Cayman - Daily Driver or Weekend Warrior

[Twinfan]

Hi Ian,

I think any 15yr old car used as a daily driver (you don't mention mileage?) is going to require regular maintenance, although it sounds like you've been fairly unlucky. The problem with Porsches is the parts prices and the usually specialist labour/experience required to fix them so they're never going to be as cheap to run as a Vauxhall Astra or Ford Focus. I suppose you'd have to weigh up what a suitable alternative car would cost to run for 12 months for comparison.

The bottom line for me though is that these are sports cars from a prestige manufacturer that are mostly bought with the heart not the head. You have to pay to play, as they say...

-Dave

 

[GibGray1]

Hi Group,

So I am keen to get people's views, opinions and experiences in owning/running a Cayman.

I am new to the world of Porsche ownership, purchasing a 2006 Cayman S (Artic Silver) in Jan 2020 and although COVID restricted my travel I planned (and plan) to use this as my daily driver. When I purchased the car I knew full well that it required some attention and immediately had the car fully checked over by a local independent porsche garage, full service, fluid change, 1 x injector and discs & pads allround. From hereon (even with the limited travel) I have been blighted with issue after issue with my Cayman, spending a further £6k (parts and labour) and another £1k bill coming for new starter motor, driveshaft and parking brake shoes.
Did I pick a bad en, just been unlucky or am I deluded to think that a Cayman can be used as a daily runner that won't cost the earth after each trip? With restrictions lifting my travel is starting to increase so keen to get your experiences.

Thanks in advance, Ian

 

[GibGray1]

Hi Dave,

Many thanks for the swift response, what you say about any 15yr old car is a very good point and one that I am taking into consideration, when i bought the car it had 77k miles and now 82k miles.

A key point that you state is that these are indeed sports cars, as they are so easy (and incredibly fun) to drive I perhaps forget that I am driving a prestige car.

I am going to run some analysis for how many miles I am likely to do for work now restrictions are lifting and if high I may have to contemplate not using the Cayman each day, but it does start your day with a huge smile

Thanks, Ian

 

[Twinfan]

No problem! They are great fun, but at 15yrs and 82k miles things are going to wear on any car aren't they?

The "Porsche Tax" is what kills using them for 10k miles per year!

 

[Motorhead]

Hi Ian,

I’d agree with Dave’s comments. Owning a Porsche is never going to be cheap, but that’s going to be typical of any so-called prestige make.

One problem is that the older cars are becoming relatively cheap to buy, and this can attract the “wrong” type of buyer who can afford to buy the car but is either not capable or prepared to maintain the car properly. That may have been the case with your Cayman and unfortunately you’re paying the price of the neglect, although any 15-year old performance car is going to require a fair bit of maintenance because unfortunately things do wear out.

Hopefully you’re over the significant expense and can get to enjoy running the car.

Jeff

 

[Scrounger]

I agree with all of the above but after the initial layout for getting it in tip top condition, you may find any additional costs come from routine maintenance. I once spoke to a Porsche Gold Meister Technician who told me the majority of cars that had issues were the ones with very low mileage and continued to say that they like to be driven and often. So if it was me, I'd get everything done that needs to be done and drive it every day and enjoy it. Mine is a daily and to be honest it puts a smile on my face every time I start it up, although I don't think my neighbours appreciate it at 0330!

 

[GibGray1]

Hi Jeff,

Again really appreciate your input/comments. Like most of us I full expect ownership to come at a price, but the fun times should well and truly compensate! Perhaps cheekily I have now contacted a couple of the garages from the receipts I got when I purchased the Cayman and although they were all professional strangely they did remember the 'Parisian' that owned the car and it would seem that he wasn't adverse to cutting corners and using cheaper parts.

I agree with you (and others) that I think I am paying for the neglect/poor servicing and I am certain that I will get to a point whereby I am over this initial expense hump and just maintaining her well and enjoying the drive(s)

Cheers, Ian

 

[Motorhead]

I agree with you (and others) that I think I am paying for the neglect/poor servicing and I am certain that I will get to a point whereby I am over this initial expense hump and just maintaining her well and enjoying the drive(s)

Let’s hope so Ian.

Leaving aside the usual over-egged Gen1 engine issues, things like A/C condenser leaks and - more recently - coolant cross-over pipe connector leaks together with knocks from various suspension parts seem to feature fairly regularly on the mechanical side, while battery and coil pack failures are quite common on the electrical side. Modern vehicles are incredibly complex, with thousands of components, so at 15-years and 82k miles anything can happen. []

Fingers crossed you’re now over the worst!

Jeff

 

[mj2k]

You have been unlucky with the timing! Mine was meant as a daily, but a job change involved commuting to London on the train & didn't want to leave it in a station car park all day, so got a 0.9T Smart (much more fun that you would believe, we both love it!). GTS then became a weekend toy (or not through lockdown), but annoyingly is marginally longer than my Z4M was, so cannot get it into the garage properly, so just gets dirty the whole time.

If I was commuting to a work car park, I'd take the GTS every day of the week. My wife does 60 miles a day commute in her Boxster & loves every minute of it. If she's going somewhere new / unknown with work, she takes the smart to be safe & then cannot wait to get back to a proper daily drive.

Fingers crossed all the worn bits have been done now & you can relax, enjoy it & drive it how it was meant to be!

 

[RTPSupersports]

I use my 2006 Cayman S as a daily, as it’s my only car. I always used to own two cars, my daily and my weekend ‘project’ car, now I have both in one car!

I do my own servicing and repairs, and having owned a German car before, parts bought from Design911 and Porshop are actually quite reasonable.

One has to remember that the Cayman isn’t just a prestige sports car, it’s actually a road legal racing car, so maintenance and repairs will be more expensive.

I’m a key worker, so I have been able to use my car every day. My daily commute starts at 2:30am, and my neighbours have got used to me leaving at this time (I hope). My commute is a mixture of A roads and dual carriageway, which are blissfully empty at this time of day.

These cars need to be driven!