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Cayman R

colin129

PCGB Member
Member
Having decided that I'm too old to drive my much loved 964 down to the South of France in 38 degree heat without Aircon [8|] I am considering my options and the Cayman R seems to fit the bill.

I have always owned what I believe to be the 'Thinking Man's' Porsche, a 944S2, 964 Carrera 2 and the next in line for me is a Cayman R.

I accept that an S would most probably give me everything I am looking for, but I would be worried about an S losing value, which I do not believe would be a problem with the R.

My budget is basically my car, which, if I wanted a pdk, would be enough, but manuals are bit more expensive. The ones I have seen for sale have quite low mileages and, I believe, a bit over my budget. One, in particular, looks right up my street, and has been for sale for quite a while, so maybe there is a deal to be had there.

I would be happy with a bit higher mileage if it meant a slightly cheaper car, my annual mileage tends to be in the range 1000 to 3000, so it's not going to increase much each year.

So, if anyone has a suitable car which they are planning to sell, knows of anything suitable for sale, or, indeed, hankers after a 964 C2 Coupe and would consider a swap, please do get in touch.

Any buying advice would, of course, be greatly appreciated.
 
A manual R was my first Porsche, back in 2016. I did 9k in a year with it, all over the Highlands plus a road trip to Anglesey for a track day on Michelin Cup 2`s. Enjoyed the car but moved on to a 981 Cayman S PDK, a much better car ... I don`t get the hype that the R commands ?

The R did not have the bucket seats, having the Sports Plus items which were quite poor !

The R`s limited slip diff action was quite surprising / disconcerting / unexpected on occasion, not a patch on that in the GT4 (unsurprisingly perhaps ?)

 
Unfortunately, I am in no position to chop and change every couple of years, like some fortunate owners. Both my cars I have owned for well over 10 years and that would be my intention with my next purchase, ideally without suffering depreciation in the process.

If you think the seats were uncomfortable, try sitting in 964 seats for over 12 hours straight, now that's uncomfortable!

 
I agree with Andrew. The 981S PDK is all the car you will ever need and used values appear to be holding up well. You should never need to change it.

 
AndrewCS said:
A manual R was my first Porsche, back in 2016. I did 9k in a year with it, all over the Highlands plus a road trip to Anglesey for a track day on Michelin Cup 2`s. Enjoyed the car but moved on to a 981 Cayman S PDK, a much better car ... I don`t get the hype that the R commands ?

The R did not have the bucket seats, having the Sports Plus items which were quite poor !

The R`s limited slip diff action was quite surprising / disconcerting / unexpected on occasion, not a patch on that in the GT4 (unsurprisingly perhaps ?)

I have had 2 Cayman R's and done 30k miles in them, also still own it's sister the 987.2 SPyder and done 12k miles in that , so 42k miles and I never find the drive to be disconcerting , they are great hooning cars and far more honest to drive than any GT4 ! Def worth the Hype these cars hence the very high prices in the the EU, I loved all my 3 and I owned a GT4 which I thought was a bit meh (and imo is the over hyped car) so moved onto the 991.2 Manual GT3 which is amazing but at £160k it should be. I still have my 987.2 SPyder after 10 years, best B road UK car on the market bar none imo. GT3 is a bit too much but off to Spa in it soon to open up it legs a bit. Cayman R in the right spec is one of the best B road cars you can buy imo. Slighty better than the Spyder due to being way more stiff in the chassis, But I love my Spyder and have braced both the front end and rear sub frame in it. We all like different things but I hated the 981 cars, way too fake to drive and the shittest steering in any Porsche ever made I thought bar the 991.1 base cars, could not even entertain owning a 981 model bar a GT4 due to gen one eps crap and big wheels. Not nice cars really and I have driven a lot as they are priced right and I keep looking at them, then my mate bought one and it was crap and he also sold it after 6 months as it was dull., very average over hyped cars the 981 range imo.

if the OP wants a PDK car buy a 981, that is leagues better than the gen one PDK, but buy an R in manual with buckets and do a few tweaks there is no better B road car.

 
colin129 said:
Unfortunately, I am in no position to chop and change every couple of years, like some fortunate owners. Both my cars I have owned for well over 10 years and that would be my intention with my next purchase, ideally without suffering depreciation in the process.

