I know that this is the 997 section, but i need help on my situation. I have been searching for a lightly used porsche cayman or carrera for the last few months and finally put a small deposit on a 2008 meteor grey cayman s with 12k miles (sight unseen) and nice options (full leather, pp+ package) does not have sc or pasm, and was going to drive about 3hrs on thursday to probably buy it based on condition ect for 44,800 dollars. Well, today, my local dealership (whose owner is a friend of a friend) called me and told me to hold up and come check out this trade that they took which is a 2007 carrera base with basalt ext/ stone interior with basically the same options as the cayman without full leather (no pasm/sc) the car's interior is pretty mint and the exterior looked really good at night (it did have light swirls in the paint) and also could see a few stone chips on the hood and nose. It had the 19" carrera classics on it and he had a gt3 spoiler added and a small drop on the car. Told me i could have the carrera for 45k. What is the best deal and should i have them respray the front nose and hood or will the basalt have blending issues? Thanks, Aaron

 

Do some research....try extensive test drives in each type...only you will know what is right for you....

good luck

OG

 

The CaymanS would have 1 more yr coverage than the 997, and you may want to avoid any respray or even the notion of it. (Black is one thing, but Basalt could be a world of ugly unless someone is REAL good with shooting metallics). Also the bit on the 997 being lowered and wing added........sure its no big deal but, on-the-other-hand, may also be an indication of a driven hard(er) car.

Not saying it is but........if you are going in 1st time, better to go with the virgin car if possible. (Just one persons opinion here).

Just make sure to (unless its a CPO car) run a CarFax if you can. And sure they don't show everything, but, better to be safe!

 

That's very cheap for an '07. Does it have high mileage? I always argue to avoid modded cars and add the modes yourself... If modded you definitely want to see the DME scan and get a full inspection before you consider a purchase. A 997 can be expensive to repair.

 

The car was purchased new at this dealer and they serviced the car throughout its 2 year life so far, the car has around 28k on the odometer.

 

It sounds like you're getting the '07 for wholesale. I don't see why you would hesitate as long as it checks out.

 

Interesting. You live in Louisiana? That must be a limited market! Anyway, as also suggested by KaamaCat, gotta prefer a virgin car over a modded one. If the dealer knows the car, are they going to CPO it as well. That will add a lot of peace of mind, but still get the DME scan to check if its been overreved and inspect for paintwork, etc. - have them do a full PPI. CPO does get you most of the way there except for the DME and paint scan. Could be a real buy on that car, but maybe values are just in that range now...

 

The car feels very tight and checks out mechanically, i was wondering, the ride was a little stiff, could it be from the drop the car had, it was enough to make the rear tires even with the bottom of the quarter opening. It has a pretty new set of michelin pilot sports on it also. What do you guys really think about the rock peck situation? Not horrible, but you can see where a few of them kindof rolled up the hood. I am a paint finatic, so the swirls alrealy have me wanting to grab my orbital buffer, but i don't think the basalt will be near as bad as the regular black. What do you all think about these questions/concerns?

 

As i stated earlier, i think the price is reflecting this low primarily because my friend is best friends with the owner, and i have become somewhat friends with him as well, and they just traded for the car today, not even washed up yet, so i got to see it at the worst. They are going to clean it up tomorrow and let me take another look at it. How is the power on this car vs cayman s?

 

And make sure you check out ALL the mods on the car. That would be a really low suspension. I know a lot of cars that would allow a rear wheel tuck - a 911 is not one of them. If they CPO it, I'd be surprised if it could roll with that suspension under CPO.

 

I've never driven the Cayman, so I can't tell you. The 997 is a 2+2, so that's quite a space benefit over the Cayman. The choice is personal preference. You need to decide how the power FEELS between the 2, in spite of the HP difference.

 

They told me that the owner was a college professor in town here that i have heard of and he is moving up to Jersey and needed an suv type car. Also, they stated that he has all of the stock stuff and seemed to be very picky by looking at the inside of the car.

 

ryem3 is your car dropped at all? Would you have them return it to stock and cpo the car in the deal?

 

Oh, i forgot to mention that it has the porsche wheel spacers as well.

 

Base car !!!! I like the Cayman S but not only are you getting a better deal on the base car dollar for dollar , I like the car more and even more importantly your friend knows the car's history . He'll know it's strengths and quirks .

I understand that the little blemishes are a sore spot but they really are insignificant . It's NOT a new car and a chip on a car with 28K miles is almost expected .

A 45K Porsche 911 ? That's a deal!!!!!