Accidental Porsche
Discussion
Could I just say, I have always lusted after a Porsche. More specifically a late 80’s 911 Turbo. I even had the poster. Sadly, that ship has sailed well away from this port. I even considered a 996 Turbo as a retirement present, but even so, prices are getting steep for a decent long-term prospect, so the long grass beckoned for this option too.
Which brings us to the present. I wasn’t looking for a car. I certainly wasn’t looking for a Porsche. Definitely not a Cayman. But…
I had (again) mentioned/hinted to my partner that I was interested in a Caterham/Westfield someday (possibly soon, possibly not, but before retirement) that I could equally drive for fun but enjoy tinkering with as a third, not very sensible car. She really is not impressed by ‘kitcars’ and thinks I will die, horribly, if I own one, so would prefer me not to. Which in its own way is quite nice.
She obviously mentioned this to some friends in conversation who said they had been considering selling their Cayman as they were using it so little with the onset of grandkid ferrying duties. They had been putting it off, but if I were interested, they would sell it to me. Surprisingly my partner was keen for me to buy it - to avoid the whole dying horribly thing I like to think. When I heard I wasn’t overly excited (sorry, this sounds a bit churlish) - I didn’t see it as a back-to-basics sports car that I could spend weekends tinkering with (so I thought). Besides I already have the 370z ( https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...) and when I was buying that I discounted Cayman as too expensive for what I wanted to spend and those in my bracket were not known for their longevity/history. I said I would consider it.
I messaged our friends and got a little history, some pictures:
And the price. My interest was piqued. I organised to meet up to look at the car, delve into its history, get the low down, and have a drive.
It turned out to be a 2007 2.7 with only 33.5k miles. Arctic Silver with dark grey interior. Not a garage queen but never used as a daily. It had always been parked in the garage though and used sparingly in winter. The service manual details the options it came with - not that many, which seems to be common with the base 2.7. However, some nice options nevertheless – electric heated leather Sports Seats, leather trimmed wheel, climate control, park assist, stainless exhaust tip(!), rear wiper, 19” Carrera Sport wheels (I know, probably too large, won’t do anything for the ride/handling, but they do look lovely…) and a few other minor things. Two keys plus the valet/plastic key thingy.
Our friend was the 3rd owner but had owned it since it was about 18 months old. He, being of the old school had it serviced religiously every 12 months regardless – at Porsche Chester when in warranty then switching to local indies after that. It had the front coolant pipes/thermostat etc replaced a couple of years ago, exhaust gaskets replaced, coil packs and plugs done just over a year ago, new rear springs and anti-roll bar links replaced last year and just had a new battery a couple of weeks ago. It has a fully stamped service book with all receipts, and a copy of the spreadsheet our friend kept in his ownership detailing the running costs through its life. Well looked after. I was smitten and I hadn’t even driven it yet.
The car itself is in very good condition for its age, a bit of stone chipping on the lower edge of the bonnet and the front wheels have started to corrode a little but nothing of note beyond that. Inside it’s a similar story, all good, some minor scuffs in the usual places but the leather is supple and unmarked. Only the radio buttons have started to go ‘sticky’. Not the end of the world.
We took it for a run out on some local country roads. Not too far, but long enough to get a feel for it – as a passenger and driver. It drives great. The engine, whilst not overly powerful these days is plenty fast enough and over 4k sounds wonderful. Steering is direct and responsive and the gearchange is glorious. Hard to tell on the handling front after only a short time (and with passenger…) but it seems quick to turn in. Surprisingly, given the size/width of the wheels/tyres it wasn’t much deflected by bumps/camber though its ride is definitely on the firm side but not bone-jarringly so. Overall, I was pleasantly impressed. A noticeably different prospect to the 370z, more sports car to the Nissan’s GT. More comparisons to be had once I get to use it a bit more.
My partner and I talked it over and concluded that whilst it was a silly thing to do and having four cars between two of us makes no sense, such an opportunity is unlikely to arise in the future, life is too short etc and we/I should go for it! So I did.
