Next Pcar...CaymanS
 

Last night I uttered this confession to my wife:

"As much as I wanted a convertible Porsche, I'm not buying another one new or used. My next Porsche will be a mid-engine hard top with the biggest motor I can get in it."

My reasoning for this is two important factors that when combined, made the decision easy.

1. I live in Houston Texas. It's hotter than hell here most of the year. And it's unbearably humid too... which means I bake AND steam with the top down and suffer a lot with the top up as well due to the lack of insulation in the canvas. I really do not enjoy driving the car from May to September during daylight hours.

What I loved most about the boxster was the way it looked with the top down, not the actual top-down experience living where I live. The Cayman looks great with the top up, and has all the handling benefits of the boxster plus more rigidity.

2. The top itself, the motor, the cables, the transmission, the electronics, and the switches are all maintenance items that seem to fail in older boxsters. It's like having two engines to look after when you look at the dollars involved. Granted, the top isn't nearly as expensive as a new Pcar motor, but it sure is the same price as the motor in my Toyota!

Since I buy used Porsches and keep them a long time, #2 is a really important issue to me. I must have the peace of mind knowing I don't have twice the repair bills and repair hassles ahead of me in the years to come.

So, when it's time to trade my old boxster in for a newer Porsche, it's gonna be something like a Cayman S.

Randall...that thought has been lingering into my head ever since i convince m friend to get one...although I love the 911 line ups, cayman s would be the next new affordable car :)

But I'm still keeping the Boxster...and that's where the struggle begins :mad:
I would like to have a convertible and a coupe in my garage :o

Very interesting it seems there is a bit of a natural migration from Boxster to Cayman. Although I go to the Cayman forum and there was a thread earlier this week regarding how many of the Cayman owners miss their Boxsters in nice weather - now that they can't put the top down.

Personally, since I have a 987 Boxster, going to the Cayman next would seem a bit redundant, basically the same car with a fixed top. Therefore, I would consider the 911 as a potential new experience. I have always liked them anyhow. The new 997 Targa really peeks my interest.

Get a hardtop Unk! Best of both worlds!

I'd go with a 996 or 997 model, 2 words... Back Seats! There small but hey you can fit more than just 1 person in the car with you which is nice and dont forget, YOU CAN ROLL YOUR SEAT BACK SOME MORE!

@ adam...I thought about that too but if I want to get a "newer" Porsche coupe, Cayman S would be the next affordable one that's only 2 or 3 years older by the time Im ready :)

I love my Boxster. I love the way it looks and how much fun it is to drive. When it is time to trade her in on a newer car I'll most likely get a 911 (997 by that time). I've always loved 911's and I like new experiences. While the mid-engine car is amazing I've always wanted to drive a rear-engine car.

Hopefully I'll be able to keep the Box and get a 997 in the next 4 years. Best of both worlds.

Would I get a Cayman? Probably not. Like drburton said it would be a bit redundant.

Amen, Randall. But it would be a 911 in my case.
When the top goes down, the price goes up, but it takes quite a while for that to happen.

911 cab for me...either a 996 or 993

...echoing CJ_Boxster - back seats
I have three boys under the age of 6, it would be nice to take them all along and not limit trips to just the wife, or just one of the boys...
..this is in addition to the fact that I have dreamed of owning/driving a 911 since childhood.

The 911 has always had the iconic mystique, but the 987 is definitely Porsche's greatest chassis. The Boxster is as "pure bred" as you can get being a direct derivative from Dr. Ferry Porsche's original vision, but the Cayman is definitely a more "pure sports car."

Aesthetically, the Cayman gets my vote and I'll definitely swap my non-S Boxster for a Cayman S in a couple years.

yep, no doubt...

Why not just get the 987 Boxster and add the hard top. That way you can still have the look and feel of both cars. :cheers: Here is an image of a 987 with the longer extended hardtop now availible. Makes it look just like the Cayman. Only made in Europe, but you can have it shipped here to the U.S.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y15...lash/987ht.jpg

I am not a 911 fan and would want a new boxster s just for the power...no cayman interest. I would likely go with the 911 because it would be nice to take the kid and wife in a convertible at the same time....like I said though, not really a 911 fan....I could always get a turbo vw bettle like T.O.

Here's the problem... there's still a convertible top under it to maintain and keep in good condition should the car ever be sold.

Moreover, anyone who's got a hard top of any kind on their boxster had better take notice that leaving it down and covered year after year stretches out the cables in the sides of the top and makes it really loose fitting and hard to close properly. I know this from personal experience. My car had a hard top on it for a number of years before I bought it and my top looks great, but fits like crap.

And one more thing... why would I pay big bucks for a new 987 and then pay a whopping $8k for this top just to get a Cayman S style boxster? It makes no financial sense to me...and I do not care about the top down experience any longer.

