Puppies are a great analogy

To respond to someone about suitable cars available I did a search of used Caymans in my area and found a MY 2015 red one, base, with PDK (but not PCCB brakes which I had hoped to have on my next car). This car has around 10K miles with as it turns out --- I asked the dealer -- auto climate control and a CPO warranty.

Tempting...

The car is very nice, eye catching, and well, tempting. The only thing holding me back -- thank goodness -- is I would have to pay $30/month to park the car where I live unless I wanted to get rid of one my current cars. I have thought about this but really it is not an easy decision.

The Boxster runs so good still and I enjoy every minute in it even after all these miles and years. Using the Boxster for the bulk of my 60 mile a day work commute and errand running helps keep the miles off the Turbo.

The Turbo also runs real good and is still a very nice car inside and out and I enjoy every minute in the Turbo. I've added 145K miles to the car's 10K miles since I bought it used in June 2009.

The only real downside is the Turbo has one thing after another go wrong and I'm getting a bit sick of that. Just when I think finally nothing else can go wrong the car shows me who's boss. The last thing was the damn rear view mirror. This is a replacement mirror I bought when the factory mirror developed a leak. (The auto dim feature I think leaks fluid.) So when the factory mirror developed the foggy appearance I bought a new replacement mirror thinking that would be that but wouldn't you know developed a leak and just 25.5 months after I bought it. Sent the original one out to have it repaired and got it back then had it installed at the dealer and the repaired mirror looks great and so far -- just a few weeks now -- appears to be working just fine. The replacement mirror goes out soon to be repaired and then put away just in case.

Have to say that given what this "new" Cayman would cost I could keep both my cars on the road a long long time. And I'm not driving nearly as many miles per year as I was. Believe it or not I put just around 10K miles on the Boxser in the last 12 months and the Turbo maybe a bit over half that amount.

Still a nice low miles "nearly new" car with a 100K mile warranty out to sometime in 2021 is tempting. Very tempting...

Marc, if you can manage the initial cost
and don't over-analyze... Just Do It!
As we all very well know... life's way too short
when you own and can enjoy these little gemstones, eh?
Another Cayman is in your future

'01 boxster s, biarritz white/metropol blue, 123,456 smiles...

you know you only live once.

--
MY 2000 S, Ocean Blue, Metropol Blue, Savanah Beige.
Bought June 2000 - Sold May 2010

Once I find a car I like, I really have no reason to get rid of it.... unless it blows up of course. I would rather put my money into retirement and stop this crap as early as I can. I would still be driving that 2000 Boxster S....... I loved that car.

Selfishly, I would love to read your write ups about another car...... but c'mon, you can get another 200K out of that Boxster... then you would be the subject of a Panorama article.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

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Bruce In Philly (2000 S Boxster, now '09 C2S)
Once I find a car I like, I really have no reason to get rid of it.... unless it blows up of course. I would rather put my money into retirement and stop this crap as early as I can. I would still be driving that 2000 Boxster S....... I loved that car.

Selfishly, I would love to read your write ups about another car...... but c'mon, you can get another 200K out of that Boxster... then you would be the subject of a Panorama article.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

Me too. When I buy a car I pretty much intend to keep it "forever".

A considerable amount of money is socked away for retirement. I could retire now and in fact had I not returned to work back In March of 2015 I would have retired. The job is still "fun" and pays extremely well and because I have *not* filed for Social Security the monthly benefit amount keeps going up. And with my considerable contribtion to my employeer sponsored 401(k) which includes as much "catch up" as the law allows and then the generous matching contribution my retirement money keeps going up and up. My other retirement accounts also keep growing as I have all dividends/interest reinvested.

So the car's purchase would not in any way materially affect my retirement. Still any money spent on a new car and not made up in some way by selling one or both other cars is money that comes out of my savings (well, my checking account).

Was kind of hoping of possibly buying a new 718 model, almost certainly a Cayman, but finding a 2015 with very low miles and a nice CPO warranty suddenly had me picturing myself driving a "new" car. Still might buy a new 718 model. My biggest problem is and it is a nice one to have is I'm so busy I have no time to really shop cars. (My vacation hours are up to 220 hours and I don't see any time in the foreseeable future when I will have any break in my work to take real time off.)

Anyhow, I emailed the dealer contact and said "thanks, but no thanks".

I will just continue to drive what I have. That "$50K" I would have spent on that new car will go a long way to helping me keep both my cars on the road I hope a long time.

.. somewhat irrelevant since i'm not you. I rarely get the jones for a new car.

but the 981 is a fantastic chassis. If it were me I'd keep the boxster (top down fun, worth, with 300k, or $78.21 in trade), sell the turbo (unles you just love it) and have the cayman as your fast, new car. The 9A1 motors are getting good feedback from service guys (i dont hear of any failures), adn the new chassis is just better.

Oh, $30/mo is not material in this league.

G

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

Terrific looks, comfortable, fast enough to be entertaining and it handles like a dream.

It sounds like you've had good luck with the Turbo to this point, but it is a complex car and the repairs can get uber expensive.

I know test driving a Porsche is a lot like looking at puppies(for us)--after driving it, you have to take it home---but my suggestion would be to take out for a long drive (if you haven't already) to get an appreciation for the car on the road.

both require expensive trips to the doctor as they age, and leave fluids on the floor.

