Cost Of Ownership

[Buggyjam]

I know what you mean on a test drive. I was a bit of a driving miss daisy when I tried my 987 as was driving near the M25 and nowhere to really have a proper go.. 

 

Try a manual one on a test drive where you can “have a go”. Particularly one of the smaller engines ones. You’ll not find that experience at least on a manual 987. Can’t speak for the 981. The gearing on manual 987s is good and with the smaller engines, the 2.7 or 2.9 you can spin them up.

 

There was an almost constantly deserted new dual carriageway out in the country with lots of racey roundabouts where I used to live. It really really does feel like a race car when you get going, lots of induction noise, and at high revs you get that slight transmission ish sound like a race car and coming off round abouts with your foot heading south you get the firm load up on the steering and can feel the rear wheels start to chitter. I’ve had some serious fun in mine. The noise and experience blew my socks off. Its not the performance that got me so much as the experience on the senses, noise, feeling through steering, you’re busy with arms and legs plus you sit low with those distinctive Porsche wing rails in view.. Turns into a different animal when you press on. Nearly all of the 20000 plus miles I’ve done in mine have been drives to nowhere in the eve and daytime.

 

Lucky it’s a benign car and well balanced as if a 911 I think I’d have ended up in a hedge when I first got it.

 

Maybe worth trying to find a rarer 981 manual to have a go in? 

Edited May 12, 2019 by Buggyjam

[Made In Machines]

I have already tried the manual 981 but it must have been a couple of years ago now. It's the 987 I haven't tried in manual yet. My worry is that these cars aren't much fun unless your pushing them and there isn't much chance to push them on public roads without getting dangerous. You can just cruise around like you were in a family BMW saloon and it's nice and comfortable but that's not really what I'm looking for.

 

I like to be able to run through the gears without getting myself into trouble but still feel like it's fast. I think the feeling of speed comes from the not only being pushed back in your seat but also the noise and the feeling like the car is working hard rather than effortless power on tap). Wind hitting your head also helps. If you wanted to rev out a 987 2.7 or 2.9L what speed would you be at for 4th or 5th gear? It's quite a delicate balance getting something that you can push hard and still feels fast rather then bring an exercise in restraint.

[Buggyjam]

Yeah, I can’t say I recognise what you describe with the 987 they’re really fun even normal driving. What you describe seems like a saloon and Audi for example. A more normal car. As I mentioned in my post the 987 is as engaging and an assault on the senses as I want. It’s really visceral.

 

of course you can break the speed limit in 3rd and 2nd but you can in most cars. It’s all about his you drive it. Drop a cog. So 2nd where you’d have used 3rd etc. I have stacks of fun in it as mentioned and not in trouble. Of course you can bust limits easily if you try 😄

[Made In Machines]

2 hours ago, Buggyjam said:

Yeah, I can’t say I recognise what you describe with the 987 they’re really fun even normal driving. What you describe seems like a saloon and Audi for example. A more normal car. As I mentioned in my post the 987 is as engaging and an assault on the senses as I want. It’s really visceral.

 

of course you can break the speed limit in 3rd and 2nd but you can in most cars. It’s all about his you drive it. Drop a cog. So 2nd where you’d have used 3rd etc. I have stacks of fun in it as mentioned and not in trouble. Of course you can bust limits easily if you try 😄

That sounds ideal then. An engaging assault on the senses is what I like. Have you tried the 981 to compare them? I do prefer the 981's looks but maybe it's more refined and therefore not the same thrill - i'm not sure?

[Buggyjam]

2 hours ago, Made In Machines said:

That sounds ideal then. An engaging assault on the senses is what I like. Have you tried the 981 to compare them? I do prefer the 981's looks but maybe it's more refined and therefore not the same thrill - i'm not sure?

No I haven’t actually tried a 981. I do like the appearance of the 981. But also, crucially I’ve not tried PDK. Maybe that detracts a bit from what you’re seeking? Not sure. Only flappy paddle thing I ever had a go in was attached to a Mercedes and it was friggin awful. You felt like you weren’t connected to the car, that horrid auto disconnect whizzy hoover feeling with a big fat brake pedal you’d see on some lazy boy American saloon.. I expect a PDK being made by Porsche to be infinitely better (I would hope!) 

