Gen 1 Cayman S; too big a risk?

[TroubledSoul]

Hi all, going to be changing the daily soon and on elf the possibilities that has come up is a gen 1 Cayman S, with the 3.4. I'm quite keen to have a look at them and try one out etc. but I've started reading up and am now finding out about the engine issues....

It looks like the IMS isn't easy to spot if it's going and then there's the bore scoring.... Are they just too big a risk to buy anywhere other than an OPC or is it something that tends to be blown out of proportion?

Is it still the case that there's no genuine fixes or have things moved on?

[TroubledSoul]

Thanks for that. I'm quite disappointed in all honesty but I'd rather be armed with the facts. My approach would be (would have been!) find a nice one in budget, do the usual checks, buy it.

Now it looks like at the very least it would need to go to a specialist for a check and I'm the sort of driver that would probably put 25 - 30k on it over a couple of years so I'm going to be wide open to the bore scoring issue...

I genuinely hate to say this, but it does sound very much like it may not be the right car for me.

Budget would really be a max of £12k. That narrows me down to the higher mileage cars to start with and it feels like I'd be pushing my luck. A real shame because I've always fancied a Porsche but I'm currently in the process of getting rid of most of my credit etc. and don't want to finance a large amount at this time, even though technically I could.

May have to look at something else

[Buggyjam]

2.9 gen 2? Edit- sorry just seen your reply that you’ve budgeted for a gen 1

My understanding from hartech is the bore score risk doesn’t go up with actual higher mileage, rather your exposure to the risk is higher because you use it more

Edited by Buggyjam on Monday 13th November 10:35

[Buggyjam]

2.9 gen 2? Edit- sorry just seen your reply that you’ve budgeted for a gen 1

My understanding from hartech is the bore score risk doesn’t go up with actual higher mileage, rather your exposure to the risk is higher because you use it more

Edited by Buggyjam on Monday 13th November 10:37

[blueveloce]

I am on the hunt for a fun weekend car and the Cayman is high on my list and thanks to the very useful info from some here on PH the 2.7 is the one i want and looking at the classifieds there are some decent ones for sale..

More than enough power for me...

Edited by blueveloce on Monday 13th November 10:41

[TroubledSoul]

I'd be coming from a WRX STI that's fairly quick so the "lesser" engines just wouldn't cut it for me. I might have to look into a 370Z albeit it's a fair bit heavier and won't be as rewarding as I'd perceive the Cayman to be, or just find one, get it inspected and hope for the best.

[TroubledSoul]

I can imagine there isn't that much difference, but knowing I wanted a Cayman S and bought a different model would ruin the experience for me.

Out of interest, do the 3.4 996s suffer bore scoring or is it solely the IMS and RMS issues with those?

[edc]

£12k gets you a 3.2 Boxster as an alternative.

[TroubledSoul]

edc said:

£12k gets you a 3.2 Boxster as an alternative.

Wouldn't that be a 986 though? Don't fancy one of those. Shame really, I do like them but I'd just look at the 987 cars going past and wish I'd bought one like I wanted.

[TroubledSoul]

Weird. I set the search on AT to 2007 onwards, minimum engine size 3.0 and it is only showing me 3.4 Boxsters.

[edc]

TroubledSoul said:

Weird. I set the search on AT to 2007 onwards, minimum engine size 3.0 and it is only showing me 3.4 Boxsters.

Because 3.2 987 Boxster only in late 2004 to early 2006.

[TroubledSoul]

Ah OK cheers.

Looks like they weigh in at 280bhp. Slower than my STI but undoubtably far more rewarding a drive..... Hmm food for thought. I wanted the extra stiffness of the Cayman as I'd like to take it on the occasional track day too but an engine option without the bore scoring risk is certainly worth considering.

I'll do a bit of reading

[edc]

A couple of cheap and simple light mods will bring that to around 300bhp.

Plus there are plenty of occasional track day Boxsters and Boxster race series too.

[Sustenpass]

You're nearly at the bottom end of 987.2 2.9 Boxster prices.

Finding a way to stretch to one of those gives you near 987.1 S performance with the more reliable engine and better interior.

[Sustenpass]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Oh, I wasn't aware of that. What's the story with the early DFI engines?

Something like this with a little negotiation and a slight stretch of budget was my thinking.

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

[Buggyjam]

Is there any info re this early 2.9 piston ring thing? Keep hearing about this every so often on here on jungle drums but I've looked it up before on t web and come up with nothing. Just what is mentioned on here. Couldn't find anything from Hartech. Not saying it's not true but would be interested to know more details, especially as I own one.