[$iriu$black]

I’m looking for advice and some reality check from Porsche/sports cars owners here. I’m looking to get into my first Porsche Cayman S of the .2 generation, mainly for tracking/DEs. Recently came across a local one - 09 with about 110K being sold for ~33K. No accidents. Has some track mods that I would otherwise also install such as coilovers, LCAs, brakes and even the half cage and maybe some bucket seats.

My question is - is this a fair deal, plain and simple?

I know it’s a lot more than the above information, passing PPI ofcourse is a must. Ive been asking a lot of questions from the PO already but should there be anything else I should be looking out for?

[strohw]

Is it a good deal in the sense that you could turn around and sell it with little to no loss? Ya, I think so. A regular 987.2 S with that mileage not setup for track is worth probably $35-38k right now. I think this car even after a couple of years would still be worth at least 30k.

For a regular car you look at the Carfax and then poke around to see if the owner does their own maintenance. Then you see what common issues the car has, which I could answer those questions for you. Since the car has be modified for track you have a completely different set a questions you should be asking.


If I were buying the car I would be asking questions like:
- What modifications have you done to the suspension?
- I'm looking for what coilovers, what LCA, what sway bars, any other control arms changed out(alignment preservation), etc

- What brake kit does it have?
- I'm looking for what's the life left on the pads, what fluid you use, what kind of pads do you have installed right now, etc

- What are alignment specs for the vehicle, has it been corner balanced

- Who installed the cage, aftermarket seats, etc

- Finally, now regular maintenance like oil, trans fluid if it's a manual, motor mount, trans mounts, water pump, belt, etc

[$iriu$black]

Originally Posted by strohw

Is it a good deal in the sense that you could turn around and sell it with little to no loss? Ya, I think so. A regular 987.2 S with that mileage not setup for track is worth probably $35-38k right now. I think this car even after a couple of years would still be worth at least 30k.

For a regular car you look at the Carfax and then poke around to see if the owner does their own maintenance. Then you see what common issues the car has, which I could answer those questions for you. Since the car has be modified for track you have a completely different set a questions you should be asking.


If I were buying the car I would be asking questions like:
- What modifications have you done to the suspension?
- I'm looking for what coilovers, what LCA, what sway bars, any other control arms changed out(alignment preservation), etc

- What brake kit does it have?
- I'm looking for what's the life left on the pads, what fluid you use, what kind of pads do you have installed right now, etc

- What are alignment specs for the vehicle, has it been corner balanced

- Who installed the cage, aftermarket seats, etc

- Finally, now regular maintenance like oil, trans fluid if it's a manual, motor mount, trans mounts, water pump, belt, etc

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I’ve asked those questions already. The suspension is Öhlins with some Tarrett bits and a Stoptech kit for brakes. I’m really just on the edge as I’ve never owned but always dreamed of a Cayman S. I’m planning to get a PPI within the week to see how it is. It’s had multiple owners that I think the current owner has kept records for, except for his ownership as he said he’s not a good record keeper. But hopefully the PPI comes back good. We’ll see.

[c1pher]

Porsche is one of those brands where you don’t have to lose much money if you take care of the car. That doesn’t mean you can’t take it to the track, just make sure you do all the maintenance.

[$iriu$black]

Originally Posted by c1pher

Porsche is one of those brands where you don’t have to lose much money if you take care of the car. That doesn’t mean you can’t take it to the track, just make sure you do all the maintenance.

Thanks! Yeah I’m hoping it will work out but if not I’ll be patient. High miles
Don’t scare me as long as it’s taken care of decently. And since it’s a DD/3x a year track car, it at least tells me that it’s not sitting much which is destructive for these cars. For any car, really.

[Fined]

I owned a 2009 Cayman S with 90k + miles on it when I purchased it. Really good car. I would have no problems owning one with 100k + miles on it. The main thing I'd be interested in was proof of the upkeep. If that is in order along with usual PPI important points.. why not! I only kept my 987.2 Cayman S for 1 year due to moving to Germany and was able to sell it for $2k more than I paid for it. The buyer did not even try to negotiate the price from my ask. Definitely the easiest car I've sold. It was easy enough to work on as well.

