Sounds like the car has a good service history, the bank 1 lean condition could be fuel injectors/EVAP issue (Charcoal canister) or vacuum leak somewhere in the system.

With a high mileage car, documented services are a big plus. Im assuming that this car would be a fun car/weekend car.

Early PDKs can sometimes become an issue. Any documentation of service on the PDK?

If the price is right, go for it.

 

Agree. I would not buy a pdk with 120k unless a screaming deal. Never had a PDK but from here they seem reliable but know a PDK issue could be many thousands if a sensor or possibly 5 figures if replacement.

If you can afford a nicer car then that would be my suggestion. One with half the miles. Get a PPI.

Agree the price, color and options would definitely help with decision.

 

Actually, recent posts indicate there are options to buy PDK sensors for $2K. PV997 and others are working on a sensor that might be a tenth that price.

At 100K plus miles it could be argued the PDK and sensors are solid. So nothing to worry about.

Meanwhile posts about mechanical problems with manual transmissions make it appear that they are as expensive (or more taking the new PDK sensor availability) as a PDK to repair. This especially becomes a factor in high mileage cars where synchros are starting to fail.

I could make a case that if you are buying a high mileage car the PDK is the better bet.

 

Still "just" two PDK failures. Both traced to the distance sensor so not mechanically related. For new followers, first failure on the -09 C4S resulted in full replacement since as Ironman88 said, Porsche won't even sell internal PDK parts to their own dealerships, never mind independents or individual owners. So the failure of any internal PDK part = full replacement. First replacement came to $14,000 and the second one on my current GTS ended up at $20,000 so as with everything else, they're not getting cheaper.

As for the OP's question about the "lean code", I've never heard of it so I don't know what it is or what it relates to. All I can add to the OP's concerns other than the PDK issues addressed above is that I've read a number of stories suggesting that Porsche went to great length to improve the .2 engine after the IMS fiasco and bore scoring issues.

Seems like they had some success. I think most will agree that the .2 engine is sturdier all around. The IMS bearing is gone so a non issue. Correct or not, I've also read that the cylinder walls have been redesigned/strengthened where bore scoring is less of an issue. I don't get the impression that scoring was completely eliminated with the .2 engine but I do get the impression that the chance of having a scoring event has been reduced by a rather large degree. Someone correct me if I'm wrong on this.

 

To the OPs question, I don't think the major failures in these cars are necessarily correlated to mileage. The more miles and age, the more maintenance items come due, but I don't think that's the question at hand. A 2009 car is ~14 years old. I'll throw out a theory: If you're going to have a major issue with one of these cars, it's less correlated to mileage than it is to these items in my perceived order:
- condition and history (ex - does it already show signs of bore scoring? Was the car driven in such a way that the engine was 'lugged'?) some of which you can determine with service records and a thorough PPI, some of which will always be a mystery for a used car purchase
- model - certain models are more prone to issues. Plenty of info on the board here and no need to go down that rat hole in this thread
- luck - good or bad could be the factor of whether or not your car gets struck by lightening
- age - failures are more likely after x number of years - maybe 3-5? Anything over 10 and you're susceptible to that small percentage

After all that, mileage is probably a factor. Some say very low mileage would make a car more susceptible. And - it's hard to argue that more mileage is a good thing, other than getting over that minimum that could be considered scary. In my mind, buying a 2009 911 with 50k - 140k miles is relatively a similar risk for catastrophic issues, assuming good service records and clean thorough PPI.

I'm sure others have opinions on this as well and I'll follow to see if I'm off base - which I well may be - it's just a theory from some bozo on the interwebs. I have owned an '06 997.1 C2S since 2010 and it has about 117k miles on it. I know you're talking about a .2 but there's still some overlap and - being on this board as long as I have - I've read many of the posts about both 997 iterations and I 'know' some things, but not first hand. I put all but 12k miles on my car - including track miles - and do most of the maintenance and mods. No major issues - knock on wood!

 

It's all a guess.... but again, you can't beat entropy.... older is worse than new, more used is worse than lightly used.

If not driving the car causes problems.. not sure what that would be... then I will take that.... My bet is that I will spend more on an old used car, than an old unused car.

But my biggest issue is simply how much life am I buying? I want long life.

Just a guess.

Peace
Bruce in Philly (now Atlanta)

 

I’m with you 100% Bruce. Sounds like the OP/ buyer feels the car is priced for the mileage and he understands that general trade off and he’s specifically asking about model-specific catastrophic issues and if there’s an outsized probability of failure as mileage increases.
I think you’re saying - and I’d agree - that it’s a risk for sure, and probably increases with mileage, but in a ‘normal’ sense, vs an outsized increase in risk. That’s how I’m interpreting his question but I could be wrong on that

 

So OK, to answer the question specifically... now I have an MT... my car has not blown up.

