tvs1320

Hi,

Greetings everyone!

I'm looking at a Cayman S to do some daily driving and mostly to do HPDE weekends on track. A local dealer has a 2006 with 76,000 miles for $23k. This seems a bit below prices for other similar cars out there - but it has higher mileage. Like to spend less than 30k - and this appeals to me as I'd have funds left over for improvements... VIN is WP0AB29836U780726, dealer : http://www.ultimatems.com/view-inventory/?make=Porsche

I've read about the IMS issue, and potential oiling problems if it's tracked. Reading here seems that I should check for over-revs before purchasing.

Anything else to be on the lookout for? Any way to know if a particular car is at risk of IMS failure? (I didn't see any in my research). Does this sound like too good of a deal? I plan to test drive the car within a week.

I know a '09 would "solve" the IMS and oiling issues but at increased purchase cost. The oiling looks to be manageable with baffled deep-sump oil pan (?). The IMS is sort of a roll of the dice?

Thanks in advance...

Jim

DaveCarrera4

I picked up an '09 for $33k with 19k on the odo. If your budget is $30k hold out for the next gen motor, you will be very glad you did!

eddielasvegas

Dave got the deal of the decade, and IIRC, knew somebody at the dealership where he purchased his CS.

Do not let his info give you any hope of finding a CS like he did for that price. It's not going to happen to us mere mortals.

For 30-ish grand, you can find a > MY 2008 Cayman Base. The Base is about 6/10 of a second slower in 0-60 that an S. Since I was not going to make my living with my Cayman, I went with that and the peace of mind a 987.2 (MY 2009-2012) offers.

Keep in mind there were about 1,000 Base Caymans sold for MY 2009 and 2010 so the supply is limited so make a must have list and nice to have list and look often and be patient. Also, look outside your immediate area. I found mine in Chicago and I live in Phoenix.

There are some great deals on < MY 2009 Cayman S's out there that are well within your budget, but they do have the potential for an IMS failure and oil starvation. It is not common, but it does happen and there have been more than a few posts on here and other forums where owners are looking at a $20 grand engine replacement. Also, not all engine failures end up as a thread on a fourm.

If that'll keep you awake at night go with a MY > 2008 since it has no IMS to fail and the oil starvation issues seem to have been resolved. There are other issues common to all gens like shifter linkage failure for manuals and premature water pump failure, but these are not especially costly to fix.


Good luck,

Eddie

Boiler Inspector

There's on 09 S with PDK in Austin on Autotrader for $32k.

burtonrider3889

From all the research I've done it seems like the IMS issue barely effects the Caymans. Something like a fraction of 1% of them. I have had my 06 for about a year and a half now. I've had zero issues, and wouldn't hesitate to buy it again. I have done a track day, and multiple autocrosses. I wouldn't worry about doing a track day or two a year without making upgrades. If I was going every month or weekend I would upgrade the oil components, but I'm not.

bmw_e30

that 06 for that price is really good. i would jump on it

i track my 06 10-15 times a year with no issues. i DO have a mantisport deep sump oil pan of course

Sapientoni

I haven't seen one of the earlier engines with IMSB failure, but I'd like too! The 2006 IMSB is closely installed in the engine block. When "our" failure occurred, there was ample audible noise to alert and initiate panic. The ***** were still in the races, but the cage had collapsed to one side. The inner stub shaft is machined to within .020" of the IMS tube and the stub supported the IMS until shutdown was made. It was also driven approx. 8 miles, gently, in this condition. This was at 145,000 miles. There were no bent valves, there was not debris pumped throughout the block, there was NO COLLATERAL damage of any kind. If there have been other 2006-2008 IMSB failures, I'd like to hear what their story is.
Oh, and if you have an earlier failure, lets hear what the collateral damages were and the whole enchilida if it's not too personal.