Hi all,
I am new to the site and will be buying a porsche within the next few months. I am doing much research now and am leaning on the experts here for advice/suggestions.

Budget = $45k-ish
Car will be used as a daily driver.

I am contemplating wither a 2005-2007 Carrera coupe or a 2007-2008 Cayman S. Both are in my price range. I prefer the way the carrera looks, but plan to modify what i get so i'd be happy with the Cayman too.

The car will be my daily driver. I want to know which is more reliable?
If i go with a 2005-2007 (apprx 30k miles) carrera should i expect problems to begin soon?
Realistically, how much should i plan to allocate for maintenance for each per year? I have been reading that oil seals commonly go bad in the caymans after a few years. What about the carrera?

Any help/suggestions would be appreciated. I plan to make my purcahse this winter, gaining as much knowledge in the meantime.

Thx

 

2007 997 with CPO warranty. Look up for private party sellers. CPO will cover any problems and you should not have many. Search on this web site for details on how to check up the car during PPI.

 

Thx,
Cert Pre-Owned will obviously cost a bit more than private party sale... so you are saying it's surely worth it?

 

911 for sure. If for no other reason than more space inside since this will be a daily driver.

 

I drove the Boxster and Cayman extensively before I settled on 2008 C2 Cab. The Boxsters and Caymans feel like toy cars to me whereas the 997 feels much more substantial. I would think that for a daily driver the 997 is the way to go.

 

I don't know any one with a Carrera that wants a Cayman, but many Cayman owners would like to get into a Carrera one day.

 

You might be surprised.

Cheers,

 

CPO status transfers to you if you buy previously CPO`ed car via private party sale. You can also get a deal with a dealership to get car you buy from a private party CPO`ed - it is less common and costs extra but I would say, for 2007 car you get quite a lot of years left for warranty and you do want used car to have CPO warranty. Sh$t may happen.

Small repairs I had to do already covered cost of my CPO - water pump, amplifier, some small stuff, and it also gives you an ease of mind as dealer can investigate and work on your car and labor gets covered by warranty, otherwise you will have to find a good indy mechanic as it will be cheaper than a dealer services and pay for his labor hourly.

 

Thanks everyone for thier input!
I honestly want the Carrera, but thought it out of my budget. Besides this post, i have been crunching numbers & may have to save a little longer to increase my budget for the carrera. I think waiting to buy the carrera, rather than buying the cayman now, would be a better long term investment.

Hopefully you'll see me on here soon with a black on black avatar

 

Surprised with what? That Cayman owners don't want a Carrera, or that Carrera owners don't want a Cayman?

 

Well, in my experience, both. Many of the Cayman owners I know do not want a Carrera and never did. Some did, but then drove the Cayman and decided it was a better car for them. It also goes the other way of course.

Also, I know several Carrera owners (both track and street) that have moved to a Cayman and prefer it.

My only point is that it is a preference and your statement implied that (many) Cayman owners aspire to get in to a Carrera in a tone ("one day") that suggested it was a decsion of affordability. This may be the case for some, but certainly not for most.

Cheers,

 

cayman is not a bad car for a track.

but just today i saw at my mechanic his latest project - what is going to be 2000 lbs twin-turbo car with 680hp, total custom chassis, CF body parts, totally amazing thing that will probably dominate in gt1 class.
crazy stuff. all those regular street cars we speak about here do not come even close to that.

 

I never said it was for most, I simply stated that many Cayman owners would love to move into a Carrera, and that the economics held them back. This statement is based on what I have come across, in your circle it maybe different. I have rented a Cayman S in Germany and took it around the country, as well as on the Ring, and I have to say that I much prefer my Carrera S to that of the Cayman S, and wouldn't replace my Carrera with one. Don't get me wrong, it was a great car, but just missed that little thing that makes the Carrera what it is.

 

I have had 11 Porsches (7 911s). My latest is a 2007 997 coupe. I bought it about 6 months ago with 29K miles and it was a lease return. It was in perfect shape and I’ve been told they charge people when they are not so most of them are kept well. You should buy one with nearly a year warranty remaining on it so as to minimize your risk. I have had not issues with my car yet.
ChuckJ

 

Target $38K - $45K for an 05 C2S with 35 - 40K miles via a private seller. Most owners with issues will tend to post more so than those that haven't had any problems. DME, low mileage, garage queens and PPIs aren't all that as well. Take the time to find one that fits your criteria, pull the trigger and drive it! Good Luck.