981 Cayman S prices

[Royal Jelly]

Hi all,

I’m on the lookout for a 981 Cayman S, and it appears that anything under 30k seems particularly leggy or lower spec in terms of options.

I’ve just come across a 2013, 2 owner PDK, 50k example with sports Chrono, sports exhaust, full leather trim, but no PASM. 2 main dealer services and one recognised specialist. All appears in great shape.

It’s up at £32k, but to be honest I don’t know where I ought to bid. To me it seems reasonable, 34-35 seems to get cars with less miles and lower spec from what I’ve come across.

PASM would be nice but not a dealbreaker to me.

What do the wise Porsche owls think about a bidding point? Are there any questions I need to be asking?

Thanks all..

[stevemcs]

Is it the right car ? if it isn't it does not matter what the price is. If however it is the right car sometimes getting a discount isn't everything, if its recently serviced with no damaged and new tyres and brakes are new and you have no spend for 12 months and 32k is retail or less then stump up the asking price.

People automatically assume they should get a discount and thats not always the case.

[Royal Jelly]

I fully agree, I certainly don’t expect a discount by default, but as a rookie in the Porsche world I’m after opinions as to whether that seems in the right ball park.

In terms of spec, it is the right fit for me. It’s everything but PASM. I like PASM, but having driven a 981 on 20’ wheels without it, I found the ride just fine.

SC, PSE, PCM, Bose & full leather, SD wheel.

Tyres are a couple of thousand miles old, so no issue there. Not sure what they are, but it’ll be asked.

Brakes - I’m not sure. I’m going to comb the service history with the seller (trade) and see if/when they had components changed.

Fresh MOT. Serviced (6 year) last September - it’ll be time based for me, so due a major next year.

Edited by Royal Jelly on Saturday 22 August 18:17

[julian987R]

Royal Jelly said:

Hi all,


It’s up at £32k, but to be honest I don’t know where I ought to bid. To me it seems reasonable, 34-35 seems to get cars with less miles and lower spec from what I’ve come across.

Thanks all..

link please

[DRH986]

I have a 981S PDK (not for sale yet), with all the options plus a few more compared with the one you are looking at, including PASM, PTV, PDLS bi-xenons, Sports Plus seats, Bose, Cruise, OPC service history and 36K miles. In the current market at a respectable indy I think mine would be up for about £35k, obviously less for a private sale.

[Luckyscoob]

It doesn’t seem expensive. Seems about right. They are very personal things these Porsche’s. Last year, I was originally looking up to about £35k, but then the car I finally bought came up with a respected dealer and had every option I wanted, including the colour. Black with Luxor interior, PSE, PASM, PDK, extended leather and platinum 20” carrera s wheels. I ended up spending a bit more than I wanted to but even since buying it, I haven’t ever seen the same spec again. If you see the exact car you want, it’s worth the extra purple of grand.

[DJMC]

I'd place PASM way above Sports Chrono and PSE, both fairly useless in my opinion.

I almost bought a non-PASM car and it seemed fine, better than my TTS, but stumbled across my PASM one having not experienced this set up and I'm so glad I did.

But if you've tried the useless SC and like it (why?), and you don't mind PSE drone (when off) then it's your choice of course.

[Royal Jelly]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. As has been said, and what I’ve gleaned; it’s all very personal what spec works for whom. Obviously because Porsche are notoriously stingy with basic spec, it adds another layer in the age/mileage/spec algorithm.

I’ve an iron in a fire now, and it’s all very exciting. I’ll keep you posted.

[bcr5784]

DJMC said:

I'd place PASM way above Sports Chrono and PSE, both fairly useless in my opinion.

I almost bought a non-PASM car and it seemed fine, better than my TTS, but stumbled across my PASM one having not experienced this set up and I'm so glad I did.

But if you've tried the useless SC and like it (why?), and you don't mind PSE drone (when off) then it's your choice of course.

+1

[Jeronh]

High spec but no PASM means you can upgrade to the Porsche X73 suspension kit. It's £1200 or so for 4 dampers and both front and rear anti roll bars.

That with tighter geo will transform the feel of the car. I had a PASM car and I'd have preferred it to come with stock suspension so I could do the above conversion.

[bcr5784]

Jeronh said:

High spec but no PASM means you can upgrade to the Porsche X73 suspension kit. It's £1200 or so for 4 dampers and both front and rear anti roll bars.

That with tighter geo will transform the feel of the car. I had a PASM car and I'd have preferred it to come with stock suspension so I could do the above conversion.

You need to change the springs as well - they are much stiffer on X73 than either standard or PASM - £1200 seems very cheap for all that lot even if you fit it yourself.

[Jeronh]

bcr5784 said:

You need to change the springs as well - they are much stiffer on X73 than either standard or PASM - £1200 seems very cheap for all that lot even if you fit it yourself.

Yes, that's the dampers which includes the springs. You remove the entire stock (4x4) suspension and you swap in the entire X73 kit. Of course this required fitting if you cannot do it yourself, but it's not a hugely expensive job. It may be a little more, but I believe I was quoted £1200 from Porsche - which as you say is very cheap. Hence recommending it!

