agil

Hi All,

I am considering a 2010 997.2 C4S with 85k miles. The car had a PPI and I spoke to the mechanic (via phone as I was remote) and he felt the car was in excellent mechanical condition. The DME report showed only minimal overrevs in range 1 and nothing in ranges 2-6. He did not hear any ticking sounds or abnormal engine sounds. The car has a good service history. He did mention the clutch may need to be replaced in the next 10k.

I am aware that the 9A1 is considered very reliable, but my question to any 997.2 owners with high miles is can I drive it as it was intended without worrying about the miles on the engine?

I thought that bore scoring was not an issue with the 9A1, but then I came across a thread (long one) and am accompanying YouTube video where Jake Raby was tearing down a 9A1 engine that did have bore scoring in one of the cylinders. In that video he noted wear on the rod bearings (very E92 M3 looking) and seemed to indicate that rod bearing wear could be an issue.

So I am looking for reassurance that the particular car in the video was an anomaly, that there is not a rod bearing issue in general and that I can expect to enjoy driving a 997.2 spiritedly (with forays into the 7000 RPM range) well into the 100k+ mile territory.

Thoughts?

Alan

Fined

85k miles is not high miles. Any more than it would be high mileage in any other modern mass produced passenger vehicle.

I'm expecting the 9a1 in my car to make it to 200k miles or more without issue. Finding one or two threads on the internet about something does not turn it into an issue to worry about unless you just like to worry, as a number of members of this forum do. You could buy the car and enjoy it for as long as you like and there will be plenty of folks who will want to buy it at whatever mileage you are done using it.

bgoetz

You should never worry about any car you buy, if you are going to worry don’t buy it

snaphappy

Just keep in mind, once you hit 100k miles it will be very difficult to sell. That’s the real reason to buy a car with less miles. True of any car, but even more so with a 911

Wayne Smith

130K on my 2010 C4S PDK. Original in every non wear item excluding a road damage (chip seal incident) front axle boot and the front upper strut mounts (replaced asst 120K miles ... The 4 has different front strut geometry and these wear).

Still running strong.

I wouldn't worry about the miles.

jkoravos

If you want to be **** about it (like most of the people here are ) get the bores scoped. I think history has shown that it's a rare issue with the 9A1 engine, even though it's possible. I bought a 2009 with 50k miles a few months ago. I didn't get mine scoped. When I was looking at 996s a *did* get them scoped.

Bruce In Philly

2009 C2S 147K MT

I am amazed at how well these .2 models hold up. IMO, Porsche is one of the few brands where you actually get more quality for the money. Having said that, at 147K miles, I am starting to see some signs of wear.... I am getting an intermittent rattle in the door.... a sometimes squeak deep in the dash behind the dial pod (I think it is in there), And other wear items. The interior paint is a weak spot in our cars as it can easily be nicked... although my friends are shocked when they hear how many miles on my car because overall, my interior looks very very good with no leather cracks or serious wear spots (side bolster is starting to show wear).

Suspension... I am getting a bad rattle and that will require a big job to replace the wheel carrier and bearings with it. Sports cars, in general, are tightly sprung and bushed so these are common wear items with clunks and rattles under there.

But overall..... the 997.2 in particular... appears to be a really solid and well built car with quality parts. I suspect... no evidence of this.... that after 10 years of problems, Porsche really addressed the issues hard with the release of the 997.2 with common wear items like water pumps and ignition packs having rare failures.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

mujeriega

The main worry you should have is whether you plan on keeping it forever or just driving for a year and selling it. Seems like people have these milestones at 50k, 60k, 75k, 100k etc. that cause them to be worried or not interested in buying used. As a result, if you're thinking of getting out of the car in less than 2 yrs assuming 3-6k/yr driving, you may want to pay up and get something with lower miles that will still have a decent market for resale. However, if you plan on keeping it forever or not caring about how long it takes to sell (or about the price you get when selling it), then by all means, you shouldn't be worried.

If your experience is only domestic and asian, especially of non-luxury brands, be prepared for the general scheduled maintenance costs and component costs for repairs to be much higher (especially if you aren't doing the wrenching yourself).

agil

Thanks for all the replies!

