I've driven this exact car with the PDK, and I'd be willing to buy it with the PDK over the manual. This is coming from a guy who has owned about a dozen manual transmission cars since high school. I thought I'd never consider a PDK/DSG, but after experiencing it, I'd do it. That being said, I own multiple cars, so I can always jump into one of my other cars to get my fill of rowing through the gearbox.
Welcome back. Good job. I love my 2014 Cayman S. Same white color as yours but with the 20 inch Carrera Classic wheels. And if any idiot give you flack about the PDK tell them to bite you as you leave them behind cause its much faster than the manual. I Also drive a modified 2008 Mustang GT used for track purposes for that need for manual switching. The PDK is NOT a bad thing. The switches are sooo clean in that auto...its amazing. Anyway, have fun.
I bought my 981Cayman S white with black interior from CarMax too. I am a Carmax fan too. I love the 7 day money back guarantee and 30 day bumper to bumper. Mine is a PDK too. I love and prefer the PDK. When buying used, I don't have to worry about how hard the last owner pushed it. Love your car as mine looks very similar.
Glad to see you re-emerge with the sweet new wheels. I have a 981. You will grow fonder and fonder of that car. Porsche does not disappoint. You have a right to be excited. Tell about the driving experience.
Good to see you back Chris, and congrats on the 981. I actually bought a 987 2008 Cayman last month after watching all your previous videos, black 5 speed manual with only 17,000 km on the clock, so happy with it. Looking forward to seeing more vids to come on your new 981.
The steering wheel thumb shifters are fine. You are used to the paddle style, great. But the standard shifters are very intuitive and easy to use. Glad you're happy with your car, I hope to own one soon.
Just hearing the sound coming from the exhaust gives me chills and thrills :) Congrats on your purchase ! Was looking to buy a 2008 -2009 Cayman in 987 but it felt kind of outdated even though the car is in the good shape with 30ks on odometer. Went to check the new cayman 981 and didnt really liked it. The car engulfed me, with the price tag around 90 000$ it is considered a weekend car here in Moscow. Ouch ! I guess i need to make more research and consider other models/earlier years. Would appreciate more videos of that beauty, where u describe yr feelings and emotions :) best regards, Leon
Almost everyone gets the "smoking package" because it comes with an extra 12v and also a cover for the storage area... not because they plan on smoking in the Porsche.
I just recently paid for a 981S to be transferred from a Carmax in th east going here to California. I can't wait to see it. Hopefully, I'll get the same buying experience as you did from my local Carmax. Great vid!
I have the 2006 Cayman S with manual and absolutely loves it. But, there is NOTHING wrong about you picking the PDK, it’s a fantastic gearbox., and fits your need’s. It’s a hole different story if you had chosen a a 987 with the absolutely horrific Tiptronic. That gearbox truly ruins the car. Drive safe 👍😎
The Porsche Cayman der Ur Cayman 987 2.7 ist the best designed Porsche Porsche ever produced classic lines like to older 911 and the 2.7 engines are without any problems they can run over 300.000 km without any problems and a blast to drive and no Engine problems whatsoever 😉
You could have modified your original steering wheel and basically just use the pull actions for up/down. It's not an easy mod but it's free and you keep your heating and multifuntion. Best of the best.
Nice video, Just sold my 2008 manual 987 which was awesome but starting to look a little dated. Looking for a white 981 now & you may have talked me into trying out a PDK gearbox!! The icing on the cake would be a GT4 spoiler on the back, they look fantastic.
Great Video.Glad to see you back, I had been wondering why you had not posted in awhile. Anyways congratulations on the new Cayman, I am in the process of buying a 2008 R32.
I was just at the Westborough carmax looking at a Porsche and this shows up on my recommendation. Awesome! It’s a sign.... my wife won’t believe it... lol beautiful car. They have one in Norwood that I’m having them transfer to the dealer in Westborough, it’s much closer to my house. Same exact car. White cayman 2015. Sweet ride!
Very cool! I got some crap for using CarMax to buy my Cayman, but the whole experience was great and their MaxCare warranty adds a piece of mind to an out of factory warranty Porsche.
Thanks. Unfortunately sold it about a year ago. But I did pick up another car through CarMax a year ago (check out other videos) and in the process of getting another as we speak.
Congratulations, Chris! This is my dream car! Would you please describe the difference in ride quality from the 987 to the 981? People say it has much smoother suspention, right? Even with the bigger wheels?
