Comparison: 2002 C4S vs. 2006 Cayman S

I'm trying to decide between a 2002 C4S with 9000 miles and a Cayman S. Would love some feedback from people who have driven both. I test drove a Cayman S a couple weeks ago. I've owned a 2001 C4, but that was about 3 years ago. I'm slightly leaning towards the Cayman S because of the warranty, brand new, etc. However, that C4S is very tempting. I've read it is basically a 911 Turbo without the turbo. It has already depreciated from $91K to $59K and I'm guessing it will go down about $4K per year now, it has low miles, all the options I want, and I have to think it is faster and handles better. I think the Cayman will depreciate faster and after all it isn't a 911. I'm using this as a daily driver, about 10K miles per year, rain or sunshine but no snow.

Think of the Cayman as mid-range between the Boxster and the Carrera. It is middle of the road in pretty much all the specs, even though styling wise it's a Boxster with a roof. Do a search on Google Video for Cayman and Top Gear and you'll be able to watch their review and test drive. I'll tell you in advance that they were not impressed and called it the Coxster. BTW, Top gear has excellent reviews on all P-cars Apologies, I should have said youtube.com, not google video. Here's the link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=1yBzKhW5zJU&search=cayman

There was an article in one of the British p-car mags (Purely Porsche, I think) back in Feb/Mar that compared the Cayman S to a 996 C4S. I have it somewhere and if I find it, I'll scan it and post it. But the final verdict was that both cars were terrific with the advantage going to the C4S.

I did the same thing with the Cayman S vs 996. However, I was looking at a C2. In the end I went with an 02 C2 and haven't doubted the move. The C2 hadles well and has a lot more room for trips. My wife thought the Caymen was too small/close on the interior. As a side the C2 had already taken it's big hit on depreciation. But I will say that the Cayman S with PASM and Sport Chrono is a ton of fun to drive.

They are pretty different cars really. I think for a daily driver the 911 is a tad more practical in the sense that you actually could squeeze in more than two people if necessary. I also just think it is the pinnacle. Seriously the Cayman and Boxster are nice cars, but they are not and never will be the 911. That is huge to me personally, and that is not trying to take away from those cars. They stand on their own merit. Still the 911 is it for me, and this would be a very easy choice.

Yeah I owned a 2000 boxster and traded up to a 2001 C4. I loved the boxster but I remember thinking it wasn't a 911. I have a 1986 911 Targa now, but want something newer. I figured the C4S was the way to go. Now I have to decide to get a warranty and whether it's CPO or 3rd party. I don't mind taking a chance and having to spending $1000 here and there over the years but I'm worried about catastrophic stuff. Since the car only has 9000 miles on it I don't think it has had a chance to have the really bad stuff go wrong and now at 5 years old things may just start to wear out.

Personally everyone who buys a Porsche aspires to own a 911. A new car sounds great and smells great... But when it comes down to it would you rather be seen in a 911 or something that is not quite a 911 Everyone in the world knows what a 911 looks like and knows of its iconic status. 911 all the way

Here's the funny thing. The Cayman is a good car, but it could have been a lot better. It was designed to be mid-range and it shows in it's performance. It's middle of the road in so many aspects. I read an article in the S-NJ-PCA website a month or so ago about how Porsche was intending to develop the Cayman in the same way that they intended the 928 to take over the mantle of high perf. sports car from the 911 and turn the 911 into a sports tourer. That strategy didn't work with the 928 and I doubt it will happen with the Cayman. As several others have said already if you by Porsche, you really want a 911. Can you really hold you head up high at the traffic lights if you're in a Cayman and a 911 pulls along side you? If the answer is yes, then you found your car.