If you think the seats were uncomfortable, try sitting in 964 seats for over 12 hours straight, now that's uncomfortable!

coming from a 964 you will hate the 981 imo, the R is the right choice but has to be a manual.

 
MrDemon said:
coming from a 964 you will hate the 981 imo, the R is the right choice but has to be a manual.
Yup. it has to be a manual, I'm not interested in a pdk.

 
Colin,

Unless you plan to use the car extensively for track days I wouldn’t dismiss a well-spec’d low mileage 987.2 Cayman S, the prices of which are holding up surprisingly well, and who knows where future prices will be heading in the current climate and with the roll-out of EVs in your 10-year timescale? Although the 987.2 Cayman wasn’t a great seller you’ll have a much wider choice of colours and specs with the S variant and it may well prove to be a better companion for your long-distance trips to the south of France. 95+% of the driving experience at 2/3rds of the price … maybe the S is actually the “Thinking Man’s” choice? 😀

The £10k-£15k premium of the R buys you a lot of depreciation (or fuel and accommodation for your trips!), and if you’re worried about losing money I’d suggest that there are places other than a car to put that sum of money which could give you a better return.

I would also suggest that you test drive both variants and a 981 GTS as well to confirm which one best suits your purposes and budget.

Jeff

 
My suggestions would be depending on what budget you want to spend and the purpose you intending to use the car mainly for.

CR for fun road use and occasional track although for track I would suggest brake upgrade.

Buckets Manual PSE Spyder L/W wheels Chrono is nice if possible.

It's as near to a mini GT3 as money wise can get you in terms of handerling in my opinion one of the best out there feed backs wonderful power is just enough could handle another 20 bhp but enough now days on our roads.

I would not recommend using a CR everyday but you can do, great for fun drives and touring trips.

GTS is a great all rounder more an everyday user but still feels special for fun drives plenty fast enough sounds awesome being Cayman still handles fantastic obviously more highly spec than a CR feed back is not quite as much from the road but a bit more relaxing you soon get used to the slight difference between the two.

Cayman Sport S although with the Gen 1 engine some might shy away from but its as close to the two above as you probably can get and fully speced as standard for a bit less money.

But finding a good one ain't easy even finding one is hard enough.

Any Cayman really will not disappoint handerling wise once spent a bit of time in the seat.

I can vouch for all of the above having had them.

But only my opinion as I have found each model.

Good luck with your choice. [:D]

 
colin129 said:
MrDemon said:
coming from a 964 you will hate the 981 imo, the R is the right choice but has to be a manual.
Yup. it has to be a manual, I'm not interested in a pdk.

Great to hear, if you want the speed and all the feel get the R then, it's mega and it's an every day car no issues, Or if you are happy with 964 power take a look at the base 2.9 model as late a model as you can get, it's a great engine the 2.9 imo and a lot cheaper than an S.

Cannot see any of these cars gong down in price as new cars inc the 981 are dull, may as well buy a Golf and save 30k :) People buy the Badge not the car imo. Again depends if you are the Rolex owner or the Omega owner :)

 
From the various answers you are getting, the overriding conclusion can only be that what suits one person won't necessarily be right for another. There's not substitute for trying a few different cars, but spending some proper time in them; you can't really judge a car from a short test drive. You can read all the reviews, get as many different opinions as you wish but in the end the only thing that matters is whether you love the car you're in or not.

David (Mr Demon) hates the 981; but Andrew (CS) loves them. They are both right, because they are different people.

so have fun trying a few cars, and mentally prepare yourself that you might have a sell a car that you buy, in spite of all the great reviews etc etc, if you find you just don't like it as much as you are told you ought to. Or maybe you find a car that might not be as "well regarded" but just suits you perfectly.

 
I guess it depends what you come from, if you come from a SUV or a base merc the 981 will be the best car ever, if you come from a 964 the 981 will feel dead. Most positive comments from people come from a dire history of cars ;-) or it's their 1st Porsche and it is still a great car really, just not that great if you have owned better Porkers in the past.

Or it's as simple as they have forgot how good a car can be so when they swap to a 981 they get used to it and are happy and will never buy an older car again anyway. As the OP is not coming from a BASE BMW or Merc and is coming from a 964 I made the post more tailored to him. I still think if you like driving and don't want the hassle of older cars the R is one of the best cars Porsche has made in the last 10 years and under 1300kg !

