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Has anybody any experience of the cayman s. Looking to change to a cayman mainly due to its ride being more composed on my daily drive to work & hate putting miles on the zed. I had a quick drive of one last year and seemed nice but can't remember much about it other than you could push it a bit more on our crappy roads but the engine didnt sing like the s54 at the top end.

Anyone have a non biased experience of both

cayman in question



My z4m

Do it and I'll take your M Coupe

Guisley went from a 3.0si coupe to a caymen- may be worth dropping him a pm. Personally I'd keep the ///M

I've driven the 986 Cayman S a few times and it's definitely a 'better' daily than the MC....but it isn't as special, rare...or going to appreciate as the MC will. All depends on what you need from your car...

Problem is if I keep driving it to work then the miles will keep increasing which will not help its value & I dont particuarly want a second car just to drive to work as I like to look forward to my drives to and from work although it can be tiresome in stop/start traffic and potholed roads, this where I think the cayman would be better.

If I do keep the z I would probably have to try the cdv delete and put some bilsteins on it.

The miles will hurt the value of the Cayman in pretty the same way...although they are cheaper to run/service than the MC

How far is your daily commute each way?

A short commute will do neither car any good if they're never getting up to temp.

I'd recommend keeping the Z for nice days, weekends and the odd commute. Then buy a quick, cheap diesel for the commute. The added benefits are that a cheap diesel will pay for itself in a year, and you won't worry about potholes, kerbs, parking dings, tailgaters, etc.

I do 12 miles each way so plenty of time to warm up. Maybe look at a cheap runabout but find it hard to swallow paying more road tax which is a joke as it is.

Angelus666 wrote:I've driven the 986 Cayman S a few times and it's definitely a 'better' daily than the MC....but it isn't as special, rare...or going to appreciate as the MC will. All depends on what you need from your car...

It is indeed an easier daily...but it's a boring car that is not in any way special for my taste.... One out of thousand... Personally the only two Caymans that are nicer then the Z4M are a 981 Cayman GTS or 981 Cayman GT4...but those are in another price range

I've had a boxster 3.4s and a Z4MR and I'd have to agree with others who have said keep the M/// and get a junker to run around in.

The boxster was a great car and does make a better daily but when you wanted to have a little fun it just felt too sterile, too capable. I was a little unlucky with mine and had the dreaded bore scoring which is another thing that would put me off buying another one. £7500/£9000 for an engine rebuild is not funny. I was fortunate and managed to give mine back to the garage I bought it from.

Its not looking good for the cayman or any other car in this sector. Hadnt even gone into bore score issues which is another factor.

If only bmw had put some decent dampers on this car it would be pretty much spot on

mc5 wrote:Its not looking good for the cayman or any other car in this sector. Hadnt even gone into bore score issues which is another factor.

If only bmw had put some decent dampers on this car it would be pretty much spot on

That would be my choice, don't change the car but change the suspension. On either car the extra mileage is going to cost you money and the way M prices have been going you less likely to loose money (may even make some) on the coupe even with a few more miles

My word you Z looks so great... it has presence and that color combo is quite fantastic. dont sell her

Go drive the porsche, even take the sales guy for a drive in it.... then take him for a spirited drive in your Z and ask him to show you what cars they have that can give you that kind of thrill that the Z gives, you may be shocked at what cars and prices they advise...

I plan to keep my Z until the end of the world

Keep the MC and buy a fun runabout for the commute. Mini One for us ... 4 yrs old and cost £8k
Hope this helps!!

I had a Cayman S. My recent car history is as follows:

Bought a Z4MR as my weekend car
Sold Z4MR to buy a house
Bought Z4 3.0i as my all round everyday and weekend car
Sold the Z4 3.0i as I found it dull
Bought a TVR Chimaera as my weekend car and got lifts in work for a while
Bought a Cayman S as my everyday car and kept my TVR for weekends
Sold the Cayman S as it was becoming a money pit
Bought back my old Z4MR
Sold the Chimaera and bought a TVR Griffith

I now have two weekend cars! Haha!

The Cayman S was a great car, but I don't regret swapping it for the Z4MR. The Cayman was becoming a bit of a money pit. Loads of things went wrong with it, it rattled, the engine noise wasn't anywhere near as nice as the Z4M and it lacked the element of fun.

The main thing I didn't like on the car was the gear change. I could never get it to feel right. My car had done 60k miles, so not loads. It had masses of play in the shifter and it was often difficult to engage gears. It wasn't tight and precise like the BMW one (which I admit you do need to be careful with and rev match) it just felt worn out. I did replace all the bushes and various shifter parts with a metal bearing kit from the USA and it improved the feel no end, but it was still awful shifting into first and second. I hated it. That's the downside of long gear shift cables I guess.

It handled amazingly well, but it was all a bit too precise. It wasn't mad enough to be fun, whereas the Z4M is. The Z4M is much more happy being a lout! The Porsche is much more composed. I also missed the convertible roof on the Z4MR, although that's a non argument as you can get both cars in both guises (Cayman/Boxster - Z4MC/Z4MR). I did like the way I could fit standard Thule roof bars to the Cayman, so I could take my bike or kayak out. But now I just use my girlfriend's M135i instead.

I did seriously consider changing my 987.1 Cayman S for a 987.2 Cayman S with PDK and Sport Chrono. That was the reason I sold it initially. But then the opportunity to buy my old Z4MR came up, so I did.

I would seriously consider whether you can afford to go for the 987.2. The 987.1 was plagued with various engine problems which were sorted on the facelift. And it looks so much better. It's more money, but I think it will also hold its value better. And it will cost less in the long run. I was always scared that my 987.1 was going to cost me another bucket load of money, which took away from the enjoyment. I just don't have that worry in my Z4M.

In summary, the Cayman S is a very very good car, but not without its problems. It doesn't feel anywhere near as quick as the BMW and really needs to be revved to get the power out of it. But it's precise and handles incredibly well.

Common issues:

Suspension bushes are terrible. Budget to have them all replaced. And ball joints. Mine all needed doing after 60k miles.
Gear shift bushes, cables and synchros. Test the gearbox properly.
Engine noise and oil consumption. Check for smoke and rattles. Do get a borescope check done by a specialist. Scored bores will cost you thousands to sort. The 987.2 won't suffer from scored bores as it has the later DFI engine with different liners.
Electric windows. They love to break regulators and motors. Mine did. £1000 per side!
Air con. Really check it works. Although it's not a difficult or expensive job, it's still a cost. The condensors get battered at the front of the car. I replaced mine myself. About £100 in parts for both sides, plus the cost for a professional to come in, vacuum and system and regas. £200 in total.
Clutches. They don't last long. Neither do flywheels. I think my car had lived in a town or city all its life prior to me owning it as it had had two clutch and flywheel changes in 65k miles! Not cheap! The clutch isn't the easiest thing to use on the Cayman. It's easy to ride the clutch and very easy to stall.
Rusting exhausts and loose heatshields. The exhausts are rubbish on them. Mine looked terrible, really rusty and the heatshields were loose as the fixing bolts had pulled through the heatshield. Used to rattle like mad!


I hope that helps. Let me know if you need any more info.

I would make sure you get a good extended test drive. Make sure you like it. I really liked mine and would get another, but I'd get a 987.2 PDK if I do it again.

Dan