Porsche 911UK Forum

Welcome to the @Porsche911UK website. Register a free account today to become a member! Sign up is quick and easy, then you can view, participate in topics and posts across the site that covers all things Porsche.

Already registered and looking to recovery your account, select 'login in' and then the 'forget your password' option.

997 or Cayman?

jormedawson

New member
Joined
16 Mar 2018
Messages
2
Good morning Ladies & Gents,


Its my 1st post here so go easy on me! Im totally new to the Porsche world. Iv always admired the 911 997 and recently started looking around in view to buy one. I currently drive an Audi A3 1.6tdi... Great car, quality interior but im missing the sports car element! I always promised myself a Porsche of some kind so I think a 997 is the way to go. Now, my question for you guys is, how is it as a daily driver? I will be doing lots of driving abroad to see parents and for work so I need something that is comfortable on a motorway and can cruise well. Im not worried about turbos or performance, would like to keep costs down, so anything crazy or limited editions is out! It needs to be reliable, can't afford a blown engine in Switzerland for example!! Also, given my budget of around 25k + px the A3, would you recommend a newer Cayman or a cheap-is 997? Any reliability problems I should worry about and stay clear of? My Audi is 3yrs old so still under warranty. Its great for piece of mind. As, I guess, 911's or any kind of Porsches are an investment, does Porsche offer any extended warranties?IF not, can anyone recommend one?

Thanks for all your help in advance. Sorry this is a repeated post! I guess you get lots of questions regarding buyers advice etc....

J :thumbs:
 
Welcome nearly namesake friend :D

You'll get loads of opinions I'm sure, for me looking at your desires I'd say no brainier, gen 2 (997.2) non S. it's a cracker, cheaper on tax, better on fuel, Manuals in particular better priced and probably just in budget with the Audi 👍 get the OOC warranty jobs a good un!

(Clues in the title) loads will say Cayman (I think that's some sort of Lizard?) for that look for Cayman.com :grin:
 
Welcome along.

This is a 911 forum, guess what the answer will be to your question.

All the info you require is on this board already, have a look through, do your homework.

Compare your first post with mine:

http://www.911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=116411

Alas, a lot of the issues facing the 997 (gen 1 especially) were carried by the 987 gen Caymans, so my thread might bear some fruit.
 
Welcome J,

:thumb:
Have you considered keeping the A3 for work miles and spending your £25k on something nice for weekends and trips to mum and dad? Keeping galaxy miles off the Porsche will pay you back handsomely come sale time and will make journeys in the [Hartech rebuilt 997.1] feel that bit more special.
 
If the to lack of token rear seats isn't an issue I'd advise you to go for the newest car in your budget and therefore an early 981 Cayman.

Obviously that won't help you scratch your 911 itch but you can always do that next time. :)

Have a good read of the 997 sub-forum and especially the FAQs and you'll soon gather that the 997.2 is the safest bet. They're all great cars but Gen1 cars have potential engine issues that the Gen2 cars avoid. As already advised, a 3.6 (non S) would represent great value for money.

Both cars are surprisingly suitable as a daily driver, comfortable on a motorway and will cruise well.

No modern, mainstream car can be considered an investment but depreciation on the cars you're considering will be far lower than most people realise.

Porsche offer a belt and braces warranty (c£1k a year) on any unmodified car up to 14 years old/125k miles, subject to a 111 point inspection (c£220), but you can't get one until you've owned the car for 90 days.

Beyond that few after market warranties give the sort of single claim limit that you need on a Porsche.

Happy Hunting . :thumb: and :welcome: to 911uk
 
You need minimum 35k for a base 997 Gen2 carrera. If you don't need 4 seats, go for test in both. I suspect an early Gen2 carrera will depreciate less than a newer cayman.

I use mine as a daily except when salt is on the roads. Have a cheap Kia winter hack for that. Cayman was off the table for me as I have school run duties.

My Gen2 is perfectly comfortable for long motorway drives, I have seen 30mpg on a long (250mile) motorway run (70mph). I've done 7 hour drives and get out feeling fresh.

I bought mine from an independent specialist, I judged as low risk having only 1 yr warranty with capped claim limit vs paying a premium for an approved used car with 2 yr OPC warranty. (Haven't needed to claim in nearly 3 years of ownership).

I wouldn't necessarily say the same about gen1 997.