I just watched a video with you trying to swap your 987 to smaller wheels. Now you've bought bigger wheels for the 981? Did you get the more torque you wanted or wish you'd gone 'S'? What do you think of 987 vs 981 in terms of power, steering, feel, size etc?
Great car!! I've always wanted one myself. I just recently purchased a 2017 GTI Sport, so I've watched many of your videos on that. Great job by the way. My son has a 2017 GTI sport as well. He and I both love the cars!! Huge hatchback fans. I also have a 2017 Dodge Challenger T/A 392 which is a blast to drive. and like you I agree that it's a total blast to roll the windows down and paddle shift through the gears to hear the engine and exhaust notes. Thanks for sharing all your videos, they are very enjoyable. Go Jags!!! LOL!!
Might I ask you... your input is invaluable as I, too hail from vw... today I have a (bought new) 16 Golf R and love it, but don't need the rear seat and am getting tired of the dsg. I also fear it depreciating as I have 24k miles on it. In your opinion: how much differently or better does the cayman drive over the gti or golf r? Either cayman I'd look to purchase, probably the older one (09 to 11). Thanks, Jon
Will do. I actually switched brands. I bought an 06 325xi wagon with a manual-- a true unicorn-- and just the smoothness of that inline 6 did it for me. The golf r is faster and has more utility than Virtually everything else out there. But it is a 4 and no matter how you view it, a 4 is a 4.
Jonathon: as a owner of a 911 and 2010 GTI, just know that the GTI makes a better daily driver possibly. On a day I've had a hard day at work and driven the 911, I always wish I had the GTI on that day. I'm thinking of trading up to a DSG Golf R. Mine is DSG so I'd stick with that since the 911 is manual.
arainla thanks. Yeah, overall... the golf r is quite the consummate all around er...to me, I'm tired of sedans and the prospect of having an Audi s3 for 13k less with a hatch, a nice leather interior is hard to compare. Laughably the car that I'm primarily looking at to augment my BMW wagon (n 52 6 cylinder manual) is the e92 BMW v8 m3.
Jonathan Reed I like the 4 door M3 quite a bit. Had a V8 Audi S4 but the MPG was a killer. Have looked at BMW wagons but it has not clicked yet on one of those. It's always wrong color or something else. If I had the $ I'd order a Panamera Sport Turismo exactly as I want.
arainla oh yeah... disastrous mileage. I see this as a last foray into the past... with trump pro energy policies and the euros going full tilt towards bland boring neutered 4 cylinders dsg and hi tech... a sweet ride -- yes I'm contradictory here--is the 2014 328d wagon. Used they're around 25-30k and somehow to me, the auto 4 cylinder works perfectly with this platform.
Thanks for the update. You can swap the headunit out for a CarPlay compatible one. I'm planning to do that with my 2008 911. My 2010 GTI at least has Bluetooth. Saw a Golf R I'm having shipped to CA so will see if I trade it in. Did Carmax give you fair value for your car on trade in? Thanks and could have watched 30 more min of your video.
Why didn't you do it right and go for a Cayman S? I have a '14 981S PDK and it is awesome! I drove a base Boxster and it felt lame, just made noise. I agree COMPLETELY with you on the button shifters on the standard steering wheel, I just use the shifter itself.
Why do so many people ask this and not even realize how obvious the answer is? I really should put this as a "sticky" comment so everyone will see it: The "S" models average between $8K and $12K more. End of story.
Agree. After test driving the 718 and earlier, the 981, I couldn't wait to return the keys of the 718. Sure, it's sharper, but, gee, it did nothing for me, so underwhelming was the engine note. Bought a low mileage 2014 981 Cayman S PDK, Sports Chrono, stock suspension and exhaust and have been quite happy. Put a 1.25inch exhaust bypass with remote switching...sounds magnificent. Then had the ECU safely remapped and dyno-d to 364hp, 420Nm and 0-100km/h in 3.89sec....This has turned a great car into an awesome beast!!! No torque flat spot at 3400rpm, and pulls like the clappers from 3000rpm to redline! I laugh during every drive now!!
@@infinite.staticto me sometimes numbers are irrevant more horses blah blah the experience is what matters....im set to trade my Macan S to a base Cayman..cant wait
Thanks for the vid. You mentioned a site that you went to where you were able to see how the car was ordered by using the VIN. Do you mind telling me the name of that site?
