need advice urgently on buying

[kristian51]

hi guys

Im in a pickle, i have stumbled accross a cayman at a local indepentdent gargae, the garage sells a good range of cars and dont seem to be crooks. here is the car in question

http://www.petesmithcoleford.co.uk/...igation-2008-model-in-gloucestershire-1661706

as you can see its a very good price, but having never owned a porsche i contacted my local dealer and spoke to someone in the service department who was very helpfull an put the reg in, and he said it had had all its servicing done with them. And it was a good buy at that price.But after spending hours on here looking im paniking. I have always dreamed of owning a porsche but am i being led down the path by the price. Obviously i want to purchase the extended opc warrenty after owning the car for 3 months but the guy told me it needs a 110 point inspection. The gargage thats selling it gives warrenty but im sure its just a normal run of them mill one.

Was thinking if i buy it can i take it to opc for a inspection then if there is anything wrong take it back to the dealer to fix on his warrenty, untill ive owned for 3 mothns an get opc warrenty.

any ideas how much this would be??

i have so many thoughts buzzing through my head.

Am going back to test drive car again tomorow but would really apprciate someone with a bit of knoledge telling me what to look out for.
I have always wanted a porsche but never realised i could afford one untill now.


please help

many thanks

hopefully porsche owner

 

[williaa68]

To get a 111 point check from an OPC is about £220. If you get one done as a pre-purchase inspection then you will know if they will warrant it in three months time - eg whether it has any non-standard bits or over-revs. Have a chat with the OPC and see if they will do you a deal on the second check and then haggle with the seller (agree a price subject to the inspection - don't try and haggle once you have had the inspection done!). You might get the dealer to offer a short warranty that will bridge you until you can get the Porsche warranty. They are a great car and I am sure you will love it. The price looks reasonable to me. Good luck.

 

[John H]

Hmm, nice car, tempting price, but big miles. Hard to offer advice. I have an almost identical car, which has done 43k miles, and is still in excellent condition, drives like new, but with twice the mileage you would have to look carefully. Assuming it has been properly serviced the main drivetrain should be OK, so obvious things are brakes, tyres, shocks etc. These can be pricy to replace at Porsche prices. I'd probably forget about the Porsche warranty. It will cost you £1075 for 12 months cover (this includes the 111 point check), but the check is very tight and almost bound to throw up things that need attention (at your expense) before you can get the warranty. If for instance it has a non original battery, or non N rated tyres, it will fail, and you would have to replace these items. If the vendor is very confident of the car, see if he will sumbit it for the 111 point check at his expense (£180 +vat). I'd be surprised tho. Not many Caymans around yet with this sort of mileage, so not much experience to go on. Try asking the same question on the Boxster forum, as there will be lots of higher mileage Boxsters, and bar the roof they are all but the same car. That said if it is a good car, you'll love it. The Cayman is (IMHO []) the best thing Porsche make. Best of luck

 

[Motorhead]

Hi Kristian, Unfortunately I can't access the car on the sight you've given so don't have any details on spec, price, etc. However, you do need to satisfy yourself that the car is a genuine "bargain". If it's been OPC serviced, check to make sure that the book has been stamped up (including brake fluid changes) and that there have been no crash repairs reported (the OPC can tell you if any Porsche-approved repairs have been carried out). As for the 110 point inspection and 12-month Porsche warranty, I doubt that you'll get much change from £1k..!! And remember, any repairs resulting from the inspection will need to be approved by Porsche before the vehicle will be accepted by them - that's genuine Porsche parts (that includes the battery; would you believe.!) and a £120/hour labour charge if fitted by an OPC. Whatever you do, don't rush into a purchase without doing all your homework first. If you make the right decisions you'll be really pleased - it's a great driver's car. Hope that's of some help and good luck. Jeff

 

[Buddy]

As the others say, it's a low price but high mileage. It's also the smallest engine installed in a Cayman but otherwise the spec is quite high, so it should give you a lot of pleasure. If the previous owner has been having the servicing done at Porsche then it will most likely have all Porsche parts at least on the service items and hopefully the tyres will be N rated ( marked on the sidewalls ) and battery will be a Porsche branded Moll battery ( not so good if you're not staying with the warranty ). One downside at this mileage is that Porsche will only extend the warranty to 120,000 miles so if you go for the Porsche warranty as an add on then it will only be for a little over 20,000 miles once the garage warranty expires. If on the other hand you can get some overcheck done on it say by taking it to the OPC and having them check the diagnostics for over revs etc and you decide it's ok then you do have a good chance that it will go on for some time. My first two Porsches I bought with between 95 & 99,900 miles on the clocks and I kept both for about 4 years then they were still good when I sold them at around 130-140,000. Several good independents who can maintain it cheaper than the OPC's but first enjoy the test drive and if you decide against this one you may find another without waiting too long.

