£10k Porsche Cayman | High Mile Club
There surely won't be many more chances for a 987 at £9,995 - this one even looks quite good...
The Porsche Cayman has been in the news quite a lot recently. The GT4 RS is one of the best sports cars ever made at little more than £100,000 (it'll probably seem good value at whatever they're sold for, too), and then comes a change even bigger than the GT3 engine swap: the electric Cayman. The entire 718 range will be battery powered by the middle of the decade, says Porsche; between that and the launch of the RS, it's brought into focus what we love most about the small Porsche sports cars. A lovely flat-six, specifically. A manual would be quite nice to have, too, given their scarcity...
Of course, there aren't many old Porsche Caymans that aren't appealing in one form or another. The Tiptronic auto isn't a patch on the later PDK, but six cylinders will always be attached - and much the same argument can be made for the early 2.7 and its slightly meagre power output. Even the flat-four cars remain a joy to drive, if less so to listen to. It's why they've remained in demand after all this time.
It was assumed the days of the £10k Cayman were gone, such is the current state of the market and the regard in which so many old Porsches are held. But here we have what'll surely be one of the last: a 2008 2.7 manual at £9,995. You know why it's so cheap; if this car were a batsman it'd be acknowledging the crowd for a third time, currently sitting at 152,000 not out. Which means you assume it's a basket case, not least with seven owners. And yes, the seller does admit to some blemishes, and the tyres don't have loads of life left in them.
But look at the history - it seems a good one. There are 15 stamps in the book (it'd probably benefit from another now, in truth), and the MOT history is almost spotless. The most recent test was red before it was green, but before that this Porsche had gone from 2011 (at 62,000 miles) to 2022 and almost 100,000 more with just one advisory. Impressive. Though these things can't be said with absolute certainty, you'd hope that sort of result points to diligent ownership. And better a sports car with some miles on it than perishing through lack of use, right?
This Cayman's spec, if safe, isn't likely to offend, either. The wheels are in decent nick, the leather has held up well and, if you'll excuse the cliché, it could surely pass for a car much fresher with a good polish. Any of the engine issues that afflicted the six-cylinder cars of this era must surely have been dealt with now, or else never presented a problem.
And if you'll join us in looking on the 'grass is always greener' side of things here, a less than concours example is actually a great opportunity. A new owner won't have to worry about preserving a car in factory fresh condition with only OEM parts, because this'll never be a minter. Instead they can sympathetically upgrade as they go, replacing parts as they wear out with slightly better ones than were there before. A 2.7 Cayman is never going to be especially fast - not without a huge spend, that is - but it would surely become an even more enjoyable sports car with some money invested in the right places. There's a reason they've been crowed on about all these years. Furthermore, with the future looking as it is, don't be surprised if a 200,000-mile 2.7 is worth £9,995 in the years to come. Stranger things have happened...
Guessing maintenance and overall running costs wouldn’t be too bad compared to a nearly new warm hatch that’s still depreciating. Or is that just Man Maths?
Trouble is, they seem to be priced so strongly that I just don't have the guts for this. I'd happily buy it and drive it, but I'm not confident that I'll convince someone else to pay much back on the £10k when I've added another 15k miles on it and another owner on that list in 3 years time. I can just imagine being bullied by the dealer on the p/x.
Trouble is, they seem to be priced so strongly that I just don't have the guts for this. I'd happily buy it and drive it, but I'm not confident that I'll convince someone else to pay much back on the £10k when I've added another 15k miles on it and another owner on that list in 3 years time. I can just imagine being bullied by the dealer on the p/x.
Or get a nice 986S for a few grand less and watch the value go in the other direction.
But either way, Baby Porker ownership can be expensive if you don't buy carefully. A nice £13k one with low miles might need a clutch and flywheel, which will make an unaware buyer's eyes water.
Plus, that boot badge looks gash.
And it will probably need that extra money spent anyway within a year. 20k miles since last service tells you how much it has been cared for lately.
Looks like even the dealer cannot be bothered to service it.
Granted, the later 2.9 engine is more reliable than the 2.7, but at this mileage you would expect the known issues to have already been addressed. Interior parts/trim etc. are easy to source and replace too, to refresh a tired car if needed.
The price of this one is very telling of the current market though - mine cost even less than this is up for...
To be honest, I've had enough of open-top motoring so a Cayman would do nicely, and something like this would still be in budget. It would be a third car, so high mileage not an issue and it would do no more that 3 or 4000 miles annually. So I'm watching stuff such as this like a hawk at the moment.
Which is why I've noticed, particularly with the Cayman, just how dull they all look. It seems as though Porsche's colour samples book lost a page: they're all black, dark blue, silver, grey or white. Boxsters are a little better, but not much. And the 987 interior looks no more special a place to be than that of a Polo. At least the 986 / 996-style interior had some flair to it. I'm sure it's all high quality, soft-feel plastics etc but £10,000 is (for me) still quite a chunk of money to spend on an "unnecessary" car, and I want something a little more special personally.
To be honest, I've had enough of open-top motoring so a Cayman would do nicely, and something like this would still be in budget. It would be a third car, so high mileage not an issue and it would do no more that 3 or 4000 miles annually. So I'm watching stuff such as this like a hawk at the moment.
Which is why I've noticed, particularly with the Cayman, just how dull they all look. It seems as though Porsche's colour samples book lost a page: they're all black, dark blue, silver, grey or white. Boxsters are a little better, but not much. And the 987 interior looks no more special a place to be than that of a Polo. At least the 986 / 996-style interior had some flair to it. I'm sure it's all high quality, soft-feel plastics etc but £10,000 is (for me) still quite a chunk of money to spend on an "unnecessary" car, and I want something a little more special personally.
I held out for a guards red one with part alcantara seats and a recent alcantara steering wheel retrim and it does look and feel a bit more special than some of the others I've looked at.
Posting a pic of mine
Posting a pic of mine
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/porsche/cayma...
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/porsche/cayma...
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