There are a couple of things that are due for being done – new disks/pads as they are lipped and a leaky front condenser. Our friend pointed these out and said because of that he had decided to drop the asking price further so that I could have a contingency fund to cover these! After a bit of research, it looks like my wish to tinker at the weekend might come true!
Not too many pictures so far as I picked it up on Sunday afternoon after spending 4 days clearing half of the garage of crap and fitting a door and frame (whilst it is a double garage it has never had a second door fitted…) so it can share the space with its new garage friend:
First job next weekend will be to wash and clean and get to know it a little better, sort out the stone chips and then onto the interior. Once that is done I will move onto the brakes.
I will update further once I have had chance to drive it more than 10 miles!
Which brings us to the present. I wasn’t looking for a car. I certainly wasn’t looking for a Porsche. Definitely not a Cayman. But…
I had (again) mentioned/hinted to my partner that I was interested in a Caterham/Westfield someday (possibly soon, possibly not, but before retirement) that I could equally drive for fun but enjoy tinkering with as a third, not very sensible car. She really is not impressed by ‘kitcars’ and thinks I will die, horribly, if I own one, so would prefer me not to. Which in its own way is quite nice.
She obviously mentioned this to some friends in conversation who said they had been considering selling their Cayman as they were using it so little with the onset of grandkid ferrying duties. They had been putting it off, but if I were interested, they would sell it to me. Surprisingly my partner was keen for me to buy it - to avoid the whole dying horribly thing I like to think. When I heard I wasn’t overly excited (sorry, this sounds a bit churlish) - I didn’t see it as a back-to-basics sports car that I could spend weekends tinkering with (so I thought). Besides I already have the 370z ( https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...) and when I was buying that I discounted Cayman as too expensive for what I wanted to spend and those in my bracket were not known for their longevity/history. I said I would consider it.
I messaged our friends and got a little history, some pictures:
And the price. My interest was piqued. I organised to meet up to look at the car, delve into its history, get the low down, and have a drive.
It turned out to be a 2007 2.7 with only 33.5k miles. Arctic Silver with dark grey interior. Not a garage queen but never used as a daily. It had always been parked in the garage though and used sparingly in winter. The service manual details the options it came with - not that many, which seems to be common with the base 2.7. However, some nice options nevertheless – electric heated leather Sports Seats, leather trimmed wheel, climate control, park assist, stainless exhaust tip(!), rear wiper, 19” Carrera Sport wheels (I know, probably too large, won’t do anything for the ride/handling, but they do look lovely…) and a few other minor things. Two keys plus the valet/plastic key thingy.
Our friend was the 3rd owner but had owned it since it was about 18 months old. He, being of the old school had it serviced religiously every 12 months regardless – at Porsche Chester when in warranty then switching to local indies after that. It had the front coolant pipes/thermostat etc replaced a couple of years ago, exhaust gaskets replaced, coil packs and plugs done just over a year ago, new rear springs and anti-roll bar links replaced last year and just had a new battery a couple of weeks ago. It has a fully stamped service book with all receipts, and a copy of the spreadsheet our friend kept in his ownership detailing the running costs through its life. Well looked after. I was smitten and I hadn’t even driven it yet.
The car itself is in very good condition for its age, a bit of stone chipping on the lower edge of the bonnet and the front wheels have started to corrode a little but nothing of note beyond that. Inside it’s a similar story, all good, some minor scuffs in the usual places but the leather is supple and unmarked. Only the radio buttons have started to go ‘sticky’. Not the end of the world.
We took it for a run out on some local country roads. Not too far, but long enough to get a feel for it – as a passenger and driver. It drives great. The engine, whilst not overly powerful these days is plenty fast enough and over 4k sounds wonderful. Steering is direct and responsive and the gearchange is glorious. Hard to tell on the handling front after only a short time (and with passenger…) but it seems quick to turn in. Surprisingly, given the size/width of the wheels/tyres it wasn’t much deflected by bumps/camber though its ride is definitely on the firm side but not bone-jarringly so. Overall, I was pleasantly impressed. A noticeably different prospect to the 370z, more sports car to the Nissan’s GT. More comparisons to be had once I get to use it a bit more.
