I could not believe it! I had been checking for sales and deals on a used Porsche Cayman S for around two months now. Today, I finally saw a really low price. Over the past two months, I had been seeing prices between $46K-$55K for any used Cayman S. The non-S Caymans went for less, but I did not want a non-S. I wanted the larger engine. Ideally, I also wanted a full-featured Cayman S, but in the used market, getting all the options you want is pretty hit and miss.
Last week, I finally saw a basic Cayman S on sale for $42K, so I went and test drove it. It was beautiful, but only came with the better stereo – nothing else. It was also light gray – not my color. I wanted Atlas Gray (almost black) or Basalt Black (flat black); I suppose Speed Yellow or Red would also be OK, but too flashy for my taste (the car does look simply awesome in yellow – truly the best color for this car – but the police can see it a mile away).
My budget was $50K, and I was looking for a 2009 or 2010, but there were none to be found anywhere. As of a week ago, I had resigned myself to buying a 2006-2008 – still a great car, but lacking a much improved navigation system (if equipped with Navigation) and LED tail lights. The new optional slip differential would have been fantastic as well.
And then I saw it: A fully loaded Speed Yellow 2006 Cayman S for $44K. It had every feature under the sun – we’re talking $23K in options! Such a car was usually $52-55K in the used market (and $75.5K new… $83K with taxes). I had to go see it.
My wife and I drove all the way up to Marin to test drive this vehicle. The car was beautiful, but it had one big problem: the previous owner was a chain-smoker. The dealership had tried to remove the smoke, and had tried to sell it for more, but no luck. They had to drop the price due to the interior smell, and because of a small paint chip off of one of the intake manifolds. The car drove fine, but the smell was a bit much. In order to save the sale (?), I guess the salesman decided to lower the price even further to $40K and he also decided to include $150 in cash to have the car “fumigated” locally. He was even going to throw in a free roof rack that had just come in attached to another Cayman, but he couldn’t find the keys to take it off. Oh well, I didn’t think I needed a luggage rack anyway. What a deal! Even with taxes, I paid just over $44K out the door. I wrote a check (paid-full in cash – thanks company stock options!) and drove my new yellow toy off the lot.
I did run over an aluminum ladder in the road on the way home. That sort of sucked, but the car suffered no damage, and the rest of the ride was wonderful. I look forward to many drives in my little yellow car!
