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PV997, your post above is sound analysis and advice.
The OP, by his own admission, has $380K in annual household income, with job security.
Just what financial "risk" is he concerned with? A remotely possible (5%) repair bill less than his own monthly salary? Or 6% of his family's gross annual?
Really, asking reliability questions 4 years prior to even searching for, let alone buying, a used car?
A troll could go to school reading his posts, for sure.
For what it's worth, not trolling. RL has actually been really helpful and linked to some great summaries of the issue as well as resources on the revised cylinder lining process for the 9A2 engines which should nicely address the issue. So I'm going to pivot toward a 991.2 vs 9A2 engine containing model and then just adjust my budget accordingly. Learning about this now, and anticipating 991.2s to hold value really well, is also helpful as this suggests I should budget toward a likely, or at least, $100k price point. So yeah the process has been helpful. We're very blessed with our salary but still saving up for retirement, college, vacations, etc... , to buy a $100k car it'll be nice to budget several years in advance. If I phrased it that I'm interested in learning more about the specifics of Porsche engineering on the cylinder issue, and would like to buy a 9A1 vs 9A2 engine model (without mentioning the timeline) that would've been clearer and/or caused less mass indignation / confusion.
Hey only took you 5 weeks to respond? Glad to hear you have some friends.
We get Trolls on here so making fun of them/pissing them off always good way to weed them out and see if they come back/confirm it's a genuine post.
You must remember the majority of Porsche owners on these Forums are those who have experienced issues with their cars - Majority of owners are happily driving their cars without worry and not involved in the drama.
Bore scope Inspection is your friend. $350 insurance policy and do it when you have your 997.1 PPI'd. And just think you could be driving a 997.1 next week and not have to wait to save the extra $20-$40K for the 997.2 or 991
% of 997.1 engines with Bore Scoring are extremely small. A good way to avoid any worries about the 997 engine is to buy a warm climate car & have it Bore Scope Inspected. Cold climate cars much more likely to have Bore Scope Scoring from poor warm up as explained on many many many Threads.
This will determine engine health and it is what I have done on my last 3 997 purchases. My current 2006 997 C4 w/106K miles has wonderfully clean cylinder walls. I am at Peace.
SO my advice would be to save yourself some $$ and buy a 997.1 but get excellent PPI & Bore Scope Inspection. Simple resolve --->
Here's what all 6 cylinder walls on my car look like on my 997.1 C4 --->106K miles and born & raised in southern California:
I presume we'll hear back from you in another 5 weeks.......
...Or, if you must spend the extra $$ and buy 997.2 or 991 and considering every Porsche model made since & including the 356 has had some sort of engine or transmission related issue, I would wait until just before you buy December 2024 to re-post when 997.2 & 991 engines have had more significant miles put on them and see how the 997.2 engine's are fairing with and increase in Bore Scoring/Cylinder wall flaking and if the 991 PDK transmissions are holding up and if any 991 engine issues are showing their ugly head.
Thanks for the great suggestions, really appreciate it. I think looking at 9A1 models like the 991.1 and using the approach you outlined is a great option. It may be that I end up shooting for a 991.2 in the future.
He could easily have +$150K annually for mental health spendatures?
It's nice the doctors let him get on the computer every 4-5 weeks.
I am a doctor so I let myself go on the computer daily. Given the response to this thread, though, either I should restrict myself, or I should restrict some of you guys.
Thanks for the great suggestions, really appreciate it. I think looking at 9A1 models like the 991.1 and using the approach you outlined is a great option. It may be that I end up shooting for a 991.2 in the future.
I am a doctor so I let myself go on the computer daily. Given the response to this thread, though, either I should restrict myself, or I should restrict some of you guys.
Thought it was funny - With all the tight asses these days it gives me pleasure to lighten things up without being too cruel.
Doc obviously you are busy but it's time to put Porsche before patients.
No disrespect intended just weeding out the Trolls.
I still say go for a higher mileage 997.1, enjoy now and buy the 991 when prices come down in a couple of years. That's what I'm doing. I've been looking for 991 but market too nuts and when 991's start racking up miles I'll buy one at better price. Just the way I've been buying Porsche's over past 35 years.
I never buy low mileage/high dollar pristine examples. I buy higher mileage well serviced and cared for pristine examples that have had the bugs worked out.
IMO see 991 market changing once interest rates climb and we we lots of Porsche on market like we did in 2008.
All the best.
Last edited by groovzilla; 02-08-2022 at 02:30 PM.
It’s also not completely random apparently - it seems to primarily (not exclusively) happen to engines that weren’t warmed properly in cold environments. If you find a car from a warm environment and / or from a meticulous and well-educated (in Porsche terms) owner, your odds get even longer. Clean bore scope and the odds get much longer. At some point, you’re at much greater risk of getting t-boned by a driver staring at their phone. But you’re at almost 100% risk of eventually having some expensive maintenance done, on this or any high-performance car.
We’re all going to die some day, just get one and enjoy the time you have on this planet.
Absolutely true, the items you mentioned are all *mitigations* in regards to the likelihood of risk. You can also mitigate regarding the consequence via an aftermarket warranty, junkyard engine replacement, DIY rebuild, etc.
02-08-2022 | 01:55 PM
and do it when you have your 997.1 PPI'd. And just think you could be driving a 997.1 next week and not have to wait to save the extra $20-$40K for the 997.2 or 991 