I currently own two BMWs and two Audis (3 of which are 120k+ miles), so I am familiar with German maintenance costs and owning cars with advanced miles. This would be my first Porsche. I don't mind repairs (the price to drive high performance cars) and I do some DIY, but my main concern is a catastrophic failure or any other exorbitant repair bill.

The internet is a wonderful thing, but it has scared me off of all 997.1 cars especially because I almost bought a local one before I found out that it had "concerning" amounts metal found in its most recent oil change and the owner put it up for sale right after that. That was a 2006 with the larger IMS bearing, but I became more leery of bore scoring than IMS anyway. I understand that if the car was properly warmed up before driving with proper oil change intervals and driven like Porsche intended that bore scoring is also rare, but I came to the conclusion it would always be a worry in the back of my mind. The internet also scared me off of an E92 M3 that I didn't have good history one (rod bearings, throttle actuators). One M3 owner described it as a wonderful car, but one that always has a knife at your throat ready to turn on you. I understand the internet magnifies all problems but still.

I plan to put no more than 2k - 3k miles on the car and I guess I would decided before 100k (which would take 5-7 years) whether I wanted to keep it forever or not. My only other concern is that I live in Colorado, so there will be a 15%-20% power loss at altitude. All of my other current cars are forced induction, so I worry the 911 won't feel fast by comparison. I have thought about and driven a 997.1 Turbo, but I prefer the linear, high revving feel of the NA Carrera better and it would be a good contrast to my forced induction daily driver.

Good to hear the 997.2 are living up to their reliability claims!

HiAperture

I disagree with that as a general rule, it depends what your goals are.

If you want to pay a premium for a now 8-15 year old car with say 25,000 miles on it, then doesn't make a lot of sense if you want to put 5,000 miles a year on it, because you are going to put huge depreciation on the car.

I also wouldn't buy a car with over 50,000 miles if you want to wax it and leave it in the garage most of the time and drive it on occasions, because you are not maintaining a car with a high collectable value.

Whereas you can buy a 997 with 65-85k miles on it for half the price of a "collectors" car and drive the pants off of it for a few years, put some more miles on it, and still get out of it OK as long as you keep up with it. Nicely kept 100k mile 997's are still selling all the time. Obviously if you let the interior fall apart, don't keep up with maintenance, ect and it looks beat up, it won't sell well.

Nothing wrong with buying low miles and keeping it low miles either, just depends what you are looking to do.

Floyd540

Since you have experience with German cars, you already know that 100k miles means nothing. In my opinion, high mileage starts at 200,000 miles. I just purchased a 997.2 in September with 88,000 miles and full service records. The car is in perfect condition. I do my own work on these cars and if you like the car, go for it. The price reduction for higher mileage is a bargain.
My opinion

adamo

This is my theory as well.

I bought a 997.1 S with about 50K miles on it, and drive it daily, to the tune of about 15,000 miles/year. I'll drive it until i) I get bored of it (highly unlikely), ii) find one in a colour combo that I prefer over triple black, or iii) there's a catastrophic failure and it dies, and isn't worth repairing, at which point, I'll pull off the license plates and walk away- then buy another 50K mile 911.

In the interim, it goes in for oil changes every 5,000kms, all maintenance is done on time, by a local euro specialist, and I enjoy the hell out of it. Life is too short to drive boring cars.

140.6er

Agree with most of above concerning the durability of the 997.2. My 997.2 just turned 41,000 miles today and every time I get in it and drive it I get pissed at myself for not driving it more. 85,000 is not a lot of miles. If it has a good maintenance history and you continue preventative maintenance, no reason the engine should not last well past 200,000. I’m going to drive mine for 300,000miles and when it clicks over that final mile, i will dig a big hole in the ground, then die, carefully lower the 997.2 into the hole to avoid scratches, have wifey strap me in the driver’s seat, have her paint a big smile on my face, fill in the hole so I can tear off to either heaven or hell in utter eternal bliss.

Ripking

I would also think that if you hold it long enough, the mileage will matter incrementally less over time. Buying a 964 or 993 with over 100k for example, I would think is still desirable if the vehicle is properly and well maintained. I would expect the same for 997s over time provided they are well cared for even despite the water cooled vs air cooled debate.

Mumbles

Only the numbers matter in this case. A new clutch and possible extras will cost unless your handy. If its what you can afford without going into debt then roll the dice....