I supposed as long as I live in SOCAL, the roadster is the deal.

:)

Actually my next car will be something more practical, something to be used as a commuter....

Something like the Chevrolet/GM Volt.

And one more thing... why would I pay big bucks for a new 987 and then pay a whopping $8k for this top just to get a Cayman S style boxster? It makes no financial sense to me...and I do not care about the top down experience any longer.[/QUOTE]

Wow! It was just a sugestion. I thought you were torn between the 2 and could not decide and I was only offering an alternative option that worked in both situations. It's only $5K plus shipping, not 8. Good luck on your decision. :cheers:

I'd probably opt for a used 996TT or a GT3. I'm continually amazed at the depreciation these seem to be experiencing. I like the Caymen VERY MUCH, but it would have to be a steal of a deal at this point. I plan on keeping my 986 around for a very long time and any other P car would be an addition rather than a substitution. I'm having too much fun modifying the Boxster.

Although I'm still intrigued by the Targa.........

I highly doubt I would ever trade in a roadster for a Coupe.
THis is my second and I can't begin to tell you how much I HATED being in hardtop sports car when I was on vacation last year in Florida.

I think having a CaymanS and A BoxsterS would be novel but kind of excessive since they are so similar. Heck even Porsche lumps their sales numbers into the same boat.

The 996 prices droping like an anchor lately have surprised me and gotten my attention. This week a guy on Rennlist took home an 02 C4S with barely 25K miles for ......drum roll......$43K and a CPO to boot!!! Car was absoultely MINT.
Porsche has simply produced more cars in the last 7 years than ever before in its history and the demmand is just not there to keep those 911 prices prop'd up.
The deals will be even sweeter 12 months from now. Back a few months ago I even saw an 02 996 Turbo 30K miles with BBS, spotless all around, go without a single bid on Ebay for $55K.

Similarly the Caymans are a crashing. 06 CaymanS leftovers going for $50K is not unheard of. The guys who paid $70K are eating $20K in depreciation in barely 18 months....OUCH. But aestheically I doubt I would buy one for even $40K because I know I would end up spending $10K on exterior cosmetics, wheels, GT3 seats, etc.

I dunno I would never consider a 911 or Cayman a replacement for a benchmark roadster but if room and $$$ allows, its a fine addition to the collection.
Right now I think the 996 Turbo dry sump engine (far superior to the lower 911 engines) is the best value going. GT3 also has this engine but that's not a car I particularly enjoyed being a passenger in on one very wet drive. If its mis-aligned its down right dangerous. The Turbo is like the Oprah Winfrey of Porsches: Powerful, expensive and heavy.

Until 996 GT3 prices drop dramatically, I will go back to an Aircooled Porsche ;)

how much lower do they have to go? A less than three year old $100K 996 GT3 with low miles can be snatched up in the mid $60K range. Man...talk about a hit.
$30,000-$40,000 gone in less than three years.
bad for Mr. Rich Guy good for you... :cheers:

Now that it has come up, I am also interested in the 996 Turbo given the prices. One of my issues is I'm not a big fan of the interior, especially the seats. What's up with Porsche seats wearing so badly too. Some of the Turbos on E-bay look mint but the leather seats looks like hell.

Yes, I realize there is the opportunity to add aftermarket seats, which brings up my questions. Do 997 seats fit in a 996? I see used 997 sports seats available once in awhile and I think they are very cool looking.

I think I'm in RN's camp, but for different reasons.

1a) The wife has long hair. Translation: top stays up.

1b) Screw the difference between "dry" heat and humidity. When over 95 degrees with a blazing sun, hot is just plain hot.

2) Backseats.

I don't know that I'd go with the cayman, though. I'm thinking more towards a 911 c4 or a Maz. Grandsport.

Wow! It was just a sugestion. I thought you were torn between the 2 and could not decide and I was only offering an alternative option that worked in both situations. It's only $5K plus shipping, not 8. Good luck on your decision. :cheers:[/QUOTE]

porsche986spyder, sorry... that came out a too strong and I didn't mean to be abrasive. Sometimes I hate the way forum threads read when you can't see I'm smiling while I type enthusiastically.

I've often considered buying a hard top for my 986, but I really don't like the looks of the "inexpensive" one. The fastback one that makes the 986 look like a cayman is nice, but it's up there in the 5-6k price range too... I'd hate to spend this much on a car that's only worth 12k and sink more unrecoverable cash into it.

Hence, my current decision to just buy a "boxster coupe" next time around.

Wow - tough call.

I'm with Randall in that I really love the look of my Boxster with the top down (so-so with it up) - of course I have a beautiful red interior that looks SOOOOOO good with the silver!

