Cayman S engine failure and how Porsche will deal with you.
Discussion
cayman-black said:
DSM2, a bit harsh to say he deserved it i think. Perhaps your one of the PHeaders who still think Porsche build fantastic engines. What a load of b
ks, We hear these stories way to much.
Well, no I am not one of those PHeaders and if you read my post you will see that I accept that the weakness of these engines is clear.ks, We hear these stories way to much.Nor am I one of those who thinks Porsche GB or the OPCs are much use at all. I bought my 997S new in September 2007. It will be 5 years old this year and has done 18k miles. It had an oil change done by me at 4K and 8K. It then had its first service at an OPC at 10K. Since then it has been serviced annually by a leading indie, who also did its 4 year service. In comparison with the Porsche recommendations that lot has cost me maybe £250 over 4 years.
It doesn't go over 2K rpm until the oil is hot and rarely sees over 6500, though that gets me around as quick as anyone else, I should think. I don't crave the sound the flat six makes over 7000, being aware of the increased engine load this creates for little extra performance. It never gets run for only short distances.
I have never had an extended OPC warranty. That has saved me well over £3K so far. The only failure on the car was one of the horns found at the 4 year service. Nothing else. Not even a light bulb. It uses no oil and idles hot at 2 bar, showing 4 to 5 bar OP at 3000 or so.
I plead guilty to mollycoddling the car but, as I am well aware of the engine weaknesses, I don't see any alternative. Having said that 40 years in engineering has given me mechanical sympathy that many on here don't seem to have.
Given the established weaknesses of this engine, mine may go pop and I shall let you all know if it does. However, if any of these engines can survive, then mine should be one of them. IMO I don't deserve for that to happen!
I stand by what I said. If you buy a car with well known fragility then fail to give it even basic service and use it with little care and attention then you will, in all likelihood, get what you deserve.
Finally, it is totally untrue that you cannot sell one of these cars without a full OPC history. I could sell mine tomorrow if I wanted to. That's just another PH myth to go with the rest.
DSM2 said:
If you buy a car with well known fragility then fail to give it even basic service and use it with little care and attention then you will, in all likelihood, get what you deserve.
It's a funny way of describing the ownership of the top German automobile product......makes you think when the lowliest Fiat runs rings round Porsche.
Globs said:
It's a funny way of describing the ownership of the top German automobile product...
...makes you think when the lowliest Fiat runs rings round Porsche.
It's pretty bad just based on the posters here. I appreciate it's a performance engine but there can't be many other engines of similar BHP/Litre with such a poor record....makes you think when the lowliest Fiat runs rings round Porsche.
My old Mitsubishi (now 18 years old) is making 35% more power than it was designed to at 138 BHP/Litre (on a standard original engine) and seven hard track years later it's still fine.....
Hi Everyone,
I've read about 10 pages of this and it's scaring me to death!
I've just ordered a new Boxster 981 S for everyday use, circa 20,000 miles per annum, please, please tell me they have fixed all the issues you are referring to on this generation engine?????
I am proposing to go with the intitial 2 year warranty and extend at year 2 for another 2 years rather than pay for a 3rd year at outset - any thoughts on this?
Rob
I've read about 10 pages of this and it's scaring me to death!
I've just ordered a new Boxster 981 S for everyday use, circa 20,000 miles per annum, please, please tell me they have fixed all the issues you are referring to on this generation engine?????
I am proposing to go with the intitial 2 year warranty and extend at year 2 for another 2 years rather than pay for a 3rd year at outset - any thoughts on this?
Rob
RBD914 said:
Hi Everyone,
I've read about 10 pages of this and it's scaring me to death!
I've just ordered a new Boxster 981 S for everyday use, circa 20,000 miles per annum, please, please tell me they have fixed all the issues you are referring to on this generation engine?????
I am proposing to go with the intitial 2 year warranty and extend at year 2 for another 2 years rather than pay for a 3rd year at outset - any thoughts on this?
Rob
As far as I'm aware these issues belong entirely to the previous generation but one. I confess to not having read all 25 pages. It doesn't matter as long as you maintain the warranty anyway. So your plan seems sound. Nice car by the way.I've read about 10 pages of this and it's scaring me to death!
I've just ordered a new Boxster 981 S for everyday use, circa 20,000 miles per annum, please, please tell me they have fixed all the issues you are referring to on this generation engine?????
I am proposing to go with the intitial 2 year warranty and extend at year 2 for another 2 years rather than pay for a 3rd year at outset - any thoughts on this?
Rob
RBD914 said:
Hi Everyone,
I've read about 10 pages of this and it's scaring me to death!
I've just ordered a new Boxster 981 S for everyday use, circa 20,000 miles per annum, please, please tell me they have fixed all the issues you are referring to on this generation engine?????
I am proposing to go with the intitial 2 year warranty and extend at year 2 for another 2 years rather than pay for a 3rd year at outset - any thoughts on this?
Rob
All sorted. I've read about 10 pages of this and it's scaring me to death!
I've just ordered a new Boxster 981 S for everyday use, circa 20,000 miles per annum, please, please tell me they have fixed all the issues you are referring to on this generation engine?????