My partner and I talked it over and concluded that whilst it was a silly thing to do and having four cars between two of us makes no sense, such an opportunity is unlikely to arise in the future, life is too short etc and we/I should go for it! So I did.
There are a couple of things that are due for being done – new disks/pads as they are lipped and a leaky front condenser. Our friend pointed these out and said because of that he had decided to drop the asking price further so that I could have a contingency fund to cover these! After a bit of research, it looks like my wish to tinker at the weekend might come true!
Not too many pictures so far as I picked it up on Sunday afternoon after spending 4 days clearing half of the garage of crap and fitting a door and frame (whilst it is a double garage it has never had a second door fitted…) so it can share the space with its new garage friend:
First job next weekend will be to wash and clean and get to know it a little better, sort out the stone chips and then onto the interior. Once that is done I will move onto the brakes.
I will update further once I have had chance to drive it more than 10 miles!
I don’t know why Caymans aren’t more popular, especially the 2.7. I accidentally bought one a few weeks ago too and it is a superb drivers car. Don’t know why everyone wants the bigger engine with all the problems that come with it? Floor it in 2nd gear and your are doing over 70 very quickly, how much more power do you need? The steering, brakes and gear change are superb. Got mine for 11K and couldn’t find anything close to it for the money - especially when a decent Elise is well over double the price nowadays
Looks lovely! The wheels do look spot on and I’m a big fan of the silver - very classic Porsche.
Another 2.7 Cayman owner here on similar mileage… had mine a year now and it’s been faultless. One major service done and replaced all tyres so spending hasn’t exactly been minimal but all planned, at least. I would recommend keeping on top of that excellent service history it seems to have enjoyed and I’m sure it’ll treat you well for many years to come. Sounds like you’ve bought at a great time too - I can’t see how they’ll ever get much cheaper than they are right now!
Will you be keeping the 370Z?
Another 2.7 Cayman owner here on similar mileage… had mine a year now and it’s been faultless. One major service done and replaced all tyres so spending hasn’t exactly been minimal but all planned, at least. I would recommend keeping on top of that excellent service history it seems to have enjoyed and I’m sure it’ll treat you well for many years to come. Sounds like you’ve bought at a great time too - I can’t see how they’ll ever get much cheaper than they are right now!
Will you be keeping the 370Z?
FieldAtlanta said:
Looks lovely! The wheels do look spot on and I’m a big fan of the silver - very classic Porsche.
Another 2.7 Cayman owner here on similar mileage… had mine a year now and it’s been faultless. One major service done and replaced all tyres so spending hasn’t exactly been minimal but all planned, at least. I would recommend keeping on top of that excellent service history it seems to have enjoyed and I’m sure it’ll treat you well for many years to come. Sounds like you’ve bought at a great time too - I can’t see how they’ll ever get much cheaper than they are right now!
Will you be keeping the 370Z?
Indeed that is the intention. The 'sensible' talk included discussion on the 370z and we both came to the conclusion they are quite different in nature and there is no way we can get two dogs in the Cayman if we want to have a drive out/pub lunch. It is probably a bit more refined than the Cayman as well - certainly rides better (and that's why the Cayman is so much fun). Also, my partner enjoys driving the 370z (which is a first for me). So it is staying.Another 2.7 Cayman owner here on similar mileage… had mine a year now and it’s been faultless. One major service done and replaced all tyres so spending hasn’t exactly been minimal but all planned, at least. I would recommend keeping on top of that excellent service history it seems to have enjoyed and I’m sure it’ll treat you well for many years to come. Sounds like you’ve bought at a great time too - I can’t see how they’ll ever get much cheaper than they are right now!
Will you be keeping the 370Z?
Spent most of the weekend undertaking surgery on the garage to make it easier to get both cars in. Still a bit of tidying to do but at least its easy to get them in now!
Also - these arrived:
Now I have something else to do when I get a free weekend...
At some point I will get to drive it further than the 10m in and out of the garage. Wednesday is date night so maybe...
