[MOG_80TH]

Good day All,

First and foremost, what a great forum! I am a die hard, car crazy type since I can remember and do belong to quite a few forums. So after reading many a posts, I have to say, it feels like a good place to be

Background/story/decision time help needed!

I've never owned a Porsche but have been around them via friends and past employment. Currently I have a Morgan 4/4 80th Anniversary Edition which I absolutely cherish and it's a keeper, for now.

I also have a Defender 90 which while I do love it, it is not getting used and that itch has been scratched. So my journey to Porsche started with the idea of trading it for a Certified Pre-Owned Boxster which eventually lead to a few retailer visits.

Last night had me at Porsche Chester and can't say enough on how well I was treated. I viewed their stock but nothing was hitting my fancy. I am now in the process of possibly putting in a factory order to my spec. I am set to a budget which nets me either almost base spec Boxster 718 S, well optioned Base or there is the T - this by the way has a much better residual value than the Base.

Test drives are booked for Saturday to compare the S to the Base and for me personally, I think 300PS is more than enough for the B roads around here.

The issue I am trying to solve is if I'm silly to be overlooking the Cayman and/or sacrificing my personal spec choice and not taking advantage of dealer demo's which are heavily discounted. There is a STUNNING Miami Blue Cayman S with Sport Tex Crayon split done interior, all the right options etc. it's a 2017 and significantly cheaper due to it being used.

I appreciate this is down to me to make the decision but am curious to hear some feedback if you may.

Some might ask why I would want to have two convertibles. The Morgan only ever comes out during dry and sunny weather where as this will be used year round.

If anyone on here is from Cheshire (close to Crewe/Chester), I would love to meet up and pick your brain on your experience.

Sorry for the long intro and so many questions.

P

 

[Porsche2018]

Welcome and best of luck with your quest. I have never driven either the 718 or 911 “T” so hopefully someone with experience with this model will chime in. Regarding the Miami Blue color having had one it was a great colour choice, stunning. The test drive clearly will be critical in your decision and then maybe you can give us your model to model comparison at some latter date. I personally tested many models before purchasing my 718 CS to include 2016 981 Cayman and Cayman S, 718 base, 718 CS, 911 base, 911 Carrera S, and a 2016 GT3…….deciding on a spec to order 2018 Miami Blue 718 CS……a great little road rocket.

 

[Silversword]

I do drive a Cayman T, and I tested a base car before eventually choosing the T. Most of my driving in this is on A and B roads for fun, which I feel it delivers. I feel it's fast enough, with plenty in reserve for public road use. Can't speak for the Boxster as I didn't try one. I'm told the Boxster is still quite stiff so I doubt it would give up too much to the Cayman in handling terms, but I prefer the hardtop.

Primarily my interest was in having a car that handled well, and the T has all the driver oriented options included for less than the cost of bolting the same into a base car. Not bothered about residuals as I intend on keeping it for a while. An S with all the extras was more than my wife would likely sanction so not really an option for me. The smaller engine will already give you license-blitzing performance anyway.

The T does sit a tiny bit lower due to sports PASM, and looks more sporty I feel. It is incredibly responsive and communicative, but then the base car was not bad in that respect either, it's just the T feels sharper. The car hugs the road regardless of settings and offers loads of grip. The shorter gearshift in the T (manual, obv) is fantastic compared to the standard shifter. Car also has some nice cosmetic touches which are unique but not too showy.

If engine note is an issue, be aware that any new factory order, whether base, T, or S will be MY 2020 and will certainly have a GPF fitted so it's not quite as loud as older models even with Sport Exhaust active, and you'll not get many crackles or pops if that's your thing. If that matters, the pre-owned car is the way to go.

I don't know if any of the above is useful but happy to answer any Qs on here. I'm not in your neck of the woods unfortunately.

 

[ArchiProf]

Welcome! One of the many fabulous things about Porsche is the ability to specify options for performance, luxury, aesthetics, and have it built exactly to your needs/desires (within your budget!). We drove virtually every combination of Cayman and Boxster available in early 2018 (engine, transmission, exhaust, sport chrono, etc.) and decided on a Cayman with as many performance and luxury options as we could get and keep the cost within our budget. The extra cost of the S was put into luxury and other performance items such as sport chrono. We felt the performance of the smaller engine with the 6MT was fine for our uses (backroads and weekend/holiday trips).

 

[JazzCatGab]

I'm "across the pond" but retired spending my days driving my very base Cayman on the equivalent of B roads here. As per my signature below, I have the Sport Chrono and PASM. I love my Cayman and it is my first Porsche. I'm betting you are going to want to spend a lot of time in your Porsche and with your weather, it seems to me that the Morgan is all you need for the top-down experience, IMHO. Welcome to the forum!