 

Have you tried a manual 981 with the smaller engine?

 

Worth having a go in a manual on a test drive where you can get a proper go for sure. A smaller engined 987 manual warmed up with no dealer looking over your shoulder is a hoot, but 987s are at the point where you do have to renew bits every now and then.

 

Typically the Porsches with the most reputation to have genuinely unusable performance envelopes on the road are the 911 turbo, GT3 and GT4. It’s quite common to read comments from folk saying they just physically can’t use the gearbox much on something like a 911 turbo due the sheer terror of the thing. They are known as being genuinely frightening fast. It’s not often heard re 981s and 987s, certainly the smaller engined base ones (which are known to be fun to spin up in the absence of as much toqure as their big brothers). So I’m surprised you found that. That said, the 981 GT4  gearing is known to be tall so wonder if the 981 base is taller gearing than 987.

 

I’m also wondering  if it’s combo of 981 electric steering and PDK feeling slightly too clinical which I can well believe as I think Porsche have gone slightly too much towards the Audi spectrum with the latest cars. Like I say, try and have a go on a few extreme ends of the spectrum and see what you think. Doesn’t help if you have a Dorris sitting next to you who won’t let you drive it properly on a suitable road :D. That makes a big difference..

 

Edited May 12, 2019 by Buggyjam

[Made In Machines]

I have only driven a 981 Cayman manual and 981 boxster manual - both smaller engines. Haven't tired PDK and think I'd rather not. The only Porsche auto I tired was a 3.4 tiptronic 987. The biggest engine on I car I've owned was 1.4L and I've driven many slow 1.0L but still manage to have a decent time pushing them as hard as they'll go. MX5 has only 2L. Maybe that's why?

 

I don't find the electronic steering whether that be on TT, 4 series, MX5 or 981. Everything is like that now though so it's not a deal breaker. 

 

It has been a while though so perhaps my memory isn't reliable. Don't get me wrong, I very much enjoyed my Cayman test drive. I think I would prefer if I was geared a bit shorter and didn't have the electronic steering but it was still pretty great. 

Edited May 12, 2019 by Made In Machines

[Buggyjam]

If the biggest engined you’ve owned is 1.4, I think that may be a factor in feeling the range isn’t useable within the speed limits or road conditions. I was similar. I’d owned a BMW 325i years before which was quick and driven similar to the Cayman but for the previous 7 years prior to the Cayman, the largest capacity car for me was also 1.4.

 

It’s a total change of style. Don’t get me wrong, you can get yourself fast to the limit really really quickly in a Cayman, but that applies to most performance cars. But round the twisties of Northern Ireland I was able to have plenty of fun and still stop short of the speed limit (cough - cough  ). 

 

Compared to a small engined car it takes adjusting your style. When I test drove mine I drove it like I would a normal car. It was only once I’d had it a month I started to get confidence in it and then it became a different beast. Once you get the revs working from 10 o’clock to 2/3 o’clock it changes. 

 

To answer your earlier Q about what speed you’d be doing redlining in 4th or 5th I can’t honestly say as never tried redlining in 4th or 5th,  but a sheer guess, I’d say 4th prob over a hundred and in 5th well into the lower mid hundreds and 6th takes you to the gen 2 upper speed (160 something I think it is theoretically). I don’t really find myself using 5th and 6th much when having fun other than to clock into to cruise along. I never accelerate using 6th rather use it like the old overdrive on classic cars.  In a small engined car you would be using 4/5th a lot when having fun.

 

If you watch Harry’s garage on YouTube when he took his Lamborghini around the Italian mountains he mainly left it in 3rd. But a lambo is full of torque so in a Cayman around those same mountains you’d prob use 2/3 and perhaps dip to 4th on the straights. In the Cayman I’d say working gears on twisties are 2/3 to keep the revs high then launching out into 4th then I block change to 6th to cruise along. For overtakes I often drop to 3rd as it just launches in that gear.

