This exact question is answered on www.drivers-republic.com

They have a road test between a 2009 Cayman S a Nissan 370Z and a 2006 Cayman S.

well worth the read.

 

sounds like he should just stick with a jap car or maybe even a corvette?.Thats what he had in the past and was happy.You dont buy a Porsche to be the fastest car on the road unless you are a GT-2 Gt-3 cup racer.You buy a Porsche to ..own a Porsche I like the lines ,Quality and Image of owning a Porsche ,I think a Cayman S is a little over his head at the moment .a base cayman would smoke any of the the cars mentioned , Consider a Corvette ,Seriously they are fast and Cheap -good fun

 

I LOL'd a bit when I read the thread title but then again I'm quite biased. I do agree that the 370Z is likely the better choice for a daily driver but then again I DD my Cayman so it's all personal preference.

 

get a 996 (4)S...

 

I've previously owned 2 350Zs and maintenance and parts were actually cheap, even at the dealer.

 

I haven't driven both of them. I was stating the opinion of the Road & Track article (not Motor Trend as I previously mentioned). I think they meant comfort-wise the Cayman would be more comfortable, but I wouldn't know. I've only been in a base Cayman once (about a couple of years ago) and I haven't been in a 370Z.

 

I realize the OP owned a 350Z, but what I said pertained to my Z. I own a Z32 aka 300ZX. You need chop sticks to work on my car. I'm not being anything other then honest right now. Also, for those that owned 350Z's, how many of you had to do a timing belt job, or over 100k on them? I'm not saying the Porsche would not be the most expensive, I'm just saying that some Z's are expensive too. I've put over 25k into my Z. More then most can say. At the end of the day, get the Porsche.

 

I went 40K miles w/ no problems. W/o counting mods, I probably spent around 1000 on maintenance. $70 oil changes every 6K miles (synthetic); 250 for 15K service and probably 300 for 30K service. Then I went to a 335i coupe.

The new 370Z should hopefully be less problematic than the 350Z (i.e. cupping tires for years, bad transmissions; whatever else was really bad).

 

I think that you can get into a Cayman with a lot less miles than that. There's a dealer near me selling an '08 with 4k miles for $43k.

 

Plantagenet My first post on this site and i just read the article on the thread that you posted. Definetly worth the read.Killed two birds with one stone.How does the 09 Cayman stack up against the gen 1 and whats with the 370 z thing? To me its like comparing a maxima to a beemer There is only one BMW and there is only one Porsche.No matter what the numbers are it is what it is.I own a Harley Davidson too although there are bikes that are much better in a lot of regards they are not a Harley.And so on and so on........

 

Definitely not the Saturn

 

how can you compare a Cayman to a Saturn Redline ,huh

 

I'd stay far away from any Saturn product. If that brand doesn't find a solid company to take it over, you can forget getting any warranty work done (can't imagine a government run warranty program either) and spare parts will disappear. Same goes for Pontiac now that GM has said it's done for too, they're not even putting it up for sale.

 

The older z32s were such a pain to do the simplest maintenance jobs and that is probably why it cost so much to maintain. You just cannot compare the 350z or the 370z to the 300zx in terms of maintenance.

I say to get the Cayman S or 370z. Both are great cars but i would prefer the P-Car to the Nissan, esp since you have owned a mr2. My first car was a mr2 turbo and I have owned two 350zs in the past and am looking to step into a P-Car myself!

 

Though i agree with you in theory, you can not rule out the Z simply because it is a Nissan. Most people forget that the winningest car in racing history is not a Ferarri or a Porsche, but rather a Nissan. (GTR) Now, the Z is NOT a GTR, nor am I comparing it as such. With that said, the Z's have been around since the 50's when they were known as the Bluebirds. There is a rich history in the blood of every Z made and for the most part, they have gotten better every year produced. (minus the 280z imho) I stick to my original comment which is to get the Porsche. However, dont rule out a car simply becasue of the company.