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low miles and maintenance

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Old 01-13-2018, 09:21 PM
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vitaminC
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Default low miles and maintenance

A friend is looking at a Cayman R that has 8,500 miles on it. Car looks sweet (green, LWBs) and there is nothing negative on the DME report.

The catch: it's only had two oil changes, one of which was last week. The first was at ~2 years with ~2k miles. Should the lack of regular oil changes serve as a giant red flag?

Thanks!
Old 01-13-2018, 10:12 PM
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il pirata
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Maybe/maybe not. Where has the car resided, oil used, etc.

Your friend could negotiate a price based on PPI results including a blackstone lemonade test.

https://www.blackstone-labs.com/lemonaide-order.php
Old 01-13-2018, 10:53 PM
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MidEngineRules
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Originally Posted by vitaminC
A friend is looking at a Cayman R that has 8,500 miles on it. Car looks sweet (green, LWBs) and there is nothing negative on the DME report.

The catch: it's only had two oil changes, one of which was last week. The first was at ~2 years with ~2k miles. Should the lack of regular oil changes serve as a giant red flag?

Thanks!
I traded in my Cayman R in 2016. It was rare with LWBs, ceramic brakes, PSE, Bose, sat radio, navigation and more. What's the spec and asking price? Is it CPO?
Old 01-13-2018, 11:19 PM
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vitaminC
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Originally Posted by MidEngineRules
I traded in my Cayman R in 2016. It was rare with LWBs, ceramic brakes, PSE, Bose, sat radio, navigation and more. What's the spec and asking price? Is it CPO?
Private party and original owner. LWB, a/c, radio, lightweight battery, and that’s it. Asking 60k. Guy is not keen on having a PPI done, which is also worrisome.

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/invent...ting=194296829
Old 01-14-2018, 12:29 AM
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MidEngineRules
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Originally Posted by vitaminC
Car looks good. Price is way too high as it's pretty low optioned (which is fairly normal for them) and not CPO. It should be more like $50k with that spec. Mine was $90k new. Oh by LWB I thought you meant the lightweight bucket seats. Mine had the GT2 seats but not the lightweight battery.

Should be due for a new serpentine belt at the age, not mileage. That could a reason he doesn't want to do a PPI.
Old 01-14-2018, 12:43 AM
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Marine Blue
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At the current age of the car it should have had 6 oil changes, an air filter, spark plugs and gearbox fluid.

If the car wasn’t driven hard it may not be a big deal but certainly a test drive is recommended as is a proper inspection.
Old 01-14-2018, 12:51 PM
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Originally Posted by vitaminC


Private party and original owner. LWB, a/c, radio, lightweight battery, and that’s it. Asking 60k. Guy is not keen on having a PPI done, which is also worrisome.

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/invent...ting=194296829
No PPI = no buy. Run away.
Old 01-14-2018, 01:08 PM
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Marine Blue
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Something else to consider, I have been hearing that all the direct injection engines can suffer from bore scoring directly related to fuel/lubrication issues at startup. Specifically if fuel injector is leaky and or the oil is no longer providing good lubrication properties it can result in poor lubrication at startup and eventual engine damage. I’m not trying to be an alarmist but I would definitely want to have the engine scoped knowing the oil was not regularly changed just to be safe.

Last edited by Marine Blue; 01-14-2018 at 03:19 PM.
Old 01-14-2018, 02:06 PM
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vitaminC
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Great, thanks for all the input!

My friend has decided to pass. The seller is not willing to negotiate on price despite the need for immediate catch-up work on maint, doesn't want to do PPI, etc. The CR is rare, but not that rare...
Old 01-14-2018, 04:32 PM
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MidEngineRules
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Originally Posted by vitaminC
Great, thanks for all the input!

My friend has decided to pass. The seller is not willing to negotiate on price despite the need for immediate catch-up work on maint, doesn't want to do PPI, etc. The CR is rare, but not that rare...
Seller is dreaming. $12,000 less than new after 6 years? It took a $12,000 hit after the first year. Plus, hasn't been meticulously maintained which is expected of a typical Porsche, not to mention a rare car as this, albeit was never in great demand nor popular probably because they were so minimally optioned. Too bad. Great car though. I'd rather have it than a 981 Cayman S.
Old 01-14-2018, 06:48 PM
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No PPI = no way. The oil part wouldn't worry me - I've had several mechanics comment that time on synthetic oil these days is almost irrelevant given how well modern engines are sealed. That said, I always prefer a car with lowish miles - not almost no miles...
Old 01-14-2018, 10:07 PM
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It amazes me that some people spend so much money for a car, and then don't spend money on something as basic as an oil change. It reminds me of an incident a couple years ago at a gas station. There was a temporary interruption to gas supplies in my area because of an unanticipated closing of an oil refinery. So gas prices climbed about 25 cents a gallon within a few days. I was filling my car up when a new MB SL 500 pulled up in the bay adjacent to mine. I believe these cars sticker for well over $100K. As I walked passed the guy's car on my way to the convenience store, I happened to notice that the SL 500 selected 87 octane which was priced about 30 cents a gallon under premium. I'm no expert on the SL 500, but I expect that MB recommends at least 91 octane, but I guess the SL500 owner believes that every dollar counts. Of course he could have bought an Audi A4 and saved himself around $60K, but maybe I'm not seeing the big picture.



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