Money to spend - help required

[Mikeeb]

Potential first time owner here, and a little help wanted. I'll be coming out of a CL55K AMG and it's very much not a 'drivers car'. That's not to say it doesn't handle well for it's 2000KG weight but, well you know what I mean.

So I have £15-18k to spend and I'm pretty sure I want 2 wheel drive and manual. So that puts me in 996.2/987.2/Cayman territory.

So what's your thoughts, pluses and minuses of them? Obviously a 996 is going to be older with some miles on it but is a 911 'that' much better?

Cheers all

[gilliambot]

I am firmly in the don't worry about miles camp, unless we are talking >100,000 miles. The most important thing to be looking for is a good service history, a car that has been loved. Something with 75000 miles a full service history, and proof of all work carried out would seem far more appealing to me than a 20,000 mile car with a patchy history. This is all very subjective and really comes down to what you want out of a car, I dont think you can make a wrong decision with either 3 options.
I would say if you want a more raw driving experience, a better exhaust note, and one of the best looking rears out of the Porsche range the 996 c4s is excellent choice. People will warn of all the engine failure problems, but there are more cars that have not suffered from chocolate engines than have done, dont let that stop you, just enjoy the machine if you go down that road. The only real issue I find with the 996 is the interior being a bit too retro.
I owned a cayman for a while thought it was a fantastic machine, feels like a proper little go cart, but again my personal issue was that I felt like I was driving the 911's sidekick. After swapping it for a 911 I felt like the 911 was more special, it will always have iconic status, even if people dont like a particular iteration. I have never driven a boxster outside of a loan car, but it felt (to me anyway) just like the cayman, I only spent a couple days with it and perhaps more time would have changed my mind. I have also never been the biggest fan of convertibles, I think roof down should be reserved for red Ferraris.
Test drive all 3 and then see how you get on with them.

[Mario149]

Mikeeb said:

Potential first time owner here, and a little help wanted. I'll be coming out of a CL55K AMG and it's very much not a 'drivers car'. That's not to say it doesn't handle well for it's 2000KG weight but, well you know what I mean.

So I have £15-18k to spend and I'm pretty sure I want 2 wheel drive and manual. So that puts me in 996.2/987.2/Cayman territory.

So what's your thoughts, pluses and minuses of them? Obviously a 996 is going to be older with some miles on it but is a 911 'that' much better?

Cheers all

I don't think a 911 is "better", it just feels different and has more oomph. You'll need to have a drive of them all. If it was me going for my first Porsche with your budget I'd be getting 996 C2 or C4S if I could find one for the money. Nothing wrong with the Caysters, I picked up a Boxster GTS in July and love it, but if you're doing the Porsche thing, you might as well sample the quintessential model in your budget which also has the bonus of being slightly more practical.

As for whether you might get a C2 or C4S, it depends on what your priorities are. C4S is noticeably slower (maybe 0.2 or a bit more seconds slower to 60) as it carries about an extra 125kg, but there is scope to ditch a bit of weight. But, to a lot of people (myself included) it looks the dogs danglies and so are happy to trade some performance for that. 4wd in the C4S doesn't make a great deal of difference to the drive, but since it's effectively got all the turbo running gear but not the engine, it does feel a bit over-tyred.

C2 on the other hand feels more agile, moves a bit quicker, is a bit more understated and arguably better VFM at current prices. If it's all about the drive for you, and feel/excitement up to and over the limit (on track say), C2 is probably a better bet. Otherwise, C4S, but you really can't go wrong with either.

Just one thing though, whatever you do don't go down the C4S route solely for the 4wd "security" in bad conditions. It makes b*gger all difference as it's not active in any meaningful way until the rears are spinning faster than the fronts (i.e. you're sliding already) since it's a viscous coupling system. If you want security in the winter, just get a set of winter tyres, will make a much more meaningful impact and save you a load of cash on forking out for a more expensive car

[Trev450]

The short answer is you need to drive them both. They are quite different cars and their characteristics will appeal to some and not others. I also think you will be struggling to find a 987.2 Cayman on your budget.