Mika23

Hi all, new here and in the process of buying a 2014 cayman s. The car went through PPI today and they found some aluminum flakes in the oil filter. The car currently has 23,000 miles. Is this still considered normal?

Pep!RRRR

Not. Normal.

PorscheAddict

Definitely not normal, but how do they know it was aluminum rather than the many other metals in the 9A1? Doesn't really matter I suppose, since that is a strong red flag to walk away.

4PTZERO

Walk away! Any other signs, overrevs in 4 - 6?

terbiumactivated

IMO, whatever else can be found is moot, metal flakes are for custom paint jobs not oil filters, I'd cross that one right off the list.

Quadcammer

eh, aluminum flakes in a fairly new motor is not a huge concern as there will be some machining swarf that gets caught in the filter. If it was ferrous, that would be a problem. Depending on the amount, size, etc, I would not be hugely concerned.

Do you have a pic of the flakes?

996AE

If it was serious it wouldnt be a CPO car

Mika23

Thanks for your replies. The shop where I had the inspection done tested the flakes with a magnet and they did not stick. That made them not (really) worry about it. The car also has pdk which to my and the shop's knowledge cannot overrev as the electronics will prevent you from shifting down. What I think might be the case is that this is still aluminum from the engine block getting broken in and that oil has not been refreshed recently. Might this be the case?

A photo can be found here: . You probably have to zoom in to see the little flakes.

996AE

Drop sump plate and check screen.

terbiumactivated

As a friend of a direct company representative I lol at the faith this board places in the mighty CPO, you think it was an inoculation against any problems, it's not..

extanker

drop the pan/sump but from what i see in the filter does not worry me

Mika23

To be clear, this car is not CPO and I purposely avoided a dealership to do the PPI.

996AE

Sorry. My bad.

If the shop said no worries then buy it.

From my experience the first thing sellers often do is a fresh oil change before selling car. Then, when PPI is done boy the oil looks good. One reason to look at service records and car ownership.

If the car is unique and has options that you must have buy the car. If not move on or look at an extended warranty. Cost wont be much on a low mile car. Worth looking into if this is the one.

Mika23

Thanks everyone. This car indeed is something I have been looking for for months (sportschrono, sportdesign steering wheel, white and sport suspension) and I get it for what I think is a good price. I still have a bit over 6 months of warranty left and will be looking for an extended warranty.

Alan C.

Do you know how many times the oil has been changed. It's possible the oil has only been changed once. Are there any service records?

If they looked at the filter was that part of an oil change? If not change the oil now and put in one of the factory approved oils along with a filter. If you have time get an oil sample and send it to Blackstone before you buy the car. Either way you'll have a baseline for the future.