Also - these arrived:
Now I have something else to do when I get a free weekend...
At some point I will get to drive it further than the 10m in and out of the garage. Wednesday is date night so maybe...
I spent a little (well actually quite a lot) time fitting the brake discs and pads over the weekend as the weather was atrocious. 'Simple' job, meet first time the disks have been replaced in 15yrs...
Also upgraded the (halogen) headlights with Philips Racing Vision to double the candle power. An improvement over the originals at least.
In the end it was worth it or so I keep telling myself. I really need to drive it now, otherwise I am just going to see it as a list of things that need doing and whilst satisfying I would like to enjoy it a little first!
One 'interesting' observation, the lack of an lsd made itself noticeable when trying to get the car back into the garage after the heavy rain. Where the 370z would simply drive happily up the slope with no qualms, the Cayman was really struggling. I had to take a run up in the end. Not how you want to approach getting the car into the garage... I suspect the tyres having less tread than the newer Goodyears on the 370z also contributed. Something else to add to the list!
Also upgraded the (halogen) headlights with Philips Racing Vision to double the candle power. An improvement over the originals at least.
In the end it was worth it or so I keep telling myself. I really need to drive it now, otherwise I am just going to see it as a list of things that need doing and whilst satisfying I would like to enjoy it a little first!
One 'interesting' observation, the lack of an lsd made itself noticeable when trying to get the car back into the garage after the heavy rain. Where the 370z would simply drive happily up the slope with no qualms, the Cayman was really struggling. I had to take a run up in the end. Not how you want to approach getting the car into the garage... I suspect the tyres having less tread than the newer Goodyears on the 370z also contributed. Something else to add to the list!
A cracking buy. Always nice to know the history of a car. My first ever porches was a 3 month old 2010 Gen 2 987 Cayman 2.9. The base engine was enough for me. Love the wheels. What tyres are you on - would recommend getting Michelins and in my experience tyre pressures play a big part in handling. I could tell if my pressures were out by less than 1 bar. Ignore the Ackerman effect when manoeuvring at low speed as they all have the same graunching noise. Very envious.
Mark-ri571 said:
A cracking buy. Always nice to know the history of a car. My first ever porches was a 3 month old 2010 Gen 2 987 Cayman 2.9. The base engine was enough for me. Love the wheels. What tyres are you on - would recommend getting Michelins and in my experience tyre pressures play a big part in handling. I could tell if my pressures were out by less than 1 bar. Ignore the Ackerman effect when manoeuvring at low speed as they all have the same graunching noise. Very envious.
This wasn't Ackerman (you can feel/hear that on full lock) but lack of traction/slip. Pressures I will revisit but when I checked (in the very cold last week) were about 1psi down all round so may benefit from inflation!It currently has Michelin Pilot Sport PS2. I would probably look to go either with the PS4S or Goodyear Eagle F1 Supersport. Size/profile limits the choice on the 19s.
MBVitoria said:
Lovely car 
Commenting so I can live vicariously through you. Owning a Porsche is definitely on my to do list but I don't see it happening for a couple more years. Wish I could turn the clock back to the early 2000s when cheap 964s seemed to be everywhere.
To be honest a Porsche had pretty much dropped off my list as the prices of those I had dreamed about had gone through the roof and the prices of those I could afford left me with the high mileage, many ownered, ill cared for wallet suckers. Until this opportunity arose that is. I realise I was fortunate.Commenting so I can live vicariously through you. Owning a Porsche is definitely on my to do list but I don't see it happening for a couple more years. Wish I could turn the clock back to the early 2000s when cheap 964s seemed to be everywhere.
Just need some nicer weather so I can clean it and take some pictures.
Om said:
One 'interesting' observation, the lack of an lsd made itself noticeable when trying to get the car back into the garage after the heavy rain. Where the 370z would simply drive happily up the slope with no qualms, the Cayman was really struggling. I had to take a run up in the end. Not how you want to approach getting the car into the garage... I suspect the tyres having less tread than the newer Goodyears on the 370z also contributed. Something else to add to the list!
