had some spare time the other day and popped into a porsche showroom. ive always said it would need to be something special to lure me away from the impreza and i like the look of the cayman and itd be just about affordable. however what i didnt realise is that 36k only gets you 245bhp, the s with 295 is 44k eek! this got me thinking, for another 4k youd get a lovely new rs4 with 420bhp- so which would you go for? is the porsche badge and rep really worth that much?

 

The Cayman is meant to be a fantastic drivers car but agreed 44k is a lot of money.

a friend of mine has just bought a 2.7 Boxster and with all the little xtra's that Porsche put on and he has specced it up to the hilt it stands him at 39k and its a 2.7

 

For an RS4 you're talking more like £52k with choice options.

Out of the 2? I'd spend the extra (if I could afford it) and get the RS4.

911 Carrera S or 4S, and it might be a different story. Different cheque to write out too though.

 

i know, but to spec the cayman up to the same level would take it to the same price! and at least the rs comes with a pretty high spec list already,xenons, leccy heated seats, bose stereo are all standard.
not having driven the porsche i have to say it would have to be mighty impressive to outclass the rs4-its just so much more of everything. but i have always had a desire for a porker

 

I would imagine on a nice given stretchof road a Cayman would show a clean pair of heels to an RS4, i'd say if you are in the market go and drive one

 

2-seater mid-engined flat-6 coupe vs 4-seater V8 executive saloon.

Same price, same fuel, that's about it though.

 

given the same drivers id be awfully surprised if the cayman could walk away, at most i think it would edge it on a twisty road- certainly not on a straight,unless im really underestimating it. the rs4 is seriously fast and also has a lot of feel and suppleness to the suspension-its as at home on a b road as a motorway.
unfortunately i cant stretch to that level just now,possibly a non s but im not sure about dropping 80hp,which is why i thought about the s then realised that you could get an awful lot more bang for your buck and is the porsche worth it.
i thought given the breadth of experience on here someone might have sampled both

 

Sorry i was thinking of the S' model and even that would get toasted in a straight line although the 0-100 are only a second apart.

 

save more for the RS4, practical aswell as desirable.

Or a BMW 335i M-Sport with a few options, 305bhp and supposed to be very good

 

Do private individuals really buy cars brand new???

 

Rich ones do

 

im far from rich,take homes under 15 a year but having had cars that are just problem after problem due to other people abusing them i prefer to know exactly how its been treated from day one. i dont have a house or a family or have holidays, my car is my hobby.

 

Listen to me very very carefully my son. Go to your audi dealer tomorrow morning, and put down a deposit for a audi S5. This car uses audi's 4.2 V8 with 355hp, looks stunning and most importantly of all uses audi's next generation chassis. The weight distribution will now be 54-46 instead of 60-40 as in most old audi's. The weight distribution for the S4 is about as good as it gets for a Front engined 4wd vehicle, and its the same as 4wd BMW models. The quattro system has a 40-60 torque split.

Basically you could probably drive the S5 for a year and still sell it on for a profit. The car will be in majorly high demand. Insider tips there sonny

 

yeah ok grandad, how is the VOLVO S4?

 

What a load of b0llocks!

 

It happened with the RS4 and M5

 

Doesn't mean the same will happen for the S5. Lets face it, you don't exactly have a great proven track record/reputation for giving advice about cars.

 

My advice to everyone is to buy a audi if they can afford it. That is very good advice. Cant go wrong with a audi

 

There you go, you've just proved me right again!

 

40 grand car on 1250 quid a month, I suppose its do-able if you dont really do anything else, even without many expenses thats going to be tight !

Good luck though, post some pictures when you get it.

I would say Cayman, got an email of a consultant I know, he ordered a Brera but got dicked about and bought a Cayman instead, will fnd out what he thinks of it.

 

cheers j4cko,it would be doable just. think i could cope with not doing anything else but the girlfriend isnt so keen and at the end of the day i dont want to lose so much power and just couldnt stretch to an s, so looks like the stis staying

 

You got it all wrong.

997 Carrera S 18-24 months old - 55K.

Thats a drivers car.

T.

 

Go for it, no doubt one day you will wake up and realise it wasn’t one of your finer moments.

I would find it impossible to justify a new £40k car on twice your £15k a year.

 

possibly but i doubt it, waking up and realising id spent 200 quid on pubs and clubs the night before and had nothing but a hangover for-that wasnt one of my finest moments.likewise being ay college and living off out of date ready meals and mouldy bread. buying a brand new sti and watching the value drop doesnt even come close, ive got a car i love outside. and a porsche or rs4 wouldnt lose in 3 years what ive lost in a year.
at the end of the day we all spend our money differently,id hate to be spending my money on nappys or an ex council flat but i know people who are delighted with both.

 

If you can afford these toys, you can afford to make your money work for you and have the toys later when you look back and cringe at just £15k a year. Get a mortgage and buy a fixer-upper, don't waste time in pubs and clubs but instead, doing up the house and sell it on for an extra £10-20k. Then do it again, and again, and again. What car can you afford, even at a long financial stretch that will reap such rewards ? As enticing as such toys are, leave them for when you have time to play. IMHO at your stage in life it's time to start work. I am doing it, and too late really. 2 jobs, 70-80 hours a week. All to get rid of the monkey and become financially independent and secure. The worlds car showrooms will be my orchard.

BOT - Couldn't choose without driving them, but if I needed to carry people/things regularly then RS4, for just pure driving fun, Cayman. It doesn't matter if it's the fastest in the world, it's all about enjoyment.

 

If you can stretch to the £50-52k mark - 997 C2S ........ No brainer ?
Good as the RS4 is - its not the same drivers car as a 997 IMHO.

 

If I was in your position I would take a couple courses, and aim to boost my income by 10-15k. Then you can definetly have some fun with motors.

 

Perhaps you could do the same then you could actually own an Audi.

 

dont have that option, i work for a family business and i do all the paperwork as well as 60-70 hours a week. if i leave then my dad isnt capable of doing it and there isnt the money in it to pay a full time accontant. when i was 20 i was doing 100 hours a week for 180 quid,its called putting family first, my dad gave up a lot to bring me up and im making sure hes ok,ultimately one day the business is mine if i keep it going well. yes i could do the same job and earn double but for some of us lifes about morer than money. and as for cars and the good life being there after you make the money, thats what my mum was looking forward to until she died at 52 still looking forward to them, il take mine while im still alive thanks
anyway as i said have decided il lose too much money on the sti so its staying,thanks to those who offered advice on topic.

 

Mate, just DO IT!
As you obviously know, life's just too short and it isn't a read through!
You only get one chance at it.