 

[kristian51]

Still awake pondering I hear what all you guys are saying and am deff taking on board your thoughts. I don't think I will be rushing into anything before Xmas anyway. I will keep you updated an see if it's the one for me. coming round to thinking that it might be better to spend maybe 2k more an get one with a few less miles. Never no we might have a load of snow then they can slash the price again lol Many thanks

 

[jdpef356]

Dont be rushing now-take your time - a quick view at autotrader gives you - Three for the same price as you are looking at gives you a better range and choice. All three cars all with well under 30k on the clock[] The first one looks rather attractive with the 3.4 engine and 27.5 K good options and states it has a Full Porsche service History for £17.5k got to be worth a call. Yes - you could buy me that one for Chrimbo![8D] http://www.autotrader.co.uk/search/used/cars/porsche/cayman/postcode/cb45bx/radius/1501/sort/priceasc/price-to/18000/maximum-mileage/up_to_40000_miles/transmission/manual

 

[jdpef356]

Sorry should have added whatever you buy PPI is not an option![8|] Its Essential[]

 

[Dylan1]

my advice would be to buy a well specced 3.4 for a few thousand more and save on expensive repair bills in the near future.

 

[John H]

Nothing wrong with the 3.4 version, but don't discount the 2.7. It is a lovely sweet engine, plenty fast enough in the real world, a tad more economical, and a lower tax band too (if it's the 5 speed)

 

[kristian51]

thanks for all your replys. just phoned the garaged and explained i wont be coming to test drive it, because i dont want to mess them around am not a 100% on the car, plus with xmas coming it would be a squeeze. Yesterday he did some finace quotes an found me some no problem so at least i dont have to worry about funding. just need to find the right car. was thinking would it be worth ringing a local dealer to ask if they would keep there eye out for any trade inns they have anywhere round the 17-19k mark, or will they just laff at me hope to hear from u soon kris

 

[Buddy]

I just took a trawl through the Autotrader Caymans low prices and plenty of them around, most are not as highly specked as the one you're looking at and plenty say Sports Seats when they aren't ( that applies to the one you mentioned ). There was one stating 35,500 miles but the driver's seat looks worse than most 100,000+ miles Porsches I've seen! Condition in all things on a Porsche needs to be considered, ask if it's had a recent suspension alignment, check wear on everything, look at the last service report etc. Be ready and willing to walk away.[8|] Back again! All of the above applies to the private buys and non OPC dealers. However, if you Google Porsche Centres and go to their used car locator you will find that they have Caymans & S's starting from about £22.5K these will be prepped and with Porsche 2 year warranties, so if you were to pay say £18K plus get two years warranty from the OPC £2K and pay for a few items to be fixed before they accept your's for warranty whoa you're on the same price levels.[]

 

[Dylan1]

if they laff at you in current climate they are the fools[]

 

[Wallachie]

That's a lot of miles, I'd hang fire and buy something else. I have a Seal Grey Cayman S, only had it since mid September, but due to being redeployed to work in central London I am most likely going to have to sell it. A few more £k and it could be yours, Porsche approved warranty until July 2012, PASM, PCM, heated seats, Bose, phone, parking sensors, OEM twin exhaust tips, crested wheel centres etc, 50k miles. Let me know if you're interested.

 

[Buddy]

Hi Wallachie, Sorry to hear you may be selling so soon it looked really nice in the pics! You probably spent more time looking than owning![&o]

 

[Wallachie]

ORIGINAL: Buddy Hi Wallachie, Sorry to hear you may be selling so soon it looked really nice in the pics! You probably spent more time looking than owning![&o]

Thanks mate. There's just no point in it sitting here in Belfast for me to use the odd weekend when I come home. I might get a small car to use in London instead, I don't fancy leaving the Cayman parked in London, there isn't a mark or dent on it anywhere and sadly it wouldn't stay like that for long over there.

 

[KNN]

Just seen this, so did you end up buying it?