I have a very differnt view. I'm a hard core 996 guy with a 04 996 club race car and a 02 996 cab. My girlfriend has an 84 911 euro cab and a Cayman S. Needless to say, I spend a lot of time in both cars. I don't care what Top Gear says, the Cayman is the better sports car. With it's current engine I can promise you it will be faster on the track than a C4S. If they decide to give it a real powerplant it will easily be the Porsche to own. Remember when Porsche decided to build a supercar they put the engine in the middle. Same with their LMP2 racercar. Having said that, if you are looking more for a cruise around and look good car or a daily driver, go for the C4S. Either way, it's hard to go wrong. Jim

The Cayman COULD have been a better car if the engineers had their way about it. We all know that this did not happen. Techart took a Cayman and did full mod to it and it cost as much as a 997s. It still could not out perform the 911. It's a great car but not the best out on the road. IMO

Exactly! I me that's the biggest crime. It could have been a great car, but instead of building the best car they could Porsche filled a slot in their line-up. That's a real shame.

i had a 02 c4s, several c2, and many gt3's, and two caymans. if you are 6' or taller, cayman is really tight. the two cars drive very differently and i can sit here all day argue about which is better and why, but it's meaningless until you go drive one. some ppl simply hate 911's while some hate coxster. YOUR opinion should be the most important after SEVERAL test drives. in absolute straightline, or in wet roads, C4S will be faster no doubt. on a road course, given equal driver, both cars being stock, the cayman WILL be faster everytime. if you dont believe that, drive both car and time yourself on the track, (remember, equal drivers), the cayman WILL be faster. it is a shame that cayman didnt get a GT3 motors. i would pay 150k for one with and dump my GT3.

We traded our '01 2.7L Boxster for an '03 C4S four weeks ago today. Before we bought the C4S, we did drive the Cayman S. To be honest, it was better than I was expecting. But both my wife and I felt it was too much like our Boxster. Also, I do not like the new "flat" interior of the 987/997 cars. The only way I could own one would be with a two tone interior to make it less one dimensional. But the bottom line was I wanted a car that felt a little more substantial and had a roomier interior, one that didn't feel like a Boxster. Based on those criteria, the C4S was an easy choice and I'm loving the C4S. I also like that the C4S is something of a limited edition, so you don't see them quite as often.

Well I stopped by the Porsche dealer yesterday and drove a 2002 C2 followed by a Cayman S. That's as close as I could get to comparing the two right now. I think I'm going to go for the C4S. Thanks for everyone's comments and suggestions.

Not true.

Both cars are brilliant, so really it comes down to your personal taste. I would suggest that the C4S will be the bigger, heavier car, while the Cayman S will be far more nimble and involving. If you're looking for a daily driver, you'll never find the limits in either of these cars, so go with what feels good to you. The Cayman S will depreciate faster because it's a brand new car, not because it's "not a 911". The way Porsche is putting out cars these days will follow typical car values; i.e. new cars will depreciate fast, while cars a few years old will depreciate more slowly. There's nothing magical about the 911 to change this. (..ask early 996 owners why their magical 911s aren't worth half of their original price now..) But the bottom line here is don't buy a new Porsche as an investment. My dream garage would have one of each, but if I had to chose one, I'd go with the Cayman S. It'll feel more like a sports car. By the way, check the Cayman board for similar discussions. At least over there you'll never hear the "it's not a 911" argument.

I was seriously considering a new Cayman S, but I test drove an 02 996 back to back with a Cayman and to me it was no contest. I picked an 02 C4S. Cayman is a great car but IMO overpriced with all the options. Even a basic car would have cost be $60 to 65k. Afraid there would be steep depreciation, since all my local dealers still have about 15 in stock. Plus with the C4S is great in the rain with the all wheel drive. I would do a ppi of the C4S, and everything checks out, the car should be find and the depreciation won't be as bad. If both cars are at the same dealer, ask to test drive both back to back.

Actually, I've been reading your C4S threads lately. I was also considering an Audi S4 or probably an RS-4 so your comments were especially on point. I have a 3 month old baby and want to take him for rides when he's able to sit forward facing. I could do this in the Cayman, but the wife couldn't come along. This is another reason to buy the C4S. The car I'm interested in is in Chicago at the Porsche Exchange. Dealer says it is in showroom condition and I'm going to get an Easycare 4 year/60,000 mile warranty on it. I hope his idea of showroom and mine are the same. I just gotta pull the trigger.

