Is this an unrealistic expectation - price & spec on 981

[Dissolved]

Hi All,

I've just sold on my E46 M3 after just over 2 years of ownership, I absolutely loved that car & had spent plenty to get it sorted as well get the Evolve airbox on it & sort the sub-frame along with a number of other bits. However, after a couple of years I'm craving something less practical & more exotic. As I live in London I'm also much less inclined to get a manual due to the volume of clutch usage & some short journeys.

All of this has lead me to Porsche, obviously, and some variation of Cayman 981 with PDK & ideally a few choice options (PSE essential if I'm honest.)

I'd "like" to spend nearer £35k, but looking at the cars out there, it's more like £45k+ for what I am after.

Having checked the PH classifieds for a few weeks, AutoTrader, RAC site, RSJ, 911Virgin, HarbourCars, 911UK, CarGurus etc etc it's a bit of a quagmire of age, milage & spec - age old story of used car purchasing.

SO - with that in mind, is the Cayman R a suitable real world w/e car or is really for tracking? Here's an example I'd be interested in - seems to have all the toys I want. I'd stretch to £40k for the R if it is as usable as I'd hope.

OR

Should I go for a better specc'd 3.4s for that money?

Is it sensible to consider an R or a Black Edition for potential re-sale in future? I think I'd like to end up in some form of 911 Turbo in 3-4 years, I managed to put ~9k on the E46 M3 in 2 years 3months so very low usage during ownership.

Whilst it's highly enjoyable staring at Porsche's all day, I don't want to be a dreamer with regards to what's achievable in my budget.

[nsm3]

Not sure I'm allowed to respond, having just read the new terms?

For £35k a 981 2.7 is within budget, but you currently need £40-45k for the S.

The R will definitely be the safest place to put your money, but not sure if they are available at £40k?

[Dissolved]

Just realised I definitely linked to an 987 R

Would there be anything essential missing from it for £40k ?

Edited by Dissolved on Friday 24th February 14:58

[daz05]

I've just gone from an e92 m3 to the boxster s, £35k for a reasonably spec'd Boxster S is achievable, later 30s for a very well spec'd car is the going rate for earlier cars, the Cayman is a little more so yes I think you are unlikely to achieve.

No comment on the 987R as I haven't driven one.

[boxsey]

R is great fun on the road as a toy, although some do find it a little firm. How it skips and hops at times on poor roads adds to the fun for me. It's definitely not an out and out track car but still capable and fun on track days and many of us use ours for a few track days per year. As you want PDK (mine is PDK) then the one in your link has all the options you want in a PDK R in my opinion.

[Dissolved]

boxsey said:

R is great fun on the road as a toy, although some do find it a little firm. How it skips and hops at times on poor roads adds to the fun for me. It's definitely not an out and out track car but still capable and fun on track days and many of us use ours for a few track days per year. As you want PDK (mine is PDK) then the one in your link has all the options you want in a PDK R in my opinion.

Cheers!

How is it with speed bumps? London is militant for that

Assuming you have the 987 flavour?

[boxsey]

Dissolved said:

Cheers!

How is it with speed bumps? London is militant for that

Assuming you have the 987 flavour?

No more than a pain than in a regular Cayman. Although the R is lower as standard it doesn't have splitters that are as low as GT3s and GT4s which are more of a worry over speed bumps. BTW all Cayman Rs are 987 models. No R version for the 981...that has the GT4 instead.

[Dissolved]

boxsey said:

No more than a pain than in a regular Cayman. Although the R is lower as standard it doesn't have splitters that are as low as GT3s and GT4s which are more of a worry over speed bumps. BTW all Cayman Rs are 987 models. No R version for the 981...that has the GT4 instead.

Ah. Right. That's quite the step up again...

981s territory... anyone think there'd be much movement in price from a private seller on this one? Individual's requirement to sell aside & all that.

[jjr1]

Link does not work?

[Green1man]

That Cayman R would likely fulfill your requirements and they are quite sort after so should hold value quite well. For similar money you could find the odd 981s from 2012/13 with around 30k miles, just keep looking. Most lower mileage newer 981s are over 40k though as you have discovered.

[Dissolved]

jjr1 said:

Link does not work?

Not sure what happened there - but this was the link: http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/p...

However - it can likely be ignored with regards to the next bit.

I'm revising my budget a smidge in light of some other outgoings in the next month or two, meaning I'm really looking around the £35k mark.

That's honestly going to mean either a higher mileage & less well specc'd R, or a low spec & higher milage Cayman 2.7.

Am thinking I might need to either wait a few months & save some more to get what I really want rather than compromising.

This is obviously the epitome of "first world problems" but it's annoying nonetheless