So, I was having a look see for new cars at my kind of price range, just to see what kind of things were in it. Anyway, it turns out a Porsche Cayman is there... I laughed and let myself dream for a moment and thought "Oh, go on, I'll have a look at insurance quotes". £983... Or to put it bluntly, £70 less than it currently costs me to insure my Mazda 3 Sport. Let's leave that insanity to one side for the moment. Having done a bit of research, it seems that for my money the 2.9 (Gen II) is the best option. Apparently it sorted out a lot of niggles from the first one. I don't do too many miles so the petrol consumption isn't too big a deal (And I only get 24mpg from the Mazda anyway!) I'm looking through warranties and what not. Considering if it's worth getting a Porsche warranty direct (£1700 for two years) or getting an independent warranty and finding myself a Porsche specialist for service and repair etc... So, has anyone ever had one? They are pretty, and fast...
I'd say the running costs will be a little higher than your Mazda 3, not sure how easy it would be to work out how much extra you'll pay for MOT/Servicing/tyres etc... Guildford has a Porsche dealership, might be worth giving them a call. If it was me though, being the big ol petrol head that I am, I'd throw caution to the wind and just do it. Owning a Porsche is a bit of a status thing, although I'm sure round where you live Porsches and Ferraris are as common as muck, what with Maranello just around the corner
Yeah a new set of tyres will cost more than the yearly running costs for the Mazda! Looking at £250 a pop for the rears (Well, you can get them for £80 but I don't think budget tyres work on a car like that) and they'll only last 5-15k depend on how you drive it. I'm actually back up in Bolton, which despite having it's own fancy Porsche dealership has many many fewer nice cars than Egham! I used to live a minute away from Maranello... Some damn fine cars in that place :|. Seems there are some interesting warranty type products around for the Cayman and there's quite a bit of information around owning them. I suppose it depends, apparently new front disc and pads from a Porsche specialist about £900 with OEM parts... Euro Car Parts has Discs and Pads for £180 ish and a mechanic to fit them... The euro parts are Pagid as well, probably the same bloody ones you get direct from Porsche!
I've always wanted to own Porsche 911 (and maybe Cayman before that). Maybe some day. If you're getting the Cayman, you should consider the 3.4l ones, the performance is insane on them and they don't cost too much more. I hope you'll have nice time with your Porsche!
A friend had a Cayman, which was a downgrade from his previous car - a F430. He loved the Cayman (I think he had a 3.2? 3.something anyway), said it drove remarkably well, but sadly his blew up, and basically needed a new engine. I don't think he'd done due diligence when he bought the car, but I have read a few things about their reliability. It was quite possibly a 1st gen. Either way - as a driver's car, he was mightily impressed, and I would trust his opinion on that having been a passenger with his lunatic driving more times than I care to remember. He now has a Carrera 4S and still says the Cayman was a more precise car to drive.
My Dad had one once when I was an infant, but my mum left him and I grew up with a Ford Cortina instead. Still waiting for the karma from that one to come round and throw me a frickin bone one of these days.
I probably wouldn't pick one as a daily but if its something to get out on the weekends then go for it!
You want a Porsche, in Finland!. You're a braver man than me! Yeah the Gen 1 had a few problems. To be fair Porsche has problems like anyone else, but if your engine blows in a Focus you can get another for £400. It's 10k for a 2.9 Cayman engine My dad had a Canary yellow Capri, the 2.8i. What a machine! He had a Mk1 Escort as well. They weren't as cool when we had them though.
Expect bigger bills, more often. Porsche engines are made of cheese in comparison to the likes of BMW or Mazda, so be prepared for a failure, either by merit of a warranty (read the small print) or the ability to take the hit financially. Not top piss on your chips that is, but they're in a different league, and the costs are there to match it. I've never owned a Porsche but I've been around cars long enough to have a fair idea. If you can afford it, go for it. If it's got ***s or wheels, it'll give you problems.
1st gen Cayman and 1st & 2nd gen Boxster engines (plus period 911 engines) suffer from IMS bearing failures and other engine foibles. Easy enough to correct as preventative maintenance, but if they go completely, it's an engine rebuild. IMS bearing replacement is ~£1,000 so find a car that's had it done. I thought about a 2004 Boxster S when buying my current car, but the bills put me off overall, despite them being excellent cars. In the end I upgraded my 2003 BMW Z4 2.5 roadster to a 2006 BMW Z4 3.0 coupe to avoid the potential problems, given that it's my daily driver. It's perhaps slighlty odd reasoning though - have you picked Porsche because "the badge is nice" or are you actually serious about driving what was a £40k sports car with bills aping a 911's running costs? Slightly more mundane cars (the Z4 is included, as would be the 350Z) might be a better bet as they're cars with many parts shared with more ordinary cars (engines both common fit in "normal" cars) which makes their running costs/parts costs far more reasonable, whereas the Boxster/Cayman are 911 tech scaled back, and so based on more highly strung and expensive bits.
I've the same M54B30 in my E46, absolutely bulletproof engine for its performance. I'll bet your Z4 would give the Cayman a run for its money!
Probably best to look on a Porsche forum to get a better idea of things to look out for, though their engines haven't had the best reputation of late. If you can find a reputable independent Porsche specialist to look over any potential purchase, even better. Though If you really want one, rather than just 'ooo look I can afford one', pick carefully and to hell with the running costs. As alternative suggestion, is a Lotus Evora in budget? They haven't got the best rep for reliability, but it has at least got a Toyota engine which is unlikely to go pop.
Without wishing to sound like a dick, it's an N52 in the facelift/coupe Z4 - 262bhp rather than the 231 of the equivalent M54. The 2.5 was an M54 though! And yes, bulletproof with the exception of the DISA valve which is an easy enough fix. The N52 isn't quite so as the hydraulic tappets sometimes don't pull in oil properly and need an engine head change. I think the Z would have a go in a straight line but the poise of the Cayman would win out through the twisties. Great fun though.
I didn't know that; my mate's girlfriend (I know) had a Z4 3.0 with the M54, I'd assumed they all were. My DISA failed last month, after 139,000 miles!
I believe it's because the Z4 was split over two generations of 3 series, so the pre-facelift matched the E46 engines and the 2006 facelift changed the engines to match the E90/92. It's still an evolution of the same M54 anyway. I hope it didn't disintegrate into the intake! A one-piece pin and valve is the answer, the previous owner of my 2.5 had done that already.
Had a cabbie in Ireland rave about the M54 the minute I mentioned my E46 (which actually has the M52). BMW obviously did something right there.
Actually the 2000/2001 facelift of the E46 has the M54, the previous cars had the M52 (like the 328 which was discontinued). And it's just occurred to me that we're going waaaaay off topic. OT: Any thoughts on the above questions/feedback Zinfandel?
