LGK-SD

Based on current thoughts on both cars, I read through a long thread on CF back in 2006 when the Cayman S was coming out. While there was tons of back and forth it was a toss up between C6 and the Cayman S. And there was confusion on C6, non Z vs. Z. Of course...2 diff cars and driving styles.
So now that it's 2017...11 years, I want to compare the
2006/07 Cayman S vs. 2004 C5Z

a) Anyone own or have owned both? Impressions?
b) If you were buying one or the other today, where pricing is pretty close (mid to healthy $20's) which one; why?
(clarify....that price for a under 30K miles C5Z to a 50k mile CS).
c) If I look at the depreciation of each, I think the C5Z has held up better by about $3-4k (advertised asking prices) than the P-car. I'll spare the math details.

Yup, I know: Z...power and grip; CS P-car....finesse and balance. Two different cars..yup. No need to delve into that part.

My only past Vette vs Porsche experience (not comparison but driving experience) was a 89 930 Turbo, and a 2010 ZR-1.

zeevette

The differences are obvious, but can vary greatly if you have plans to modify the car. The Cayman is a great car for a guy with no plans on personalizing/modifying it. Maintenance will be much higher on the Porsche, but not a huge factor if it's not thrashed. If prestige is a factor, most people would give the Pcar a clear edge. The initial cost should also be much higher for the Porsche, given the age and depreciation on a decade+ old Chebby. OTOH, you have way more cars to choose from if your preference is the Z. I would say, unmodified vs. unmodified, the performance is pretty close, but is much cheaper/easier to make a supercar out of the Z, and you really can't do that with a Cayman. If I had tons of cash, I'd like to have both, but I feel lucky to have a car as amazing as my old Chev, and it's a hoot to work on yourself.

LGK-SD

Good comments. I have been fortunate to have a good career, no inheritance, and many cars. Having many diff cars from stock to SCCA racecars through the years is a blessing and a curse. Prestige is not on my list. Performance, cost of ownership and having it uphold its' value based on what it offers is. I need to drive the Cayman S and will be soon. I had the 2010 ZR-1 so I know that feel. My last P-car was tail heavy (what a shock!) but very quick and nimble. Impressed with the #'s of the C5Z.
While not the power, I'm equally impressed by the handling and balance of the Cayman. I am a lefts and rights guy, not a qtr mile.
Not into mods. Mods were for my 2 racecars. Not my street cars. I buy original and sell original. Just my thing. Has served me well.
But my post was about what you have experienced.

Excluding purchase, from zero to 50k miles, both cars, "average" driving treatment...which one has a higher cost of ownership (maintenance and repairs)? I've read the reports and it certainly appears the Cayman does.
And as importantly...the cost of ownership on both from 50K miles to say 90K.

Alexander K

Oddly enough I was in a similar situation as yourself. However I own a C5z and wanted a Cayman S. This all spawned when I met a woman at work who owns a 2016 boxter black ed. I would come to drive and ride in this car rather often after getting into a relationship with her.

My initial thoughts on the boxter were how precise and tight the car felt. It was truly phenomenal. The BASE boxter rode twice as firm as my c5z. The vette is a Cadillac of a ride after trips in her boxter. The Porsche was not harsh but you could feel every caterpillar you ran over on the street. Power however was very low in the base 270ish? However the cayman s has a much healthier 320-335. Anyway this boxter sparked my interest in a Cayman which is obviously the hardtop more performance oriented of the two.

So my quest started by determining which cayman s I would get. Budget set me on either a gen1(07-08) or gen2(09-11). 06 appears to have a lot of issues that were fixed in 07. My next involvement would be seeing at gen1 cayman s driven by a very experienced instructor at a hpde. To which I got to ride in the cayman s. My thought on the cayman s are it rode super well, was very precise, power was....reasonable but the car seems a bit boring on the track. The cayman s was also significantly slower than my z around the track and I am NOT an experienced driver.