I've thought about the Elise/Exige but I'm getting too old to drive a go-cart as a daily driver. The Z4 is just too strange looking both in convertible and hard-top. The S2000 and Miata too bland. The 350Z too ricer (and fat). I'm iffy on the looks of the RX8 (although I loved the last RX7).

I've always wanted a 911 and came extremely close to trading for a '00 C4 last year. But, the more I look at the Cayman and then the 997 I'm just drawn more to the looks of the Cayman - the 997 just has such fat buttocks. Of course a 996TT/997TT would give me pause for both the looks and the power. But really, if the Cayman was available as a TT this wouldn't even be a discussion for me. As to the lack of rear seats, well, that's actually how I like my sports cars!

Pete, if I'm not mistaken, they're making TT kits for the Cayman S now.

ooooh that would be one wicked little ride, wouldn't it?

I actually shivered as I read that.....

Will have to see what makes financial sense when it comes time to replace the Box. Ideally, the replacement will be a new C4, but we will see...

I would like a cayman s plus keep my boxster.

porsche986spyder, sorry... that came out a too strong and I didn't mean to be abrasive. Sometimes I hate the way forum threads read when you can't see I'm smiling while I type enthusiastically.

I've often considered buying a hard top for my 986, but I really don't like the looks of the "inexpensive" one. The fastback one that makes the 986 look like a cayman is nice, but it's up there in the 5-6k price range too... I'd hate to spend this much on a car that's only worth 12k and sink more unrecoverable cash into it.

Hence, my current decision to just buy a "boxster coupe" next time around.[/QUOTE]

No problem, that's what I thought. ;)

I'm with you 100% on that.

I bought my boxster because I love the look with the hard top, or no top. With the soft top I just think it's funky. I had the hard top stored for the summer but when the wife and I wanted to go on a road trip I ended up putting it back on to cut down on the noise. When we got back I didn't bother to take it back off (but I did wash/wax the car, I'm not that lazy. :))

I seriously doubt the top will come off until it's time to show prospective buyers that it is in fact a convertible.

Here's an email on this top when I inquired about it:

We can ship the hardtop kit to the USA. Please see below for costs. These
prices are in Pounds Sterling and to convert to US Dollars you need to
multiply approximately by 2.

In the UK we normally perform the installation and painting for our
customers and this is show separately. You can buy the hardtop in kit form
and have it installed and painted in the US.

We only offer the version with side glass as this gives the car a better
appearance. The inside surface looks like stitched leather but is in fact a
special surface incorporated in the manufacturing. We offer our customer the
glass fibre version as the weight difference for kevlar is not significant.
A kevlar version will cost around 30% more.


Boxster hardtop kit including
rear glass, side glasses, all
rubber seals, catches, screen
wiring and fixings. 986 model £2498.00

Painting, installing rear and
side glass, fitting rubbers,
wiring and other hardware.
Setting side clamp positions. £ 480.00

Shipping to USA £390.00


Regards
Mark King
sales@stuttgart.co.uk

I originally wanted a 996, but now I would go for the Cayman S. They had an '06 when I picked up mt Boxster and I couldn't stay away from it while waiting on mine. There's just something about the rear/side angle. Also, the 996 is everywhere around Charlotte but I have only seen one Cayman. It will still take another 2-3 years of depreciation before they are in my budget.

I would go with the Stugart or Zeintec top in a minute if there prices were about half.

If anyone want's to buy my boxster for 33K there would be a 997GT3 in my garage the next day. That and a 930 are the only P car I want to own. With that said my car is for sale if anyone is interested. ;)

I love the GT3. Very sexy Pcar. I heard the wait on those was about a year, is that right?

I will be keeping my Boxster for a long while. I love having a convertible. Someday, I could see owning a 2nd Porsche, a Carrera of some type, not sure which one. And, I'd like to do a RUF engine swap with my Boxster in a few years after the warranty expires.

Just like your sig man... If you can bleed enough green! Nope no wait. :cheers:

Look on ebay

I would probably go for a newer 987 S.
It is quite possible that I could end with my buddies Carrera 4S in the near future
if the price is right.

Either would be nice!

That's actually where I saw people having to wait. One dude said he waited 18 months for his GT3 to come in and now he's selling it to get an RS.

The eBay ads all show an MSRP for the GT3s then the buy it now is like $40k higher. Me thinks this is because these cars are hard to get.


BTW, I showed my fiance a 997 with a GT3 aero kit on eBay with Tiptronic and she said I can buy it for her. hahahahaha :D

If you sell your Boxster for $33K, then you only have $100K to go :eek: Love the car but that is getting into the crazy price range.

Is everyone forgetting the Zeintop hardtop for boxsters? They look exactly like the caymans.