[$iriu$black]

Originally Posted by c1pher

Porsche is one of those brands where you don’t have to lose much money if you take care of the car. That doesn’t mean you can’t take it to the track, just make sure you do all the maintenance.

Good to know. Now I worry a bit as the current owner is not a good record keeper he said. And he owned it since 65K mi. Looks like that PPI should be pristine for it to be even worth it.

[$iriu$black]

Originally Posted by Fined

I owned a 2009 Cayman S with 90k + miles on it when I purchased it. Really good car. I would have no problems owning one with 100k + miles on it. The main thing I'd be interested in was proof of the upkeep. If that is in order along with usual PPI important points.. why not! I only kept my 987.2 Cayman S for 1 year due to moving to Germany and was able to sell it for $2k more than I paid for it. The buyer did not even try to negotiate the price from my ask. Definitely the easiest car I've sold. It was easy enough to work on as well.

Thanks for the reassurance. These are all good points and I appreciate them all.

[Vivek.]

One of my friends tracks his 2006 Cayman S. Good car, I've driven it and ridden as passenger around laguna seca. He bought it maybe 4 years ago, 30-40k miles and paid 23k; track ready with about $30k total into it. Seems prices have gone way up but the Cayman is a great car especially for the track.

[$iriu$black]

Originally Posted by Vivek.

One of my friends tracks his 2006 Cayman S. Good car, I've driven it and ridden as passenger around laguna seca. He bought it maybe 4 years ago, 30-40k miles and paid 23k; track ready with about $30k total into it. Seems prices have gone way up but the Cayman is a great car especially for the track.

Yeah the 2009-12 model years is a bit more due to the engine change to DFI. I’ve heard great things both from forum members here and guys I met on track about the Cayman as a track/DE car and I was hoping to get to experience it some time.

[No Boost]

Originally Posted by $iriu$black

Yeah the 2009-12 model years is a bit more due to the engine change to DFI..

And no IMS and lack of documented bore scoring death sentences. I found out the hard way. Bought a perfectly spect .1 only to find out a few months later that the engine was on borrowed time. By that point, I was too heavily invested to do anything but plan for a new powerplant. I went all in and decided on the universally known best engine builder in North America for this particular model. I waited in line for over a year and spent "if you need to ask, it's too much" level of money. Why? Because I happen to love the car. Get your invasive PPI done and if it comes back clean, jump on it. The 9A1 is robust. Simply change the oil every 5k/6 months or after every track session.

[$iriu$black]

Originally Posted by No Boost

And no IMS and lack of documented bore scoring death sentences. I found out the hard way. Bought a perfectly spect .1 only to find out a few months later that the engine was on borrowed time. By that point, I was too heavily invested to do anything but plan for a new powerplant. I went all in and decided on the universally known best engine builder in North America for this particular model. I waited in line for over a year and spent "if you need to ask, it's too much" level of money. Why? Because I happen to love the car. Get your invasive PPI done and if it comes back clean, jump on it. The 9A1 is robust. Simply change the oil every 5k/6 months or after every track session.

I didn’t pay for a compression-leak down test, should I have?

I totally get what you said about being too invested, that was why I listed my 128i before I hack up the interior to put a SCCA-spec cage and seats in. If I did that, I don’t need a Porsche since it is plenty quick at the track and less likely to bomb. It has not skipped a beat since starting to track it four years ago. But like I said in the FS thread, the Porsche itch is very hard to ignore and I think the deal is fair for the car I’ve found.

