Can I afford this 981?

[DM1983]

roadsmash said:

I’m starting to think the OP (1 post) may be a troll although can’t be sure.

No, completely legit.

[n12maser]

Totally fair on why you want newer, not a 997. One thought - high biting point on the clutch is I believe a 911 Carrera trait (unless you have rs clutch)

[DM1983]

V800MJH said:

That is absolutely affordable! Without a doubt.

Why wouldn't it be? What are you expecting?

Expecting it to be about the same as running a mid size Merc. Just don't like to leave a stone unturned, and wanted advice from people in the know as I don't know anybody who owns one.

[DM1983]

Gio G said:

OP - given you have driven a bunch of Merc turbo diesels in the past, which probably have a decent slug of torque, I would suggest you get a good test drive of the Cayman first, as it will not drive like a diesel. I owned a 2.7, lovely cars and a good place to start your first Porsche ownership. Just don't drive the S afterwards

G

Both my Mercs were petrol, but yes, the Merc engines especially the 3.5 litre V6 have all the torque around 1200-1500rpm and they basically fizzle out above 3000rpm. There is no point is wringing out a Merc engine.

I have test drove a Cayman and a Cayman S. I found the base Cayman more satisfying because you have to really push it hard.

[IMI A]

OP I think you've chosen a car where residuals will remain very strong. Its what you sell the car for 3 years down the line which give you your true cost of ri the car to you over the next 3 yrs 30,000 miles. The cayman will be considerably to cheaper than your last two cars

[Porsche911R]

it's an odd question for sure,

buy it, drive it, if you need the money sell it.

85% people in the UK don't own their cars, you will own it outright so it's an asset you can sell if needed.

[Gio G]

DM1983 said:

Both my Mercs were petrol, but yes, the Merc engines especially the 3.5 litre V6 have all the torque around 1200-1500rpm and they basically fizzle out above 3000rpm. There is no point is wringing out a Merc engine.

I have test drove a Cayman and a Cayman S. I found the base Cayman more satisfying because you have to really push it hard.

I think most on here would suggest you go with the 3.4S, just that bit more power and torque makes it a better package for me, as the chassis can deal with it pretty well...

G

[AJB88]

S with Stage 1 tune is even better

[roadsmash]

DM1983 said:

roadsmash said:

I’m starting to think the OP (1 post) may be a troll although can’t be sure.

No, completely legit.

Fair play. My apologies.

Best of luck with the purchase if you go for it.

[JayK12]

AJB88 said:

S with Stage 1 tune is even better

Is your running a tune?

[DM1983]

pete.g said:

I ran a 981 2.7 for 2 years.

I had one OPC service in that time for £620, insurance was around £500, though I was in my late forties at the time.

They are quite economical cars if you are on a long motorway run - you can get into the high 30s without driving like a granny.

If you have £50k in the bank I would press ahead - you'll enjoy the experience.

Thanks.

The sort of driving I'd be doing is 3 mile commute back and forth on weekdays, and at the weekends blasting round mountain roads (there's a superb mountain pass with a 60mph limit just north of Belfast) and doing the Porsche club Ireland monthly drives.

[rob.kellock]

OP, give Ken Mack a ring from PCGB. He runs your local region and is a great guy. The region is very active and a number of members have 981s so there is a good source of local knowledge.

I ran a 981 Cayman S for 2 years and 25000 miles in which time it needed one minor service and two tyres. It held its value exceptionally well and was a very good and enjoyable car. Hope you find a nice one that you can enjoy - there is some very beautiful scenery and there are some amazing driving roads around you which I think some locals prefer to keep an international secret!

[pete.g]

DM1983 said:

pete.g said:

I ran a 981 2.7 for 2 years.

I had one OPC service in that time for £620, insurance was around £500, though I was in my late forties at the time.

They are quite economical cars if you are on a long motorway run - you can get into the high 30s without driving like a granny.

If you have £50k in the bank I would press ahead - you'll enjoy the experience.

Thanks.

The sort of driving I'd be doing is 3 mile commute back and forth on weekdays, and at the weekends blasting round mountain roads (there's a superb mountain pass with a 60mph limit just north of Belfast) and doing the Porsche club Ireland monthly drives.

I wouldn't recommend a 981 for a commute like that - I always ran mine as a third or fourth car and used the Porsche for longer runs, Sunday drives, etc.

Have you ruled out a Boxster? They're more common than the coupe 981 and there seems to be a bit of choice in NI, whereas there are no Caymans fitting your spec.

In your shoes I'd get the 987.2 CS that George McMillan has for sale and get a hybrid for the commute.

[Crispystork]

pete.g said:

I wouldn't recommend a 981 for a commute like that - I always ran mine as a third or fourth car and used the Porsche for longer runs, Sunday drives, etc.