To be honest, depreciation is an issue with all the cars except the 911. Boxsters are selling for crazy low prices right now. It amazes me that I can pick up a 5 year old Boxster for $15-20K. That would never happen with a 911. The 911 holds value very well (of course it does depreciate) and you'll be lucky if the value ever dips below $20K. If you don't believe me take a look on autotrader.com. You'll see that the value of a 911 tracks more with mileage, rather than age. Think about it. You can buy a new Boxster for $60-70K. You can buy a 911 for the same (The Boxster will have more options of course), at 5 years old, which is selling for the lowest price? Now come back and tell me that the 911 depreciates the same as the other P-cars.

I'm selling my 1986 911 Targa with 97K miles for about $20K. I paid $19K for it about 18 months ago. It only cost me oil changes, gas, insurance, and a $650 alternator to drive it.

every car depreciates, including 911. my gt3's are all around 106k, they are all sold b/n 75k-80k. all less than 12 months old. this rate of dep'n is not any steeper than boxster or cayman. buy the car that speaks to your heart, forget dep'n. if you want to worry about dep'n buy a lexus RX350, or prius or mini. really sometimes you can sell them for more than you paid for.

To me the first year hit is the thing to avoid. I was looking at Cayman's and new they are $71K, but dealers are offering $4-6K off to clear 2006 stock. People are trying to sell them for $65K on autotrader. I actually made an offer on one about three weeks ago for $59K and the guy acted insulted. His car is still for sale. I figure his used Cayman with 3000 miles on it was worth about $6K less than a new one with the same options/color, etc. My reasoning on the depreciation for the C4S is that it will be a somewhat steady decline over the next couple years. The car also speaks to my heart. I have to do the math though, cause hearts can be broken.

Do you really believe that? Maybe you need to spend a little more time shopping around like I have. And we're not talking about bottom dollar here, depreciation is more about percentage. Early Boxsters are dropping below the $20s, but they started in the $40s. The post '00 cars are holding above the $20s. So that's about half their original "value". More and more of the same era 911s are dropping comfortably below $30k, where they were originally sold for $60 - $70k. So about half...just like the Boxster. Of course, then there are the extreme cases, like the one bnewport illustrates in this thread: https://rennlist.com/forums/996-forum/287302-996-my-99-with-less-than-50k-miles-now-for-29-000-a.html I'm looking at selling my Arena Red 99 C4 Tip with 18" turbo wheels, full leather and wood interior. Price in 1999 was 98.5k, it's pretty heavily optioned. It has 43k miles and has a 3 year extended warranty remaining. I'm looking for 34k. ...that's one-third of the original price! Not typical, but more and more common. Regardless, don't tell me 911 are immune to depreciation.

Excellent points and smart buying. The trade off on the "new vs. just a few years old" will be in the warranty. So one has to decide what is more important...lower initial cost (and lower rate of depreciation) or having brand spanking new with complete factory warranty. With the quality of cars like Porsche, you're probably safe without the warranty. But there's always something about having a car that is completely your own and only your own.

You are totally mis-quoting. I very specifically said that Carreras do depreciate. Only a moron would believe otherwise. I said that the do not lose their value as quickly as other p-cars and they do not drop as low as other p-cars. It really is that simple. I'm a researcher. I do research for a living. I spent the last year researching resale values before I bought my car this spring. I challenge you to put up numbers. It's really simple. A 25 year old Carrera will still be worth $20K. You will never be able to say that of a Boxster. A colleague of mine spent $64K on this Boxster, it's not worth a fraction of that now. If he had spent the same money on a Carrara he would have lost less of his investment. I don't know you and I'm never disrespectful to people I don't know (well, unless they desperve it!), but spend 5 minutes comparing cars on the used market and you'll see the error of your ways.

