So i started my search with a Cayman. The dealer showed me 3 caymans and nothing hit the spot. Either it was not the transmission i wanted or it was not the color i wanted etc. etc.

Tired and beat, i told the sales guy to try and find me a Cayman S which is not black, is preferably silver, has a manual transmission and has a Carrera red interior.
The guy jumped to the opportunity to sell me a car. He spoke, " i have a 911 S with a lipstick red interior"
I was like - man, i don't want to waste your time or mine, so i ;ll pass on even looking at that car. I straight up told him that i can never afford a 911 in my life. (always thought that even a used carrera would cost 100 Gs).

Sales guy is like, no no, you are not wasting my time, come, lets take it for a drive. I insisted no. He insisted yes, and he won the argument.

As soon as i drove the Carrera S, i knew that i had to buy that.
I came back home, kept searching for my Cayman S, nothing !.

Then it struck to me, that even if i buy a Cayman, i would drool at a 911 every time i was next to one at the stop lights. I pictured the 911 owner looking at me as i was his grandson. I suddenly felt enlightened.

Within 15 days of test driving that 911, i bought a different one from the same guy.


Having said that, this morning on my way to work, i drove my 911 S (yeah, friday car ). I looked in the rear view mirror and saw a Guard's red Cayman weaving through the traffic trying to catch up with me. Well, he did. I thought it was a really nice looking car. This guy had a nice set of black wheels with a Guard's red lip to match the car's exterior.
So he managed to pull along beside me, he looked at me, i looked at him (No Homo) and he gives me a thumbs up.

I was like YES!!!!!!! I remembered my epiphany and thought to myself that that would've been me. I returned him a thumbs up and we split highways and i saw from my third eye that he was still looking at me.

Yeah, i know i may sound shallow, maybe i even am, but Hey!! what the heck, my car pleased me a lot this morning.

 

Buyers remorse is the worst... and yeah, you would spend your time upgrading the Cayman with bunch of Carrera parts. I think Cayman are great for what they are or if they are bought with a special purpose in mind, but 911 is just in a league of its own and can work as an every day car just perfect. Congrads!

PICS or BAN!

 

^ edited with a pic

 

Yep been there done that with many cars. Bottom line is if you can somewhat afford it and it works get the car you "really" want or yep you will always be like dam I SHOULD of got that one....great story!

 

what about the dirty details, price, why you passed on the Carrera Red interior one, etc... and more photos of current ride, looks sweet

 

Sweet!, you made the right choice, enjoy your new ride. You can't get away with only one pic noob

 

i have both platforms and enjoy them both. If I had to choose one it would be the 911.

However if the choice is between an 997.1 S vs a new cayman s with a DFI engine the choice is not so clear cut. Probable still go with the 911 but the gap is much narrower.

good luck with your new ride

 

Another example of the power of Porsche 911 marketing might. No mater how many parts these two cars share, ( and the list of unique parts would be a much shorter list ) the 911 wins out as the one to own, at least on the 997 forum. Guys on the cayman forum, or the Boxster forum, probably believe otherwise...

 

a part of me prefers the drive of the Coxster *flame suit on*
but maybe because I test drove it when I was 20, and I'm remembering it through rose colored glasses

 

I personally like the Coxter a lot... but the fact that it is only a 2 seater makes it a deal killer. I bet the new Coxter S with mods is a blast to drive. Plus some of their colors are just awesome.

 

I wouldn't say that. We hadn't paid attention to Porsche marketing in any media for... well, at least twenty years. Too busy to do more than look through a Road & Track occasionally. Toward the end of that time we already had our "permanent engagement" settled with a new NSX. We joked about being buried in it.

When the dealer wrecked our NSX and we went looking, we knew nothing to speak of about the differences between models and certainly nothing so specific as the differences between a 997.1 and a 997.2. Nevertheless, we started by looking at old-people cars like a 2006 Boxster, then a Cayman. Then after our describing their shortcomings, the sales manager put us in a 2006 Carrera. We thanked them for their trouble and mentioned our appointment at Beverly Hills Mercedes and "we have to get along before it gets too late."

About then they remembered a current year 2009 C2S for 'only' $30k more than we planned to spend at our age. While we took that around the block and down the freeway, he found a new base model he'd "let go of" for the same price out the door.

We ended up spending the extra $30k for the 997.2 C2S and none of that decision involved marketing information. No kidding. Cindy never reads anything that would have that sort of advertising, and I don't even read newspapers these days since my second stroke. I hadn't even heard about the change from 996 to 997, let alone the release of a dot two version with DFI.

You can tell the difference between these cars in half a block. Cindy objected to the Cayman just sitting in the lot. The differences are very real. Whether they are worth the extra money is between you and your banker. (Or your heirs in our case.)

They all are nice cars. I'd be perfectly happy driving a 986 Boxster, especially in a happy color, but even a 987S Cayman is not a Carrera -- and it isn't marketing that makes the difference.

Gary

 

Oh, I love the Coxster. It s alot of fun around the corners. I am in no way looking down upon the coxster owners.

I am just saying that i am glad i made the right choics.

I gave up on the red interior, because i couldn't find a car in the price range that i wanted to spend. Decided not to wait longer because as it is it had been 15 days since i slept.

For more details on my car - Pricing etc. go to

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...cing-help.html

 

I happen to like the Cayman .but I also understand that the 911 is the multi decade ICON -- and it really is the real deal.

The funny thing is that what yoyu went through with the 997S and Cayman is what i went through with the Turbo . I still go through it with the Gt3.
And lately .. I even dwell on cars like the future Mclaren and if i can only rationalize the enginerring flaws .. the 458.

Thee's no end .. to the next best car .

 

I agree completely. I didn't say we didn't like the Cayman. We just didn't want to buy it. And we could tell the difference between models immediately, without coaching from sales or marketing. Well, I say 'we', but Cindy was a little less forgiving. It was her NSX the dealer wrecked and she was not in a mood to be gracious about alternatives. I don't think she'd have wanted a Cayman even as a gift, but of course she'd have said the same thing about a Ferrari F430 and hundreds of other cars. The Carrera just barely passed muster and in hindsight I think that was because she saw how much I liked it.

As you say, they keep getting better. I have looked with passion upon a GTS and a GT2 RS might incite me to treachery. The beat goes on.

Gary

 

And i always wonderd why the guys in the caymen never gave a thumbs up to a fellow 911 owner on the road lol looks like you made the right choice with the carrera. Good luck with it!