Have you ruled out a Boxster? They're more common than the coupe 981 and there seems to be a bit of choice in NI, whereas there are no Caymans fitting your spec.

In your shoes I'd get the 987.2 CS that George McMillan has for sale and get a hybrid for the commute.

In my opinion the cockster is a better car than the Cayman. It's two cars in one and is cheaper because there are more around! You'll only feel the rigidness of the body if you're tracking it. If you want a track car get an mr2 for 5k.

For 35k you can get a Cayman 2.7 981 with average options.
For 35k you can get a Boxster S 3.4 with better options.

Then again i'm biased.

[Porsche911R]

pete.g said:

I wouldn't recommend a 981 for a commute like that - I always ran mine as a third or fourth car and used the Porsche for longer runs, Sunday drives, etc.

981 is a daily car, no point not using it ! life's too short to drive about in a stter, only to have a nice car at home !

[DM1983]

pete.g said:

I wouldn't recommend a 981 for a commute like that - I always ran mine as a third or fourth car and used the Porsche for longer runs, Sunday drives, etc.

Have you ruled out a Boxster? They're more common than the coupe 981 and there seems to be a bit of choice in NI, whereas there are no Caymans fitting your spec.

In your shoes I'd get the 987.2 CS that George McMillan has for sale and get a hybrid for the commute.

On the Boxster thing, I drove a friend's convertible Audi before considering the Boxster and nope, I will never buy a convertible. The roof would never come down and if it's always going to stay up, you may as well have the benefits of a hard top.

As for the whole lack of choice in NI thing, basically if you live in NI and you want the right car, you have to fly to England, test it at a PC there and get them to ship it over, which they do free of charge.

I've been in contact with George McMillan and he seems decent, but that 987 Cayman S has around 70k miles on it if I remember correctly.

[pete.g]

Porsche911R said:

pete.g said:

I wouldn't recommend a 981 for a commute like that - I always ran mine as a third or fourth car and used the Porsche for longer runs, Sunday drives, etc.

981 is a daily car, no point not using it ! life's too short to drive about in a stter, only to have a nice car at home !

It's the worst way to use a petrol engined car - lots of cold starts and short journeys. I have started walking to work since my commute became quite short, but I'm in the market for a plug-in hybrid in case I do need to drive on occasion, as it would cover the journey on electric power alone. I don't consider any of the other cars I have run as 'stters', but then that's in the eye of the beholder.

[pete.g]

DM1983 said:

On the Boxster thing, I drove a friend's convertible Audi before considering the Boxster and nope, I will never buy a convertible. The roof would never come down and if it's always going to stay up, you may as well have the benefits of a hard top.

As for the whole lack of choice in NI thing, basically if you live in NI and you want the right car, you have to fly to England, test it at a PC there and get them to ship it over, which they do free of charge.

I've been in contact with George McMillan and he seems decent, but that 987 Cayman S has around 70k miles on it if I remember correctly.

OPC Belfast are part of the Synter group, so should be able to get you a stock car from one of their other sites.

I wouldn't let high mileage worry you - maintenance is more important. Also it looks like you'll only be adding a few thousand miles a year.

On a 981 my top tips would be to avoid the Pirelli OE tyres if possible, and to try both manual and PDK. Plenty of people who were opposed to PDK changed their mind after driving one and for city traffic its really handy.

[jonny70]

DM1983 said:

Hi,

I'm looking to buy an approved used Cayman 981 (2.7) manual, 4-5 years old with around 20k miles on it for around £35k from a Porsche centre in the UK. I want to see if I'm biting off more than I can chew.

I have just shy of 50 grand in the bank and my average monthly saving after mortgage, bills, food, fuel and booze is £993. No outstanding debts apart from the mortgage.

Previously the most expensive car to run that I've owned was a Merc E200K in Dublin, which worked out at euro2100 for insurance, euro800 for tax and around euro500 per year at the mechanic, and 31mpg.

I currently have a Merc CLS350 which is working out at about £1300 a year for insurance (£720), tax (£305) and repairs (£300 or so) and 26mpg.

I've been quoted £605 for insurance for a Cayman 2.7, and it's £295 for the road tax.

I'd be looking for Porsche approved used only, and intend to do everything at the dealership for the first 2 years, will consider options after that point.

Am I being realistic, overreaching myself, or being too conservative?

Thanks,

How much is your CLS350 worth ? (Surely that’s a decent chunk of the 35k you need to buy the car before touching savings)

[DM1983]

jonny70 said:

How much is your CLS350 worth ? (Surely that’s a decent chunk of the 35k you need to buy the car before touching savings)

I've just agreed a price with a buyer, it forms part of the slightly less than 50k starting lump.