If it helps with shortlisting tyres I got my 987.2S stuck on our - flat - lawn the other day on nearly-new Bridgestones.Had a break from the more 'painful' jobs last weekend and did a few trivial things - added some grilles to protect the air-con condensers (when I get round to ordering some, then fitting them...). Then took the car out for a run in the sun(ish) around Anglesey with a local car club.
At least managed to do a few additional miles, and have some comparitive thoughts with the 370z - (copied from elsewhere):
Full judgement is yet to come as I have done so little mileage so far, but the differences are quite surprisingly large. Not in a good/bad way but purely in terms of accentuating the kinds of car they are.
The Cayman is definitely more a sports car, feeling smaller, more immediate in its responses. Its ride on the 19" wheels is much harsher/louder in the cabin giving it a more mechanical feel. The steering is very responsive though not so quick away from the straight ahead. Gearchange is lovely - very mechanical, precise and well weighted. The brakes (now I have replaced them with new Brembo disks/pads) are very good with noticeably less assistance than the 370z, but ultimately still less stopping power that I have experienced so far.
The 370z in comparison is definitely the GT. Its ride on the 19" wheels is quite refined, There is less 'mechanical' noise in the cabin. It is the 7sp semi auto so a completely different experience there. The 370z is noticeably quicker (the Cayman is the 2.7 with the 5sp box) and whilst it is great fun to drive down twisty roads it isn't its natural habitat compared to the Cayman. It is a great car to cruise around in with the rumble from the big v6, but beyond that the engine sound isn't a patch on the flat 6 in the Cayman though!
Overall the 370z feels like it has an extra layer of refinement over the Cayman. It also has a more usable boot/hatch space that can fit the dogs in. No chance of that in the Cayman!
At least managed to do a few additional miles, and have some comparitive thoughts with the 370z - (copied from elsewhere):
Full judgement is yet to come as I have done so little mileage so far, but the differences are quite surprisingly large. Not in a good/bad way but purely in terms of accentuating the kinds of car they are.
The Cayman is definitely more a sports car, feeling smaller, more immediate in its responses. Its ride on the 19" wheels is much harsher/louder in the cabin giving it a more mechanical feel. The steering is very responsive though not so quick away from the straight ahead. Gearchange is lovely - very mechanical, precise and well weighted. The brakes (now I have replaced them with new Brembo disks/pads) are very good with noticeably less assistance than the 370z, but ultimately still less stopping power that I have experienced so far.
The 370z in comparison is definitely the GT. Its ride on the 19" wheels is quite refined, There is less 'mechanical' noise in the cabin. It is the 7sp semi auto so a completely different experience there. The 370z is noticeably quicker (the Cayman is the 2.7 with the 5sp box) and whilst it is great fun to drive down twisty roads it isn't its natural habitat compared to the Cayman. It is a great car to cruise around in with the rumble from the big v6, but beyond that the engine sound isn't a patch on the flat 6 in the Cayman though!
Overall the 370z feels like it has an extra layer of refinement over the Cayman. It also has a more usable boot/hatch space that can fit the dogs in. No chance of that in the Cayman!
I forgot to add - following the run out at the weekend I noticed a bit of a leak from the offside rear exhaust when under load.
I got hold of a replacement gasket, took off the wheel to see the studs/bolts were reduced to small cones of rust as seems to be common. The near side had been replaced a year or so ago, and considering the lack of remaining metal I decided that caution is preferable to rash bravery so took it to a local exhaust shop to have the gasket replaced.
A couple of hours swearing by a bloke with a welding torch and a winning way with a blunt object and it was back, leak free and sounding much smoother!
Till the next job!
I got hold of a replacement gasket, took off the wheel to see the studs/bolts were reduced to small cones of rust as seems to be common. The near side had been replaced a year or so ago, and considering the lack of remaining metal I decided that caution is preferable to rash bravery so took it to a local exhaust shop to have the gasket replaced.
A couple of hours swearing by a bloke with a welding torch and a winning way with a blunt object and it was back, leak free and sounding much smoother!
Till the next job!
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