Sell Civic & Z4 - Buy Cayman as jack of all trades?

NeilP said:
stick with the zed.

roof bars.

http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=564114

Thanks for all the replies everyone.

The above link is interesting, but a bit useless in the way of info!

How big is the boot in the Coupe?
 
I wanted a Cayman but couldnt get the spec i wanted for reasonable money, when comparing to a Z4M.
I needed all the toys, sat nav, heated seats etc and buying a porsche with none of this seemed a bit poo.

The M is a lot like the 3.0, just more je ne sais whatever. When you get back in a 3.0 from the M then it all seems a bit toy town hatch type of performance. Thats all though, and its not like you will jump from one to the other much!

To me i think you need 17k for a good spec Cayman. I would just wait til the penny jars fuller :)
 
That's the thing you do notice... Quite a lot of Z4Ms have a really good spec, even at the lower end. Caymans on the other hand... (even the 'S')

I absolutely love the Cayman, but they have (annoyingly for a buyer) held their prices well!
 
Buying any Porsche at the lower end of the price bracket but top end of your own budget is a stupid idea. I did lots and lots of reading, asked my local indie (DeutscheTek German car specialists) and have a friend who is an absolute Porsche nut having owned 8 of them in the last 5 years. The general consensus is that you probably need to spend between £2-3K in the first year fixing, putting right and doing preventative maintenance for peace of mind. The forums are full of people that will give you this advice, I had a friend that bought an ageing 986 and he spent £2k in the first 2 months. If your happy with that and can afford it then go for it. Just go in with your eyes open and don't be one of the idiots that goes "wow I can buy and run a Porsche for the same price as a family hatch".

If it was me. I'd spend the money else where. At the low end of the "fast car" bracket £15k would get you a Mk6 Golf GTi, not as fast but always fun, hold their value well, easy to tune with fantastic gains from simple remap and exhaust mods and they are ridiculously practical. 135i coupe, sounds awesome, faster than a Gayman and a relatively cheap remap turns them into absolute beasts. Again, it's also way more practical. Or, the real outsider. BMW do 0% on a 50/50 on the new M135i (so 50% of price up front then pay the remaining, hand back or trade with the equity after 3 years) funnily enough a little over £15k equates to 50% of the price. The car is absolutely awesome, blows the doors of any ageing cooking version Porsche, was a finalist in this years ECOTY, has been raved about in every review etc etc.

Just a point on the practicality. I just don't think there is any way you can ever describe any 2 seater car as practical. Yes, the gayman has a boot at both ends but it still doesn't make it practical. It's not great for a roof rack either, the roof is so short and when you have something on the roof you can't open the rear boot. I surf, my longest board is just over 7ft and have discovered this issue on a few cars. I would imagine a gayman with a 4m boat on the roof will be hideous to drive in the slightest wind. In terms of the boot in the Z4 coupe. It's the same as the roadster only it has the option of a bit more height. it's not a bad sized boot.
 
Thanks for the above info.

I actually REALLY want an M135i. Really really want one, but I don't want to take finance to be honest. I will certainly look at the older 135i though. To be honest, I think my girlfriend would be sad without a convertible. She really loves the Z4.
 
Dan, Mowflow is definitely speaking sense.

Try a 135i. From what I've heard, they are lovely! (Though for similar money, I'd go for a 335i or a 650i personally)
 
Buy yourself a 135i and get her a wee mk2 MX5 for £2k. It's the answer to every what car thread on PH so why not here?
 
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