get a later model PDK . One thing that previous posts did not address, my carrera was not an S model so the suspension was not as harsh as the Cayman S . That car would beat you up on concrete freeways. If you are going to use it as a daily driver, I would test drive both cars on your daily commute.