I challenge you to put up numbers. It's really simple. A 25 year old Carrera will still be worth $20K. You will never be able to say that of a Boxster. A colleague of mine spent $64K on this Boxster, it's not worth a fraction of that now. If he had spent the same money on a Carrara he would have lost less of his investment. A 911 will hold its value quite well provided that you are able to sell it privately. Take an $80K '04 996 to the Dealer and ask him what they will give you for that car. A coworker of mine took his '04 996 C2 with 25K miles to the Dealer and asked them what they would pay for his car. This was after he negotiated a deal on an '06 997S. They were only willing to give him $48K for a car that apperared to me to be in excellent condition. Fortunately, my friend was able to sell his car privtaely for $56K.

True, but that's the case with any car dealership. They aim to buy at less than wholesale and you're wanting to sell at retail. The two sides are never going to meet. The private market is the only way to get fair value on any car. It's just a question of whether the hassle of a private sale is worth more than the hit you would take on a dealership trade. Personally, I'd only buy a used p-car on the private market, as you tend to get better value and a better vehicle history.... not always true, but you stand a better chance than with a dealership.

I love my 996...but saw a cayman yesterday...black with 19" rims and I have to say the car looked great....I have read a couple of articles about the handling of the Cayman and they were very good! I haven't driven one, but sat in one and it gave me a real sportscar feel..without the backseats! It all depends on what your needs and wants are....I need rearseat so my kid can come along or I am doomed to drive my wifes X5 all the time.

911 v. Cayman S is way too broad as some of you are discussing. A 911 GT3 is totally more desireable than a CS. A 996 Turbo, 997S is way more desireable than a CS. To me, but it's not a far stretch for many. What we have here is the 996 C4S to the Cayman S. The 996 C4S is the most corpulent 996 out of the entire line-up and likely the slowest in a straightline. How is the Cayman S slower than the 996 C4S in the straights? In the turns, the Cayman S is still a class above the 996 C4S. I understand the attraction to the 911 history, but the Cayman S, done right, looks waaaay better and drives far better like a true sports car than the 996 C4S ever will - way too piggy!

well, to me, i take CS over both of those cars. but that's just ME.

i do agree with that. if you want a new car , espeically a newly released model, you will be suffering from big year one dep'n. if you are smart, sounds like you are, wait a year or two if you want cayman. but i am just simply impatient.

then you don't count on the insanity plea

I 2nd that!!!!!!

First of all, I'm talking about new(er) Porsches, not older ones. That 25 year old Carrera has gone up and down in value so many times, and it's likely to go up and down again. There was a time (fairly recently) that 25 year old Carreras were selling for well under $20k. I know. I bought one. (..two, in fact). Secondly, in terms of percentage, newer 911s do lose their value as quickly as other Porsches. I gave you the numbers (in percentages). In fact, if you consider that after spending $45k on a Boxster tha is now worth $20k ("losing" $25k), you have actually made a better "investment" than spending $70k on a 911 that is now worth $30-35k (losing $35-40k!). If you loaded up the Boxster, your loss is greater. But so is the loaded up 911. I'm not trying to be disrespectful here. We clearly have a different definition of "depreciation". I see your point...ultimate bottom dollar. But I'm trying to compare apples to apples, at least as much as one can when comparing a car that costs $45k to a car that costs $65-70k. To do that we need to talk percentage, not ultimate bottom dollar.

The Cayman is a great car, but it is not a 911.

The magazine was GT, good story

Good Luck, the C4S is a great car. My daughter loves it. It is a tight squeeze with her baby seat. My wife is 5'5 and has to ride with the passenger seat pretty far forward. Good for short trips but not long rides. Hopefully in a couple more years when my lease is up on the S4 I will trade it in for the RS4. The more I read about that the, the more I want one.

I agree. I bought a Mini Cooper S new back in 2003. Paid $22k new, drove it for a year and put 17k miles on it and sold it for $20k

Ad to that Jeep's(wrangler) I think they keep their value better than any other car, maybe ever. Someone challenge me on this. Also, you can't use this as an example. 25 year old car falls under the category of a classic car. There is no way to tell, yet, if current 911's will command this in 25 years. It all depends on if they are still saught-after. Hell, Boxster's, in excellent condition with LOW miles may be worth 50k in 25 years.

