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Price opinion from advertisements and recorded sales. Not an inspection or a certified valuation.
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Reference photograph of a Porsche Cayman S
Valuation · Porsche · 981 · 2013-16

Porsche Cayman S

3.4L NA flat six · 239 kW / 370 Nm · 6sp manual/PDK · RWD
CONSIDERRated within the $30k to $100k band · 61 of 94 at this money
Model value
$62,000
Must gain each year to break even
+9.4%
The projection does not clear it, and nor does most of the library.
CarQuant score
52/100
Scored against the $30k to $100k band, not the whole library
Evidence grade
Measured
Four or more recorded Australian sales
$62,000
$39,868 lowhigh $55,704
Modelled estimate
No recorded Australian sale stands behind this figure. Treat the level as indicative and the structure as the analysis.

Looking at a Cayman for sale?

Put in the asking price and the odometer reading. You will see what this model should make at that reading.

Should make, typical example
$62,000
At about 105,000 km. Enter an asking price to compare.

Odometer only. Colour, options, history, condition and the photographs move it further, and that is what the report reads.

A person reads the advertisement and its photographs. Usually back within 48 hours. Read a real listing report

Price history

Today $62,000 · modelled median at five years $48,776
Solid line: the value this library has carriedDashed from 2026: modelled · even money $44,090 to $52,420
The green band is the even-money range and the one to plan on: half of outcomes land inside it. The pale band behind it bounds eight in ten ($39,868 to $55,704). The path is this model's own: it starts along the momentum of its recorded history and bends toward its projected median as the horizon lengthens, so no two cars share a future curve.

The verdict

A defensible case with reservations. Scores 52/100, ranking 61 of 94 in the $30k to $100k band. Risk resilience is the strongest input, scarcity the weakest.
Running it costs about $6,050 a year (9.8% of value), which is what the economics score measures. All in, including the projected value change, it is $9,501 a year.
The model's five year median is $48,776, a -21.3% move, with the tenth percentile at $39,868.
Value calibrated to recorded sales.
Evidence
Measured4 recorded sales
Off its peak
-43%
Value band
tight
No external evidence. A modelled estimate whose structure is more useful than its level.
Scored against every recent Australian sale this library holds, half its values land within 11.2 per cent of the price paid and the rest miss by more, in either direction. Projections are therefore damped toward flat in proportion to how little is known, and the plausible band is never narrower than the error the model is known to make.
Short term (1-5 years)$9,501 a year all in, -21.3% median value move
Long term (10-15 years)Scarcity case already formed
Negotiate from$62,000

Recorded sales

Every recorded observation, and when
6 rows on record
$146k$95k$43k
20222023202420252026
the value this record published, year by yearnow $62kwhat the model expects across 39k–83k kmsoldcontext, excluded1 row sits off this scale. Open the list below to see them.
Every row, with its price and note (6) ↓
Library value against the sold record
4 sales · median $79,000
Value $62,000
$54,400$95,500
2026Collecting Cars$69,000Sold
SOLD. 2 Jul 2026, Surfers Paradise QLD, 83,363km
2026Collecting Cars$130,000Context, excluded
SOLD. 29 Apr 2026, Mile End South SA, 18,424km, GTS - a tier above this record, context only
2024Collecting Cars$160,420Context, excluded
SOLD. 2 Apr 2024, Mosman NSW, 36,656km, GT4 - two tiers above, context only
2023Collecting Cars$54,400Sold
SOLD. 22 Jun 2023, Melbourne VIC, GTS stripped as a track car. Track preparation destroyed the GTS premium
2022Collecting Cars$89,000Sold
SOLD. 13 Jun 2022, Wollongong NSW, 47,531km
2021Collecting Cars$95,500Sold
SOLD. 4 Aug 2021, Sydney NSW, 39,200km, S manual
4 completed Australian sales of 6 rows. Rows marked asking, no sale, or context are shown for honesty but do not count toward the evidence grade: an ask is not a transaction, a pass-in is a refusal, and a provenance or overseas result does not price the ordinary local car. The badge on every row is computed by the same rule as the grade, so the two cannot drift apart.

Score breakdown

Against the $30k to $100k band median
94 cars in band · ink tick marks the median
Ownership economics30% of total
56/100+1
Scarcity25% of total
31/100-22
Demand durability20% of total
64/100-2
Liquidity15% of total
54/100+2
Risk resilience10% of total
70/100+34
Sub-scores run 0-100 before weighting; the weighted total is 52/100. Medians are computed live from the 94 cars currently in the $30k to $100k band, so this picture moves when the library does.
The working behind each factor: baseline and drivers ↓
Ownership economics30% weight
56/100
Baseline80 pts
− 9.8% of value a year to run-24 pts
Sub-score (baseline plus drivers, clamped 0-100)56 pts
Scarcity25% weight
31/100
Baseline24 pts
+ 367 registered in Australia, coupe rarer than convertible sibling+7 pts
Sub-score (baseline plus drivers, clamped 0-100)31 pts
Demand durability20% weight
64/100
Baseline48 pts
+ Widely regarded as sharper handling than the 911 of its era+16 pts
Sub-score (baseline plus drivers, clamped 0-100)64 pts
Liquidity15% weight
54/100
Baseline40 pts
+ Active market, 28 days on market+14 pts
Sub-score (baseline plus drivers, clamped 0-100)54 pts
Risk resilience10% weight
70/100
Baseline58 pts
+ 981 generation resolved the earlier IMS bearing issue+12 pts
Sub-score (baseline plus drivers, clamped 0-100)70 pts
Model output, not advice or a valuation. Verify independently before acting.