Test drive more than one car, you are likely to fall in love with the first one you drive!
 
jormedawson said:
Good morning Ladies & Gents,Now, my question for you guys is, how is it as a daily driver? I will be doing lots of driving abroad to see parents and for work so I need something that is comfortable on a motorway and can cruise well.

Im in a 997 C2 3.6 having come from a BMW M3 V8 and a Maserati Gransport.

As a daily driver the 997 is proving to be very good.

I'm on 19's and passive suspension and the ride is firm but perfectly liveable with. It's harder than the Maserati and certainly the M3 but isnt overly wearing.

Motorway mileage is easy to do. the engine is torquey so you dont have to change down as the traffic ebbs and flows, lights arent great at night when you're used to adaptive LED bay boys.

The clutch is a touch heavy which isnt great in motorway stop start but you soon get used to that. Go PDK of course and that goes away.

Motorway mpg about 30 if being sensible.

Easy to see out of with plenty of glass, very easy to place on the road as its actually quite a small car.

Steering is a touch heavy but the car drives true although you have to watch out for the grooves left by HGV's as the car severely tramlines when the rear tyres catch hold of those things!

Lack of bluetooth connectivity for phone and music a pain in my Gen 1 but you can buy magic boxes to fix that.

Front storage compartment surprisingly deep and the rear seat backs fold and the rear shelf is big so plenty of areas for storage.

Only day to day thing is the back seats are a bit of a joke. My 10yo daughter fits with the passenger seat slid forward a touch but my 12 yo boy most certainly doesnt!

Others are far more knowledgable about reliability and spec variances but FWIW I went non-S for a few reasons:
- 3.6 less prone to bore scoring
- I got a very low mileage car for £30K
- the 3.6 is quick enough for what i want the car for (M3 and Maserati both quicker)
- i cant see me ever using the harder suspension setting in an S

You pays your money though.....

Hope some of that is of help?
 
WOW :D Thank you for the replies everyone. I can see this is an active forum which is nice. Always nice to see a sense of community. The Audi is a little limited in that area! I had an old series 2 Land Rover a while ago and loved the waves from everyone. Does that happen in a 911?

Great advice so far, nice links too so thank you. Looking on Auto Trader, there seem to be very good condition & low mileage Gen 1 997's for around £20k. not worth touching? Any of you use roof rack's & boxes on your 911? might have to go this route if I take the plunge as the A3 is usually full with stuff as I drive around Europe! This will probably be a car I keep for a while so im not too fussed about mileage, more about condition at the Gen 1 & 2 age I guess...
:thumb:
 
One is a 911 and the other isn't !! Also look at the future depreciation. The rear of the 911 holds lots of useful stuff like cases of wine, coats etc.
 
Why not try the Cayman for a few months, then buy a 997 and drive that for a few months :dont know:

:welcome: BTW

:thumb:
 
I get the occasional wave from drivers of older 911s, and a local bloke in a boxster.

Drive both and only you can make your decision. Don't let the scaremongering put you off, but go into a 997 purchase eyes wide open and properly inspected from a reputable dealer.

For you the buyer the scaremongering means that 997s are a great value proposition if bought well.

The Gen 2s worry me a bit because they are more £ than 997 + rebuild, so you are paying a premium like for like. Also, I look back at old Porsche mags and I see no mention of M96/97 bore scoring, but lots of chat about dodgy 964 engines! How times change as cars age...
 
jormedawson said:
....... probably be a car I keep for a while so im not too fussed about mileage, more about condition at the Gen 1 & 2 age I guess...

Mechanical condition is more important than age ....... to a point.

The average mileage on a 3-12 year old 911 is about 7.5k miles per year so depending on what mileage you're likely to do you'll need to consider that when selling.

At 90k+ miles desirability and therefore resale values plummet.
 
I certainly agree that 997 residuals will be stronger than Caymans but thats not always a factor in a buyers mind.

The extra practicality of the 911 will always be a bonus though.
 
I carry my road bike on my Cayman, my mate carries his on his 997.1 so nothing to worry about in that respect, looks cool as IMO.
 

Attachments

  • babies_downsized_175.jpg
    babies_downsized_175.jpg
    123.7 KB · Views: 3,523
The return of Marty Wild said:
I carry my road bike on my Cayman, my mate carries his on his 997.1 so nothing to worry about in that respect, looks cool as IMO.

Very 8)

:thumb:
 

New Threads

Forum statistics

Threads
124,350
Messages
1,439,407
Members
48,705
Latest member
Scratch
Back
Top