My 1st Cayman - Page 2 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

Hello all, In the coming weeks I hope to buy my 1st Cayman. My original thought was to start with an early model, most likely a 2005/2006 2.7. As I trawled websites and visited dealers my desires moved to the 3.4s but I now think I've settled on a 2009 2.9, ideally in White but they seem rare so I'm flexible on the colour I'm most likely to buy from a garage rather than private, only because it's my first Porsche. A trawl of various internet search engines/sites and turned up Exclusive Cars (GB) Limited in Birmingham. Has anyone here got ay experience of them? Thanks in advance.

Welcome. Never heard of them I am afraid. At least a 2.9 is direct injection and removes some of the previous "known" issues. Personally I would see no point in buying from a non porsche dealer. It wont give you much more. I'd not rule out a Porsche dealer - you get a 2 year warranty. If not, then I would be looking private at a car with warranty you can take over (and renew). What is your budget? Do you want a manual car or pdk?

edo said: I'd not rule out a Porsche dealer - you get a 2 year warranty. If not, then I would be looking private at a car with warranty you can take over (and renew). What is your budget? Do you want a manual car or pdk? My budget is £25k but I'd rather spend less. I'm happy to go for a manual but have no objection to PDK. Not sure many official dealers have cars within my budget?

I would be having a serious look at the red 2.9 at RSJ. They are a well respected and have a good reputation (no conection btw. Nice colour and spec.

Ok. I'd definitely go 3.4 myself. DPK didn't come in until the facelift in 09, so is going to stretch the budget. There is one 3.4 with Porsche for 20k before haggling, but toppy on miles. http://ucl.porsche.de/ucl/plsql/uk/clients.show_ca... This 2.9 is under budget and has PASM http://ucl.porsche.de/ucl/plsql/uk/clients.show_ca...

This looks nice. 3.4 with PASM and Navigation. http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

BubblesNW said: I would be having a serious look at the red 2.9 at RSJ. They are a well respected and have a good reputation (no conection btw. Nice colour and spec. Call me crazy, but I just can't get to like the black wheels :-{

edo said: Welcome. Never heard of them I am afraid. At least a 2.9 is direct injection and removes some of the previous "known" issues. Personally I would see no point in buying from a non porsche dealer. It wont give you much more. I'd not rule out a Porsche dealer - you get a 2 year warranty. If not, then I would be looking private at a car with warranty you can take over (and renew). What is your budget? Do you want a manual car or pdk? This is good advice. There will plenty of owners like me ready to make the upgrade into a 981, who are still in warranty and have full OPC history. I suspect a private sale might yield a better return for them..

Gio G said: This is good advice. There will plenty of owners like me ready to make the upgrade into a 981, who are still in warranty and have full OPC history. I suspect a private sale might yield a better return for them.. Happy to take all advice. Although I have the cash in my metaphorical pocket, it not yet burning a hole, so I can bide my time

RoadBike said: BubblesNW said: I would be having a serious look at the red 2.9 at RSJ. They are a well respected and have a good reputation (no conection btw. Nice colour and spec. Call me crazy, but I just can't get to like the black wheels :-{ £70 a corner to have them stripped and properly painted in any finish so I would not let the colour of the wheels put you off.

Hi, I think your budget is about right for a 2.9 and you could even get into the official dealership market with a touch of haggling ? I had exactly the same budget and ending up buying a low mileage 2.9 from Northway Porsche, not OPC but a specialist for £24k a few months ago. No doubt I paid over the odds but I'm still happy with the deal. It's also my first Porsche and like you I was hesitant on a private sale or even buying from a non-specialist. Good luck with the search.... Brian

b2hbm said: Hi, I think your budget is about right for a 2.9 and you could even get into the official dealership market with a touch of haggling ? I had exactly the same budget and ending up buying a low mileage 2.9 from Northway Porsche, not OPC but a specialist for £24k a few months ago. No doubt I paid over the odds but I'm still happy with the deal. It's also my first Porsche and like you I was hesitant on a private sale or even buying from a non-specialist. Good luck with the search.... Brian Thx Brian, Seems I'm about to follow in your steps

RoadBike said: Gio G said: This is good advice. There will plenty of owners like me ready to make the upgrade into a 981, who are still in warranty and have full OPC history. I suspect a private sale might yield a better return for them.. Happy to take all advice. Although I have the cash in my metaphorical pocket, it not yet burning a hole, so I can bide my time I'm amazed how expensive some of the examples are. My white 2007 3.4 has full OPC history and warranty AND it's had a new engine by Porsche and it'll be a lot cheaper than them.

Seriously considering one of these myself albeit at a much lower budget. Just doing the fun part of research but seem to be plenty for sale around the 17K mark.

I get the impression the OP has dismissed the Gen I Cayman in favour of the Gen II with the newer interior (pcm3) and bulletproof engine.

Rick101 said: Seriously considering one of these myself albeit at a much lower budget. Just doing the fun part of research but seem to be plenty for sale around the 17K mark. Me too & I think I'd be pushing to exceed £20k this year which I guess puts me in 3.4 06/07 territory. Any & all advice welcome.

My friend has a Gen1 3.4 and renewing his Porsche warranty has saved him a lot of money. He bought his from an independent dealer, but he tells me they did not put the V5 as a trade sale as that allowed them to pass the Porsche extended warranty onto the next owner. Is that correct? If the car passed through an independent dealer then the Porsche extended warranty is invalidated and cannot be passed on to the next owner, but if sold privately it can be? I can not see a problem buying from a private owner who has kept the servicing and extended warranty officially Porsche. Where is the risk as long as you do the usual HPI and common sense checks?

