Help me buy a Cayman!

[MartynHa]

I'm a bit of a noob, so hang on with me. I'm not owned a car for many years but I've got my finances sorted and am on the hunt for a Cayman!

I've got around £25k to spend and I'm looking for a 2009> black, yellow or red Cayman with a low milage and all the extras I can get for that kinda cash (heated seats are a must I've been informed elsewhere on this forum!)

I'm looking on PH, autotrader, exchangeandmart, but was wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of any other resources to find my car?

Not sure if I'm better off going through a dealership or not - I should prob get a PPI done if not, right?


I've had a look at some buyers guides but was wondering if there any questions I should definitely ask when talking to owners or going to see cars? Does anyone have a cheat sheet of things to look for?

Thanks

[gsewell]

There is a sticky at the top of the forum giving all the known specialists:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
If you search - many of these are regularly recommended.

Additionally:
http://www.porsche.com/uk/approvedused/usedcarloca...
will give you the stock held by Porsche themselves. Currently showing a Nov 2012 Cayman S with 62,000 miles for £22,850 in Leicester. Wow that really is a high mileage car!!!!

[huytonman]

try this:

http://www.911-classified.com/members/independ.htm...

personally if you cant get your hands on a gen2 car which have a much more robust engine I would keep away from a private buyer unless it comes with a Porsche Warranty, try Porsche or a well respected Indie, Stirlings, RSJ, Paragon etc..

Good luck

[Trev450]

In answer to two of your questions:

Yes a PPI is highly recommended if you are buying outside of the OPC network;

Heated seats are not compulsory. I came from a 350Z with them to my CS without them over 3 years ago and haven't missed them once.

[mrdemon]

none of my 3 cars have heated seats !!

[MartynHa]

mrdemon said:

none of my 3 cars have heated seats !!

I was going to ask if you could spare one...but no heated seats? crazy

huytonman said:

try this:

http://www.911-classified.com/members/independ.htm...

personally if you cant get your hands on a gen2 car which have a much more robust engine I would keep away from a private buyer unless it comes with a Porsche Warranty, try Porsche or a well respected Indie, Stirlings, RSJ, Paragon etc..

Excellent advice - thank you for that. I've sent emails a few of the companies listed there.

Edited by MartynHa on Friday 11th October 17:49

[ChipsAndCheese]

huytonman said:

personally if you cant get your hands on a gen2 car which have a much more robust engine I would keep away from a private buyer unless it comes with a Porsche Warranty, try Porsche or a well respected Indie, Stirlings, RSJ, Paragon etc..

Nothing wrong with buying privately so long as you are sensible. Ask to see the history - a well maintained car will have a nice collection of invoices. I suspect most private sellers would only be too happy to let a specialist give it an inspection before you buy.

Specialist wise, add JZM to the list of good independents - their stock is always excellent (though they don't have Caymans in that often) and RPM Technik.

Edited by ChipsAndCheese on Friday 11th October 18:01

[BIRMA]

A year ago I was in the same situation as you, although it was a Boxster I was after. I managed to buy an RS60 privately. I HPI'd it and checked as much history as I could as the car had a full OPC service history but thanks to the data protection act information I was limited but I satisfied myself that it was 100%. Heated seats were at the very bottom of my list and this car had PCCB's, PASM, PSE and all the things that I had decided were important to me having tried loads of' cars without it beforehand.
In conclusion I would say if you can buy privately you can bag a real bargain, mine also had 18 months OPC warranty left to run and for £26K I considered it at the time to be a real bargain. As time has passed I like the car more and more and think that I managed with a bit of luck and endless scouring of the classified on here found what I consider to be a superb buy.
I am sure there are genuine bargains to be had if you are patient, can act quickly and be prepared to travel the length of the country. I flew up to Newcastle from Southampton and bought the car and had a very nice drive back.
I wouldn't trade my PCCB's, PASM and PSE for heated seats any time, I am of the opinion that heated seats are great for female passengers but when you get a shift on which you do in these cars most of the time adrenaline gets me hot enough. I would suggest you try a car with and without PASM and the like to see if it's something you like I came out on the side of preferring it.
If you have the cash in place and no p/x you can make cheeky offers and you never know you can bag a real bargain.

Edited by BIRMA on Friday 11th October 19:48

Edited by BIRMA on Saturday 12th October 07:53

[tony993]

For me, the must haves are 18" wheels, Xenons & Sports Seats.

& I much prefer the look of the cars without a rear wiper.

[itsybitsy]

tony993 said:

For me, the must haves are 18" wheels, Xenons & Sports Seats.

& I much prefer the look of the cars without a rear wiper.

sounds like my old cayman! imho the simplier the spec the better.no pasm 18"wheels,leather sports seats,sound pack and xenons sweet!!

[juansolo]

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds?Category=us...

Out of luck, they're both white and with not so low miles (relatively speaking).

However drop the seats and if you can live with a black car with brown interior.

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds?Category=us...

Edited by juansolo on Thursday 17th October 18:58

[Durzel]

Everyone will have different opinions on options tbh, and you'll likely hear people talking down options they don't have for whatever reason...

With that in mind, this is what I looked for (and got) when I was in the market:

- Xenons: I'd say essential, modern cars (particularly £50k+ new ones) looks weird without them.
- Full leather: Makes the cabin a nicer place to be, also makes it feel more commensurate with the cost of the car/brand value
- PCM: A contentious one. Porsche satnav is pretty dire compared to pretty much everything and particularly TomToms, but PCM does more than that and like leather it imo is something that completes the cabin. It is also the first thing you'll be asked about come resale.
- Porsche Warranty: The peace of mind is well worth the cost.
- Sports Seats: They are so much better than the standard ones, it's unreal.

Nice to haves:
- Climate control
- Heated seats
- PSE (expensive to retrofit, fairly rare to find specced)
- Bose sound system (it's not great, but that's as good as it gets within warranty)

I didn't have either of:
- PASM (another contentious one, your opinion will likely depend on expectations and previous experience of other cars. I didn't have PASM on my Cayman S with 19"s and I found it fine, but my car history has always been sporty cars)
- Sports Chrono

[juansolo]

Hmmm options... My own personal opinion.

Options essential on a Cayman: None. If you want to drive the thing it comes with everything you need as standard.

Options desirable on a Cayman: Entirely subjective. Only you can answer that.

Options desirable for resale: At trade in your options will always be the wrong ones even though they were strangely necessary when you bought it. So get the options *you* want.