I forgot about that. Yes about seven years ago I bought a used Jeep Wrangler. A year later I sold it for a 2k profit.

could have? it is a great car. Just a vastly overpriced one. But if both 2nd hand C4s and CaymanS were similar in price(meant not overpriced) and I was buying purely on performance the CaymanS would be a no brainer in my book. I'm a roadster guy so the BoxsterS was a logical choice for me and after recently spending a weekin hot weather drving in a Mustang hard top rental, I doubt I'll ever own another tin top. If I was intent on owning a coupe the engine would definitely have to be in the middle. So its Carrera GT or CaymanS for me. Obviously one of those choices is not practical. as far as "all Porsche owners aspire to owning a 911" this is bollocks and usually repeated by guys who spend more time shooting pics of their cars than shooting the car through an Autocross or DE. I doubt any SERIOUS driver would ever think a mid engine Porsche was in ANY way a step down from a 993/996/997. well maybe in terms of reliability if youre talkin' 914! btw, My loan check from the bank was good for another $50K. There was a yellow standard 996 Carrera on my radar for barely another $10K more and Arctic Silver C2 for a little more. All three were WELL within my budget. but ultimately unless it came with GT2/GT3 power, pendulus cornering was a trait I could never live with. If Porsche made a mid engine 911 I'd have used a bit more of that loan check! Can't wait for those CaymanS to start coming back down on resale value. I hope they'll make a convertible version some day

Perfectlap - isn't a Box S a convertible Cayman S? Note that the 2007 Boxster S will have the same engine as the Cayman. Having driven both, I really am impressed with the Cayman S on the track. What a great handling car. I also agree that it is overpriced, it should be cheaper than the Boxster for obvious reasons. For track I'd go with the Cayman. For all weather use the 4S is a no brainer especially if it is CPO.

I guess you missed the satire. For the track I would choose ZO6! I think minus the inexplicably tall 1st gear (cough...bS), the CaymanS is a GT3 engine away from being arguably the best thing you could buy (from Porsche). p.s. Sportec put a 3.8 in an 06 Boxster and they felt (with upgraded brakes) the platform/chasis could handle WAY MORE power without lifting an eye brow whatsoever.

I don't remember saying that a mid engine porsche was not a better car. I guess the only way I will ever know what it is really like to drive I must be taught by you Being that you are a SERIOUS driver and I just enjoy looking at my car

Nonsense I've had a boxster and my current car is a C2 I drove my car and a cayman s and a new 997 carrera s back to back - my new ride will be a cayman s i could go out tomorrow and buy a 997 turbo for cash, and getting a turbo was supposed to be my ultimate upgrade path but after driving the cayman and the new carrera that I thought would be so brilliant, the only reason I personally would get a 911 would be out of necessity for the two rear seats. some of your comments make you sound like a poser, liking a car for the image and marketing rather than the substance and engineering behind it.

totally agree also - jeremy clarkson has hated porsche for decades the review by tiff needell on fifth gear was much more pro cayman and since i would much rather put my faith in a drivers review by tiff......

I guess that why they have been building 911 longer than most cars on the road today. People really don't want a 911 they want every other p-car Nice, Call me what you want. It's just MO.

I think to look at this analytically you need to separate the platform from the current versions/drive-trains. As a platform, the 911 has some advantages over the Cayman. The Cayman has some advantages of it's own. The 911 has rear seats, a roomy cab and a huge and loyal fan base. It has one big disadvantage. It's engine is located such that it has very poor weight distribution. Porsche has spent many years learning to overcome this problem but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Again I would point out the Carrera GT used a mid-engine platform. So does the Porsche LMP2 race car. So did the legendary 962s and 917s. Every time Porsche is free of the 911 stigma it puts the engine in the middle. The Cayman platform is clearly better for building a great sports car. I'm not sure how anyone can dispute that. The question on whether the marketing department will ever let them take advantage of the platform by matching it with a suitable drive-train remains to be seen. I would love to see a Cayman cup car and a strong enough street car to run in ALMS GT2 and Grand Am Cup. It the Ferrari having it�s way in GT2 maybe there�s a chance. Just my thoughts. Jim

Like this?

that looks like what a cayman RSR would look like IMO

Let us know what the folks on the Cayman board think.. Personally, I'd prefer the Carrera GT over the 911 and Cayman.

