Bavarian5er

My dad is thinking about picking up a Cayman S. It would be his daily driver 5x a week for 40miles round trip, but thats besides the point.

My question is what to look for in these cars as far as mechanical/cosmetic problems?
Are there/what years to avoid?
How are these cars with maintenance/reliability (keep in mind I own a decade old BMW and he's own MB for years)?

KS-CS

Bear in mind that the Cayman has only been around since 2006; there haven't been any "bad" years. However, you should be aware of the differences between the 987.1 (MY06-08) and 987.2 (MY09- ); the principle difference being the DFI engine in the 2nd gen. which produces a bit more HP, and has less of the problems on the track (primarily involving oil starvation/ingestion) seen in the 1st gen cars.

Routine maintenance (oil changes, etc) is infrequent (depends on model year) but expensive through the dealers; you can save money by DIY or using indy Porsche shops. If cared for, they are generally very reliable cars IMO; it is also a very practical and comfortable sports car. If you are looking at used cars, I would strongly recommend getting a PPI (pre-purchase inspection) by an experienced Porsche mechanic, and have the over-revs pulled from the DME. Cars that have been modified extensively, or have significant over-revs in the 1st 2 ranges have probably been tracked - not necessarily a bad thing, but something to be aware of.

Bavarian5er

PPI is a must on our list. Is there anything that fails after x amount of miles that we should avoid if not repaired.

I'm just a little paranoid buying a P car not only are they notoriously high maintenance (deserved or not) but I am in the BMW e39 scene where the cooling system doesn't make it past 80k miles and eats radiators for breakfast.

Macster

Cayman S is just a used car, so a good thorough used car check out should eliminate any Cayman S you don't want to own. This check out looks for lousy paint/body work, mods, abuse, neglect, etc., as well as verifies all systems work: lights, heater, A/C, windows, door locks, and so on.

I like to see proper N-rated tires matching tires on all 4 corners.

If the car passes the basic (but extensive) used car inspection, check out, then a good test ride (approx. 15 miles) followed by a test drive (same route) is advised.

As a passenger this gives you time to focus on how the car sounds, feels, how the driver shifts the car, and so on. Pay attention during this phase. No radio/stereo (these will or should have been checked out in the basic inspection), no chit chat and leave the cell phone off.

The test ride starts out with a cold engine start and while the engine is idling and warming up -- A/C off at this time -- you listen to the engine for any ticks, knocks or other noises.

As the engine warms up the idle should smooth out and slow down.

Then go for the test ride. Once the engine is up to temp have the driver run the engine up through a couple of gears, say starting out in 2nd at around 1K and running up to redline then shifting to 3rd and continuing to accelerate until well the driver will have to make this call.

And you can then repeat this in 3rd gear and run the engine up to as near redline as is prudent.

What you want to know is that the engine pulls cleanly, strongly, from just off idle to red line.

Once back at teh starting point the engine/drivetrain is now quite up to operating temperature. Continue to let the engine idle and listen again for any untoward sounds/noises.

Then as a test driver take the car out over the same route and accelerate, stop, start, turn, etc. -- nothing gruesome but you want to safely and within the confines of the traffic laws exercise the car -- and confirm the car feels solid and right.

The above also gives the engine controller a reasonable chance of detecting any problems and turning on the check engine light. Of course, when you start the car you verify the CEL comes on then goes off at or shortly after the engine starts. This is true of all in-dash warning lights, of course.

If you can find no reason to reject the car and believe you can buy the car for an acceptable price arrange to have the car treated to a pre-purchase inspection (PPI) at a shop (dealer or indy) and of course by a tech that knows these cars inside and out.

The rule is you should only PPI one car, the car you end up buying.

As for years, I generally tend to avoid the 1st year of a model intro. Generally the last year of a model before a new model intro is the best year to own cause the model is mature. But it is your call. A good 2006 Cayman S is a good car.

Maintenance is not too bad. I do most of my own oil/filter services and do this every 5K miles. For those times I get lazy or busy my local dealer charges me $120 if I supply the oil. This in total costs me around $200 (oil costs nearly $7.50/quart).

I do the engine air filter, cabin air filter, and brake pads/discs when necessary.

I have the tires replaced at the dealership -- my experience is indy tire stores suck -- and if tire wear indicates it necessary I'll have the car treated to a 4 wheel alignment. Sometimes the dealer offers me a deal/discount on the alignment as part of the tire service R&R and if so I'll have take the dealer up on the offer. I drive a lot of miles and maximizing tire wear is important to me.

As for services and so on: Brake fluid should be flushed/bled every 2 years. I like to change/replace the coolant every 4 to 6 years. Transmission/diff fluid I'd change when I bought the car and every 50 or 60K miles after. Plugs every so often. Serpentine belt, ditto.

When I buy a used car I arrange to have the servicing brought up to date, over the few months after buying the car having all fluids replaced. This sort of puts the car on a known servicing schedule. For instance say you buy a car with 15K miles. If necesary, I'd do an oil/filter service (unless done recently), and maybe have the brake fluid taken care of. Then a month of so later, have the transmission/diff fluid changed. Then the coolant replaced.

Of course, you try to adjust what you will offer to pay for the car by what services you determine the car needs.

Then just drive the car and of course keep a reasonable eye on fluid levels and car behavior and if anything out of the ordinary appears have it taken care of.

Probably nothing will appear. I drove my 02 Boxster nearly 80K miles with nothing more required than just regular servicing. (RMS taken care of under warranty at 25K miles.)

Sincerely,

Macster.