Cayman 981 S values?

[94OD]

Hi all,

Appreciate that this may be a slightly 'crystal ball' question but would appreciate some feedback/input.

I'm keen to dip my toe in the Porsche club and hopefully upgrade to a 981 Cayman S next year.

Currently, circa £40k will get you a 2014 CS with 30-40k mls with a light, but comfortable spec from the OPC network. Specialists/independents seem to be around the same price. Private sales are thin on the ground but there's a lovely car listed currently at similar price but with 20k miles and 2 years warranty remaining - no doubt this would be a 45k+ car if listed through Porsche network.

Would it be unrealistic to assume that although these cars appear fairly stable, they still have a little depreciation to take? Would a car currently listed at £40k car be more like £35k in 10-12 months time?

Interested to hear other peoples opinions, thoughts and experiences.

Thanks in advance

[Koln-RS]

If a flat-6 981 'S' is your first foray into Porsche ownership, you won't be disappointed.

Friend of mine bought one fairly recently, and we both felt it was the sweet spot of contemporary Porsche ownership for the money - he paid £45k from a non-franchised specialist. Personally I would have been prepared to pay a bit more from an OPC to get the added benefits, peace of mind and 2 year warranty, but he had a specific colour and spec criteria.

No one can predict future prices, but expect them to drop a bit, but probably not a lot, unless the economy has a major correction. Mileage will always have some influence on prices, but so will the options list.

good luck

[Bennachie]

They don't seem to have dropped much over the last 12 months. Indeed, they appear to be somewhat sought after....

[hixster]

I watched the market for about 2 years before buying - decent spec Cayman S's with less than 20k miles seems to always stick at around low to mid £40k and I don't see this changing anytime soon. This was my first Porsche and I'd wanted a Cayman for 10 years - when the 718 came out, I test drove that and decided I had to have the 981s before they disappeared as I wanted the flat 6 - it is flipping awesome!

I was fortunate enough to buy a low mileage 2013 plate with 13k miles,one owner with a tonne of options , 20 inch alloys, PDK, Sports chrono, PASM, PCM, leather interior etc from a specialists and haggled down from £45k to under £43k - I had an 111 check prior to purchase at local OPC which was clear and have since added a two year warranty with them.

All in all this was a competitive deal. I can't see them dropping much.

I used the autotrader app to track / search nationally and kept tabs on prices that way.

Edited by hixster on Friday 28th July 21:37

[bcr5784]

I'd agree with hixster - second hand values are holding up well. I bought my near new (then) CS from an OPC for just under £50k nearly 3 years ago. It now has 13k miles on it and an OPC would probably be asking around 45k for it.

[jimmy p]

What an opc might ask for it and what you could sell one for are 2 very different prices though. May be upto 8k between the two taking into account their margin, prep and warranty

[DJMC]

Value is related to mileage, sure.

But unless it's a certainty that values will increase, why would you buy a great driver's car to hide away in the garage, losing money and costing money? Plus, most garage queens add another daily driven car to the stable which adds a whole lot more cost, and greater depreciation.

To me, the enjoyment factor of my 981C DD doing 12k miles a year far outweighs the cost of depreciation and owning another, likely lesser, car to drive daily.

Buy a low mileage car if you like, but don't keep it hidden away expecting it to mature into millions. Drive the thing! Enjoy!

[Geneve]

Consider myself a 911ophile and been fortunate to have owned, own and driven a lot of Porsches, new and old, since the '80s. First Cayman was a GT4 and deeply impressed - prefer it to the 997GT3s - but also wanted a DD and considered various options, inc BMW M2. Eventually, bought a nicely specified 981S with PDK for mid £40ks, and it's absolutely brilliant. Obviously not as 'special' as the GT4, but complements it perfectly, a terrific road car, perfectly practical for everyday use, and reminds me more of the original 911 DNA than the latest 991 models. Did try a 718, and pleasantly surprised, but the 981 seemed better value and, of course, the NA flat six will always be special.

Edited by Geneve on Saturday 29th July 14:51

[DarkMatter]

94OD said:

.....

Currently, circa £40k will get you a 2014 CS with 30-40k mls with a light, but comfortable spec ......

What would you expect to be included in a "light, but comfortable spec"?

Would you be making a mistake with regard to future value if you omitted some of the following?

Climate control as opposed to air conditioning?
Sports Chrono Plus as opposed to just Sport?
PASM?
PSE?
Navigation (or is it standard?)
Front parking sensors in addition to rear (is rear only standard?)
Wheel diameter/design?
Paint colour, solid or metallic?
Interior colour?

[bcr5784]

DarkMatter said:

What would you expect to be included in a "light, but comfortable spec"?

Would you be making a mistake with regard to future value if you omitted some of the following?

Climate control as opposed to air conditioning?
Sports Chrono Plus as opposed to just Sport?
PASM?
PSE?
Navigation (or is it standard?)
Front parking sensors in addition to rear (is rear only standard?)
Wheel diameter/design?
Paint colour, solid or metallic?
Interior colour?

Everyone will say something a bit different on what is "light but comfortable" - but if you want to keep the cost of ownership down I'd OMIT at least some of the following since they are options that are popular but inflate the price - unless, of course they are must haves for you. Their omission now will affect future value - but probably not as much as it will save you now.

