Problem Finding First Gear
 

I am seeking a Cayman S, and test drove 2 today. On one, I kept selecting third gear instead of first gear. Having driven manual transmissions for (ahem) decades, it wasn’t me. The car was a very early production 718. I am assuming that the shifter cables were out of adjustment. Would this be an easy fix or a sign of abuse?

It’s not uncommon for that to happen, particularly if you are sitting at a stop light. Takes a little getting used to. 3rd is straight up (on a six speed) and first requires a good pull to the left...

I think it's more a sign that people start in 2nd gear. 1st is a true Granny Gear.

My 986s shifter centers itself definitively on 3-4, with 1st or 2nd requiring pressure to the left and 5th or 6th requiring pressure to the right. For me, this is as it should be.

I didn't understand the original post the same way y'all did. I thought he was talking about something im experiencing in my 986 s right now, as well.
If I'm stopped, and particularly if I've been in neutral, when I go to 1st gear, it doesn't seem to want to engage fully. I frequently think it's in, lift the clutch only to hear a little grind, and no movement. If I try again immediately, it goes in fine.
I think it's a shift cable / shifter alignment issue. (Mostly because it started right after I installed Ben's short shifter)

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That could be dead fluid if you haven’t changed it recently, or more likely synchros going bad. Does 2nd grind or pop? It could be an adjustment thing, possibly even clutch, but the way you describe it sounds more like synchros to me...

OP here. Let me try to be more descriptive. I had trouble selecting 1st gear when at a stop. I currently drive an E46 M3 with a short shift kit in it. I am familiar with 'tight gates' and the spring action of shifters.
The CS I drove had the 3rd/4th plane as the resting position; as one would expect. However, the difference/distance between 3rd and reverse was about 3/4" to 1". As a result, in trying to hit 1st, it was easy to select either reverse (if you pushed on the spring) or 3rd. On the other hand, the 5th/6th plane was over about 2" or 2 1/2" from the 3rd/4th plane - about where I would expect it to be. I could have become accustomed to where 1st was. The other CS I drove did not have this issue. Its shifter was exactly how you expect it to behave.
My question is whether or not this issue with getting into 1st can be adjusted, or whether it is a sign of a bigger shifter/cable issue.

I had to play with the alignment and cable adjustment on mine. In the installation video it says dont worry too much about the alignment but it matters. I originally had it close to perfect except 1st was a little tight and finding 3rd was hard sometimes. I took off the cables, loosened it up, realigned it and adjusted the cables a few times. No problems now. Goes through the gears perfect now. You might give it a shot.

Wait.... there's a VIDEO!?!?


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Yep


https://youtu.be/38hER9ajgv0