i was making the same decision a year ago, although with a 10k lower budget, so i was comparing 996s.
there's lots of good info in this thread about the practical points and rationale for why to decide on one car over the other.

when i was making my decision, i did consider all of these factors. however to actually make THE decision i simply asked myself:

would i ever be in the situation where i had bought the porsche and thought, 'i should have bought the m3?'

i have the porsche.


ps: i think the same would apply to 911 vs cayman

 

I hope so. I'm going to run mine in the winter with all seasons on 18's. I don't drive in the snow, but gotta take off those PS2's when it goes below 45 deg.

Yes and no. It's about 1 mpg less than a 997S. However, the tank is a bit smaller. More frequent station trips are a PIA, but I can live with it. The car really rips from 5k to the 8k redline.

 

You will be fine, I have friends who daily their M3's. Blizzaks will work.

 

09 E92 to a 12 997TTS, you'll love the change. Functional, blends in well, and it is a beast to drive. Do it now, you won't regreat it.

Cheers,

 

UPDATE..

Hi Guys, so I finally booked a test drive with one of my local dealers. I drove the Cayman S and the 911 S. WOW, my brother and I were BLOWN AWAY! It was a completely different drive to my 135. Now I FINALLY know what everyone means when they say it's a drivers car, you feel connected. Now driving my 135 is like driving a Honda (no disrespect meant..). So my brother and I have finally decided to get a Porsche :-) The issue now is which one to get??? While I love the 911 I want the newest I can get..fairly new is a little more than I want to spend so I would have to get an older one probably close to running out it warranty. The other option I have is too go with a Cayman S. To be honest, there was a only a small difference between the way the two handled and drove. Curious about some opinions on this...I will probably post a link to this in the Boxster/Cayman section but I figure I would check in with 911 drivers too BUT like I said now I know what everyone means..

 

I came from a 2010 BMW M5 and was blown away with Porsche. There is no substitute.

 

In my case, we really wanted a convertible, so it came down to the 911 and Boxster S. I think both are great, with the Boxster being a real contender to the 911, but the back seat of the 911 was a big plus for us, so we went with the 911. Otherwise, I would have been happy to save some money and get the Boxster.

I think comparison between the 911 and Cayman is similar, though I like the extra spaciousness of the 911.

I agree that Porsche is in a different league compared to sedanish cars like most of the BMWs and MBs.

 

There's a reason "There is no substitute." is a Porsche marketing line.

I've only bought 2 cars twice, a 911 and an STI. Both are cars without comparison for the money. I've driven late model Ferraris to compare to a 911, BMW and M-B to compare to the Subaru, and lots of other cars, and I still come back to what a 911 or STI can do for the price point. Amazing cars.

 

I consider that either family offers wonderful sports cars. The Carreras have more high-end potential for those with competitive urges and they offer more roomy GT possibilities for those who favor that. They can satisfy a greater range of interests I guess we could say. On the other hand, if you're already in their sweet spot, the Cayman or the Boxster are great cars. Don't hesitate for a minute.

People tend to lose perspective, but I just saw a letter in one of the car magazines, Car and Driver I think it was, where a reader chided them for calling a Cayman "a supercar killer." He pointed out that a Cayman is a damned supercar by his standards, just one in a price range he might be able to afford someday. In his dreams anyway.

Don't make the mistake of walking past the sticker on a GTS and then thinking the Cayman S you test is a 'cheap' car. None of the Porsches are cheap and you can drive away in a very nice luxury sedan for the price of a new Cayman or Boxster. Find a lightly used Cayman S and you'll fall in love.

Gary

 

Thx Gary..that's kind of the way I am leaning..it's very mature advice and for my "first" PCar I think it will satisfy my "supercar" craving..

Cheers

 

Let me preface this post by saying that I have a 2011 M3 , a 2009 997S PDK (modded) . and a 997.1tt (modded ).

The novelty of any test drive of a great car will always impress . My guess is that when you sat in that Cayman you never imagined taking that third passenger or getting a door ding at the supermarket compared to the 135i .
Most never think of the worry .. taking the car to a mall , sports event, or even parking it outdoors contrasted agaisnt a more anonymous car like a 135i.
They never imagine standing in a parking lot placing items in the trunk of a 911 while his foot is in motor oil from someone elses front engine car .

My point is that most only think of the fun on the test drive and all the practical things take the second fiddle . But when one buys, owns , and drives a car daily .. EVERY aspect of the car matters.

In my opinion the Porsche 911 is the icon . The Cayman is a wonderful and well balanced car and if you are buying the car new then the Cayman wins . However if the price point has both cars being used .. then a 911 is the answer.

It even offers a little hint of practical with its larger size , has more Hp , and is a nice transition from the 135i.

 

When I drove a Cayman I loved the way it performed, yet it seemed like more of a toy than the 911. Less substantial. Insofar as a really nice Cayman S approaches 911 territory, it didn't seem to me that the "value" was there. I know it sounds crazy to think of any cars in these price ranges as having value, yet when I drove the 911, it felt so substantial, in addition to handling so well, that somehow the price over and above the Cayman felt justified.

 

Great post yrralis1. About the daily life of going to a mall and day to day activities I did not mention that our "family" car is a E90 335xi Msport. So for those type of errands we'll be taking that

The last comparison I have not done is drive the M3. There is an amazing video posted of a review of the Competition M3 on M3 Post - here is the video
LINK
It does sound amazing....

Since you own both yrralis1, how you compare the two?? Just a friendly reminder that this car is for ME only, don't have kids and my wife has her own car...

Cheers!

 

I have both an E93 M3 and a 997.2 C2S right now. (had an E90 M3 previously)

Here are some quick comparisons:

911:
- turn in, cornering grip, braking and acceleration are superior.
- Gas mileage at least for me, is way better.
- PDK is not as good as M-DCT if you are looking at automatics.
- Settings are much more limited, I *hate* sport mode's throttle response.
- Steering feel is pretty similar

M3:
- remarkably poor gas mileage around town (I would get 12 in the e93 and 14 in the E90)
- M-DCT is really a good transmission, except that there are way too many settings. 6 manual and 5 automatic programs are just silly. I would only use D2, S4 and S6. It's also much more responsive than PDK. (both, of course blow tiptronic out of the water)
- Gotta love the M3's engine note at 8000 rpm.
- More brake bite, although mushier pedal. (the m3's brakes feel super strong but I think they are a bit overboosted and are not nearly as solid feeling in the pedal, compared to my C2S)
- Much quieter (67db vs 72 db at 70 on the same highway)
- Obviously, the M3 has a lot more room, both trunk and backseat.
- Much less "exotic" feeling. You don't really feel like you're driving something special, like you do when you're in the Porsche. Good if you don't want the attention, but bad if you do.
- I find the seats in the M3 to be more comfortable, but less supportive.

 

Are you sure? How is acceleration in the 911 superior?