 

[Muppet]

Unless you are thinking of taking the car on the track, you really only need the base or T for the road.
Both will get you into license losing territory very quickly on the road.
I chose a well spec’d base over a standard S.
You get better fuel economy and cheaper insurance with the base as well.
As you already have one convertible for sunny days I would give the Cayman more consideration
over the Boxster, I prefer the styling of the hard top and it’s more year round use ability.
I found the Porsche salesman very easy going and helpful, he never tried to push me into a sale, even let me have a loan car over a weekend.
Try a Manual Gearbox if possible as well as a PDK.
But at the end of the day it’s your choice.
Only test drives will help you reach your decision.
It’s a good thing to have choices, enjoy making your decision.

 

[MOG_80TH]

Many many thanks to you all for the info, advice and input. Very much greatly appreciated.

So they called and we are about 1500 off on the trade value which he stated he hopes to have wrapped up by today and now waiting for the call. I asked about just discounting the car and was told that Porsche GB do not do this. Found that odd as they have delivery miles car registered with 1000's off. Never understood this.

I've not 100% ruled out getting something off the lot due to the input about the 2020 changes to the GPF. I never knew this being rolled out now. However, Porsche GB have some minor contribution on new orders...let's see. To get this the car needs to be delivered by Dec and a build slot can be had for a Base or T. An S would be a bit tough but not fully ruled out. The test drive will tell. I do agree with the comments here and the many other pots on this forum that 300PS is plenty.

As for the Cayman, I have not ruled this out. Funny enough my spec for a Base is almost a carbon copy of the 67 plate Cayman they have. Miami Blue, Blue/Crayon Tex interior and a few other bits and bobs. About the same spec if I decide on a T.

This is quiet an impulse purchase which is nerve-racking yet also exciting.

Thank you again,

P

 

[Malcolm E Cay]

I am in Manchester and got my 718 Boxster S from Chester.

What do you want to know?

 

[Malcolm E Cay]

And I had a 718 Cayman in Miami Blue, so I can tell you how much attention you will get.

 

[Muppet]

So they called and we are about 1500 off on the trade value which he stated he hopes to have wrapped up by today and now waiting for the call. I asked about just discounting the car and was told that Porsche GB do not do this. Found that odd as they have delivery miles car registered with 1000's off. Never understood this.
P

I didn’t get any discount on my order.
I think this is standard practice in the U.K.
I did get a couple of small extras added onto the build list, and a whole load of goodies when we picked the car up.

I sold my old car privately on Autotrader, advertised it on Thursday, it was brought by a dealer who drove up from down south and picked it up the following morning. I advertised it at a fair price and couldn’t believe how quickly it sold. Got quite a bit more than Porsche were offering me in part ex.

 

[Nosmo]

@Muppet , have you sold your Cayman? What did you get in its place?

 

[Muppet]

@Muppet , have you sold your Cayman? What did you get in its place?

No

I sold my old car a SWB Toyota Landcruiser to buy the Cayman.
I was just making the point that I got a much better deal selling my old car privately through Autotrader than part ex through Porsche.
The Landcruiser was literally advertised on the website on Thursday afternoon and driven off my driveway 10am the next morning after the buyer transferred the money into my bank account.
I almost took the easy option of part ex to Porsche, but glad I didn’t.

 

[MOG_80TH]

Replied in the wrong thread! sorry.

 

[Basaltbox]

I didn’t get any discount on my order.
I think this is standard practice in the U.K.
I did get a couple of small extras added onto the build list, and a whole load of goodies when we picked the car up.

I sold my old car privately on Autotrader, advertised it on Thursday, it was brought by a dealer who drove up from down south and picked it up the following morning. I advertised it at a fair price and couldn’t believe how quickly it sold. Got quite a bit more than Porsche were offering me in part ex.

Coast to coast give 4%

I didn’t get any discount on my order.
I think this is standard practice in the U.K.
I did get a couple of small extras added onto the build list, and a whole load of goodies when we picked the car up.

I sold my old car privately on Autotrader, advertised it on Thursday, it was brought by a dealer who drove up from down south and picked it up the following morning. I advertised it at a fair price and couldn’t believe how quickly it sold. Got quite a bit more than Porsche were offering me in part ex.

discounts are hard to get, but
Coast to coast giving 4% off boxster and 3% off cayman. Easy process, and after first contact it’s all direct with dealer, albeit dealer location may not be convenient.
For me, it required an extra 30 mins commute on each visit to save approx £3k off my gts.

 

[AlexM]

I'm quite surprised that the dealers don't give much in the way of discount for a new order. For the OPC pre-registered car I purchased a couple of weeks ago, I managed to get 22% (£15k) off the list price. Admittedly, I am effectively the second owner but it only had 30 miles on it & had never been driven. It was registered by Porsche UK in Aug 19 & unused - it didn't even have plates on it when I saw it before purchase. I guess what I'm saying is that they seem to be quite a few pre-reg cars knocking about at the moment which will have bigger discounts - of course I understand the argument about finding the right (used) spec for you against your own tailored order...

Anyway good luck with the purchase.