Sensible budget for a 981 Cayman

[JamesA95]

I’m looking for an upgrade to my Cooper S whilst I’ve had fun with it I’m in the market for a two seater sports car. I saw a nice example of a grey 981 yesterday so had a look on AutoTrader for similar examples.

My max budget is £30k and I’d be happy with either a manual or PDK with paddle shifters. A lot of the cars in my price range seem to come with PDK but with no paddle shifters which I’m not really interested in. Examples that are manual or have paddle shifters have 60k plus on the clock or that colourful red interior.

Do I need to adjust my budget to get what I’m after or am I just looking at a bad time to buy a 981?

For comparison I saw a manual 718 with 27k on the clock for £35k to me it seems like I should be able to get a nicer example of a 981. But then again maybe my expectations need adjusted!

Cheers

Edited by JamesA95 on Monday 17th October 09:31

[SE24]

I am not super close to values currently but I can tell you that the price difference between 718 and 981 is surprisingly small, the consensus view is that the lack of sound from the 4 cyclinder in the 718 is what has caused the narrow gap

[T1547]

If you’re testing a 981 and 718 you could also try a 987.2 which for a nice S would be £25-30k. My old (and much missed) one for sale here, for example:


https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207187...

[Cw4578]

I think the budget might be a bit low depending on mileage you are expecting. I got a low mileage 2015 2.7 car well specced for £37k 2 years ago from Porsche. That same car now would be about £43 ish at an OPC.

[gordon1955]

Cw4578 said:

I think the budget might be a bit low depending on mileage you are expecting. I got a low mileage 2015 2.7 car well specced for £37k 2 years ago from Porsche. That same car now would be about £43 ish at an OPC.

No way would a 2015 2.7 be worth £43000

[philj]

JamesA95 said:

My max budget is £30k and I’d be happy with either a manual or PDK with paddle shifters. A lot of the cars in my price range seem to come with PDK but with no paddle shifters which I’m not really interested in. Examples that are manual or have paddle shifters have 60k plus on the clock or that colourful red interior.

You can change the steering wheel easily enough from “PDK with buttons” to “PDK with paddles”.

https://rennlist.com/forums/997-forum/694532-pdk-b...

[julian987R]

JamesA95 said:

My max budget is £30k and I’d be happy with either a manual or PDK with paddle shifters. A lot of the cars in my price range seem to come with PDK but with no paddle shifters which I’m not really interested in. Examples that are manual or have paddle shifters have 60k plus on the clock or that colourful red interior.

Edited by JamesA95 on Monday 17th October 09:31

As Clarkson says - guaranteed you'll stop using the paddles after the first month of ownership.

[cseven]

julian987R said:

As Clarkson says - guaranteed you'll stop using the paddles after the first month of ownership.

IMO paddles on PDK are essential but as others say to you can retrofit.

[Cw4578]

gordon1955 said:

No way would a 2015 2.7 be worth £43000

It appears you are right. They had actually gone to that level on auto trader a few months ago but now seem to be back around £37-38k.

[Royal Jelly]

At this stage, I’d wait for the depths of winter and economic fallout.

2 years ago when I got my 981 CS, high milers were 28ish, and lower mileage and high spec cars were low-mid 30s.

2.7s we’re 50ish less.

I can personally envisage them steadily returning to that over the winter.

[TTmonkey]

I really miss the stero controls etc on my paddle shift GTS wheel.

Our Audi TTS has all the bits, paddle shift and button controls for all sorts on the steering wheel, I can’t understand why a Porsche can’t have both.

[Panamax]

cseven said:

julian987R said:

As Clarkson says - guaranteed you'll stop using the paddles after the first month of ownership.

IMO paddles on PDK are essential but as others say to you can retrofit.

Essential for what?

[TTmonkey]

Have barely used my paddles at all yet. The car has so much torque and responds quickly to power requests it just changes gear itself really well, I’m not capable of outsmarting it myself.

I guess in ‘eco’ mode paddles might be usefuL. In sport mode it’s plenty capable of doing it all itself.

[Royal Jelly]

TTmonkey said:

I really miss the stero controls etc on my paddle shift GTS wheel.

Our Audi TTS has all the bits, paddle shift and button controls for all sorts on the steering wheel, I can’t understand why a Porsche can’t have both.

I much prefer a clean wheel with nothing on it, in a sports car. Got a few buttons on my Macan wheel, which in fairness are nicely tucked out of view most of the time.

[mr pg]

julian987R said:

As Clarkson says - guaranteed you'll stop using the paddles after the first month of ownership.

Used my paddles for the whole of the 6 years I had mine.

[cseven]

Panamax said:

Essential for what?

essential to getting the most out the car, clearly just my opinion however that little bit extra of control over the transmission is a lot of fun.

[julian987R]

JamesA95 said:

A lot of the cars in my price range seem to come with PDK but with no paddle shifters which I’m not really interested in. Examples that are manual or have paddle shifters have 60k plus on the clock or that colourful red interior.

Cheers

Edited by JamesA95 on Monday 17th October 09:31

This one is £30K with 40K miles and flappy paddles.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210070...

and this one, I reckon they'll take £30K as date of advert is July.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207117...

[Billy_Whizzzz]

TTmonkey said:

Have barely used my paddles at all yet. The car has so much torque and responds quickly to power requests it just changes gear itself really well, I’m not capable of outsmarting it myself.

I guess in ‘eco’ mode paddles might be usefuL. In sport mode it’s plenty capable of doing it all itself.

It isn’t about outsmarting it tho is it? We all know PDK is ‘faster’ and ‘optimised’ but if that means driver involvement I’ll give up now. If you follow that logic through, just get a Tesla Model S. I know the car is perfectly capable of doing it perfectly itself, but driving isn’t about that.

[CantDecide]

Definitely drive the 718 and 981, quite different engine characteristics not to mention the sound. Actually I didn’t find the 718 sound too bad and enjoyed the turbo punch and low down torque but went ultimately preferred the 981.

As for PDK, love it and use the paddles every time I drive it when I get to some interesting roads, after which drop back in auto for a relaxed cruise home.

[Jawls]

You can get a manual 981 for 30k easily. There aren’t a huge amount of examples available, so you can’t be mega fussy about spec. Decide the handful of things that are essential. Fewer the better. 2.7 engines Caymans aren’t going to have been heavily specced, generally.

For what it’s worth, my daily 981 is boggo spec aside from paint and wheels. Drives great. Can’t say I miss the likes of heated seats that I’ve had in other cars.

Edited by Jawls on Tuesday 18th October 10:40