He has, but his attitude improved with the 996. He now begrudgingly praises and respects them - even though he thinks their design is terrible. :

Okay, as I said, I'm a researcher. Hard facts rule. Facts do not lie, they are objective and cannot be disputed. There is no opinion involved and they can be verified. The following data (apples to apples) was obtained from Edmunds.com and applies for the 1999 model year, which in my mind provides a good length of time for depreciation (smooths out the massive 1st year depreciation and looks more fairly at a longer term) and is a fair car to car comparison. I looked at three models. Base Boxster, retail in 1999 = $58,000 Base Carrera, retail in 1999 = $65,030 Base Carrera Cabriolet, retail in 1999 = $74,460 According to Edmunds.com those same cars are now valued as follows (private party value): Base Boxster = $18,154 Base Carrera = $29,574 Base Carrera Cabriolet = $34,454 That represents the following % loss in value: Base Boxster = -68.9% Base Carrera = - 54.6% Base Carrera Cabriolet = -54.5% You didn't state where you got your numbers from, but I did and they are verifyable and correlate with my personal experience. It's plain and simple, the Boxster, for the 1999 model year has depreciated significantly more both in a dollar and a percentage basis. Now, the data speaks for itself and I've said as much as I'm going to on this. To me opinion isn't worth much unless it's backed by data. I've backed my opinion up with verifyable data.

you will NEVER see an ALMS race hosting two different road cars from Porsche. on equal Power the Cayman platform would walk it.

I have NO idea where you are getting your numbers from. They are WAY off. In 1999 a "base" Boxster is 41k. Facts? hmmmm I can argue with YOUR facts!! http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/pr...ster&trimid=-1

[QUOTE=perfectlap]you will NEVER see an ALMS race hosting two different road cars from Porsche. QUOTE] Durning a transition you would. Like this year in IMSA where you have two classes. One for 996s and another for 997s. I agree not for the long term. However I have no hope whats so ever that the Cayman will replace the 997 Cup Cars and RSRs. The Porsche 911 is one of the great brands of all time. They are not going to give that up. I wouldn't either. Where did the Cayman RSR pic come from? Is it racing somewhere?

As I said, I got my numbers from Edmunds.com. I think they know about pricing. At least I quoted where I got my numbers from and didn't use unspecified sources. Assuming that the $41K is corect, that puts the Boxster depreciation into the -55.7% range, closer to the numbers Doug has quoted.

...and the subject of Jeremy Clarkson hating Porsches, he had an article published yesterday sort of singing the praises (well, as close as he gets to singing the praises) of the 997 turbo. http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/art...0019_2,00.html

"I�d have called it the Porsche Jesus Christ Almighty Would You Look At That Bastard Go." Hahaha

you are not alone.

glad you agree, that means a lot coming driver of your experience. now if you can call up porsche and add 50hp onto it, i be very happy. i dont want aftermarket, i want it from porsche. too bad that you didn't become a porsche dealer like you planned, else you can sell me a few cayman S's below boxster S price ;-) i really enjoy flogging the cayman.

Mooty - I am still bummed I did not get the dealership. My son has a Cayman S and we traded cars. He has Cups and I was very impressed. His car lacks the grunt of my GT3 but the corner speeds were outstanding! Way faster at entry, the balance of the chassis is evident. In sport mode the suspension is outstanding for a street car. As you say, a GT3 motor in that car would be a world beater. Best,

I DID quote where I got my numbers. They are in teh link below my comments. I don't see anywhere on Edmunds site that sais what a new base 1999 Boxster is

I thought I'd post an update since I seemed to have started all this. Thanks goes out to Boolala, a Chicago area member, who took time out of his day to visit the dealer offering the C4S. In a nutshell, the dealers description of "showroom" condition doesn't quite meet my view of what that is. Boolala saved me a ton of hassle and probably money too. The search goes on....