But we love them both dearly, except when we are exasperated. :-)

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

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grant
both require expensive trips to the doctor as they age, and leave fluids on the floor.

But we love them both dearly, except when we are exasperated. :-)

Grant

Spot on--and funny! My wife laughed out loud when I read that to her.

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MikenOH
Terrific looks, comfortable, fast enough to be entertaining and it handles like a dream.

It sounds like you've had good luck with the Turbo to this point, but it is a complex car and the repairs can get uber expensive.

I know test driving a Porsche is a lot like looking at puppies(for us)--after driving it, you have to take it home---but my suggestion would be to take out for a long drive (if you haven't already) to get an appreciation for the car on the road.

What luck I've had with Turbo is not what I'd call good luck . Been kind of like my '96 Mustang. That car was in the shop often for various things.

But there are a couple of important differences: The Mustang kind of settled down around the time the 36000 mile warranty expired. The Turbo really didn't get started until around 30K miles and then it didn't settle down when the CPO warranty expired on time -- in June 2011 --- and with just over 40K added miles to the car. It only was warming up while the warranty was in effect. The other difference is the cost. Think the most I spent on the Mustang was to have its radiator replaced at around 60K miles. Can't recall the exact price now but it was in the $600 range and this may have included getting new spark plugs installed.

It cost over $4000 to replace the 3 radiators in the Turbo. Heck the new replacement rear view mirror cost just over $400. Installation was "free".

Sure, the luck could have been worse. No engine troubles. No real drive train troubles. (The shifter broke at around 30K miles but was fixed under warranty.) The tranny wasn't a good shifter but when the selector shaft leaked and Porsche decided to replace the transmission the replacement transmission proved to be light years better and has remained so since. Water pump is a wear item. But having the RMS leak was a disappointment. And the spoiler. And the power steering tank. And the front diff axle flange seals.

My purchse of the 2008 Cayman S was in no small part based on my experience with my 2002 Boxster which has been a great car. My purchase of my next Porsche, if it happens, will still be based on my Boxster experience. I'm treating my Turbo experience as an anomaly. Have to say though if the Turbo had been my first Porsche it would have been my last.

I believe the 2015 Cayman would be a good car maybe a great car. My only concern is the PDK. I have not had a chance to spend any time in a PDK equipped Porsche. Thus if I were going to buy the Cayman I'd get a test ride/drive mainly to get some time with the PDK.

But I've decided to back burner getting another Porsche at this time. Unless something unexpected happens with one of my cars between now and when I retire when I retire then I'll reconsider. However, a problem with retirement is I'm looking to retire to a much less expensive area and this probably means no Porsche dealers handy. Not sure I want a Porsche if the nearest dealer is 50 or more miles away. Sure I could buy a pick up truck and a car trailer -- or just rent the truck and trailer when I needed to -- and haul the car to the dealer and back but that's an extra expense I'm not looking forward to having.

Or, wait until you retire and as a gift, buy a new, new Cayman with factory delivery, as your retirement gift to yourself. That way, you'll have a new car, with factory warranty for the first four years of retirement, anyway. Nice to have so many "difficult" choices.

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db997S
Or, wait until you retire and as a gift, buy a new, new Cayman with factory delivery, as your retirement gift to yourself. That way, you'll have a new car, with factory warranty for the first four years of retirement, anyway. Nice to have so many "difficult" choices.

Thought about this. New Porsche. Factory delivery. Spend a week or so driving around Germany and other places in Europe and then home with the new car to follow in a few weeks.

Does CPO mean the car has never been in an accident or never had body work?

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boxsterd
Does CPO mean the car has never been in an accident or never had body work?

No.
To be CPO'd a Porsche must pass a battery of tests and inspections to assure the quality of the vehicle so that it can be warranted by PCNA.
A vehicle may have had some repairs or replaced body part or other.
What the CPO process does is assure the next buyer that the work was done in proper manner and meets all of the standards set fort in the CPO procedure.
Happy Porsche'ing,
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

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boxsterd
Does CPO mean the car has never been in an accident or never had body work?

Just to reinforce what Pedro said my 2003 Turbo covered by a CPO warranty was involved in a mule deer collision just 3+ weeks after I bought the car used in June 2003. (Bought it June 19 and late July 3rd on the side of the road on highyway 50 20 miles west of Ely NV screaming to the heavens: NOOoooooooo!)

When I had the car towed from Ely NV and dropped over at the Fremont CA dealer I specifically requested via letters to both the Porsche dealer and the body shop the dealer worked with to repair damaged cars that I expected the car to be repaired in such a way to ensure the CPO warranty remained in effect.

They did and it did though it took over $25K in repairs. (Front bumper cover, passenger fender, front trunk lid, headlight, passenger side front tire (and the other side replaced too), new passenger side wheel (wheel scuffed and sent out for refinishing and the wheel refinisher ruined the wheel had to supply a new one), passenger side condenser, radiator, lots of associated hardware, lots of the in fender vapor recovery/tank ventilation hardware, lots of paint necessary to blend the arctic silver on the new panels to that on the old panels. Around 2 months in the shop with the body shop paying for a new Caddy loaner. Whew!)

And thank God the CPO warranty remained in effect because a number of problems came up: broken shift linkage, radiator fan motor shaft snapped and took out the radiator too, leaking 6-speed transmission selector shaft seal (got a new transmission installed), noisy idler roller bearings, clutch accumulator and slave cylinder; all were taken care of under CPO warranty.