Any 987 Boxster / Cayman experts or experiences?

[mrmeat]

I'm seriously looking at getting a 987 Cayman or Boxster in the next 18 months and wondered if there were any experts or owners here. 987 Gen 2 (the 'sorted' variant) prices seem to have increased recently, unless they were never that low in the first place! 987s in general seem to have sorted the IMS bearing problems of the 986s, but then that only seems to have affected a small number of 986s anyway? It's all a bit confusing....

Any advice or experience, I'd love to hear it!

[rico]

Don't think, just do.

987.2 is possibly THE pick of the bunch. Beautiful flat 6 engines, hydraulic power steering (not electric as all generations since) and wonderfully balanced. IMS and bore scoring issues have been addressed too. With the advent of electric power steering in the 981 and the 4 cylinder turbocharged 817 (GTS and GT4 models notwithstanding), the prices will get stronger and stronger.

The standard equipment can be a bit meagre so i'd try and find one with Bose stereo (if that matters to you), sports seats and cruise control are also desirable. Spend the few hundred quid it costs for a pre-purchase inspection if at all possible and buy on condition, not mileage. Enthusiast owned are likely to have been looked after better. Parts can be expensive but there is no need to visit a main dealer for servicing (unless it has the balance of a Porsche warranty, again that's desirable). It's generally accepted in enthusiast circles that you should budget around £1k for preventative or necessary maintenance when you've bought it (again the pre-purchase inspection can allay any 'Porsche Paranoia')

I've had a 987.1 Boxster for the last 5 and a bit years and I love it dearly (the standard stereo is absolutely rubbish though).

As I said, decide if you want a tin top or a convertible and buy on before the prices rise.

[Yeti]

I sold my 987.2 cayman s in 2019 to fund a property I was buying. Wish I hadn’t. Owned it for two years, was bullet proof. Paid £25k for it, probably worth £25k today but I sold it to a Porsche main dealer for £18.5k. Would love another. Hard to replace mine as it was nigh on a black edition. I had a 2011 with the black boxer alloys (£5k option), sport steering wheel, sports chrono etc.. one thing I will say is the cars are heavily dependent on spec. I’ve seen poverty spec caymans of the same year as mine which are completely different as mine was fully loaded and it makes the car. I couldn’t not have a sports design steering wheel,sports chrono and if you can, sports exhaust. Mine was a pdk which I’d go for again..

[Yeti]

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[mrmeat]

Thanks guys useful info, I'm thinking I should probably get on with it....

[Justin Case]

£5k for those wheels?

[Yeti]

£5k for those wheels?

They were the lightest wheels you could get for the boxter/cayman. Any Porsche options are expensive hence buy a car with as many as possible as they will only add a fraction of what they cost new to the car when you are buying it..

[Justin Case]

They were the lightest wheels you could get for the boxter/cayman. Any Porsche options are expensive hence buy a car with as many as possible as they will only add a fraction of what they cost new to the car when you are buying it..

Yeah, ok if someone else has already taken the hit but I’m not keen on the look of them.

[Omegamanic]

Have a specialist, or someone that knows them, look at the car before handing over the cash to let you know if there are any likely additional costs coming soon. They can be very cheap to run for the performance, but... they are no mesh on the front intakes, so any and all stones/leaves etc. will come through and eat/rot the radiators - same on the 996. I had all mine replaced on my 986S, and then had a retro fit mesh put into the intakes, and also had a new clutch and LN Engineering bearing fitted.

[Hood]

I sold my 987.2 cayman s in 2019 to fund a property I was buying. Wish I hadn’t. Owned it for two years, was bullet proof. Paid £25k for it, probably worth £25k today but I sold it to a Porsche main dealer for £18.5k. Would love another. Hard to replace mine as it was nigh on a black edition. I had a 2011 with the black boxer alloys (£5k option), sport steering wheel, sports chrono etc.. one thing I will say is the cars are heavily dependent on spec. I’ve seen poverty spec caymans of the same year as mine which are completely different as mine was fully loaded and it makes the car. I couldn’t not have a sports design steering wheel,sports chrono and if you can, sports exhaust. Mine was a pdk which I’d go for again..