If you want to see track days I would def avoid the R and go 981 GT4. If you want the badge , want better PDK, don't care about steering feel and a car for the wife buy a 981 S.

there is a low miles 987.2 manual Black ed Boxster for sale at £32k thats a rare and very nice car which will be an honest drive and not loose you much money.

 
I've enjoyed reading this thread. Mr Demon's posts always entertain and inform, and Wollemi (Graham) gives the best answer from a pragmatic viewpoint.

As a former CR owner, (6-speed manual, bucket seats), for 4 years and 37k miles, I can verify the CR as an engaging every day car, well suited to both touring and tracking. If you intend doing more than the occasional track day, I would recommend the following brake mods; swap the brake master cylinder for a 997 GT3 unit, and fit Aeroquip steel braided brake hoses and competition brake pads. The brakes are the weak point on the CR when driven spiritedly on the track.

Like Mr D, I never warmed to the 981 Cayman. I tried a few. The steering just spoiled it for me after the CR, and the cars felt heavy compared to the nimble 987 CR.

I skipped forward a model to the 718 (982) 4-pot turbo Caymans, and found they were a huge improvement. Chassis, suspension, and EPS evolutions made these cars a better prospect entirely. The 4-pot turbo engine was a very effective and powerful propulsion unit, only the sound let it down. This sound issue improved with post 2019 GTS models.

I agree with Mr D regarding the 987.2 2.9, and the 981 GT4 as worthy alternatives. Both these manual cars are excellent drivers.

My history of 5 Caymans included 3 manuals and 2 PDK's, covering a total of over 100,000 miles both on road and track over 12 years. You will not find a better value Cayman than the 987.2 range whatever engine size you settle for. As Mr D says, you will not lose much money on these cars.

I have now forsaken the Cayman range for the athletically nimble and lightweight 2021 Alpine A110 Legende GT. The spiritual likeness of the CR. The same short wheelbase but with double wishbone suspension and 7-speed short close-ratio Getrag double-clutch gearbox. It's a peach to drive. The CR reincarnated for me.

Brian



 
Thanks for the responses guys, I'm still pretty fixed on the Cayman R manual, it's just about finding one which fits my budget.

 
colin129 said:
Thanks for the responses guys, I'm still pretty fixed on the Cayman R manual, it's just about finding one which fits my budget.

not easy now and nice ones will be £55k + :-( ie all the right spec full history and 30k miles. I would buy another but not seen a nice one for sale for ages.

how about a 997.2 S but again rare as hens teeth.

 
I was talking to this 'dealer' about a car that seemed to suit me best, and I kind of got the impression that he liked the car so much, he wasn't that keen to sell it!

 
Not an R, but my (slightly look-a-likey-a-R) 2010 manual 987.2S will very probably be up for sale in May as I have a 718GTS4.0 ‘ordered’ (well, I’ve paid my ‘bribe’ to east London OPC as Mr D might refer to it in another thread 😉).

Here’s a ‘bio’ of my car on the cayman owners club website:

https://www.caymanoc.com/forums/topic/2673-windymillers-2010-987-s/

The bio lists all her build spec + upgrades I’ve made + full service and maintenance history and I have every single receipt for everything bought for and done on her.

i have tracked her 5-6 times a year 2018-2021.

I’ll be replacing the now nearly worn out brembo hp2000 sport front pads with standard textars in February after my final track day in her at bedford in a weeks time, and she’ll get 4 brand new tyres (probably GY eagle F1s N0), an oil & filter and brake fluid change and MOT in March ready for my last hurrah in her with a Porsche only trip in April to the Champagne Region with the Travel Destinations tour company (COVID permitting). Mileage by then will be around 73k, but she still feels and drives ‘like new’. Price yet TBD, depending on the market then, but likely high twenties.

Jason

 
I notice that Brian Innes talks a bit of sense about the 718. Blows the rest out of the water if you ask me. But there again it is totally down to opinion, you have to get what you want yourself and not be swayed by other peoples opinions.

 
Can’t believe how much used 10 yr old porsche are going for these days 🤣

my money would be like Brian.on a new alpine GT for not much more

 
Option 1 - a Renault

Option 2 - a Porsche

who had a Renault poster on their bedroom wall as a kid…..? 🤷‍♂️

😋😉

DISCLAIMER: only joshing, no offence intended to any resident Alpine / Renault motorsport product owning / driving folks on here 👍🏻

 

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