What it costs to own · about 9,130 km a year

Annual cost of access, excl. fuel
$6,050a year
Share of value per year
9.8%
Scheduled servicing$1,45024%
Tyres, annualised$1,05017%
Registration and CTP$80013%
Insurance$1,65027%
Sinking fund (failure table)$1,10018%
All-in annualised (a different number)
Purchase (model value plus duty)$64,480
Running costs × 5 years$30,250
Median exit, net of selling cost$47,226
All-in annualised over 5 years$9,501/yr
Share of value per year15.3%
Cost of access is what the car costs to run. All-in annualised adds depreciation, duty and selling costs across a five year hold. They answer different questions and are labelled separately for that reason.
Break-even appreciation, 5 year hold
9.4%a year, only to get the money back
This library projects
-4.7%a year
The projection falls 14.1 points a year short of the hurdle. On these assumptions this car is a cost, not an asset, which can be an entirely rational thing to buy but should be bought knowing it.
Purchase$62,000
Stamp duty$2,480
Running costs x 5 years$30,250
Selling cost at exit, 2.5% of the salescales with price
Sale price needed at +5 years$97,159
Storage
Bought at
No forecast is used to compute the hurdle. It is the purchase, the duty, any premium and 5 years of running cost, grossed up for the cost of selling and spread back over the hold. The projection it is measured against is the weakest number in this product and is drawn that way in the chart above. Transport, finance and any restoration spend sit outside it.

Specification

Engine3.4L NA flat six
Power / torque239 kW / 370 Nm
0-100 km/h4.9 s
Transmission6sp manual/PDK
DriveRWD
Kerb weight1,345 kg
Built worldwide38,000
Delivered to Australia1,500
Effective AU survivors367
Australian sales / year82
Typical days on market28 days
Launch price$159,000

What moves the price on this model

Colour hierarchy
Racing Yellow+5%
GT Silver Metallic+2%
Black-1%
Options
Manual over PDK+5%
PASM adaptive suspension+3%
Sport Chrono package+3%
Odometer sensitivity±4.5% per 10,000 km vs 105,000 km
Applied on top of these

Condition, history, originality, ownership, delivery and modification multipliers apply to every car in the library. They are applied automatically when an advertisement is analysed, and the schedule is set out once, on the analyser page.

Projected value in five years

Projected value at five years
$48,776
-21.3% on today
The model's figure. Today it is $62,000.
Even odds it lands between $44,090 and $52,420.
$39,868 lowhigh $55,704
The shaded range is even money and 19% wide; the outer figures bound eight outcomes in ten. Band width follows the evidence - a model with a tight measured record carries a tight band.
A weaker five year outlook than 93% of the library.
-26.6% weakest projected move in the librarystrongest +73.1%
Five-year cost of ownership
Value change alone: -$13,224 across five years.
Running costs over the same period: $30,250.
Duty and expected selling costs: $4,030.
Net cost of five years of ownership: $47,505, or $9,501 a year.
The projected value fall is added to the running cost. Depreciation is the larger number here.

The case for and against

The case for

Widely regarded by road testers as sharper handling than the contemporary 911 thanks to its mid-engine balance, and coupe numbers are lower than the convertible Boxster sibling. The market is active at 28 days on market despite specialist running costs.

The case against

Values have fallen from their 2016 peak before stabilising over the past two years, showing this is not yet a clear appreciation story. Specialist servicing costs remain a real ongoing expense and buyers need full service history to avoid surprises.

Known faults and risks

Risk 1Convertible-shared coolant pipe age issues
Risk 2Clutch wear on manual PDK-avoidant buyers' cars
Risk 3Specialist servicing cost
Coolant system overhaul$1,500
Clutch replacement (manual)$1,800
PASM shock replacement$1,600

Similar cars, and what they cost to run

Evidence behind this valueMeasured · 4 recorded sales
Carried value
$62,000
Historical price
2016 · $108,0002026 · $62,000
Measured
No external evidence. A modelled estimate whose structure is more useful than its level.
The 981 Cayman trades in three clearly separated tiers and this record only describes the bottom one

Base and S cars: $95,500 at 39,200km, $89,000 at 47,531km and $69,000 at 83,363km, fitting at MINUS 0.998 - almost a perfect line - and implying 7.0 per cent per 10,000 kilometres. GTS: $130,000 at 18,424km and $126,000 at 48,906km. GT4: $158,000 at 36,100km, $160,420 at 36,656km and $188,000 at 24,433km. A GT4 is roughly 2.5 times a base car of the same age.

Read the rest of the evidence notes (3 more)
The value moves $72,000 to $62,000

And the distance penalty from 1.6 to 4.5, short of the fitted 7.0 because three points cannot carry that steep a slope on their own.

Two cautions

A GT4 at 64,910km failed to sell in April 2026, and a stripped GTS track car made only $54,400 - modification for track use destroys the premium rather than adding to it.

The GTS and GT4 need their own entries

SOURCING: aggregator-surfaced results, unconfirmed against the auction house, the weakest evidence grade here.

This page prices the model.
The report prices the car in the advertisement.

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This model, today$62,000
Half of sales are further out than$6,931
The report$249
28×
the price of the report: what half of real sales of this model sit further from this page's number than, on this car
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One line of email when this desk publishes a call on a Porsche Cayman S, or records a new Australian sale of one. Nothing else, no schedule, and on a quiet model you may hear nothing for months, which is itself worth knowing about a car you are chasing.

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Cayman for sale?Priced by a person, $249