mafpolo

I have been looking for a nice Cayman for a while. There aren't many Caymans out there. I have been told to stay away from any pre 2009's. Did Porsche not do anything to fix the IMS shaft problem? Were some fixed, and there is a way of knowing such?

Any info will help.

pfbz

Look here:

http://bfy.tw/3hSV

ChrisF

'09 and later have the 9A1 DFI based motor without IMS. They are definitely worth going for especially if you will track as they don't suffer from oil starvation issues or power steering pump failures.

Frank 993 C4S

There are no IMS shaft issues with these pre '09 Gen 1 cars. For Gen 1 cars that are heavily tracked without the proper cooling and oiling modifications, there seem to be oil starvation issues. However, at the track I have seen more Gen 2 engines fail than Gen 1 engines. Most engines fail due to over-revs, i.e. operator error.

extanker

when i went shopping in 09 i decided gen1 was not worth the risk .i bought an 09 gen2 new. there are many gen 1 ,s out there running quite well so i wont say they are taboo BUT i would advise a large just in case repair fund. you have not said how you will be using this car.

burtonrider3889

I see this topic pop up a lot, but I honestly believe not even 1% of Gen 1 Caymans end up having IMS problems. I love mine, and couldn't see paying almost $10,000 more for a Gen 2 based on IMS fear alone.

Spokayman

Agree.
Even gen 2 987s are getting to be a few years old now.
So it is more important than ever to judge a car on its miles and condition and not what year it was made.
Unless you plan to track your car or you want a PDK, there is really very little reason to automatically rule out a 987.1 car.
My advice is to search the whole 987 range and look for the best car that has the options you want.
FWIW, I have both a gen 1 (Cayman S) and gen 2 987 (Boxster) and except for engine size and the PDK in the Boxster, there is little meaningful difference between the two mechanically that is related to which generation it is.

ensign83

This.
Plus, I'ma working Dad...

DaveCarrera4

true. The .1 motors were just not as well designed. Porsche fixed several problems with the 9A1 motor.

vertexmd

If you're shopping a PDK vehicle it's not as much of an issue though since the operator can't really overrev it by more than a few rpm. Would still get the report out of the ECU of course to make sure lol.

vertexmd

It's also a noticeably more powerful motor though because of the addition of direct injection. And if you're buying automatics the 987.2 went to the modern PDK setup instead of a traditional automatic. If you're buying a manual transmission model it's less of a difference I guess. I ended up just saving up an extra year.