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I’m in the market to purchase my first Porsche. These may be silly questions on a 911 forum, but I’m hoping to get a non-biased response. Chances are you guys are a lot more knowledgeable about these 2 models than I. Long story short…
I’m looking at a 2002-04 911 or a 2007-08 Cayman. This is will be our weekend car.
I’ve heard horror stories of the repair cost, break-downs, maintenance cost, etc. In general, does one of these models tend to be more reliable than the other? I'm interested in any additional feedback you can provide...
If you've not done so already, drive them both, and go with the one that floats your boat. Assuming, of course, that money doesn't figure majorly in the decision...T
Edit - As a 911 owner, I can also say without bias that the 911 is more attention grabbing.
You're looking us up on the 37 years and older 911 Forum, but many of us have what you're inquiring about.
Short answer is to buy which appeals to you with the caveat that you get a 2009 (or newer) of either. The M96 engine in the 996 is an especially risky proposition--another friends puked last month.
You should ask this in the watercooled forum. But to point you in the right direction, Google IMS (intermediate shaft) bearing failure and m96 engine. That should give you more info to consider as you go and buy your first Porsche. Best of luck!
Think turbo for the 911 and you will resolve the concerns above. Go to cars and coffee's and chat with the owners. You'll find the reputable seller in your area that way better than cold calling looking for your car. Get connected with the PCA club in your area as well.
Yep turbo or GT cars will be your best bet if you're going with watercooled, otherwise just pic up an aircooled Porsche of pretty much any year and enjoy it
Considerind the OP specific choice of years and models, I doubt if the budget would lend itself for a GT car or Turbo. The 996 Turbo seems to be a great value but still will likely cost at least twice what an equivalent condition C2 would cost. These are great cars and if chosen properly and properly maintained, you may preserve a lot of the initial price....perhaps more. Cheers
Considerind the OP specific choice of years and models, I doubt if the budget would lend itself for a GT car or Turbo. The 996 Turbo seems to be a great value but still will likely cost at least twice what an equivalent condition C2 would cost. These are great cars and if chosen properly and properly maintained, you may preserve a lot of the initial price....perhaps more. Cheers
While true, if somehow the OP bought a 996 C2 and the engine in that car seized because of IMS bearing issues, the cost to rebuild/replace the engine would make him wish he had bought a turbo from the start not to mention putting that much money into a car that unfortunately doesn't have much value compared to other Porsche cars in today's market
Hello phatJoe and welcome to the forums. What you have already learned is that you will get lots of different opinions here and that even though you are looking at a couple of cars in your budget, many people will try to convince you to buy "up" the food chain, and often for very good reasons. But since you asked a specific question about the 996 Carrera vs the 997 Gen-1 Cayman, I will try to give you a specific answer.
I have owned both those cars. I still own the Cayman S (a 2007, in my case). Both cars have been flawless and fun, and neither has had some the issues that people tend to worry about. The reality is that there is a statistical chance that you could have a problem with a 996 Carrera from the 2002-2004 era you are considering. I had no such problems with mine and it went strong from when I bought it with 35,000 miles on it to when I sold it with 80,000 miles on it. If you buy a car that has some miles on it, and nothing has gone wrong with it yet, then maybe you will have less chance of an issue.
With that said, the Cayman S is a superb car, and I find it more engaging to drive in daily use and more useable on the track. With a couple inexpensive modifications (motorsports AOS, deep sump, larger oil pan, etc.), then the issues some people have had with the Cayman (oil starvation under hard cornering) are not an issue, or at least that has been my experience. As far as I'm concerned a Cayman S is a great way to have fun for under $30K, and if you ask me (which you did), I'd say go ahead and buy the newer, more technologically advanced Cayman S rather than the older 911. The 911 is also a fantastic car, but to me the choice of that 996 version over the Gen-1 Cayman S is more about scratching that itch of "I've always wanted to own a 911", and you can't really go wrong between those two if you pick a well-maintained car with good service records.
If you go with the 996 Carrera, I suggest finding a factory "Aero Kit" car with the body parts of a GT3, like the one I had (below in photo). It spices up the otherwise somewhat neutral body style of that era. Just one man's opinion.
I test drove Caymans before I purchased my first Porche, 2003 C4s Coupe. Its apples to oranges comparison IMO, and the Cayman is a great Porche.
I bought my 911 at 62k miles and sold it a few years later at 74k miles. Only issue was I changed the ISB, CLutch, and RMS due to the negative publicity, and did upgrade to Fabspeed exhaust set up.
Absolutely great car, nothing else in costs except oil changes and brake flush.
Purchased the GT3 year ago when I sold the C4S.
Enjoy your search and definitely test drive both if you can.
Forgive my 2nd post, but the C4s gives you the turbo wide body, suspension, brakes, aero, and is fully upgraded interior like the turbo, so IMO, if you like AWD feature, the C4s is a great value if the ISB is already done or if you are willing to spend the $3000-4000k to have it done. It is a raw car, so dont let the word "luxury" scare you away from considering it.
4 of 5 M96 engines in my social/track/racing circle have been engine failures in the 80-100K range NOT having anything to do with the intermediate shaft bearing. 2 were 1 owner cars, properly maintained, by long time Porsche owners. 1 is a guy's mom that's a tip car. First one was in '04 right in front of us at the track, and the most recent was 3-4 months ago. Which happened to be the same guy. Who wishes finances allowed him to keep the GT2 that he owned between the boat anchor engined cars.
4 of 5 M96 engines in my social/track/racing circle have been engine failures in the 80-100K range NOT having anything to do with the intermediate shaft bearing. 2 were 1 owner cars, properly maintained, by long time Porsche owners.
Wow, that is a pretty rough statistical sample! I can't argue with experience there. Who knows, maybe I sold mine right in time! Were all those on-track failures or daily driving or a mix?
Wow, that is a pretty rough statistical sample! I can't argue with experience there. Who knows, maybe I sold mine right in time! Were all those on-track failures or daily driving or a mix?
Car #1 was a '99 that was used by the owner as a track rat/daily from Day One. It blew spectacularly right at Start/Finish at Buttonwillow in about '04. Nothing left to rebuild, and it had ~80K miles. Probably an oiling issue.
Car #2 was a friend's '01 street car (one I advised against buying) that had multiple owners, and he sold it as-is to a shop so I never knew what happened other than it was an oil/coolant mix.
Car #3 was a guy who bought new, and it has always seen track use. He's an ex-racer, and CDI of one of the local clubs. Oil starvation issue, had about 100K, and happened on track (a mutual friend was driving it!). Easily spent equal to the value of the car in repairing.
Car #4 is the friend's mom's tip. Not sure what they figured out, other than it went "boom" not from the intermediate shaft bearing.
Car #5 is a second car guy who had Car #1 ended up with in part trade when he couldn't justify keeping the GT2. Street car with good prior ownership history. Hasn't been repaired yet, and the only thing I've heard is that there's a hole in the case.
01-30-2016, 09:49 PM
1st time Porsche buyer, 911 or Cayman?