Big wheels - spoil the ride with no handling advantage, but are very popular
PSE - louder than standard even off which some find irritating on the motorway
Nav - expensive option if you feel you can live without it. (I have it but the cost is difficult to justify)
Sports Chrono - pretty useless imo and the only useful bit - the dynamic engine mounts - seem to be troublesome
Cruise control - seems popular for reasons beyond me.
PASM - actually terrific, but only becomes highly desirable if you specify 20" wheels. (I have it and very much like it)
Bose - very ordinary (I have it but a waste of money imo)
Leather - again popular, but depends whether it floats your boat.
PDK - great box but inflates retail and the manual box is very good apart from silly ratios.

Note parking sensors (even rear ones - which most would regard as highly desirable on a DD - are NOT standard).
I have parking sensors both ends, but only consider the rears as near essential.

Climate I (and most others) like - but you will find the occasional dissenting voice.

Phone preparation (unbelievably not standard) will be a must for most.

Hope that helps more than confuses!

Edited by bcr5784 on Saturday 29th July 15:52

[Krobar]

bcr5784 said:

Everyone will say something a bit different on what is "light but comfortable" - but if you want to keep the cost of ownership down I'd OMIT at least some of the following since they are options that are popular but inflate the price - unless, of course they are must haves for you. Their omission now will affect future value - but probably not as much as it will save you now.

Big wheels - spoil the ride with no handling advantage, but are very popular
PSE - louder than standard even off which some find irritating on the motorway
Nav - expensive option if you feel you can live without it. (I have it but the cost is difficult to justify)
Sports Chrono - pretty useless imo and the only useful bit - the dynamic engine mounts - seem to be troublesome
Cruise control - seems popular for reasons beyond me.
PASM - actually terrific, but only becomes highly desirable if you specify 20" wheels. (I have it and very much like it)
Bose - very ordinary (I have it but a waste of money imo)
Leather - again popular, but depends whether it floats your boat.
PDK - great box but inflates retail and the manual box is very good apart from silly ratios.

Note parking sensors (even rear ones - which most would regard as highly desirable on a DD - are NOT standard).
I have parking sensors both ends, but only consider the rears as near essential.

Climate I (and most others) like - but you will find the occasional dissenting voice.

Phone preparation (unbelievably not standard) will be a must for most.

Hope that helps more than confuses!

Edited by bcr5784 on Saturday 29th July 15:52

Above is good advice. One thing worth noting is you only get the visual representation of distance and muting of music with the font and back sensors. Also you may find you prefer the sound of Sound Pack Plus over Bose (And the base sound system in the 981 is terrible but then again some people never use it)

[bcr5784]

Krobar said:

Above is good advice. One thing worth noting is you only get the visual representation of distance and muting of music with the font and back sensors.

Didn't realise that (i have both front and rear). I do find the visualisation useful - sensible half way house to a camera.

[94OD]

Some absolutely brilliant advice in here; thanks all for your contributions.

In response to the above question, my ideal spec would be Guards Red/Racing Yellow/Aqua Blue, 20" Carrera S wheels with black leather. Creature comforts i.e. heated seats, air-con, phone prep & parking sensors. Nav would be mandatory, PSE desirable but not mandatory. (Can always add at a later date).

Sport Chrono seemed appealing to begin with, but more recently doesn't really seem too important to me. Dynamic engine mounts sound good, but as above I've read a few people have experienced issues with them. I would have thought this would be covered by warranty? PASM seems to be highly commended, although my current car has a very firm ride so I'm sure I could live with X73 sport suspension; I also like the slightly lower ride height it gives.

And finally, the can of worms - PDK vs Manual. I currently drive a 2012 Golf R with DSG, my first semi-auto but I love it. The car isn't a daily driver, but does get used (approx. 7-8k p/a). It's set up well with coilovers, ARB's, bushes, MPSS etc and is my weekend B-road blaster. I wouldn't rule out a manual, but ideally I'd like to drive both to make a decision.

My thought process is this; next year, the Cayman should be in reach. Although it may stretch my budget a little, I would have no qualms doing so if I knew the car was retaining it's value fairly well. When I come to sell my car next year, I'd estimate I'll lose £4k in depreciation for 16k miles of fun over 24 months - IMO worth every penny and something I'd happily replicate with a 981CS.

Edit: Bose/Sound System Plus (or whatever it's called) would be desirable too :-)

Edited by 94OD on Saturday 29th July 23:07

[bcr5784]

94OD said:

My thought process is this; next year, the Cayman should be in reach. Although it may stretch my budget a little, I would have no qualms doing so if I knew the car was retaining it's value fairly well. When I come to sell my car next year, I'd estimate I'll lose £4k in depreciation for 16k miles of fun over 24 months - IMO worth every penny and something I'd happily replicate with a 981CS.

Edited by 94OD on Saturday 29th July 23:07

I think you are looking at mid spec and to get near to the depreciation on your current car you are going to have to buy and sell privately. I started off with that in mind, but quickly found that unless I was very flexible with spec there was practically nothing on the market. Finally bit the bullet and bought a car from an OPC which had almost everything I wanted - but I wasn't paying over the odds for extras that I didn't. Tough call on a 981 Porsche where there are so many expensive options.

[DarkMatter]

bcr5784 said:

DarkMatter said:

What would you expect to be included in a "light, but comfortable spec"?

....

Everyone will say something a bit different on what is "light but comfortable"...... Hope that helps more than confuses!

Edited by bcr5784 on Saturday 29th July 15:52

That helped me, thanks.