Absolutely beautiful car, I'm in the market for a 2014/5 Cayman base PDK. I struggle with what is a good price though, was the price offered by Carmax negotiable and if so, and you don't mind sharing, any percentage you were able to shave off? Or was it a case of what you see is what you get? Also, given it's under warranty, were you able to do a PPP(or should I if it's not)? Thanks! Again beautiful car, it sounds great.
German Driver sounds like a real good deal. I’ve been looking at this same model and comparing the difference between CPO and Carmax. What did the MaxCare run you? If the deductible is still $50 it’s usually the best warranty you can get.
Is it true that every Cayman owner really deep down wants a 911? Seems to me the Cayman would be unique enough to prevent that. It's not like a mid-engine car is the little brother of a 911. It's its own thing.
I've driven this exact car with the PDK, and I'd be willing to buy it with the PDK over the manual. This is coming from a guy who has owned about a dozen manual transmission cars since high school. I thought I'd never consider a PDK/DSG, but after experiencing it, I'd do it. That being said, I own multiple cars, so I can always jump into one of my other cars to get my fill of rowing through the gearbox.
Congratulations you will enjoy the Cayman 981. The driving dynamics of a Cayman is absolutely epic.
Welcome back. Good job. I love my 2014 Cayman S. Same white color as yours but with the 20 inch Carrera Classic wheels. And if any idiot give you flack about the PDK tell them to bite you as you leave them behind cause its much faster than the manual. I Also drive a modified 2008 Mustang GT used for track purposes for that need for manual switching. The PDK is NOT a bad thing. The switches are sooo clean in that auto...its amazing. Anyway, have fun.
I love those downshifts! You can really hear the rev matching, which was almost non-existent in 987.2.
I bought my 981Cayman S white with black interior from CarMax too. I am a Carmax fan too. I love the 7 day money back guarantee and 30 day bumper to bumper. Mine is a PDK too. I love and prefer the PDK. When buying used, I don't have to worry about how hard the last owner pushed it. Love your car as mine looks very similar.
I currently have a 2015 CS with PDK and love it. My previous 2 P-cars were 6spd manuals and though fantastic, I'm sold on the PDK.
Glad to see you re-emerge with the sweet new wheels. I have a 981. You will grow fonder and fonder of that car. Porsche does not disappoint. You have a right to be excited. Tell about the driving experience.
Good to see you back Chris, and congrats on the 981. I actually bought a 987 2008 Cayman last month after watching all your previous videos, black 5 speed manual with only 17,000 km on the clock, so happy with it. Looking forward to seeing more vids to come on your new 981.
The steering wheel thumb shifters are fine. You are used to the paddle style, great. But the standard shifters are very intuitive and easy to use. Glad you're happy with your car, I hope to own one soon.
Just hearing the sound coming from the exhaust gives me chills and thrills :)
Congrats on your purchase ! Was looking to buy a 2008 -2009 Cayman in 987 but it felt kind of outdated even though the car is in the good shape with 30ks on odometer. Went to check the new cayman 981 and didnt really liked it. The car engulfed me, with the price tag around 90 000$ it is considered a weekend car here in Moscow. Ouch ! I guess i need to make more research and consider other models/earlier years. Would appreciate more videos of that beauty, where u describe yr feelings and emotions :) best regards, Leon
Leon Fun bought a 2009 Cayman S a months ago. Still smiling.
Great you are back, and the 981 is a dream car!
Also, Chris - i would appreciate if you take a look on my new 2014 audi s1 vids. just started my channel. tnx
Good choice. The 981 is just lovely! Truly love mine.
Almost everyone gets the "smoking package" because it comes with an extra 12v and also a cover for the storage area... not because they plan on smoking in the Porsche.
German Driver I smoke in all my car's including Porsche. As long as you wipe down your car often then there is no smell whatsoever
I just recently paid for a 981S to be transferred from a Carmax in th east going here to California. I can't wait to see it. Hopefully, I'll get the same buying experience as you did from my local Carmax. Great vid!
I have the 2006 Cayman S with manual and absolutely loves it. But, there is NOTHING wrong about you picking the PDK, it’s a fantastic gearbox., and fits your need’s.
It’s a hole different story if you had chosen a a 987 with the absolutely horrific Tiptronic. That gearbox truly ruins the car.
Drive safe 👍😎
The Porsche Cayman der Ur Cayman 987 2.7 ist the best designed Porsche Porsche ever produced classic lines like to older 911 and the 2.7 engines are without any problems they can run over 300.000 km without any problems and a blast to drive
and no Engine problems whatsoever 😉
You could have modified your original steering wheel and basically just use the pull actions for up/down. It's not an easy mod but it's free and you keep your heating and multifuntion. Best of the best.
