1st Gen Cayman

I'm going to test drive a 2008 Cayman this Sunday. It's a regular Cayman, not an "S", manual, 18-inch wheel option, preferred package. I looked at it last weekend, and it's in near perfect condition with only 29K miles.

Soooo, just wondering if the hive mind has any advice other than "buy an S!" and "IMS Bearing failure!"? If I'm interested after the drive I'm planning on having it PPI'ed by the local independent Porsche repair shop. I also got a quote though AAA for mechanical repair insurance to safeguard against those $15K crate motors.

I've never owned a Porsche before so this would be a check on the bucket list. I've always liked Caymans, and thanks to our Holy Mother of Depreciation they are now in normal folk's price range. What say ye, GRM folk?

Looks to me like you've got most/all of the angles covered.

I own an S. Don't be afraid of the base model. They are very good and I wouldn't pass one up if it was a good deal. The 18 inch wheels are what you want. Don't get a car with 19 inch wheels unless it has PASM or it will be torture on the street.

I've had my car for about three years and all I've had to do is change the oil.

My experience driving a 1st gen Cayman S says DROOL but that doesnt stop me from wanting a Boxster or an air cooled 911 a lot more.

Cayman makes a lot of sense if you want to drive it everyday and would never put the top down anyway.

Honestly, any time anyone is about to buy a Cayman, i feel like the whole world of car enthusiasts wins a small victory.

Went on my test drive today. Unfortunately I was kinda underwhelmed. It had decent acceleration and decent cornering but felt a bit too soft and over isolated. It tracked straight but had a nasty vibration in the steering wheel. The shifter was rather sloppy, a pet peeve of mine. Additionally it started making some sort of awful noise from the engine. I think it was low on power steering fluid or maybe the the pump was just making noise. All of this was very surprising for a car with only 29,000 miles on it.

Overall it felt like what I would imagine a mid-engined GTI or TT would feel like. For now I'm really unsure. I guess it's hard to beat the fun-to-drive/$ factor of a $1500 AW11 MR2.

Underwhelmed seems to be a fairly normal response to a 911 at least (I haven't owned a Boxster or Cayman). Porsches have this thing about growing on you. It's a bit odd, first they're meh and then you get addicted.

That said, it doesn't sound like the one you tried was a particularly good example anyway.

Maybe it's the difference between the S and the non S but the S definitely felt very special. It was too small inside for me to be totally comfortable but man it was a fun ride.

I haven't driven a Cayman, but the way you describe it, I really think you should drive another.

Again, I really like the base cars. I think you found one that is perhaps not as good as it once was. You should probably dive one or two more before you give up on them.

This is a good time to be shopping for one. There are a lot of low mileage cars coming off four and five year leases and the nice weather is still a long way off. It's a good time to make a deal on a rear wheel drive sports car if you find one that you like.

Sounds like you found kind of a dud there.

If you feel that it's too isolated, Porsche builds a cooler version that is less isolated called the Boxster.