Sam Minnitti

Hi,

Current 944 owner in the process of selling to upgrade to a late model Cayman.

I want to go 2009+ to avoid any and all IMS and related issues.

I found a 2009, great shape cosmetically, but with 68,000 miles. I know mileage, especially if properly maintained isn't necessarily a negative alone.

What kinds of things should I be concerned with or ask about in this type of situation, a 5 year old car with 60,000+ miles isn't that uncommon for everyday cars, but that would seem to indicate over 12,000 miles a year, so this was likely a daily driver. Thanks and don't shoot the newbie to the Cayman world.

zedcat

Welcome. 987.2 is a great car. I would say check the service records- have oil changes been done on schedule? Brake fluid flushed every 2 years? I think drive belt and spark plugs were due at 40k but check the manual. Has the water pump been replaced yet? Is it a 6 speed? If driven well should have clutch left, but could be worn if driven poorly. Good idea to get a PPI and set aside a few grand for any surprises. Water pump is the only issue I've had (bearing failed at 20k mi).

JSF101

Sam,
not very high mileage, mine has 100,600 miles on it
2010 PDK Cayman
regular oil changes and routine maintenance
had to replace front rotors
no other issues

go for it

cheers,
Steve

Sam Minnitti

Thanks guys, Here are the next couple of questions.

Carfax report shows this is a one owner car (looks like it was traded in last Fall)

All of the service was done at the same Porsche dealership where the car was originally purchased. The carfax is fairly detailed in terms of services preformed, more than usual I would say. So...my question is can I call up the dealer where the car was serviced and ask for a service report or will they tell me to hit the road?

Secondly, since it appears everything was serviced as expected and no major issues reported, do I still need to do a PPI?

thanks!

P.S. Notice the 'hood was adjusted' a few times in the service history...was this a common issue?

blue44

I bought a driver with 36k miles, not a bad idea to try and get the actual service history from the dealer, and maybe a warranty. Definitely go or get someone to look at the car for you, a lot of cosmetic issues don't show up in pictures, best of luck...

Donn

Sam Minnitti

Thanks everyone for your feedback and suggestions.

I contacted the dealer where the car was originally purchased, The Porsche Exchange in Chicago and serviced for the last 4 years. They would not run a service report for me....they said it was like medical records...only the original owner could get that info. Even if I bought the car and became the new owner, I still couldn't get this info...sort of like medical records I guess.

I think I read something like this on the forum..so it's probably true...I guess the question is would any Porsche dealer in the US be able to pull that info for me based on VIN? Perhaps, someone here could help or I can chat up my local dealer? The vehicle currently is for sale in Chicago, and I'm in NY, so there are some difficult aspects to the deal i.e. I most likely will buy sight unseen and transit costs.

I would assume since the car was serviced at the same Porsche dealer, The Porsche Exchange in Chicago that the service was done according to spec...nothing major in the car fax report that I see that is alarming...still on the fence about a PPI...also, if I do a PPI, it has to be at the dealer where the car is for sale...so this might prove to be an additional difficulty.

Just talking out loud, but feel free to chime in with any thoughts.

Tom Tweed

This may be true before you buy the car, but afterwards, when you are the owner, it may be possible, although they will "redact" the owners name from the records for privacy reasons. Any dealer should be able to pull up the records by VIN, and if you have a good relationship with them, they should be able to print them out, use a black marker to block out the previous owner info, and give them to you. That's how it worked for me.

YMMV,
TT

PasPar2

Had the same experience with dealers not wanting to release service records but they all were ok with listing the service done verbally over the phone. The service records are local to the servicing dealership and are not shared. I sometimes had to call several local dealers to find the one that worked on a car I was thinking of buying...

Macster

This was my experience as well, researching a 996 Turbo I had my eyes on.

I called around and found several dealers who had serviced the car. All I wanted to know and what I go was what services had the car had and when/what miles.

I received enough info over the phone -- I was jotting down notes as the person at the other end was speaking -- to reassure myself the car had had reasonable servicing.

Macster

Primarily you want to be sure the car has no outstanding issues.

This takes you visiting the car and experiencing a good (15 mile) test ride then a test drive over the same route.

When you start the cold engine -- be sure the A/C is off -- verify all warning lights come on then go off as the engine cranks and fires and runs. Especially the CEL.

Listen to the engine and note it behaves/sounds like other Cayman engines you have started under the same circumstances.

Let the engine idle say 10 minutes as you walk around the car checking body panel paint finish, fit and so on. The engine wants to sound healthy and normal from dead cold idle to nearly warm idle.

Then comes the test ride.

The route should be chosen to give the driver during the test ride and then you afterwards a chance to subject the car to a variety of driving situations so you can really experience how the car behaves, how the engine runs, how the tranny works, how the brakes work, and so on.

After the test ride and test drive then give the car a thorough used car check out. Assume nothing works until you have confirmed otherwise.

After the above, if you still like the car and believe you can buy it for an agreeable sum then have it PPI'd.

Since the car has been run - about an hour -- and driven about 30 miles prior to this the odds are if there any leaks they'll be more obvious than had the car not been driven or the engine run as much before the PPI.

Things you can check. Check the radiator ducts are clear of trash.

In this same vein, check the body water drains are clear.

Check tire wear. If uneven then budget for an alignment. If the tires are brand new suspect bad alignment unless the seller can show you an alignment before and after printout that shows the car was recently and properly aligned.

Check brake wear. While a daily driver can get good brake life you want to know how far along the brakes are. Roughly to have the brakes done at a dealer represents about $1000/axle. (You can do the job yourself, if you are up to it, for just the parts cost alone, which is roughly about half that $1000/axle.)

Unless the seller has documentation this was done, I'd budget for a transmission fluid/diff fluid drain/refill. I'd also budget for a coolant drain and refill.

Plugs are probably due or close to being due, unless, again, the seller has documentation this was recently done.

There's more, lots more, but you get the idea. Do not focus on just one area, RMS for instance, and miss worn brakes, a mis-shifting transmission, and so on.

Sam Minnitti

Thanks everyone, tons of good info here.