X73 is between pasm off and Pasm on in sports plus (on chrono) as far as stiffness goes I believe. Still very usable, if you want a more direct ride.

[bcr5784]

Jeronh said:

X73 is between pasm off and Pasm on in sports plus (on chrono) as far as stiffness goes I believe. Still very usable, if you want a more direct ride.

X73 is about 10% stiffer springs and front ARB, and 20% stiffer ARB than PASM. PASM is about 10% stiffer all round than standard. Damping in sport varies from the same as standard to much stiffer dependingon conditions. In normal it varies from MUCH softer than standard to a bit stiffer than standard depending on conditions - it is never OFF. PASM is 10mm lower than standard, X73 20mm lower.

[Jeronh]

bcr5784 said:

X73 is about 10% stiffer springs and front ARB, and 20% stiffer ARB than PASM. PASM is about 10% stiffer all round than standard. Damping in sport varies from the same as standard to much stiffer dependingon conditions. In normal it varies from MUCH softer than standard to a bit stiffer than standard depending on conditions - it is never OFF. PASM is 10mm lower than standard, X73 20mm lower.

Sure, the roll bars from X73 make a massive difference to the handling over a stock PASM setup - ask me how I know.

When I say 'off', I mean the PASM button left unchecked. With it on coupled with sport plus it's a lot stiffer than a standard setup. Have you been in both? There's a lot of discussion about all of this with the actual numbers on Planet 9. All the reviews talking about steering feel and so on with the GTS models are using the X73 suspension pack. It's not stiffer than PASM in Sport Plus if you have Chrono. It's just a well judged passive setup that's stiffer than the standard passive suspension setup.

[Fatherdougal]

I bought a Boxster 981 S 7 weeks ago. Had similar spec to yours, but 30k miles and 2014. Didn't have extended leather or Bose (both of which I'd have liked). I actively avoided PASM - but definitely wanted PSE and Sports Chrono which it had (each to their own I guess ). Paid £32.2k for it, but it was in absolutely immaculate condition, full OPC service history and passed the 111 point warranty check (but hadn't taken the warranty in the end).

That seemed to be a fair market rate - the other frustrating thing was that they were going within days - I got early visibility of an OPC 981 (didn't have pictures up on the advert even). I went to see it, came home to discuss with the wife in the afternoon, then they contacted me to say it had sold within two hours of me leaving the dealership. Presume Caymans are in the same demand as Boxsters, so my advice would be if it's the car you want and the price is reasonable, don't expect to haggle too much if at all, and snap it up.

HTH

[JasonSteel]

Jeronh said:

Sure, the roll bars from X73 make a massive difference to the handling over a stock PASM setup - ask me how I know.

how do you know?

[NewNameNeeded]

DJMC said:

I'd place PASM way above Sports Chrono and PSE, both fairly useless in my opinion.

Entirely personal, of course, but I've found PDK + sports chrono totally transforms the throttle response and shifts when put in Sports or Sports Plus mode. It turns it into an entirely different driving experience. In Sports Plus the car will stay in 2nd whereas with it off it would be reaching for 7th gear. When moved over to manual mode I'm fairly certain it still tightens everything up.

I also think PSE transforms the driving experience, being that much louder - but I think is a fairly easy after market retrofit. I wouldn't enjoy my drives nearly as much without PSE.

[naefeart]

I’ve been looking at getting X73 fitted to my CS, but I’m worried it will be too firm. The usual PASM vs X73 forum conversations get too caught up in the gritty details. Ultimately I need to try it for myself, but that’s going to be hard to do.

I decided against PSE and I don’t regret it, but I had the option to try both before buying. The ride height is my only bugbear, but the actual ride quality is pretty good as standard. Other than PDK which was a must for me, everything else was just a nice to have.

[Jeronh]

JasonSteel said:

how do you know?

Haha, I did the swap on my own car.

And yes as said above it’s an endless conversation on the forums about the nuances of each setup. The range of the PASM dampers exceeds the spec of the X73, so they can be a lot softer whilst they can also be stiffer depending on the settings.

PASM in in off mode (easier for explaining, light off) rode well but wallowed / rolled too much for my taste, with little body control. PASM on sorted out the body control whilst PASM with sports plus was overly stiff for anything but a perfectly smooth road. (Seemed similar if not a little stiffer than my 981 GT4 with a DSC controller rides - something I’d recommend to anyone as it sorts out body control).

My standard setup was PASM on and the Sport button on. Very rarely touching Sports Plus as I didn’t want auto blip. I almost never varied from this so see no downside to a passive setup for myself.

Edited by Jeronh on Wednesday 26th August 13:58

Edited by Jeronh on Wednesday 26th August 13:59

Edited by Jeronh on Wednesday 26th August 13:59

[MrVert]

I've got the X73 suspension on my GTS...for me it gives a really good compromise, might be a tad too firm for some, but my last few cars haven't been exactly softly sprung so it's fine for me...

Never had PASM on more than a couple of times in my last two 911's, I found it too harsh on the roads around where I live.