capri

Hi guys,

I really like the 997 but have also considered the Cayman S as an alternative.
From the handling point of view, i doubt i will drive these cars hard enough to appreciate which would handle better or not.
This would be more of a weekend, cruising type of car.
My concern is, would a Cayman S be "less expensive" to maintain or repair than a 997 Porsche ?
My choice is either a 2005 997 (manual) or a 2008 Cayman S (automatic). Both are about 10,000 miles approximately. Stick or auto is fine with me, doesnt really matter.

I've read about the IMS failture on the 997s, is this something to be overly concern on a Cayman S as well ?

Thanks for the inputs.
Capri

Bill Lehman

The 997 and Cayman S engine is basically the same. Both have potential IMS problems but in your case, the Cayman has a later and "better" design. Both use the same front suspension design and brakes. I would expect maintenance costs to be similar but with the Cayman being 3 years newer it may have lower costs. The 997 may depreciate less over time.

10 GT3

Engines are certainly not the same, but are built on the same architecture/engine series. They are a lot more alike with the recently 991 that was downgraded from a 3.6l to a 3.4l where now the 991 Carrera and 981 S share long blocks. Issues like IMS are possible with either model since the engines use the same architecture.

The 2 cars described here are of the same generation 997.1/987.1. From this standpoint, I disagree than the Cayman has a "better design". If you were looking at a 987.2 S (09+) versus a 997.1 then this might have some meat to be a valid argument. You won't see a regular maintenance cost variance between these 2 cars as both have the same maintenance schedule, although the 911 being 3 years older will have more potential for additional items to wear and need replacement.

Some of the front and rear suspension components are the same, but spring rates and dampers are always different. Carreras and S model Boxsters/Coxsters share brake components, but S model 911s have larger/better brakes than the lesser models.

For depreciation, the 997 being older is further along the depreciation curve and have a much higher original base price will retain more residual value over time.

There is a huge performance gap between these cars especially with the Cayman having a tiptronic based auto. There is a 30 hp gap between these cars, which increases about another 10% due to the inefficiency of the tiptronic transmission. If it was a 987.2 (09+) with a PDK, this would again be a different argument. Finding an 05' 997.1 6-sp with just 10K miles, is a pretty rare find. Assuming it has a good service history and well well taken care of, it would be my pick out of these 2 cars.

Pnug

I own an '07 CaymanS and pretty much agree with 10 GT3 except with the IMS on the 987.1 engines. I can't speak about the 997's but the 987.1 have not shown to have an issue with the IMS but do have problems with oil starvation during long high-G turns and rod bolts expansion at high rpms. 987.2 engines are a much better design. These issues should only be a problem if you track your car.

The 997 sounds pretty nice and looks to be a better value. It's just a matter of what you like and how you're going to use the car. I'd love to have a back seat but not at the expense of how my car handles.

capri

Thanks for all the inputs. Would appreciate more inputs if someone can shed more light.
The IMS failure does really scare me and I'm hoping the newer 2008 Cayman S would be more reliable & would be prone lesser to the IMS failure.
So far these are the two choices i'm facing.
After looking @ both units, the 2008 Cayman S does seem better cared and better condition than the 2005 C2S.
I wish the Cayman S though was in manual tranny as I can feel the tiptronic a bit sluggish compared to a manual tranny.
Thanks guys!

capri

Another note: i do not plan to track the car but just drive them in straighaway, city driving and corners, but no racing or tracking. Crusing= a big yes.

Dr.Bill

As previously mentioned, you need to go to the 2009 Cayman S to get the new engine. It's also the first year for PDK, which is a huge improvement over the tiptronic. Actually, huge is an understatement, it's much better than that!

If an '09 or newer Cayman S isn't in the budget, I'd go for the 997. The tiptronic is that bad. And for just casual use, the 997 may be a bit better. There is more room in the cabin.

capri

Thanks Ray, the only 997 that is available is the 2005 model. Manual tranny. I've tested it and it has some rattle issues and some dashboard peeling issues. Other than that i think its ok.
The cayman s 2008 is overall nicer condition but i do agree the tiptronic is not to my liking. A bit sluggish. I can wait out longer and see what reckons.

10 GT3

Sounds like you need to expand your search rather than just be constrained to 2 cars even if you need to travel a little distance to look at them. I believe I drove 13 996 Carreras (99'-03') before I bought my 02'. I actually bought my 02' from a Porsche dealer 250 miles away.

Krokodil

The engines in the 997.1 and the 987.1 are nearly exact - except for bore/stroke and AOS system / drain routing on the 3.8 (the 3.6 is the same as the 3.4).

They really are the same engine and the parts are all interchangable. I mapped every engine part number among all the engine derivatives.

The IMS, including the bearing, in my current Frankenstein engine, is the same unit that came in my 3.4. It was raced for 115 hours and then installed in the current 3.8. It looked just fine when it came out.

The 2005 997.1 will have the old IMS bearing desgin and is prone to failure (this is how I sourced my used 3.8 block and crank). The 2007 987.1 has the new bearing design (from early '06 on actually).

You are much more likley to kill a Cayman or Boxtser through overrev / oiling than from the IMS. And the overrev will kill a 997.1 just as easy.

Cheers,