[$iriu$black]

An update for this thread. I ended up getting the car and am planning to fly down to get it and make the 820mi drive back up. The only thing I have not done was a DME report that the PPI place was unfortunately not equipped to do at the time of PPI. I will plan on getting it done shortly after, as well replacing all fluids. Still has not sunk in until I get to the car as this transaction was basically sight unseen, which I know isnt advisable, but the seller as well as PPI place were responsive throughout the process w pictures, phone calls and emails to answer my nagging questions. We shall see if all of those check out once I see and drive the car.

[Murf993]

Originally Posted by $iriu$black

An update for this thread. I ended up getting the car and am planning to fly down to get it and make the 820mi drive back up. The only thing I have not done was a DME report that the PPI place was unfortunately not equipped to do at the time of PPI. I will plan on getting it done shortly after, as well replacing all fluids. Still has not sunk in until I get to the car as this transaction was basically sight unseen, which I know isnt advisable, but the seller as well as PPI place were responsive throughout the process w pictures, phone calls and emails to answer my nagging questions. We shall see if all of those check out once I see and drive the car.

Good luck and good for you.

[$iriu$black]

The car was about as good as described. There were a few “surprises” that the seller did not disclose such as a missing headliner but it could be just that he forgot (don’t know how that could happen) to. The car ran well for my 12-15hr drive from NC to MA just earlier today. Still have to get used to the clutch (seems to be higher and firmer than my 128) as I’ve embarrassingly stalled in the middle of the road in NC quite a few times and also learn all the Porsche quirks such as key on the left. Quite happy w how it went from start to finish. I didn’t get a good pic as the drive was grueling and just wanted to get it home safely, but here’s one:

[Fined]

Originally Posted by $iriu$black

There were a few “surprises” that the seller did not disclose such as a missing headliner but it could be just that he forgot (don’t know how that could happen) to.

987.2 headliners are shit. It's a known fault. I also did not know about it before buying my 2009 Cayman S. I got there to pick the car up and the seller had not mentioned the headliner was drooping down, it was a good negotiating point along with a few other things, glad to have taken the car for a few thousand less than I thought I'd be paying.

I got the headliner backing out of the car and had a local interior guy come over to my house and pick up the headliner.. he took the new headliner material I had purchased and the headliner home and he made a new one from it all, brought it back to me the next day, I think all in it was around $200 - 300 including materials.

[Germanauto]

Damn $33k for a 110k mile example? Used car prices have really shot up.

Congrats though. I love the current gen Boxster but the 987 had the added benefit of hydraulic steering, 6 cyl engines, and being lighter. Must feel like a go kart!

[$iriu$black]

Originally Posted by Germanauto

Damn $33k for a 110k mile example? Used car prices have really shot up.

Congrats though. I love the current gen Boxster but the 987 had the added benefit of hydraulic steering, 6 cyl engines, and being lighter. Must feel like a go kart!

I haggled it down significantly but yeah, still not at pre pandemic pricing. The advantage for me was it already had track mods and was vetted by the local Porsche shop so it was worth it to me for my purpose. It’s not a garage queen but a driver, like most of the cars.

It does feel so different compared to the E82. Big power jump for me as well as handling. And yes, hydraulic steering and man, the flat six sound behind your ear is awesome. Thank you.

[$iriu$black]

Originally Posted by Fined

987.2 headliners are shit. It's a known fault. I also did not know about it before buying my 2009 Cayman S. I got there to pick the car up and the seller had not mentioned the headliner was drooping down, it was a good negotiating point along with a few other things, glad to have taken the car for a few thousand less than I thought I'd be paying.

I got the headliner backing out of the car and had a local interior guy come over to my house and pick up the headliner.. he took the new headliner material I had purchased and the headliner home and he made a new one from it all, brought it back to me the next day, I think all in it was around $200 - 300 including materials.

Thanks. Yeah, I’m already thinking about how to get it sorted out. Any good videos you can share on taking on a DIY headliner project?

[Fined]

There are tips and videos in the forum post below. It was not too bad and I was doing an audio upgrade at the time so that made things less painful since I was already trying to get to the rear speakers and had some of the rear interior disassembled already.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/boxst...placement.html