Today’s Nice Price or No Dice Cayman is offered on The Mart, Porsche Club of America’s member-only online market, so you’d expect the seller to know a thing or two about the car. Let’s see if that includes how to make it a deal.
There are a few things that it’s OK to fake. You know, things like your enthusiasm for your kid’s violin performance, or liking your grandma’s “famous meatloaf” that inexplicably contains raisins. Raisins!
One thing that’s apparently not OK to fake is a 1952 MG TD, at least not when the classic car con is pulled off by way of using a Chevy Chevette as the base. That was made clear in the comments on last Friday’s Fiberfab MG TD. The car did appear to be very well put together, but the $8,000 asking price was just too close to that of a real TD. That led most of you to say baloney to the phony, dropping the car in a decisive 65 percent No Dice loss.
Despite our lack of enthusiasm for Chevette-based MGs, those cars seemingly have enough of a following that a club arose to support owners and keep track of the various, cars. Such marque clubs are the social glue that lets like-minded enthusiasts trade information about their particular cars, share knowledge, and have fun at shows, drives and track events.
The Porsche Club of America is one of the largest and most engaged clubs in the country. Founded in 1955, the non-profit PCA has grown to span 145 regions across the U.S. and Canada and claims more than 140,000 members at present. This, they say, makes the PCA the largest single-marque club in the world.
You might think that to reach such lofty numbers that the PCA would be open to any and all, with just a passion for the marque as criteria for membership. In fact, club participation requires ownership of a Porsche automobile and the sign-up process includes providing your car’s VIN as proof of possession.
That exclusivity extends to The Mart, which is the PCA’s online classifieds for all things Porsche. Not only do you have to be a member to post an ad there, but membership is also required to access contact info for cars like this 2008 Porsche Cayman S. Fortunately, PCA offers a short-term “test drive” membership for $40 which gets you half a year of member access. That’s an in that will allow anyone the opportunity to drop some cash on this Cayman. The question, of course, is should anyone make the effort?
Well, considering the prospect just from the standpoint of the model of car, the obvious answer is yes. The 987 Cayman S is one of the greatest cars ever produced. These are both incredibly rewarding to drive and pretty damn sexy to look at when just standing still.
At 156,000 miles, this Cayman is on the high side for distance traveled. Happily, those miles don’t appear to show in either the Meteor Gray paint or the Stone Gray leather interior. Part of that is owed to the clear bra protecting the nose. The standard 18-inch alloys look to be free of scuffs, which is the result of an attentive driver.
The interior appears stock save for a double-DIN aftermarket stereo which adds Apple CarPlay should that be your thing. Above that sits the analog clock which indicates the presence of the optional Chrono Package. That add-on also includes some engine mapping tweaks and suspension upgrades making it a pretty desirable perk. Power is provided by the M97.21 flat-six which is paired with a Getrag six-speed manual transmission. In the S, the 3.4-liter boxer makes 291 horsepower and 251 lb-ft of torque.
Now, this engine still has the infamous IMS bearing, albeit with a significantly lower failure rate than in the early 986 Boxster. Still has that, or any of the other major back-of-the-engine work (clutch, RMS) been done? The seller doesn’t go into such specifics in the ad. This being a club member, though, the ad does go into minutiae over some other engine history that a savvy buyer might want to know:
Original owner. Only 1 normal driver. Daily driver, garaged when parked at home, covered when parked outside. Clear-bra front protection. Dealer maintained. Service records available. Never raced or tracked. 1 over-rev event for 26 sparks lasting less than 1/10 second over 500 operating hours ago. Great for road trips. Average over 24MPG on road trips like San Diego to San Francisco or San Diego to Idaho/Yellowstone last summer. Bi-Xenon headlights, Preferred Package Plus, Sport Chrono Package, Power Seat Package, etc. See Certificate of Authenticity. Bose/CDR24/Remote CD Changer replaced with Pioneer AVIC-8200NEX Multimedia/Nav, Alpine MRV-V500, and Sirius-XM by La Jolla Audio. 2 USB ports for phones or iPods. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatible. Selling to make garage space for 992420
The Certificate of Authenticity is a nice touch, as is the picture of the Durametric readout showing operating hours.
The asking price is $19,500, and that’s a big drop from the car’s original MSRP of over $65K. The question is, could that price be engaging enough to get you to actually pay $40 for the opportunity to contact the seller?
Of course, if you’re already a PCA member, then this question is moot. We can then get on to the bigger question of whether the car is worth that $19,500 asking. What do you think, could this Cayman command that much cash? Or, is this a car and a price that would keep you out of the Club?
You decide!
PCA The Mart out of San Marcos, California, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Thomas O. for the hookup!
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