Gen 1 Cayman S - Page 1 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

Hello Porscheheads. I am very close to shedding my JDM hooligan mobile and getting something a bit more grown up - namely a Cayman. Looking at about £25-30k, probably a Gen 1 S - is this the right way to be looking? Found one on the dealer network - 2008 manual with 15,000ish on the clock which seems to tick all my boxes - anything I should really be looking out for? Or is a Porsche approved car with their warranty basically a cast iron, bombproof guarantee that you are buying a decent car which shouldn't go wrong and will be fixed if it does? In my price range is it work looking at other options - Gen 2 standard models for example? Would be a bit worried that the standard would feel a bit down on power - especially with how much more planted the Cayman is than the Z. Is the Porsche peace of mind (they really do sell it well ) from the approved used service and the warranty worth the price hike over private sale? I wouldn't normally ask as I know you can only judge an individual car on its merits and life, but the Porsche system seems to eliminate all that and keep the pick of the bunch and they will sort you out if it goes wrong.

Sad to say---Nothing Bombproof about the warranties .

There are some bargains to be had buying privately and saving a bob or two. I bought a Boxster privately which still had 18 months official warranty left and saved at least £3-4K compared to OPC prices, if you know what you're doing you can get a bargain particularly if you make a cheeky offer with cash. Gen 2 cars have lower VED rates as I discovered after buying mine loved it first drive and still love everything about it apart from £480 rip off road tax a year.

For your budget a Gen II S would be a no brainier for me, much more reliable, more power, better interior, lower VED etc etc.

A warranty is a bet (with t's and c's). Are you a gambling man? Gen1 vs gen2 seems to alter the odds.

If you're in the £25-30k bracket then I'd certainly look for Gen 2 cars. Private, specialist or OPC, there's going to be some early Gen 2's in that price range. The VED for the Gen 1 cars might not put you off now while the car is new and relatively high value, but when you come to sell it might be a deal breaker for someone on a tighter budget & buying an older & cheaper car. As someone pointed out to me, saving £200/yr for 2 yrs goes a long way to paying the service bills. Brian

If you decide to go for a Gen 1 get a borescope inspection done.

Parsnip, yhm

My old gen 1 is up at JZM for 23.9 - Carrara White, nice spec. PM if you have questions (no longer mine, so have no interest in the car).

Thanks for the replies (and the e-mail MrC - its not that one though ) I think I might hang on for a gen 2 with slightly more miles - the extra power, nicer rear end and I guess resale value are all big pros. I'm away in Angola with work just now, but booked in for a test drive of one next week just to get a feel of them (not actually driven the Cayman S - the Boxter variant is about as close as I have been!) - Watch this space

Get the Gen 2. The engine worries spoil the ownership of a Gen 1. It's one of the reasons I sold mine. Anyway, I'm back in a Jap Hooligan now, much more fun too