996/997 buying advice please

[Drloopylou]

I have a 15-20k budget for a Cayman. I know many of you will advise me just to go away and read buyers guides but I have and the more forums and buyers guides I read the more confused and worried I get! I've read about all the potential problems with 996 and 997 engines and it's beginning to put me off buying any Porsche.

As a bit of background, I previously had a VX220 turbo for 5 years which was my daily drive and I reluctantly had to sell, then had my husband's 530d and most recently a lease car - SLK 250. I found the BMW and Merc both pretty boring compared to my VX, though the increased torque made motorway driving more comfortable. I've always liked the Cayman and feel it will combine comfort and practicality with the sporty and fun drive I miss from my VX.

However my work Is mostly close to home so I will have weeks where it only does a 6 mile round trip each day with no chance to warm the oil up. (Other weeks it may do 120 miles daily)

Am I asking for trouble buying a 996/997 given how few miles I may do in it some weeks and with their known bore scoring issues etc? And to throw another spanner in the works it may need a baby seat fitted in the next year or two!

I'd be really grateful for your advice and apologies if you're sick of newbies coming on here asking questions

[g7jhp]

Buy a DFI engined Cayman/Boxster (Gen 2) circa 2009 onwards if you're worried or go for a 996 C2 and keep some cash back!

Same topic on another thread

[Trev450]

Although its not good for any engine to do short trips, the M96/97 engine is no better or worse when it comes to this. The important thing is not to drive them hard until fully warmed up, so you will just have to stay off the gas on the short trips.