Nice video,
Just sold my 2008 manual 987 which was awesome but starting to look a little dated.
Looking for a white 981 now & you may have talked me into trying out a PDK gearbox!!
The icing on the cake would be a GT4 spoiler on the back, they look fantastic.
Hey! Nice to see you back! I'm glad that you got the Caymen. It's one of my favorites :) hope to see more videos from you
Glad your back. Love your videos.
Great Video.Glad to see you back, I had been wondering why you had not posted in awhile. Anyways congratulations on the new Cayman, I am in the process of buying a 2008 R32.
I was just at the Westborough carmax looking at a Porsche and this shows up on my recommendation. Awesome! It’s a sign.... my wife won’t believe it... lol beautiful car. They have one in Norwood that I’m having them transfer to the dealer in Westborough, it’s much closer to my house. Same exact car. White cayman 2015. Sweet ride!
Very cool! I got some crap for using CarMax to buy my Cayman, but the whole experience was great and their MaxCare warranty adds a piece of mind to an out of factory warranty Porsche.
Beautiful Porsche. Show us more.
It was nice to hear your comments about the CarMax experience.
Thanks. Unfortunately sold it about a year ago. But I did pick up another car through CarMax a year ago (check out other videos) and in the process of getting another as we speak.
congrats man because i know this is something you've been wanting
Congratulations, Chris! This is my dream car!
Would you please describe the difference in ride quality from the 987 to the 981? People say it has much smoother suspention, right?
Even with the bigger wheels?
Wasting no time! Nice car, agree on the thumb shifters. I've got a Panamera TT and yeah, they work but take so much away from the driving experience.
I really like this car much more than the 911. Here in TX there are too much 911s. Nice buy, and hope you like it. Here a new subscriber...
The Porsche Cayman 987 your first one still has the best design of all the Caymans the last modern classic Porsche they will be collectors soon !
I just watched a video with you trying to swap your 987 to smaller wheels. Now you've bought bigger wheels for the 981? Did you get the more torque you wanted or wish you'd gone 'S'? What do you think of 987 vs 981 in terms of power, steering, feel, size etc?
awesome choice better than the 718
Great car!! I've always wanted one myself. I just recently purchased a 2017 GTI Sport, so I've watched many of your videos on that. Great job by the way. My son has a 2017 GTI sport as well. He and I both love the cars!! Huge hatchback fans. I also have a 2017 Dodge Challenger T/A 392 which is a blast to drive. and like you I agree that it's a total blast to roll the windows down and paddle shift through the gears to hear the engine and exhaust notes. Thanks for sharing all your videos, they are very enjoyable. Go Jags!!! LOL!!
Bummer, yeah no Sports this year. Wonder why? I haven't read into it. Nice response on the football poke. LOL! Should be a pretty decent game.
Welcome back! And congrats for the Porsche. How is the mk7 GTI doing btw? ;)
Great car! Porsches are always nice and luckily you changed the steering wheel, the first one looked horrendous :D
Have fun with that one haha
Might I ask you... your input is invaluable as I, too hail from vw... today I have a (bought new) 16 Golf R and love it, but don't need the rear seat and am getting tired of the dsg. I also fear it depreciating as I have 24k miles on it. In your opinion: how much differently or better does the cayman drive over the gti or golf r? Either cayman I'd look to purchase, probably the older one (09 to 11). Thanks, Jon
Will do. I actually switched brands. I bought an 06 325xi wagon with a manual-- a true unicorn-- and just the smoothness of that inline 6 did it for me. The golf r is faster and has more utility than Virtually everything else out there. But it is a 4 and no matter how you view it, a 4 is a 4.
Jonathon: as a owner of a 911 and 2010 GTI, just know that the GTI makes a better daily driver possibly. On a day I've had a hard day at work and driven the 911, I always wish I had the GTI on that day.
I'm thinking of trading up to a DSG Golf R. Mine is DSG so I'd stick with that since the 911 is manual.
arainla thanks. Yeah, overall... the golf r is quite the consummate all around er...to me, I'm tired of sedans and the prospect of having an Audi s3 for 13k less with a hatch, a nice leather interior is hard to compare. Laughably the car that I'm primarily looking at to augment my BMW wagon (n 52 6 cylinder manual) is the e92 BMW v8 m3.
Jonathan Reed I like the 4 door M3 quite a bit. Had a V8 Audi S4 but the MPG was a killer.
