Should I be worried?

[rob.1063]

Hi, I am going to view a Cayman this weekend been looking a while and this one has cropped up, spoke with the guy its a private sale and everything stacks up, only thing is its had 5 owners which suprised me.

It has had 2 services one being major last june, which was not a porche dealer but a specialist, is 2 right for age and mileage when would the next be due. Here are the details.

2007(57plate) reg Sept 2007, showing 27, 400 miles pretty low?

Basalt black 2.7

Only extras are rear wiper and alloy upgrade I think i have added a picture, guy says it is unmarked just odd mark where driver gets in and out, 2 new rear tyres 500 miles ago. Front have 5000 or so left on them, unmarked alloys coloured crest in them.

10 months MOT 5 MONTHS TAX ..He has all paperwork 2 keys & plastic one. Its on a private plate and he was happy to tell me it to run an HPI check.

Its advertised at £17,400 but hoping he may drop 300 or so.

Any comments or advice much apreciated I am worried about amount of owners I will be 6 for resale purposes, but I suppose these cars do change hands often im only intending to drive it for 2 years.

If I go to a dealer same car wpuld be 19 - 20 grand easy?

Cheers
Rob

 

[flat6]

Here's a thought (not expert advice). For each new owner the car will have been their cherished prize possession, possibly giving it more cherished time than one owner for whom the novelty could've wore off halfway through the 5 years. I know many of us cherish our cars all the way to the end of ownership, including myself. However, conversely it's had 5 owners who could've each engaged in some corner cutting coming up to selling the car on, 5 time more possible than on a one owner car. Not that these cars require much maintenance, so there isn't much to neglect providing it has been serviced properly. Only you can decide which way you look at it. Will it put future buyers off? For sure they'd be having the concerns that you are and some will make whatever decision you do. Personally it would put me off. If it was 20 years old that'd be different. The service intervals are every 20,000 or 2yrs, whichever comes sooner. The 1st major is at 40,000 or 4 yrs.

 

[rob.1063]

Another picture of it, never owned a Porsche suppose im looking for others thoughts what they would do, I am on a budgett why pay 21,000 for a one poss 2 owner car when I can save 5 grand on a low milage motor if it had had 60,000 on the clock I would not bother but it only has 28,000 or so surley its a bargain? If anyone knows of a caymen with up to 35,000 on the clock idealy silver on a 57 plate or younger for 17 grand tell me as I will go and buy it 3 owners........Come on guys thoughts please..

 

[Buddy]

Hi Rob, I take it that by last June you mean last year. It does seem incredible that people actually buy them and sell so quickly, mine was a year old with 2,200 on it when I bought it nearly 5 years ago and dealers have told me of plenty of high end cars being bought just so they can say they've had one! The fact it has a low spec regarding the extras means that it started out as a low end Cayman and some of the previous owners may have bought just to see if they liked it and then traded up to a higher spec or as flat6 says they found that buying cheap they still couldn't afford it. The wheels are Cayman S 18" an upgrade on the 2.7 which had 17" as std. I've never found the need for the rear wiper which my car doesn't have so a good job I don't need it[8|] If you do go for it then check the maintenance record for plug change 4yrs and brake fluid change. Brakes should be ok for some time yet if the front tyres are original then it's not been driven hard but that isn't a good thing as they may have been driving in high gear and labouring the engine, something to be avoided.

 

[dpoynton]

ORIGINAL: Buddy I've never found the need for the rear wiper which my car doesn't have so a good job I don't need it[8|]

Go fast enough, and you don't need it. Only useful if you're lazy and want to clear the rear screen after the car's been left standing for a time in the rain. Aerodynamics do the rest. D

 

[chrisH]

I think the reason it's cheap is because he can't sell it as it has a basic spec, so you will have the same problem when you come to sell it. That's probably why it's had 5 owners. I would not buy it and move on to find a decent spec'd car, otherwise once you've bought it you might be stuck with it. To be sure he has been offered much less than 17k to trade it in, probably 15k.

 

[Motorhead]

Some sound advice from other posters here Rob. I'd only add that it would be helpful if the seller can produce some paperwork in addition to the service documentation. Maybe work has been carried out by OPCs/Indys in the past 5 years so that you can check the vehicle's provenance. If you're really concerned, I think that the DVLA can provide names and addresses of past keepers. At the very least, you can ask the seller to give you the name and address of the previous registered keeper which is given on the V5 document. It may well be that some of the keepers are dealers, and the car has been passed from dealer to dealer if they've been unable to sell. Personally, I go along with Chris' comments. And, only buy it at a knock-down price if you decide to go ahead. Jeff

 

[Buddy]

Rob, there are good cars which get passed around and dealers even move cars between dealerships so can raise the number of owners on the registration. There are other cars for sale which may be as cheap or close and have higher specs but it depends on what you want. Or maybe you live somewhere that is remote and don't wish to travel too far. The mileage on this one is low but some may even have less since people do buy them as their weekend car. Which seems a strange thing to me but I only run one car. As I and others have said, check it's history for servicing and also ask about accidents in case it has been repaired unrecorded. You have the HPI so I take it no finance or write off. Drive it and see what you think but it is your first Porsche experience. The 2.7 isn't popular with a lot of drivers but then others don't necessarily want to have the 3.4 S with slightly higher fuel consumption and double the road tax ( little difference in other running costs). As a first Porsche the 2.7 will be relatively refined compared to most other cars and will certainly be better handling. Check tyre wear as alignment is an issue but adjustment can be done at reasonable prices if you stay away from Official Porsche Centres. Tyres are a significant cost to replace and should all be the same type and N rating although the latter does get debated at irregular intervals on this forum. The engines do need to be revved to ensure that the cylinder jets spray into the lower bores make sure that you don't labour it or you are likely to get cylinder scoring.

