987 981 Suspension comparison / Value

[alucardo]

I have been looking at a Cayman my budget being around 33k. This leave me either an entry level 981 with no options such as PASM or a 987 with plenty of options. Im test driving both iterations this weekend, but does anyone have any feedback of standard suspension on a 981 V 987 with PASM? I do 1-5 trackdays a year. Which do you think would hold its value over a 5 year period?

2 cars im looking at :

987
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201811012017799?year-from=2010&radius=100&maximum-seats=2&minimum-badge-engine-size=3.0&make=PORSCHE&postcode=ng123pe&price-from=20000&price-to=35000&sort=price-desc&quantity-of-doors=2&advertising-location=at_cars&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&page=2

981
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201811212620710?year-from=2010&radius=100&maximum-seats=2&minimum-badge-engine-size=3.0&make=PORSCHE&postcode=ng123pe&price-from=20000&price-to=35000&sort=price-desc&quantity-of-doors=2&advertising-location=at_cars&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&page=2
 

[Beanoir™]

I'm not sure the spec of the two cars there is that much apart, the 981 isn't too bad spec wise.  The 981 will feel more modern and a bit more spacious, the 987 a bit more communicative and smaller (in a good way) - depends what you prefer but i'd recommend driving both.  

 

They're both used Porsches so likely you won't see too much depreciation in either, but i'd put that aside, the reason you buy a Porsche is to get out and drive!  

 

I've just worked on a 981 buyers guide for CAR Magazine which will be published soon, so worth looking out for that in the shops, might assist your decision making. 

[banjo]

hi,ive got my eye in that 981 as its nearly what im looking for but be aware that the advert is not accurate,the car does not have sports seats or bi xenons as stated.

 

re suspension,the 981 feels perfect to me without pasm,the 987 can feel harsh at times but this could be down to the fact mine was 10 years old on original shocks.

[duncan]

In no particular order and nothing to do with ride, handling, steering etc,

 

- IMO (whatever that counts for)

- in 5 years time the 981 will probably have retained a greater percentage of its value as it will be seen as a ‘newer’ more ‘modern’ car. The 981 looks similar-ish to the 718 which probably will have just been re-bodied. To paraphrase Ford “New Cortina More Cortina”, nobody advertised the earlier car as “Old Cortina Less Cortina”

The 987 already looks old compared to the 981/718 and whatever the facelifted 718 will look like.

- The 981 is the next generation of electrics / electronics to the 987 which is good or bad, depending on your view of such things.

e.g

- the 981 has battery powered tyre pressure sensors in each wheel. An additional cost when they fail, potentially less choice for wheel swaps if you’re tracking the car.

 - the 981 has an electric handbrake

- the 981 is stop/ start which means dealer coding and AGM batteries, £400 v £90 a time, depends where in the replacement cycle you are.

- the connectivity of the 987 with elderly Sat Nav maps, no(?) upgrades for parking cameras, Appleplay etc may feel more outdated.

[alucardo]

Well thought id provide some feed back as I drove both cars basically back to back. Not the ones in the links I provided but a friends GTS followed by a dealers CR. The fact I bought a 981 CS should give an indication that the CS met my requirements more so than the CR. The CR actually gave me slight back ache after 30 mins on a test drive but I put that down to some traffic and bad roads I was on. Once the CR is up to speed and its perfectly fine but low speed and bumps seemed to amplify the stiffer setup. I have had various suspension configurations coilovers etc etc for just about every car so was used to a firm ride but the CR just seemed to find a weak spot in my back for whatever reason perhaps age. Eitherway for UK roads the 981 was is better day to day and bad roads. Up to speed I did not find much difference in the handling of the GTS with PASM on and the CR but id imagine the devil is in the details at the limit on track. In the end the modern 981 and the lack of obvious advantage of a CR I now drive a CS and do not regret it and cannot wait to get on track and do some road trips in the CS.