Saki GT

I love Porsches and think a Cayman would be fun, but you are looking for a car for the winter months, so maybe instead of a Cayman, you should look at one of the more recent BMWs - with depreciation they are relatively cheap, they get good mpg, and seat four easily, so you'd have a bit more variety in your stable. Another not common option is a slightly used Audi TT quattro - they may be tarted up Golfs but they are fun to drive.

vader1

Love my Cayman although I have only been able to put maybe 2000 miles on it in 18 months of ownership. Between the 2008 and the 20017 you are talking about a $50,000 price difference. There are a few years in between. If it were me I would be looking at 2009-10 or 2014 cars to get the flat 6 and the DFI engines. I am toying with the idea of picking up a 2009 Boxster S after the Cayman is paid for to get a depreciated car I can just have fun driving and pile miles on it..

If you decide to get one, you can spend a ton of money for bolt on upgrades with intakes and plenums, headers and other crap. All of it is expensive and gains little. Your best bang for the buck on a car you don't plan to turbo is get a DFI car and install Softronic.

And are they a joy to drive? Absolutely. Not too many cars have enough balance to do this, and do it as easily as they do.....

jeffbrig

2000 miles in 18 months? Are you kidding me? That's like 100 miles a month! Are you saving the car for the next owner?

I think I've put 30k miles on mine in 5+ years.

WolfpackS2k

Interesting comments from the OP about sound.

I don't consider my 987.1 loud inside by any means. Its considerably more quiet inside than my S2000 was, and is about on par with a BRZ. Mine is shod with Michelin Pilot Super Sports. As to engine sound, I (sadly) just have the standard exhaust. I want to upgrade at some point, but the money hasn't been there. Regarding the stock sound, from inside I mostly hear engine intake roar. Anything above 4000 rpm sounds fantastic in my opinion.

I also hate the gearing. 1st and 2nd gears are ridiculously tall and 5th and 6th are too short. So bizarre. Also fun fact, Porsche hasn't changed the gear ratios at all over the years. Gear ratios of a 987.1S are the same as a 981 GT4, or even a new 718S. Same ratios! Also 987s do not have automatic rev matching. I know because I'm horrible at it. In fact the clutch engagement and throttle response are my least favorite characteristics of my Cayman.

Jeff is on point with maint costs, though I don't mind adding that it's not THAT difficult to perform most work yourself. I'm due for a new accessory belt, and after reading the DIY steps I think it's fully within my ability to do it myself.

vader1

About 10 of those months have been winter storage. Gonna try to pile some on in April.

And Wolfpack is dead on about the tall gearing. I am not sure if 981 manuals are the same as 987's but mine does 82 in second gear. Grab too much of third and get arrested. I have on a couple occasions passing on a two lane going about 55 behind a slow person, grabbed second and rocketed to the top of the gear. Makes great sound and scares the heck out of the person you pass.

Speaking of noises, in the 987 I like the Borla aftermarket, I have only heard stock in the 981, but I have the sports exhaust. Everyone on the Porsche boards says a must if you can find it (not that easy to find) but worth it. My FAVORITE thing on the car. Standard on any 981 GTS.

ChiHonda

jeffbrig

That's a fair point, the car's not terribly hard to work on. The accessory belt is ridiculously easy to change, just takes a few minutes to remove the access panel behind the seats. You'll be done in a half hour, tops. Spark plugs were surprisingly easy too, which I found shocking for a mid engine car. Jack up the rear, remove the wheel, and there's a removable access panel through the wheel well to get to the plugs. Oil changes aren't bad either (other than 8-9 qts of oil needed), just be mindful not to spill, since you add through the rear trunk. The brakes are super easy too - I can do a full pad swap in 30 minutes, and that's using a jack and torque wrench (no lift or air tools).

I changed out my own suspension a few years ago. Bilstein B16 Damptronics, to work with my car's PASM system. Now THAT was stretching my DIY skills a bit, very difficult job, as I could not fit my economy spring compressor into the wheel well. Fronts eventually went in, but for the rears I ended up having to disconnect the halfshafts, trailing arms, and drop the entire hub to get the shocks swapped. Let me tell you, that felt pretty darn sketchy driving it to get the alignment set up afterward.

jeffbrig

There are some nice VIN decoders you there that will show you exactly what options were put on a particular car. For example, here's the output for my car:
342 Heated Front Seats
403 19" Carrera S Wheel
446 Wheel Caps with Colored Crest
475 PASM
573 Automatic Climate Control
639 Sport Chrono Pkg W/Out PCM
680 Bose Surround Sound System
692 Remote CD Changer (6 Disc)
CUV Storage Cmpt Lid W/Model Logo
G1 Guards Red
M6Z Floor Mats Interior Color
P12 Self-Dim Mirrors & Rain Sensor
P15 Power Seat Package
P74 Bi-Xenon Headlamp Package
PPB Preferred Package Plus
TD Sand Beige Standard Leather

Sport Chrono (sport button) remaps the throttle to be much more aggressive. On later PDK cars, it also changes the shift points and shift speed. It also raises the intervention thresholds for traction control and stability management. That's a big deal, and you'll find this option on many cars. The throttle mapping changes make the car feel a lot faster, but the change in throttle sensitivity can mess up the smoothness of your clutch work if you don't use Sport mode regularly. The only place I generally use Sport is on the track or autox - and it takes me some time to adjust my footwork for doing full throttle shifts at redline. Practicing full throttle shifts at redline on regular streets will land you a trip to the zero star hotel known as the county jail.

PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management) - I actually really like the active suspension. Have it on both of my Porsches. It's soft when it needs to be, and you can firm it up at the touch of a button. The only potential drawback is if you think you will ever want to lower the car. On a regular car it's straightforward. If you have PASM, I think Bilstein makes the only compatible active shocks. But the general advice for most is to get a non-PASM car if you want to change the suspension. That said, mine is a PASM car, and I put the Bilstein coilovers on it. IMO, a stock 987 has too much fender gap. Mine is lowered about an inch and a half, and I added wheel spacers to push the wheels out. That gives it a wheel fitment more like what you'd see on current Porsches.

Steering wheels (no I'm not kidding). The sport steering wheel was optional on the Cayman. It's lifted from the 911, and has a round center with 3 spokes. Smaller diameter, thicker padding, and nice thumb detents. The regular wheel has a rectangular center and 4 spokes. My Cayman has the regular steering wheel.

Seats - there are a bunch of options. Both my cars have the optional power adjustable seats. They're perfectly good seats for a sports car, but the motors do add some weight. There are much lighter and sportier options out there, including GT3 seats that are $$$. Don't have a recommendation here other than to check what the car has, and make sure it works for you.

LSD was not available on early Caymans, but became an option in later years. Mine has an aftermarket one.

I also like the bi-xenon headlights, homelink, auto-dimming mirror, etc. Just nice convenience features...

Mods:
The SSK is a must-have, as I mentioned above. The easiest mod for a tracked car is to add GT3 brake ducts. These clip to the front lower control arms, and direct more air towards the front discs. And for some reason it's the cheapest mod ever, at about $30 for a pair. Clear sidemarkers are also popular, and are an OEM part for the European market - under $50. A lot of track guys add underdrive pulleys too - ostensibly to save the power steering pump from long periods of high rpm operation. Also ss braided brake lines. My car has all of these. Beyond that, most people probably go for the exhaust first. It's also possible to reprogram a car to have sport throttle mapping even if the option wasn't built into the car. Plenum and throttle body upgrades are also popular if you're looking for power.

GSteg

I keep hearing how people (outside this forum) say Porsche (987) are hard to work on. Anyone with decent mechanical skills will find maintenance is a breeze. Many of the stuff that can go wrong are reachable from under the car or via access panel.

I agree on the subject of exhaust. I was seriously disappointed when I heard it for the first time. Seemed ok when you start it up but after 2k RPM, it becomes mute and all you hear is whirling from the engine. Of course, a Remus exhaust totally fixed that.

Maybe it's just me, but I prefer the pedal position in the S2000. I feel the clutch pedal positioned too far right (closer to the centerline of the seat), but the fuse box does protrude out further than the Honda. Just nitpicking.

white98ls

Mom has an '07 base Cayman 5MT, I test drove an '06 Boxster S 6MT last month, and just got back from the Porsche Experience Center in L.A. where I drove a 718 Cayman S and 911 C2S on track. Also owned an S2k. My impressions based on limited and varied driving in these:

-987.1 Cayman: Fantastic steering and brake feel, feels very balanced and low to the ground. Sounds surprisingly aggressive for a base stock Cayman. It is loud, although not quite as loud as an S2k. My main issue is while the engine is entertaining and it's not "slow", the chassis has so much grip that it does feel flat-footed to me. Feels similar in attitude/sportiness to an S2k but done in a pretty different way.

-987.1 Boxster S: Similar to the above, but a decent bump in power. Still not a lot though - to me it didn't feel like a 3.2L with that little weight, although I might be spoiled by the V8 in my M3 (still didn't feel that thrilling on the straights). Noticed a little more body flex vs. an S2k.

-718 Cayman S: Very good performance, not all that far from the 991.2S I drove (felt a bit quicker than my M3 acceleration-wise). Lots of grip and the same great brakes that all Porsches have. I'm a manual die-hard, but the PDK was amazing. Friendly handling on the limit, although a little more sudden breakaway than the 911, interestingly. It did feel more "refined" than the 987 though, at the cost of feel. Didn't feel the same texture and tugs through the steering. New turbo 4 is lag-free but I can't disagree with the reviews - it sounds terrible, loud and boomy at all times even with the Sport Exhaust turned off (instructor turned it off most of the time because it was just too disruptive to conversation) and does sound like a Subaru at low revs. Getting into the 911 was a relief to the ears, just as getting into a 987 would be after that. Still a great car overall but my heart was set on the 911. Would love to try a 981.1 S/GTS/GT4 with the N/A flat-6 and a manual.
Believe it or not, a 6MT was a standalone option for a few hundred bucks - can't think of any other car that had a second manual transmission with another gear as an option like that, but it's true. From what I've seen, the majority of MT Caymans (Caymen?) are 5MT. Irritatingly, it seems as though roughly half are automatic (pre-PDK), which seems so wrong in this car.