is a ~80k 987.1 S suitable as a daily driver? - Page 1 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

I keep looking at some of the sub £20k earlier 987's. Is it sensible to use one as a daily? I am looking to PX my 120d which I have owned for the last 8 years. I see issues with RMS and IMS. Would those issues have been solved by now? or would it be best to push the budget and go for a 987.2 S model?

Depends hugely on what maintenance it’s had - how it’s been used and who will maintain it. Years ago I ran a 2.7 987.1 Cayman from 30 to 70k over 5 years. I got rid in the end because it’s value wasn’t worth the upkeep (it would we worth way more now than when I sold it in 2016) Engine issues aside, shocks, bushes, switches etc all start to fail with age on top of the routine servicing / tyres / brakes etc - if you have a good indy to keep on top of things then you’re all good - if not it’ll likely get £ fast.

My daily is a 986 3.2S. I bought it in the summer of 2019, at 100k miles for just over 5 grand. It's not let me down yet. It had a fully stamped service book, but ZERO additional paperwork ... so no evidence of any remedial work on IMS or RMS. If I were pounding up and down the motorway for hundreds of miles a week, it'd get tiresome in a hurry! It's not quiet and refined, and the lack of cruise control grates through the seemingly endless average speed cameras. However, for a mix of cross country B-roads, nipping to the supermarket for the weekly shop and transporting me and my dog, it does just fine. Now you're looking at a very different price point to me, and the newer car will be more comfortable and refined for daily life. However, there's probably some reasonable commonality to the use case here. For me, I looked at what options (as being a Porsche, everything is optional! ) were essential to me. In my case, it was heated seats (for winter mornings) and upgraded headlights (for winter afternoons). Everything else was a 'nice to have', but not an essential. So I looked at the pool of available cars ... narrowed that pool down to the ones that had my essential options ... then considered from that pool which cars had the best mix of 'nice to have' options, condition, service history, location, etc. etc. and arranged viewings from there. So despite starting the search wanting a post-facelift car that wasn't in a 'basic' colour - silver or black - I've ended up with a silver pre-facelift 986 as it had all my essentials and also the best balance of nice to have options, condition and price. I can't think of anything else for even double the money that I'd prefer to have. Good luck with your search.

Get a 987.2 S. No engine worries and likely less miles.

Yep absolutely it’s a Porsche. Buy sensibly and know what your getting into. It really depends on what you are doing daily and how big you are. But these were bought in there 1000s as daily cars and will last. I’m 6ft 4 and had no problem but I didn’t find the seats the most comfortable after a few hours so wouldn’t want to be doing hours a day in it.

andygo said: Get a 987.2 S. No engine worries and likely less miles. Slightly different price point as 987.2 seem quite rare under £25k. Saying that I am planning to look at one this afternoon

Rotary Potato said: My daily is a 986 3.2S. I bought it in the summer of 2019, at 100k miles for just over 5 grand. It's not let me down yet. It had a fully stamped service book, but ZERO additional paperwork ... so no evidence of any remedial work on IMS or RMS. If I were pounding up and down the motorway for hundreds of miles a week, it'd get tiresome in a hurry! It's not quiet and refined, and the lack of cruise control grates through the seemingly endless average speed cameras. However, for a mix of cross country B-roads, nipping to the supermarket for the weekly shop and transporting me and my dog, it does just fine. Now you're looking at a very different price point to me, and the newer car will be more comfortable and refined for daily life. However, there's probably some reasonable commonality to the use case here. For me, I looked at what options (as being a Porsche, everything is optional! ) were essential to me. In my case, it was heated seats (for winter mornings) and upgraded headlights (for winter afternoons). Everything else was a 'nice to have', but not an essential. So I looked at the pool of available cars ... narrowed that pool down to the ones that had my essential options ... then considered from that pool which cars had the best mix of 'nice to have' options, condition, service history, location, etc. etc. and arranged viewings from there. So despite starting the search wanting a post-facelift car that wasn't in a 'basic' colour - silver or black - I've ended up with a silver pre-facelift 986 as it had all my essentials and also the best balance of nice to have options, condition and price. I can't think of anything else for even double the money that I'd prefer to have. Good luck with your search. Thank you. Fortunately my commute is only around 18 miles, with 15 being motorways. the rest of my mileage is for me. I think my search will go as per yours. Start out looking for one thing and ending up with something different

Just be careful as a daily driver on the motorway miles when it’s wet. I have a 981 that I now use daily and it is a struggle to go over 50mph on the motorway when it’s raining. these cars do seem to like aquaplaning. The 4 series I used before didn’t even notice the puddles.

I daily a 987.2 Cayman (with the exception of the salty winter months) and it does the job well, similar commute to you (22 miles each way). It's a bit more gutsy than I'd like but more fun than a derv etc. I have had a few gen 1's and I do prefer the gen 2 so might be wise to stretch the budget if possible, saying that my gen 1's had zero problems and one of them was used for the daily commute as well. Dunc. Edited by dunc_sx on Sunday 27th February 08:15

I dailied a 987.1 Cayman S all year round for 12 years and 103k miles. It's well up to the task. Buy carefully, and then enjoy. But I very much agree that if you have the budget for a 987.2, that would be a less risky proposition and you'd have a very desirable car. However - in my opinion, the 987.1 engines sound better (non DFI) and the steering has slightly more feel. So if those things are important to you, they may help your decision towards the cheaper car.

Thank you all for your replies. I went and put a deposit on a new car this morning,. picked it up this afternoon. A very pleasant Gen 2 S.

Congratulations!

tim2100 said: Thank you all for your replies. I went and put a deposit on a new car this morning,. picked it up this afternoon. A very pleasant Gen 2 S. Very nice! Meteor grey yep? Congratulations.