Mileage considerations

[jas7]

Hi

I am thinking of trying cayman 987.1 have looked at a couple of examples and have to say pretty impressed with quality and way cars seemed to wear mileage

I have a couple of cars interested in ranging from 70k to over 100k in mileage, should I be worried about the 100k plus mileage as the extra 30k doesn’t seem to effect price

Sorry about the rambling- the whole Porsche thing is very new to me

Spec is Cayman 987.1, 3.4s

Thanks Jas

[DRH986]

Jas, some of the age and mileage related issues are common with other cars, such as brakes, clutches and suspension. There are some issues that are not common on other cars, such as air con condensers, exhaust fittings (notably the studs connecting the manifolds to the rest of the system, which corrode terribly) and corroded coolant pipe couplings. However these are often an issue on relatively low mileage cars (below 50K).

Given the age and average mileage of the 987s (even the youngest Gen 2 is now 6 years old), any car you look at buying should be inspected for these issues and you should probably factor all these in if you are planning to own the car for any reasonable length of time. That said, if you are reasonably handy with the spanners, they are all DIY-able at reasonable cost.

The biggest potential issue with this generation of car (and the equivalent 997) is cylinder bore scoring but again this isn't something that you can put down to mileage as there have been plenty of low mileage examples that suffer and plenty of high mileage examples that haven't. I personally believe this is at least partly down to how carefully the car is warmed up, how it is driven (avoid low revs/high torque), and regular oil changes. Tell tale signs of cars suffering from bore scoring is high oil consumption and when really bad, a ticking noise. A borescope inspection can also be done but this isn't always conclusive.

If you haven't already found it, check out the Cayman Owners Club. It's a small group but model specific so you will get more opinions there.

Good luck, these are great cars.

[Porsche911R]

jas7 said:

Hi

I am thinking of trying cayman 987.1 have looked at a couple of examples and have to say pretty impressed with quality and way cars seemed to wear mileage

I have a couple of cars interested in ranging from 70k to over 100k in mileage, should I be worried about the 100k plus mileage as the extra 30k doesn’t seem to effect price

Sorry about the rambling- the whole Porsche thing is very new to me

Spec is Cayman 987.1, 3.4s

Thanks Jas

I think of newer cars at 100k end of life.

classics get rebuilt. new cars are nackered at 100k. way way too much upkeep for the value of the car so people don't spend the £££

[STiG911]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Correct - that comment is rubbish. Modern cars accumulate big miles even better than older ones, even from the same manufacturer in some cases. The key thing here is to remember the difference between 'Full Service History' and 'Fully Maintained' I've seen so many cars with 'FSH' only to find that the owner has skimped on anything not absolutely necessary to get the car through it's MOT. A well maintained Porsche with 100k or more should have a ream of receipts and invoices backing up the cars condition plus, anything major that needed replacing would have been done by now, so get lucky and you'll end up with a car you won't have to spend big money on for quite some time.
By this age, a lot of cars will have had a new:
Clutch - sometimes two; Common opinion says they last about 50k with a mechanically sympathetic driver, even if they do give some stick now and then.
Alternator / Ground strap
Air-Con Compressor / Condensers
Possibly remedial work on the suspension; Not necessarily dampers or springs, but certainly drop links, tie arms, bushes, etc.
Battery - on it's second or even third (lasting more than 4 years is uncommon)
And obviously consumables, Brakes, Tyres etc. Make sure they're a good brand not just any old tat, as this also points to a considerate owner.

[Swimfinz]

STiG911 said:

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Correct - that comment is rubbish. Modern cars accumulate big miles even better than older ones, even from the same manufacturer in some cases. The key thing here is to remember the difference between 'Full Service History' and 'Fully Maintained' ...

+1... I took my 986 from 80k miles to 120k miles..... Zero issues besides consumables.... Car had been well looked after by previous owner, and I did likewise.... Still going strong now, from what I hear.....

As always, buy on condition, not miles alone....