Peace
Bruce in Philly (now Atlanta)

 

With 30 pages of service records, barring missing records, it seems to me that there is enough of a historical record to make a good guess.

The 9A1 uses a closed deck design with different material for the cylinders and pistons compared to earlier motors. As a closed deck design it is more prone to cold seizure rather than bore scoring. This seems to be based on the casting and once these motors get past a certain amount of use if cold seizure has not occurred that's a testament to the casting being good and the likelihood of failure being much less from what is already a very very small chance.

The 9A1 uses far fewer parts as well. The cooling paths were improved. The oiling system is incredibly well designed with multiple scavenger pumps and computer controlled pressure based upon needs. This list of improvements goes on and on. Porsche basically over engineered the 997.2, if such a thing is possible.

Older high mileage cars are more apt to have synchro failure if manual transmission ... an expensive repair from what we've seen on this Forum. The PDK's worry is electronic and sensors are now available which keep the cost of this repair quite reasonable. So the tables have flipped on this argument IMHO.

Bruce's comments on age and entropy are spot on. This points to the need for service history. 30 pages sounds like previous owners cared. That's a good start in my opinion. Anyway, anything else I can say merely becomes repetitive. Time to head down the hill to grab my second cup of morning coffee.

 

Find the PCA hosted Youtube on PDK transmissions with Atlanta Autowerks. They appear to be the leading shop specializing in PDK repairs.

 

At this point the newest .2 is about eleven years old; not insignificant in "car years." As mentioned by Wayne and Bruce, maintenance records are key. I probably wouldn't have purchased my 09 C2S without its solid service history. Furthermore, talking to the Porsche dealer tech who serviced the car for 7 years, who confirmed the previous owner was as OCD as me, was the icing on the cake. Separately, I can't understand why the OP hasn't been forthcoming with the price of the car he's interested in. There's a lot expertise available on the forum, why not take the full benefit?

 

Excellent points. My 107K mile 2006 C4 that I purchased 1.5 yrs ago had 106K miles when I purchased. Previous owner was Boeing Engineer who owned it for 6 years and he was diligent about service and keeping records. He did his own oil changes and kept log in Owners Manual.
The service history as well as Bore Scope and PPI Inspection are key when buying 997.1 or 997.2 for peace of mind and re-sale value.
Buying Auction cars or cars from Dealers usually have no service history and have to rely on Carfax or similar.
Odd the OP wouldn't share the price of the car and disappeared.

 

Indeed non-specialized dealers and auctions present the most challeges when it comes to service records. Worst of all is when the Carfax shows NO service history whatsoever, and the selling party hasn't kept records, or doesn't have them. In this case a PPI with a reputable indy is the last resort. Sometimes is better to pass on the car. It always boggles my mind when long-term owners are selling their cars without having kept detailed records.

 

I agree but pose this idea… some long-term owners never intend to sell their car so maybe that think the records aren’t as important since they know what maintenance has been done. Then something happens and they want to sell and they have regrets.

 

I think it depends on the owner. Most Porsche owners are smart and understand keeping records are important. Doesn't take much effort to keep a file and when you are spending $1000-$5000 on various services whether a rip-off Dealer or Indy Specialist, Keeping the service record is sort of a no brainer and not like climbing a mountain. Besides, keeping the service record documents whats been done to the car in case there are issues with the said repairs.
With the cars I've bought, the most common reason I have found that a responsible Porsche or Mercedes owner doesn't have copies of their records is from a recent move or previous owner of seller had same issue with previous owner moving and records being misplaced.
Never expect any records when buying from used car dealer unless it is a Porsche Dealer who serviced the car. In some cases they will contact previous owners if car has been serviced at their dealership to get previous records. But that's rare case.

My 997 C4 has spotty records early on until about 60K miles but there is a service log in the owners manual. The Carfax mileage cuts out after 10K miles in California and then starts again in southern Oregon at 60K miles.
My Manual transmission was replaced at 20K miles and shows on Carfax. Also at about 65K miles my car shows a theft recovery in 2014. According to owner I purchased it from the owners son stole it from his garage for joyride and he called Police. Nice son.
Then the Carfax shows some services from about 75K mile forward and shows all mileage until 89K miles. My car had 3 owners when I bought it (I'm 4th) but Carfax doesn't show the 106,000 mileage at purchase which was on Bill of Sale when I purchased it last year.
So Carfax hit or miss in most cases.