TrickyDicky78 Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 I will now tell you a little story of how important it is for buyers to do their homework and get the car they like inspected by someone whom knows what they are doing. I have always wanted a Porsche and have loved the look of the Caymans since they first arrived on the scene. Last spring I decided to take the plunge and I found one with a mountain of paperwork based in Glasgow. I am based in London. During the brief period of relaxed lockdown I flew up to Glasgow to see the car and took it for a drive. I fell in love with it and bought it. I could tell there were a few issues with the car but thought nothing drastic. The owner had paperwork about the IMS and RMS and so far no issues. I drove the car back to London in 7 hours. It was a great way to learn about the car. The day after I returned from Glasgow I took the wife out for a drive. We got about a mile from home when the clutch decided to bury itself in the floor. Turned out it was the clutch slave line. I had the car towed to a Porsche Specialist recommended to me and they carried out an inspection. It turned out, and I should have known this, that Scottish weather can really take it's toll on the underneath of a car. Although the bodywork and the inside was sublime, the underneath looked like the insides of a scrap metal van. So my purchase went from one of excitement to one of dread. I was gutted but it was my fault because I did not do my due diligence. I even contacted citizen's advice but there was not much that could be done as I didn't perform my checks. Anyway, to cut a long story short, the car has now become a little pet project and I am slowly replacing everything that needs to be replaced and I am hoping to make it a superb version of a 987.1S. So far I have done: Clutch slave line New front subframe (There was a crack in the subframe!!! Imagine how much rust caused that?!!!!!) New Front brakes and pads (backs were fine) A refurbished cat back OEM exhaust (The one on the car had 7 holes in it) New front lower arms (Luckily suspension and mounts are fine) Replaced the right hand side rear suspension subframe The above may not sound much to those that mod their cars but imagine if you just wanted to buy a car and enjoy it!!!! I did list it for a week or two after all this work but now I have driven it more I am excited to do some more work to it and drive it throughout the spring and summer and finally enjoy Porsche Ownership. Hopefully I will be able to attend the Porsche evening at the Ace Cafe. Now I am even happier I have got this off my chest. Anyway, if people are looking to buy a good car and not have this hassle, please get an inspection!!!!! Happy Driving everyone and thanks for listening. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mavrik Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 (edited) Sorry to hear about your particular woes... However, as you commented you failed to do even the most basic checks... Theres no need to bring a "specialist" with you when viewing any vehicle but obviously if one is a complete novice in terms of what to look for then bringing a friend who is clued up is invaluable. What history, owners & mileage did your CS have? 🤔 Edited March 15, 2021 by Mavrik 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Lennym1984 Posted March 15, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted March 15, 2021 Sorry ot hear that you have not had a great experience. Rust is reasonably uncommon on the actual tub of the car but as you have found out, fixtures and fittings can be susceptible. Perhaps your car had a bit of a hardlife? The subframes are aluminium and so cracks are more likely to be the results of a crash or a heavy handed mechanic. Aluminium can obviously corrode but I have not seen one anywhere near bad enough to challenge its structurally integrity (although perhaps you are just talking about the coffin arm brackets?) Either way, the other repairs do not seem unreasonable for a 13 year old car and at least now you can enjoy a tighter handling car. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrickyDicky78 Posted March 15, 2021 Author Share Posted March 15, 2021 (edited) There was a mountain of Official Porsche dealership paperwork and Independent Porsche Specialist paperwork so I did take that into consideration. 2 previous owners and 51k on the clock. It was my first time buying private and was a little overawed by it all. I totally hold my hands up to that. I am now really happy with the car and look forward to driving it all the time. Would I have done things differently? Absolutely and I have learnt my lesson but now I have a fantastic car which will be lovingly looked after both inside and out. I have just had it serviced and it also just passed the MOT with no advisories so I am chuffed. Edited March 15, 2021 by TrickyDicky78 Forgot to quote Mavrik's post. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrickyDicky78 Posted March 15, 2021 Author Share Posted March 15, 2021 Thanks Lenny. It is certainly a lot tighter now and I am enjoying it a lot!!! Thank you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrickyDicky78 Posted March 15, 2021 Author Share Posted March 15, 2021 Just now, TrickyDicky78 said: Thanks Lenny. It is certainly a lot tighter now and I am enjoying it a lot!!! Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sevenfourate Posted March 15, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted March 15, 2021 Welcome aboard. And welcome to ‘Porsche life’ 😂 Rest safe In the knowledge every car comes with bills. Few however have the utter thrills, feelings, emotions and enjoyment an on-song Cayman brings with it...... **Oh - and as a detailing freak; Black scares me. They say if your a clean freak...”You don’t own a Black car. A Black car owns you” 😁 Health to enjoy Sir. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrickyDicky78 Posted March 15, 2021 Author Share Posted March 15, 2021 15 minutes ago, sevenfourate said: Welcome aboard. And welcome to ‘Porsche life’ 😂 Rest safe In the knowledge every car comes with bills. Few however have the utter thrills, feelings, emotions and enjoyment an on-song Cayman brings with it...... **Oh - and as a detailing freak; Black scares me. They say if your a clean freak...”You don’t own a Black car. A Black car owns you” 😁 Health to enjoy Sir. I was annoyed at first, then accepted it and now excited by getting work done and owning a tight driving Cayman. Thank you for your kind words!!!! Richard 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottland Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 Sorry to hear about your plight. I’ve had to do some work since buying mine around the same time as you last year so I can empathise - I just look on the bright side so I know all these jobs will have been done (and done to my standard). What else is on your todo list? