In Defence of the Gen 1...

[Porpaul]

Been lurking for some time & enjoying reading the experience of others on this forum, thought perhaps it was time to contribute something!

My personnel Porsche history is all based around the 3.4 engine , having owned a 996, 981cs & currently a 2006 987CS. whilst the same displacement they do all have different 

characteristics . the 996 a very capable car , & very much a 911 in my opinion, 981 with its DFI has more of its torque in the mid range & 987s higher up , which i think makes it great fun to ring out, so long as the engine oil is up to temp of course ! The road tax on my Gen 1 is £340 (reg. march 06),so they do not all come into the higher band. It also never needs engine oil topping up between services.

Not wishing to be controversial , but feel  the gen1 gets a bit of a hard time & felt a little balance is needed .

[Andy]

I think it is always the way with any forum or car brand, the stories of doom will be passed along much quicker than anything else, and often from people that don't actually have direct experience of any of the reported issues. 

I just passed on my older 2008 VW Caddy which had the 1.9tdi engine in, reported to be bomb proof.... the horror stories of the newer 1.6tdi engines eating injectors is widely reported on forums and most people who are looking into them are told to buy an older car and stay away from the newer due to costs and regularity of the failures on them. 
It is all unfounded, there are some issues, like any car, but it has been blown up and reported on by so many people who 'just know about it'. 

I'm not saying this is the case for the 3.4 engine, there are some issues surrounding them, but bad news is always passed around much much quicker than the good. There are plenty of 3.4's out there with high mileage that have never had issues, well maintained and managed cars.

[Ben]

I think as time moves on the preconceived issues with the gen 1 S 3.4 engine are going to be much less of a problem as knowledge and understanding increases and those cars that are at impacted upon are rectified.  When I was looking for my first Cayman back in 2017 I have to say the stories of possible engine failure did play significantly on my mind, and played a part in my decision to go for a 2.7, but I would say that if I was in the market for a gen 1 S today, or any Porsche with that era/type engine, I would be much less worried about it.             

[Andyoz]

1 hour ago, Ben said:

I think as time moves on the preconceived issues with the gen 1 S 3.4 engine are going to be much less of a problem as knowledge and understanding increases and those cars that are at impacted upon are rectified.  When I was looking for my first Cayman back in 2017 I have to say the stories of possible engine failure did play significantly on my mind, and played a part in my decision to go for a 2.7, but I would say that if I was in the market for a gen 1 S today, or any Porsche with that era/type engine, I would be much less worried about it.             

 

Yes, you can see that happening already with the values.  Same for the 997 and 996.

Even going further back the 964 air-cooled was known for engine top end issues and oil leaks - not as drastic as bore score but they had their issues that are forgotten with time.  I think the argument more comes down to the price differential between a gen 1S and gen 2S.  Two years ago I'm sure that that was about £8 to £10k but at the moment the spread seems to be all over the place.  When I bought my mint 987.1S for £13k two years ago I just banked the difference as a war chest that I probably wouldn't need.

 

Extending further to other brands, you can get a McLaren 570S for £80k now...less than half price.  As a car to actually drive, nothing touches them at that price, it's just all the other s**t that goes on around the brand but the actual car when it works is amazing. I know they have desperate reputation but Indies are starting to step into the breach...

Edited September 29, 2021 by Andyoz