You could get a decent 981S for about 25K last year
The best 987 gen2s were just under 20

[Yeti]

You could get a decent 981S for about 25K last year
The best 987 gen2s were just under 20

Not sure where you were looking I’d have snapped another up at that money. Mine was an S.
My car went up on porsches website for £27k the day after I sold it for £18.5k.
I watched the auto trader listings for months and months and no low mileage 2011 models with circa 45k miles same as mine was available for less than £25k privately or from a dealer.
The 981s wasn’t available under 30k

[Hood]

Not sure where you were looking I’d have snapped another up at that money. Mine was an S.
My car went up on porsches website for £27k the day after I sold it for £18.5k.
I watched the auto trader listings for months and months and no low mileage 2011 models with circa 45k miles same as mine was available for less than £25k privately or from a dealer.
The 981s wasn’t available under 30k

I bought a 981 last year and was looking for a couple of months.
There were maybe 1 or 2 on Porsche approved at about 27K but all private sales were under 20
Great cars but just felt the 981s were a step up on styling.

[Yeti]

I bought a 981 last year and was looking for a couple of months.
There were maybe 1 or 2 on Porsche approved at about 27K but all private sales were under 20
Great cars but just felt the 981s were a step up on styling.

Wished I’d seen one as I would have bought back in for the right car. Especially sub £20k.
I’d have a go on a 981s around £35k if it were low miles but alas I think they are north of £35k at the min for decent miles/spec.

[Justin Case]

Is the latest 718 2.5l S junk? or still decent but just not for purists?

[Omegamanic]

I know a lot of people don’t like the 2.0 and 2.5 718’s, but they are a nicer interior, better handling, and faster in every respect compared to the earlier cars. If I was buying a Cayman or another Boxster, and at some point I may well buy a newer model to replace mine, then it would be a turbo 718.

[Hood]

Wished I’d seen one as I would have bought back in for the right car. Especially sub £20k.
I’d have a go on a 981s around £35k if it were low miles but alas I think they are north of £35k at the min for decent miles/spec.

I think the prices have went up a bit on 981s anyway.
I still get notifications come through from cargurus on 981 GTSs and the prices have definitely increased and for higher mileage cars.

[Hood]

As far as advice for the OP I would take a look at the Boxanet forum
Only Boxsters but same will apply to Caymans.

[mmgg1988]

I had a 987.2 Boxster S for 2.5 years and it hasn't gone that far as my father now has it...

OEM batteries are rubbish but required for the manufacturer warranty. Once replaced with a Bosch that has been fine. No other mechanical issues in the 15k miles I drove. Dealer servicing prices are high but specialists often much better.

I haven't driven a car with better steering feel and the engine noise (with PSE) was a highlight.

Scrooge would be proud of the standard specification so as above, they are quite spec dependent. Mine had around £10k of extras including Bose, PDK, Sport Chrono, PSE, 19' wheels, heated seats and the paddle shift steering wheel which I consider worthwhile. Sports seats, PASM, sports tailpipe and cruise are other things I would have liked but there is rarely a car with your full wishlist! Sat Nav isn't bad for a 10 year old system if you upgrade to PCM 3 but no longer a deal breaker I guess.

They seem to retain value well, over the 8 years since I purchased it, I doubt it would have lost more than £10k which seems pretty reasonable for that value of car!

No decent pics sadly but here is one poor res one I do have:

Porsche Pic by Matt G, on Flickr

[rico]

I bought a 981 last year and was looking for a couple of months.
There were maybe 1 or 2 on Porsche approved at about 27K but all private sales were under 20
Great cars but just felt the 981s were a step up on styling.

I’ve been keeping an eye on 981 prices over the past few years and have never seen them under £20k, let alone under £25k.

Another vote for boxa.net here, friendly and knowledgeable bunch.

[Hood]

I’ve been keeping an eye on 981 prices over the past few years and have never seen them under £20k, let alone under £25k.

Another vote for boxa.net here, friendly and knowledgeable bunch.

I'm not getting that?

[Dave O'Sullivan]

I ran a 2006 Cayman S for a year or so. Very well balanced car. Mine was Auto (pre PDK) and although that’s how I liked it, it isn’t the choice of the sportier driver.





Edit;
The early model Sat Nav is gash. The worst I’ve ever had. So buy a TomTom...

[Jubal]

I have a 2005 987.1 3.2S on 80k. It’s cheap motoring really if you use man maths thinking on parts. Mine is also a tiny bit “used” so I’m not precious over it. There’s a great indy reasonably near me who looks after it. Practical/health reasons means I have to sell and I’m gutted really. What else could I drive around in on a sunny day for a few £k that would make me as happy? As discussed, Boxa is a good resource.