New to Porsche buying advice

[Mikey]

Hi Everyone, 

 

I am new to the world of Porsche, not having purchased one yet, but currently in the market...  I thought I would ask some advice from the experts...

 

having trawled the good old internet for hours and hours, I decided a gen1 Cayman is a good starting point.

 

there are a couple of lovely ones out there, but I have found 1 in particular, 06 S, manual, with 33k miles...  the car looks mint, it’s in great condition, but the IMS hasn’t been done...

 

It had mostly a full service history, 2010 to 2013 is missing, 2013 to date is a non Porsche service history, 06 to 2010 is a Porsche history.

 

what are your thoughts on something like this?  What sort of price should I be looking at?  Silver and black inside...

 is it a good idea to buy a very low mileage car or is average mileage better?

 

what are the best colours to buy?

 

and lastly, apart from bore score, which I would have no idea how to identify, and the IMS, is there anything else I should look out for on a gen1 cayman S?

 

thank you for your help, I look forward to your advice.

[Mavrik]

@Mikey

Welcome!

 

No need to worry about the IMS as the failure rate on later 05^ is negligible imo as they had the upgraded bearing.

 

However, borescoring is more of an issue to be concerned about imo.

 

1st rule when buying a Cayman & more specifically an S, is to demand that you start the car from stone cold!

 

Any signs of blue smoke on start up that doesn't clear after a few seconds is a sure sign of bore score! Walk away...

 

Get the registration beforehand and go online to the .gov MOT check site to check its history recorded mileage 

 

Are you buying privately?

 

You haven't mentioned the spec which greatly influences price... For an 06 S with 33k privately and low/medium spec I'd suggest £14-£15k... Prob £16-17k from a stealer.

[Mikey]

Hi Mavrik 

 

Thank you for replying, much appreciated.... I am very very new to this, the spec in the car is pretty basic, doesn’t have satnav for example....

 

so do all gen 1 caymans not need the ims doing??  
 

When I get to a decision on one, I think I would have an independent inspection done before committing, but apart from blue smoke, is there anything else obvious?

 

for example, I saw a car this morning, ok 100k on the clock, but boasting a full PSH....  when I asked more detail, it has 6 Porsche stamps...

 

This doesn’t seem right?  It’s a 2008, so I would expect at least 12 stamps by now??

 

thanks

[Lennym1984]

41 minutes ago, Mikey said:

This doesn’t seem right?  It’s a 2008, so I would expect at least 12 stamps by now??

 

thanks

 

It's every 2 years or 20k miles but obviously annual servicing is preferable. I really wouldn't worry about the ims, its not an issue on the 987

[GlosRich]

As with many cars it's often better to get higher mileage with signs of lots of maintenance, than a garage queen that has sat a lot.

But you do want to be seeing a stack of bills for all the common problems being fixed e.g. Aircon condensers, gear shift linkage, coolant pipes, suspension arms and bushes. Clutch and rear main seal on an older Gen1 also.

Due to the market ATM prices are skewed higher, as everyone wants a fun car, so there won't be any bargains. So make sure what you buy is good.

Watch the Max Revs videos on YouTube, he's had most of the problems on his car, although he uses a main dealer, so he's paid out £1000s to get it all fixed, where as an independent specialist would be a lot less.

Where are you, maybe we can recommend a specialist?

 

These are not majorly complex cars is just a lot of the parts prices are too high, so that simple problem to fix is £3-400 rather than £150 on a normal car. If you do that 3 or 4 times a year it's easy to be spending £1k a year fixing issues or existing damage.

That was my experience anyway. If I had my time again I would have spent a bit more and bought a car that didn't need £1500 spending on fixing damaged parts.

 

Edited April 2, 2021 by GlosRich

[TrickyDicky78]

I am by no means an expert compared to others on here as I am also a newbie to Cayman ownership. I bought an 08 gen 1 S last year from Scotland which I wrote about on the forum. You can find it with an easy search of 'my scottish cayman'. Don't let what I say in the article put you off. I didn't do my due diligence. Even though it had a fantastic service history I have spent quite a bit putting it right and have really enjoyed the process of sourcing the parts. Now the car drives like a dream and I love taking it for a long drive. Always puts a smile on my face.

 

Where are you based? As GlosRich says, many of us could make suggestions/recommendations...

[Mikey]

Hi, thanks everyone, I am in weybridge in Surrey....

 

I am really keen to get one of these but just want to make sure I get the best I can afford...

 

I have spent the last year one an Audi TT mk1, 3.2 v6 which I have now got to almost brand new condition which will be sold to add to the pot...  my TT had had everything done including a full engine rebuild having covered just 600 miles since then...

 

Audi I was ok with doing a lot myself in terms of mods etc, I am a bit knowledgeable on cars, but this purchase had me being overly cautious...

 

would you guys recommend an independent inspection and if so, is there someone you would recommend???

[Mikey]

Thanks everyone, great help, so a more technical question, should I fine “the one” which passes an independent Porsche inspection and bore scope, and it comes back clean....  how do you avoid bore score moving forward???  Is it as simple as regular annual oil

changes or is there something else?  Is there something that can be done to avoid it completely???  Thanks

[Lennym1984]

1 hour ago, Mikey said:

Thanks everyone, great help, so a more technical question, should I fine “the one” which passes an independent Porsche inspection and bore scope, and it comes back clean....  how do you avoid bore score moving forward???  Is it as simple as regular annual oil

changes or is there something else?  Is there something that can be done to avoid it completely???  Thanks

There doesn't appear to be a definitive way of avoiding it (the experts don't even agree on what conditions cause it) but sensible precautions are regular oil changes, not thrashing it when cold, and not labouring the engine in the wrong gear.

[Aaron]

If your budget pertains, you can always get a gen 2 which has none of these crazy engine issues.  They are much more solid cars and, whilst the initial cost may be higher, the cost over ownership is certainly lower.  Resale values are also better.

 

The loss of a car only occurs once you sell it and realise the asset - not when you put the money down to purchase it.

[andygo]

I had my 2007 gen 1 3.4s borescoped due to its appetite for oil. I used Autofarm, near Oxford, a very well respected indie.

They reported all was well with the inspection. The car used about 750ml per 1,00 miles. No obvious smokiness on cold start etc, went like stink, just used oil. I surmised that as it hadby then done 90k miles the bores were ovalised and/or the piston rings were worn.

 

I purchased it at 50k miles and it used oil from day one.

 

My Cayman 987.2 with 20k miles dislikes the taste of oil apparently and hasn't sipped any in 2500 miles. So far....

 

Buy a 987.2 is my advice, for what it's worth. (About £2.50..)

Edited April 3, 2021 by andygo