 

it really is just a case of dropping a cog. These things like to rev so it’s quite alien compared to driving a “normal” car. On most cars people are used to getting to a set speed/revs then changing up. Being more “gear for the speed” focussed. Whereas on these just keep the revs high on the manoeuvres for fun. More rev focussed. It’s why Porsche put the tacho as the biggest instrument and set the alignment so you can bounce the needle visually between 10-3 o clock without looking at the numbers.

 

So that’s why 2nd and 3rd gets used more as these things can and will go very fast in 2 and 3 if you want to. 3rd is the most insane gear to me as it’s range is awesome.

 

So all this is just me saying how I use it and it’s just from experimenting and YouTube vids. Might be totally different to someone else. I’m just a normal amateur driver but I’ve found I’ve got the most out of it by adjusting my style away from my “normal” car habits. 

 

Im planning a training sesh to be taught how to “do it properly” as think it’ll keep me safer and more able to read what the cars telling me before I push it too far to my capability level. They’re fairly well behaved cars and look after you to a certain degree, but of course have their limits so you have to be sensible. That said, you don’t need to get anywhere near to risking your neck in these to have fun. I’m constantly practicing heel and toe, and constantly messing it up, but when it works it’s a right blast.

 

Edited May 13, 2019 by Buggyjam

[alpinaman]

I have a 981 manual Cayman..

 

My previous cars have been C63's,M5,M3,996 C4S,370z,Z4M coupe,Z3M coupe amongst others.

 

I find the driving and ownership costs of the 981 fantastic almost frugal. Servicing is only bi annually,i can achieve 30mpg on my commute and will do 40mpg on a decent run.Tax is £260 (i think) and insurance just over £300 with Direct line.

 

As for driving,its extremely competent and its difficult to get anywhere nears its capabilities on the road,thats not to say ts boring.. I find it great and satisfying that every input you put into the car is immediately transfered to the road.

 

What can you buy that looks and drives this well,thats frugal to own yet looks a million dollars on the road?

 

Long live the 981 6 pot i say.

 

 

[Richard981S]

I have the 981 S PDK. The gear changes are instant, whether moving up or down. It doesn't really feel like its out of it's slippers until to you get over 3500 rpm, when in 7th it will do (allegedly) 85mph at around 2700 rpm (hence the 30pmg+ efficiency). Town / daily driving is completely fine with PASM.

 

Over 3500 rpm it's a tamed but still angry beast, plus you can rev all the way up to crazy - 6k plus then in 3rd or 4th it feels like you and car are the same being. I recently drove through fast deserted a and b roads of North Devon and Cornwall, didn't get above 5th gear using sport mode and my paddle shifts, to get (safely) past the tractors and caravans along the straight bits, was the most driving fun I have ever had. then checking the MPG I still had well over 25 across a two hour drive.

 

If you get the chance, definitely buy a 981. Fill it with 99 RON. Keep the sport button on. Worry about your tyre wear, the planet and your wallet tomorrow - after the adrenalin has worn off..

[Made In Machines]

What kind of repairs have you had to have done on your 981 / 987s and how much did they cost and at what kind of milage?

 

I'm wondering whether to go the whole hog and just get the S even though the base seemed plenty quick enough. I've seen an S with 22 months Porsche warranty. I feel like 981s are holding their value too well and are overpriced at the moment. You can now find the 718 for the same price was a 981. I'd have to give for the 6 cylinder engine though. 

 

I've been reading alot lately that people have gone back to mx5s because they have a more playful and fun character and you can push them more and get the back end out and get a bit silly. 

[GlosRich]

Mines 10 years old, and I'm getting into suspension repairs fairly heavily now, but to be expected as its 10. Have done the front control arms £250, the track rod ends and the top mounts and bump stops need changing soon, probably around £300. Also Coolant pipes can start to leak around this age, so I'll be watching mine. 

 

As mentioned all through the thread, having the money to buy the car is one thing, but you do need some savings or a 0% credit card on standby for annual repair costs. Also bear in mind 26mpg on super unleaded petrol, which is around 10p a litre more than normal.

 

If you are on a tight budget, you need to make sure you have some spare money each year for repairs.