:iagree: I walked into a P-car dealership and was behind the wheel of a Cayman S after only maybe 10 minutes of being there. I was very clear that I was in the middle of testing a bunch of different cars and they didn't seem to mind one bit.

It's been a few years but last time I went to one, I told the guy we were just looking and he was trying to almost force to test drive a cayman S after we sat in one and look at in in the showroom thoroughly. I didn't test drive it cause I didn't want to put miles on a nice car I have no intention of buying.

We were in a 350z at the time and to my surprise, teh salesman was full of praise fo the Z. I may never spend my $$ on a P car but I will def tip my hat to their dealership experience for sure.

I was 23 at the time of my drive and showed up in my commuter '06 Civic sedan. Parked right out front, too. :tup:

lol maybe I got good service at the Subaru dealership because when I pulled up driving Rin, they thought it was a porsche :rofl2:

:bowrofl:

it is a direct-input trans that you are running cold...I imagine it would probably feel a bit clunky. Like many other transmissions, it also trades a bit of ease for short throws-- opposite the 370, which gave a light feel in exchange for longer, vague shifts. It is largely a matter of taste, but certainly worth checking out with the trans up to operating temp (and given the treatment you got at the dealer, there very well may be something wrong with the car.




As far as the treatment you dealt with, there are several contributing factors:
1: new year, not desperate for a sale
2: probably not the best sales guy on the lot today since it is the beginning of a new year
3: every mfr has some crappy dealers, sounds like you picked a bad one
4: your attitude


First two are almost for sure, plus some mix of 3 and 4

well, when i was shopping for the 370z a couple of years ago, i did test drive a 335i and it had a buttery smooth shifter too. regardless, i know direct input shifters will be rougher and clunkier than average. but that shifter was just so damn hard to move. i'm not a weakling. i go to the gym and pump iron, and still i had to use quite a bit of effort to move the shifter into gear, or even just wiggle it sideways. it felt about the same as a steering wheel feels when the engine is off and power steering isn't active. it was something that would quickly exhaust the muscles if done repeatedly during a normal drive. actually i think something must have been wrong with that specific car. i'll check other dealerships definitely just to verify my doubts.

Pharm,
Just out of curiosity, what cars are on your short list to repalce your totaled Z?

?????????? what's with my attitude? i lurked around for a few minutes waiting for a salesman to show up. when no one did, i decided to check out the interior of that gt500. and a few seconds later that guy came out telling me not to do that. and as soon as i told him i'm interested in mustangs, he asks for my age. no hello, no good afternoon, no hi i'm .... how can i help you, no happy new year, nothing. just a dirty look and how old are you. :shakes head:

I don't remember the transmission on the GT500 being so difficult to operate. You'd have to get your hands on one that's warmed up and give it a shot to see. Don't expect it to be easy by any means, but it shouldn't be hard at all, especially if you are young and healthy! :tup:

not really sure. maybe go the awd route for sti or evo, but doubtful given the cheap interior, boy racer looks, and questionable reliability. I might go for a cayman s but the pricing on these things is insane, even used. Hard to justify the cost vs performance gain. Right now the top of my list is either used 911 or e92 m3 with possibilities including 335i (which i would mod significantly for the track), cayman s (if i can find one that doesn't cost an arm and a leg), or if all else fails just get nother 370z

maintenance on a used 911 or m3, esp if you start tracking it, will be something you need to factor in to the cost of ownership.

I hear ya on the cayman S. I built a black ed. cayman S optioned the way I'd want (still not close to fully loaded) and it was $92K, i built a cayman R same way and it was $90K. Great cars, but not $90K great.

I wasn't there, but it is usually a contributing factor in crappy dealership experiences....again, last two in some proportions unknown to me....

The Cayman S is an amazing car. Perfectly done. But it is insanely expensive when you can get relative performance for much cheaper. But if you've got the money to blow on one they are super nice. I just couldn't bring myself to do it, which is why I bought the 370.

agreed. i never driven a cayman but i have no doubt it's an amazing car. but i don't have money to blow. and even if i did, at that price point, there are many better alternatives. used 911, used gtr, m3, used corvette z06, etc. these are cars with better performance and practicality too. and for some reason, even used cayman s are still commanding too much of a price premium.