BubblesNW said: I get the impression the OP has dismissed the Gen I Cayman in favour of the Gen II with the newer interior (pcm3) and bulletproof engine. Yep, initially I wanted to spend under £20k and was limited to Gen I but in recent days I thought I'd push my budget up and go Gen II Edited by RoadBike on Tuesday 17th June 23:26

RoadBike said: Yep, initially I wanted to spend under £20k and was limited to Gen I but in recent days I thought I'd push my budget up and go Gen II Edited by RoadBike on Tuesday 17th June 23:26 I drove a couple of 3.4 Gen 1 cars before settling on a Gen 2 — the Gen 2 engine feels sharper and the interior with newer PCM makes the car feel much more modern.

Emeye said: My friend has a Gen1 3.4 and renewing his Porsche warranty has saved him a lot of money. He bought his from an independent dealer, but he tells me they did not put the V5 as a trade sale as that allowed them to pass the Porsche extended warranty onto the next owner. Is that correct? If the car passed through an independent dealer then the Porsche extended warranty is invalidated and cannot be passed on to the next owner, but if sold privately it can be? I can not see a problem buying from a private owner who has kept the servicing and extended warranty officially Porsche. Where is the risk as long as you do the usual HPI and common sense checks? Did exactly the same when I bought my first Cayman from an indi. V5 sent off in my name. I sent off the new owner form to Porsche. Job done.

jcarruthers said: RoadBike said: Yep, initially I wanted to spend under £20k and was limited to Gen I but in recent days I thought I'd push my budget up and go Gen II Edited by RoadBike on Tuesday 17th June 23:26 I drove a couple of 3.4 Gen 1 cars before settling on a Gen 2 — the Gen 2 engine feels sharper and the interior with newer PCM makes the car feel much more modern. It's well known among Porsche people that in all the Porsche models, Gen 1 owners have larger genitalia than Gen 2 owners.

ilduce said: It's well known among Porsche people that in all the Porsche models, Gen 1 owners have larger genitalia than Gen 2 owners. Great news :-) Or the more likely I'll have room to stow my road bike :-)

RoadBike said: Call me crazy, but I just can't get to like the black wheels :-{ Me neither, until Porsche lent me this for a week: Probably the only car I have ever considered that would have black wheels. It was absolutely fabulous. That's a Gen2 3.4 PDK. It was awesome - spectacularly fast and a real giggle. My previous car was a Gen1 2.7 and that was superb - but for different reasons. The 3.4 actually made me laugh at the sheer pace when you stamped the go pedal, but on the twisties, the 2.7 was more satisfying as you worked the gears. My thoughts on both cars if you are interested... White 3.4 PDK Gen2 http://motorcloud.net/2009-cayman-s-pdk/ Red 2.7 Gen1 (running report) http://motorcloud.net/category/cayman-diaries/ In terms of buying, don't rule out the main dealers - talk to your local one and see if they can source what you want within budget. When I bought my Cayman, they weren't far off the price of other independant sellers.

Paul O said: In terms of buying, don't rule out the main dealers - talk to your local one and see if they can source what you want within budget. When I bought my Cayman, they weren't far off the price of other independant sellers. The posts on here have convinced me that it's defo worth a visit and chat to a couple of main dealers.

edo said: This looks nice. 3.4 with PASM and Navigation. http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014... This is the design edition 1. I have had one for 7 months and can tell you that it is truly superb. A real head turner! Mine came with sports exhaust ( I think it is a Borla ) and sounds amazing. It has plenty of buttons and bells but the wheels are from the turbo and look great. You couldn't go wrong with this one.

I have a 2008 model CS that I've had since new (7 years) and I'm clueless as to what to get next. It's a brilliant car, absolutely brilliant. Without spending a lot more money, I can't think of anything else that will give a significant increase in performance or smiles in the real world. I've not (touch wood) had any issues with it and it's been 100% dependable. In fact, I'm thinking of going completely the other way and getting something like an S Class Merc for a while Enjoy Also - those that say it's too easy to drive haven't been going fast enough

edo said: At least a 2.9 is direct injection and removes some of the previous "known" issues. The 2.9 isn't direct injection, but it does use the more robust (we hope) 9A1 engine. SS7

The first Cayman I drove was a Gen 2 base 2.9 at the OPC which was fantastic but it was a Gen 2 3.4 I really wanted, my reasons for going Gen 2 were no IMS issues, latest spec car and more grunt. Unfortunately the OPC network didn't have what I was looking for but I was really lucky and found my perfect spec car for sale private, I did my homework and everything turned out perfect. Don't be afraid of looking for a private sale you can protect yourself from any problems using an OPC to check a car over, the 111 point check is the way to go if the car passes it's good to buy plus it qualifies for a Porsche warranty or if it fails the owner fixes it or walk away...simple as that.

Klippie said: The first Cayman I drove was a Gen 2 base 2.9 at the OPC which was fantastic but it was a Gen 2 3.4 I really wanted, my reasons for going Gen 2 were no IMS issues, latest spec car and more grunt. For my 1st Cayman I think I'll start with the 2.9, who know where I might go from there BTW are they less issues with stone chips on a Gen II that a Gen I?

Nothing wrong with a 2.9 you'll love it, good luck with your search. Every car will get stone chipped if you use it...if it really bothers you have it wrapped in protection film.

Klippie said: Nothing wrong with a 2.9 you'll love it, good luck with your search. Going to see one Monday :-)

i bought my 1st porsche last year, it being a Gen 2 2.9. its a great car (although I'm trying to get my hands on a 993 C2) I'm sure you'll be impressed if you get one. my hasn't got a PSE, so try if you can to get one with it, if not go down the carnewal route, it will make the car sound alive