Ah, now I see why you feel so strongly about your "facts". And no, the base Boxster in 1999 was not $58k. In fact, the current Boxster (and Boxster S, for that matter) are below $58k new. The current base Boxster is $45k, and the Boxster S is $54.7k. ..before options, of course. FWIW the base Cayman is going to be under $50k, and only the Cayman S is above $58k ($58.9k) ( http://www.porsche.com/usa/models/boxster/ ) When the Boxster first came out in '97, it was "praised" for being an under $40k Porsche ($39.9k). Most impressive is how little the price has gone up over the years, even though the car just gets better and better. My brother bought his nicely optioned '03 for right around $45k. I'm sorry I don't have any source for "my numbers" on the 99s...you'll just have to take my word for it since I've owned two.

Good luck with your search! ..and remember, you don't have to worry about "condition" with a brand new car.

You're right...and he respects the brand for the abilities of it's cars. He loved the 997S, and even in the Cayman S report he admitted it's an amazing driving machine. He just finds little things to pick on and runs with them! (..design...marketing..)

[QUOTE=JimB] I think it raced at the Nurburgring 24 Hours. Not sure how well it did, but it sure looks sexy! ..and no, it's not a factory effort.

you think 25 years from now a 996 will be worth $20K? are you talking about a sealed garage queen with no more than 5K original miles? or 25 year old 996 with well north of 60K miles? The Boxster is made from MANY of the same parts as the 996 and costs the same to maintain and the hourly labor is the same for both at the dealer. Reliability is almost identical and neither are immune to the RMS issue. Depreciation has little to do with the design of the car (well perhaps the pre-2000 Boxsters) and the depreciation has much more to do with the large numbers of Boxster that Porsche churned out to keep the mothership from going under. Allot of those Boxsters went out for leases and are/have been coming back now at too great a pace for all of the dealers to absorb. Which of course means the supply will exceed the demmand and the prices will fall at the corresponding rate. Many standard Carreras have lost half of their value in a five-6 year period a very similar rate to standard Boxsters. Simply having Carrera on the trunk won't save it from a significant dip unless it offers big power or AWD. Well mileaged standard Carreras are all over Ebay and other online sites in the $30K's. Optioning either Boxster ro Carrera to big total markups will always bite you in the ****.

Guys, I think the days of low depreciation on a Porsche are over. As volume and availability have increased resale prices have been depressed. If you want low depreciation, find an F 430 (if you can). That being said, if I had the choice of a new Cayman S or a 3 year old 911, I'd go with the Cayman S without hesitation assuming I did not need AWD. Regards,

True. But even with the F430 don't put any miles on it. Those cars tumble downward with high miles.

[QUOTE=JimB] really??? i think that's a horrible example of motorsports prestiege/cred being comprimised by marketing. Who else does this?? Would Patrick Long best the competition better in a Cayman or a 911 platform? Naturally just about every racing driver would choose the Cayman platform but a better car and the ability to show the best possible race is interferred with by a need to sell cars to guys who will never go near a track even as a spectator!??? The same guys who were like "what's all the commotion about it's just a Boxster with a fixed roof" meanwhile the track addicts are running to the track to see waht the tuners have done to it. Porsche insists of holding onto the past at a time they can well afford to be a bit more forward thinking. Meanwhile the road purpose ZO6 is spanking the 911 at Laguna Seca by SECONDS. The starbucks middle aged mocha latter frufru drinkers are dictation what the racers can do. Oh dear...

Perfect, If I understand your post correctly I think we are in violent agreement. I've said for a long time that the engineers should design the cars not the marketing department. If that was the case I think the Cayman would be the go fast car and the 911 would be the go fast in luxury car. I'm not a marketing guy but I would think that the 911 could remain the flagship without being the fastest Porsche. I think most 911 owners would be ok with watching a Cayman based racecar win races as long as it is a Porsche. Jim

+1^

+2 ^^