Porsche Cayman Buyer's Guide
Four tracked Cayman sales, £6,700 to £18,000, median £14,485, with two more live as we write. These are the 987-generation cars, and the figures sit consistently above equivalent Boxster money: the market pays for the roof, or more precisely for what the roof does to the structure. With only two live lots, supply is the constraint; good Caymans sell rather than linger.
What to pay
£6,700, our floor, buys the higher-mileage cars where the service file has gaps and the engine questions are unanswered; it is the cheapest Cayman entry in our records and priced accordingly. Around £14,485, our median, buys the heart of the market: sound cars with history, sensible mileage and evidence of proper maintenance. £16,000 to £18,000, up to our ceiling, buys the best-documented examples with the stronger specifications, and at that money the buyer should expect the engine risks to be addressed on paper, not in promises.
What goes wrong
The engine considerations are the same as the Boxster of the era, because it is the same engine family: intermediate shaft (IMS) bearing failure and cylinder bore scoring on the M96 and M97 units are both well documented, both inspectable before purchase and both reflected in pricing. Ask for bearing invoices and a borescope report; walk away from sellers who bristle. The rest of the car is durable: galvanised shell, hard-wearing cabin, deep specialist support. Suspension bushes and coffin arms are the routine age-related spend.
Our view
The coupé shell brings rigidity the roadster cannot match, and the Cayman is the driver's pick of the pair by a clear margin. A median-money car with engine documentation is the buy; the premium over a Boxster is real but so is the car underneath it. Scarce at auction, worth waiting for.