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarlechS Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 sorry to hear about your experiences, good money pits these things are! Hope all the common problems have been addressed Welcome! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrickyDicky78 Posted March 16, 2021 Author Share Posted March 16, 2021 15 hours ago, Scottland said: Sorry to hear about your plight. I’ve had to do some work since buying mine around the same time as you last year so I can empathise - I just look on the bright side so I know all these jobs will have been done (and done to my standard). What else is on your todo list? Not sure at the moment. The clutch seems ok at the moment as do all the shocks. I think I will just drive and enjoy it until something needs to be replaced as opposed to changing for changing sake. Might get the alloys refurbished. Have you done much? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrickyDicky78 Posted March 16, 2021 Author Share Posted March 16, 2021 13 hours ago, SarlechS said: sorry to hear about your experiences, good money pits these things are! Hope all the common problems have been addressed Welcome! Thanks. So far so good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottland Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 5 hours ago, TrickyDicky78 said: Not sure at the moment. The clutch seems ok at the moment as do all the shocks. I think I will just drive and enjoy it until something needs to be replaced as opposed to changing for changing sake. Might get the alloys refurbished. Have you done much? Aircon rads and front brakes which I knew about when I bought it. It’s going in soon for the front coolant pipes and I’ve also got an exhaust leak from one of the manifolds. I also replaced the AOS as a preventative measure as there was no paperwork to say it had been done. Nothing too bad, but it all adds up. I’m not sure you’d get many that don’t need at least something doing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Auty Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 Having recently driven a round trip of 400miles to look at a 996 C2 Manual I can tell you what I found. Advert was , 1 owner , FSH , 62k miles , it was in a really nice colour and tan interior which I love. I spent about 1 min quickly scanning the outside of the car and realised almost straight away it was not for me, but it was only when I lay down and took a look underneath I was horrified. All 4 jacking points were rotten where by i could pull pieces off with my fingers, all the brake pipes were badly corroded and everything else made of metal was rusted heavily. But it was the exhaust manifolds that really did it for me, they were virtually rusted through and the bolt heads were not really there, which would mean drilling out to replace, very expensive and time consuming The FSH wasn't full...last had a service 8yrs ago!! It had been MOT'd but whoever did it must have been a mate because those brake lines were bad, which then made me wonder if it was clocked and he had been driving it which the MOT mileage suggested he hadn't. It would have been a full restoration job, the whole underside would have had to come out , welding work done at somewhere very good and about £10k on parts to get the suspension working again I offered him half what he wanted with this in mind and left it with him...not heard since but someone that doesn't know what they're looking at will get a huge bill just to get it through a genuine MOT. Wheels were so badly scraped and tyres poor so probably £1500-£2k to sort the 4 wheels out. I've got photos but they're too big to post. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie1996 Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 I know exactly the feeling of dread you describe. I recently bought a Cayman and a month in the PDK went wonky (clutch slipping particularly in first and second gear, reduced power light flashing on), I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to drive home & my heart absolutely fell over the following weekend as I began to think I'd bought a car with too much mileage (58K), too many fancy electronics (PDK), too many past owners (5), a car that was simply no longer capable of being driven as it was designed - foot hard down. However, like you, I came to terms with the situation. In fact the car was on warranty with the dealership I'd bought it from, they took it on the Monday and had it back in shape by Wednesday. They changed the clutch oil and ran an adaptations and clutch adjustments programme to tighten the PDK insides up and realign things (err something like that). It's been fine since and, though I know there are people who've had PDK failure, I've also been encouraged to hear many saying the PDK system is bullet proof. This dealership in particular, which has been in business a long time, has never had to return a PDK to Porsche. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennym1984 Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, Eddie1996 said: I began to think I'd bought a car with too much mileage (58K) You'd be horrified by my car then. It now has 104k, gets pounded round a track regularly, and has more than 5 owners... (in fairness though, it isn't my main car and I can do most of the work needed to keep it in rude health) Edited March 18, 2021 by Lennym1984 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie1996 Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 16 hours ago, Lennym1984 said: You'd be horrified by my car then. It now has 104k, gets pounded round a track regularly, and has more than 5 owners... (in fairness though, it isn't my main car and I can do most of the work needed to keep it in rude health) That's gotta be encouraging to any Porsche owner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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