Have looked at BMW wagons but it has not clicked yet on one of those. It's always wrong color or something else.
If I had the $ I'd order a Panamera Sport Turismo exactly as I want.
arainla oh yeah... disastrous mileage. I see this as a last foray into the past... with trump pro energy policies and the euros going full tilt towards bland boring neutered 4 cylinders dsg and hi tech... a sweet ride -- yes I'm contradictory here--is the 2014 328d wagon. Used they're around 25-30k and somehow to me, the auto 4 cylinder works perfectly with this platform.
Thanks for the update.
You can swap the headunit out for a CarPlay compatible one. I'm planning to do that with my 2008 911. My 2010 GTI at least has Bluetooth. Saw a Golf R I'm having shipped to CA so will see if I trade it in. Did Carmax give you fair value for your car on trade in?
Thanks and could have watched 30 more min of your video.
Good job I agree with all you say.... First change to my boxster s was sport wheel 2009
Why didn't you do it right and go for a Cayman S? I have a '14 981S PDK and it is awesome! I drove a base Boxster and it felt lame, just made noise. I agree COMPLETELY with you on the button shifters on the standard steering wheel, I just use the shifter itself.
Why do so many people ask this and not even realize how obvious the answer is? I really should put this as a "sticky" comment so everyone will see it: The "S" models average between $8K and $12K more. End of story.
Agree. After test driving the 718 and earlier, the 981, I couldn't wait to return the keys of the 718. Sure, it's sharper, but, gee, it did nothing for me, so underwhelming was the engine note. Bought a low mileage 2014 981 Cayman S PDK, Sports Chrono, stock suspension and exhaust and have been quite happy. Put a 1.25inch exhaust bypass with remote switching...sounds magnificent. Then had the ECU safely remapped and dyno-d to 364hp, 420Nm and 0-100km/h in 3.89sec....This has turned a great car into an awesome beast!!! No torque flat spot at 3400rpm, and pulls like the clappers from 3000rpm to redline! I laugh during every drive now!!
@@infinite.staticto me sometimes numbers are irrevant more horses blah blah the experience is what matters....im set to trade my Macan S to a base Cayman..cant wait
Thanks for the vid. You mentioned a site that you went to where you were able to see how the car was ordered by using the VIN. Do you mind telling me the name of that site?
Absolutely beautiful car, I'm in the market for a 2014/5 Cayman base PDK. I struggle with what is a good price though, was the price offered by Carmax negotiable and if so, and you don't mind sharing, any percentage you were able to shave off? Or was it a case of what you see is what you get?
Also, given it's under warranty, were you able to do a PPP(or should I if it's not)? Thanks! Again beautiful car, it sounds great.
That's super helpful to aid my search and gives me a good data point of what I can get the Cayman for. Thanks again +German Driver !
German Driver sounds like a real good deal. I’ve been looking at this same model and comparing the difference between CPO and Carmax. What did the MaxCare run you? If the deductible is still $50 it’s usually the best warranty you can get.
Get a Griffin iTrip aux for the bluetooth audio. Goes in the glove.
I’m from the Berkshires. Are you part of a Porsche club???
Congrats! Love the car!!
Congratulations
hi Chris, where do you get the used/new sport steering wheel ?
i believe you can add Apple CarPlay from what i have read.
Is there another seat release on the left drivers side?
Seems unusual to put it interior facing.
Keep the videos coming! The german license plate is awesome, might get a euro one for my gti!
Why didn´t you get the S Version?
Pdk is awesome, the NA engine is awesome, the only downer is the EPS steering.
Better than the 718 turbo flat 4. Apple car play was the only miss. Congrats.
Old model Cayman old school, but this is not with no spec??
Congrats man ! Been uploading vids myself... It's a 2017 Dune
Very well spoken, you earned a sub lol
I can hear what you are saying.
Car MAx - who'd a' thunk it?
I thought you wanted a 911.
What's wrong with all these videos showing people while we all want to see cars!
fly to Ca and drive it home cheaper
why not the cayman s instead of the cayman?
What happened to the Porsche 911 dream?
Is it true that every Cayman owner really deep down wants a 911? Seems to me the Cayman would be unique enough to prevent that. It's not like a mid-engine car is the little brother of a 911. It's its own thing.
👍👍👍👍
Talk to much about Carmax bla bla. Who cares! The car??? Cayman ?????
Technology and comfort? Bent over by CarMax. Automatic transmission? You sir are a poser!
FYI: Its a 918 NOT a 981.
Sorry I ment to say 718.