I am proposing to go with the intitial 2 year warranty and extend at year 2 for another 2 years rather than pay for a 3rd year at outset - any thoughts on this?
Rob
I thought they all came with 3 now? All depends how long you plan to keep it I guess - If you will keep for 4 years, buying it at the outset is the best way to do it.
I am glad I saw this thread. I have been considering a Cayman S or R, but will look elsewhere having seen this.
There seem to be lots of instances of excessive bore wear, and Porche's attitude to the problem seems to fall far short of any reasonable expectation of such a marque.
It's funny really, as this has put me off considering any Porsche as a next car.
There seem to be lots of instances of excessive bore wear, and Porche's attitude to the problem seems to fall far short of any reasonable expectation of such a marque.
It's funny really, as this has put me off considering any Porsche as a next car.
I'd say it's a shame you have come to this conclusion.
You can find nightmares with every brand on the internet - that's where people turn when they have a bad experience.
Buy a car from a main dealer, or with some warranty left and you have nothing to fear - I'd say this pretty much sums up moting in modern, complex performance cars.
You can find nightmares with every brand on the internet - that's where people turn when they have a bad experience.
Buy a car from a main dealer, or with some warranty left and you have nothing to fear - I'd say this pretty much sums up moting in modern, complex performance cars.
fivebrassvikings said:
I am glad I saw this thread. I have been considering a Cayman S or R, but will look elsewhere having seen this.
There seem to be lots of instances of excessive bore wear, and Porche's attitude to the problem seems to fall far short of any reasonable expectation of such a marque.
It's funny really, as this has put me off considering any Porsche as a next car.
I wouldn't be so hasty as the engine issues are on the older design, pre-facelift cars. DFI equipped cars are proving to be very reliable. There seem to be lots of instances of excessive bore wear, and Porche's attitude to the problem seems to fall far short of any reasonable expectation of such a marque.
It's funny really, as this has put me off considering any Porsche as a next car.
BubblesNW said:
I wouldn't be so hasty as the engine issues are on the older design, pre-facelift cars. DFI equipped cars are proving to be very reliable.
Not on mine it wasn't, I had a gen2 2.9 with 6k miles on the clock and ALL 6 cylinder walls were scored. The engine went in the bin. I got a full refund! Apparently it affects the 09 plate cars.premio said:
BubblesNW said:
I wouldn't be so hasty as the engine issues are on the older design, pre-facelift cars. DFI equipped cars are proving to be very reliable.
Not on mine it wasn't, I had a gen2 2.9 with 6k miles on the clock and ALL 6 cylinder walls were scored. The engine went in the bin. I got a full refund! Apparently it affects the 09 plate cars.edo said:
I'd say it's a shame you have come to this conclusion.
You can find nightmares with every brand on the internet - that's where people turn when they have a bad experience.
Buy a car from a main dealer, or with some warranty left and you have nothing to fear - I'd say this pretty much sums up moting in modern, complex performance cars.
+1.You can find nightmares with every brand on the internet - that's where people turn when they have a bad experience.
Buy a car from a main dealer, or with some warranty left and you have nothing to fear - I'd say this pretty much sums up moting in modern, complex performance cars.
In the market for a Gen 1 Cayman S or 997 at the moment. Am I worried about potential bore score issues? A bit. Have I done my research, understand some of the key contributory factors and how to go about minimising the potential risk? Yes. Will I be going for an established (OPC or Hartech) warranty? Yes.
For every horror story you read here, you don't hear about the rest of the happy owners with problem free engines. I'm not defending what does appear to be a somewhat flawed design and sympathy to the OP for his problems.
andyc11 said:
edo said:
I'd say it's a shame you have come to this conclusion.
You can find nightmares with every brand on the internet - that's where people turn when they have a bad experience.
Buy a car from a main dealer, or with some warranty left and you have nothing to fear - I'd say this pretty much sums up moting in modern, complex performance cars.
+1.You can find nightmares with every brand on the internet - that's where people turn when they have a bad experience.
Buy a car from a main dealer, or with some warranty left and you have nothing to fear - I'd say this pretty much sums up moting in modern, complex performance cars.
In the market for a Gen 1 Cayman S or 997 at the moment. Am I worried about potential bore score issues? A bit. Have I done my research, understand some of the key contributory factors and how to go about minimising the potential risk? Yes. Will I be going for an established (OPC or Hartech) warranty? Yes.
For every horror story you read here, you don't hear about the rest of the happy owners with problem free engines. I'm not defending what does appear to be a somewhat flawed design and sympathy to the OP for his problems.
BubblesNW said:
premio said:
BubblesNW said:
I wouldn't be so hasty as the engine issues are on the older design, pre-facelift cars. DFI equipped cars are proving to be very reliable.
Not on mine it wasn't, I had a gen2 2.9 with 6k miles on the clock and ALL 6 cylinder walls were scored. The engine went in the bin. I got a full refund! Apparently it affects the 09 plate cars.although the 2.9 is not a dfi the engine is the same as 3.4,3.6,and 3.8 gen 2 which did not suffer the same issue as the 2.9
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