 

[rob.kellock]

[link]http://www.911virgin.com/porscheforsale/547/Cayman2.7Manual/[/link] Or, for £18500 you could buy this one owner car with even lower mileage from probably the most highly reputed Porsche indie in the country. I think the general perceived wisdom is that a high number of owners shouldn't necessarily put you off, Porsches are often bought and sold fairly quickly, they are often a second car and people swap, change /upgrade / downgrade them. 2.7 Cayman could be a great first Porsche. Change of ownership could be explained by ex-demo car, bought by a company, kept by its driver, private plate change with DVLA error and sold to its second true owner etc. Personally that many changes of registered keeper would put me off though but I am fickle.

 

[chrisH]

And what a well spec'd car this is for another £1k, low mileage and one owner, as Rob suggests. This won't hang around for long, unlike the other one.

 

[Buddy]

If well spec'd is base line 2.7 but 911 virgin have two prices and to get any warranty at all you have to take it to a workshop chosen by them and pay for work there. So not as cheap as it seems. The best thing about this is that it is one owner, what a pity it's Silver with Black interior so many about it drags their values down.[:'(]

 

[rob.kellock]

Whilst I take your point, you may not get a warranty per se but a retailer can't contract out of the Sales of Goods Act when selling to a consumer. Whilst I have never been a customer, having read 911V's various contributions to the Porsche forum on Pistonheads over the years, they would be one of a limited number of dealers I would quite happily buy a car from unseen. You would have more protection than buying from a private seller and confidence that the car was as described.

 

[chrisH]

ORIGINAL: Buddy The best thing about this is that it is one owner, what a pity it's Silver with Black interior so many about it drags their values down.[:'(]

If I was a dealer I would prefer to have a silver car on the forecourt rather than black. And I think they look better in lighter colours[]

 

[vitesse]

Rob, Nick bought his 1st 964 from Henry at the bug price--got home had it gone over by John at Unit 11 --brakes were shot--Henry without argument stumped up the £600 plus it cost to fit new discs & pads all round

 

[rob.1063]

ORIGINAL: rob.kellock [link]http://www.911virgin.com/porscheforsale/547/Cayman2.7Manual/[/link] Or, for £18500 you could buy this one owner car with even lower mileage from probably the most highly reputed Porsche indie in the country. I think the general perceived wisdom is that a high number of owners shouldn't necessarily put you off, Porsches are often bought and sold fairly quickly, they are often a second car and people swap, change /upgrade / downgrade them. 2.7 Cayman could be a great first Porsche. Change of ownership could be explained by ex-demo car, bought by a company, kept by its driver, private plate change with DVLA error and sold to its second true owner etc. Personally that many changes of registered keeper would put me off though but I am fickle.

Thanks for all the advice so far I probably did not describe the car as well as I should have it has a higher spec than this 56 plate model here is a link to it. http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201225476094404/sort/default/usedcars/price-to/20000/maximum-mileage/up_to_40000_miles/price-from/17000/model/cayman/make/porsche/onesearchad/used/onesearchad/nearlynew/onesearchad/new/page/1/radius/1500/postcode/ca26hq?logcode=p As crazy as it sounds I would prefer a silver one as I think they do look awsome but this one is 12 months older and pretty basic? and 300 miles from me although I would travel, I will get the previos owner detail when I view it and take it from there if it sells before i get it checked out so be it. I am very greatful to the replies so far and will let you know what happens next. Any other spots around the country let me know Budget is 18 grand tops... Ah last question does that Porsche dealer do px? say with a Corsa..I am not joking

 

[Motorhead]

ORIGINAL: chrisH If I was a dealer I would prefer to have a silver car on the forecourt rather than black. And I think they look better in lighter colours[]

Hear, Hear..! Personally, except in certain light, I find black a deathly dull colour; suitable only for hearses. And such a faff to keep looking good too. But then that's just my opinion. Jeff

 

[Buddy]

I disagree, silver doesn't suit much at all unless it's a couple of shades darker than Polar to Meteor Grey and I think the Guards red or speed yellow don't look their best on the Cayman which is odd as they do suit the Boxster and Carrera something to do with how light reflects off the top of the rear wings but Carrera White or the cream that Porsche were doing a couple of years ago look very nice and the dark colours do suit the shape. All a matter of taste. []

 

[Richard_Hamilton]

ORIGINAL: Buddy All a matter of taste. []

Not just taste though. It is a proven fact that silver is much faster than any other colour. Guards Red comes a close second. []

 

[Buddy]

No but it was the colour of James Dean's 550 and one thing that was said was that the other driver didn't see it against the grey of the tarmac![]

 

[Richard_Hamilton]

That's American tarmac for you. Good job we have black stuff over here. []