Going to view a 3.4 Cayman tonight
Discussion
I'd really recommend an Indy inspection including borescope examination. It's a 3.4 gen 1 - the one that's most likely to borescore. Anecdotally, tiptronics are more prone to scoring than manuals, most likely due to their fondness for running in too high a gear. Of course, it may have already had work on the bores - if so, make sure they've all been done, not just one (or three).
Then, if it checks out well, get it bought and enjoy!
Then, if it checks out well, get it bought and enjoy!
Definitely get a borescope inspection, as this engine is one of the most prone.
Bear in mind that most will have scoring, its just to what extent. If you plan to use the car quite a bit, or own it for some time, I would seriously consider a 2.7 instead, although a Tip would lose a bit of Cayman sparkle.
Have you seen the Black Cayman 3.4S Tip on Autotrader with a Hartech engine rebuild for £10,250 ?
Bear in mind that most will have scoring, its just to what extent. If you plan to use the car quite a bit, or own it for some time, I would seriously consider a 2.7 instead, although a Tip would lose a bit of Cayman sparkle.
Have you seen the Black Cayman 3.4S Tip on Autotrader with a Hartech engine rebuild for £10,250 ?
You need the seller to convince you that the oil consumption is not excessive and has been stable for a reasonable period.
They do vary a lot in terms of oil consumption. I sold two last year, both 987S gen 1 manuals. We'd owned one for about 6.5 years/ 30K miles and the other for 3.5 years / 7K miles. The first was about 78K miles when sold and was doing over 10K miles per litre of oil. The other was consuming a litre in about 2.5K miles and had 96K when sold.
Both had stable consumption rates in our ownership, which I used to monitor and record regularly. In the case of the higher mile car, we had records from the original enthusiast owner who had monitored oil consumption for the last 30K miles before we bought it. I would have been concerned at its oil use without the knowledge that this consumption rate had been pretty constant over the 30K miles.
Of course, this requires finding a seller who has owned the car for a reasonable time and mileage, who has a good awareness of the bore scoring issue and has kept good records, and obviously, who you feel you can trust. All this is on top of the car ticking all the right boxes in terms of condition/spec/history/price etc..
I would personally want this even with a borescope inspection, unless I was buying from a reputable dealer providing a warranty that covers bore scoring (many/most may not!).
I would definitely consider buying another gen 1 987S as they are great cars and in many ways I prefer them to my current 981S.
But finding one that meets all the above is likely to be a big of a challenge!
They do vary a lot in terms of oil consumption. I sold two last year, both 987S gen 1 manuals. We'd owned one for about 6.5 years/ 30K miles and the other for 3.5 years / 7K miles. The first was about 78K miles when sold and was doing over 10K miles per litre of oil. The other was consuming a litre in about 2.5K miles and had 96K when sold.
Both had stable consumption rates in our ownership, which I used to monitor and record regularly. In the case of the higher mile car, we had records from the original enthusiast owner who had monitored oil consumption for the last 30K miles before we bought it. I would have been concerned at its oil use without the knowledge that this consumption rate had been pretty constant over the 30K miles.
Of course, this requires finding a seller who has owned the car for a reasonable time and mileage, who has a good awareness of the bore scoring issue and has kept good records, and obviously, who you feel you can trust. All this is on top of the car ticking all the right boxes in terms of condition/spec/history/price etc..
I would personally want this even with a borescope inspection, unless I was buying from a reputable dealer providing a warranty that covers bore scoring (many/most may not!).
I would definitely consider buying another gen 1 987S as they are great cars and in many ways I prefer them to my current 981S.
But finding one that meets all the above is likely to be a big of a challenge!
Edited by DRH986 on Friday 7th June 18:36
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