So you need to think about one thing. What do you want to do with the car? The vette is a much more capable track beast that feels a little numb on the street. I love my z because I get 30mpg highway, i can tow my jetskis to the lake with it, tow a set of racing wheels to the track, and its an american v8 from a reliability/diy standpoint.

The cayman s is going to feel much more precise and "nice". Meaning it feels better to drive but its never going to put down the same kind of lap times as a vette and its going to feel a bit more like driving a computer with the aids on. The vette is more of a handful and a more raw experience. However the cayman is going to feel much better on the street and I would say is a more fun car to drive on the street. The Cayman is also going to carry a bit of prestige being a pcar. Being a 24 year old it was nice enough picking up college girls in the vette. The cayman would be on a whole other level. But again only if thats something you actually care about.

So what have I decided? I will have both. A gen1 cayman s for the street and my vette will be my trusty tow steed and track monster. If you do not have the means to get both refer to the above. If you dont mind the slower and less raw laps of the cayman but stil want to track the car pretty often I VERY much suggest a gen2. Reason being is gen2 saw a few upgrades in terms of track capabilities from a reliability standpoint (oil, trans coolers etc). A gen1 would need these upgrades if you track the car often putting you almost at the same pricepoint as a gen2. Seeing as that you do not want to mod the car the choose is clear on that aspect.

Hope this helps!

LGK-SD

GREAT post..concise, factual and hits the point.
As you point out it really comes down to a few things: your own personal driving experience, what you want to do with it, and what you identify with. And personally....the cost of ownership.
SO to answer the question you asked/implied in a few ways...no, no plans to track the car. As I mentioned, that was my past for 10 years in SCCA National racing. Those days were awesome and in my past. But...I live in an area with less than average traffic, really nice back roads, and many sportscar enthusiasts, some club cruises, etc. I've also, after 6 restorations and the racing days mentioned, have come to appreciate stock condition. Sure minor things like an aftermarket exhaust or a tune is fine.
I can identify with either car and nothing to do with prestige of a P-Car. They are different and real appreciation for those differences.
I gotta knock my *** off the fence on this. Two great cars. A Gen 2 is not in the budget (have other cars) so the 45k+ mile cars are in my price range. And those from what I have seen, not in all cases, need maintenance those a Z probably would not need. (Cost of ownership). That's what it is coming down to for me (and maybe for others).

Alexander K

Awesome glad I could help. Based on what you want to do with that car and myself driving both I think you would be much happier with the Cayman S.

Unfortunately I can't help much with maintenance.

zeevette

It's kind of funny how you can see the objective facts laid out so well by Alexander, and come to a completely different conclusion. The only Porsche's I've ever driven have been older 911s, and there is really not much of a similarity with newer Caymans. They do have a much more precise, and balanced feel than Corvettes, but the fun factor depends on what you value most. Z06 = raw performance, whether stock or modified, but the Porsche relies on it's balanced approach, with just enough power, and fairly light weight, with a superb suspension that emphasizes feel over brute strength. I like the brutishness and effortless power of the Z, but I'm also a wrench turner that likes to tinker, and there's nothing like the simplicity of light weight, and big *** motor, which is a combination that works best for me.

Mr.E.G.

I was in the same boat and chose the Z06. I loved the way the Cayman drove and I loved the interior. I'm a small guy and it really felt like the sight lines and everything were made just for me. The problem with the Cayman is that you can never make big power reliably. I came very close to buying a Cayman S with an aftermarket turbo setup. It was plenty quick, but more than a few of those cars have blown up, and a replacement engine for a Cayman is about $18k. Screw that.

I ultimately settled on the Corvette because I want to be able to drive the car aggressively and track it without having to worry about blowing something up. With the Corvette, worst case scenario is a blow an engine or tranny and can relatively inexpensively get a much better engine or tranny. Blow up a Cayman S engine and spend $15k plus to have another meh engine that makes 350 hp. Blow up a Corvette engine and spend less than $15k to have a world destroyer engine that makes almost twice as much power.