2009 997 Reliability??
It burned one quart of oil in the first 1500 miles, none since.
Gary, living in the California desert
As for reliability, at 9K miles the only issue so far was a CEL light that was cleared by the dealer once but came back days later. Turned out to be a faulty "tank leak diagnosis module". A contraption that detects a leaking fuel tank and triggers a warning. Never heard of it before. "Typical garage queen item" said the tech. Not my fault but the original owner's fault who put 1,900 miles on this car in two years. Getting the car back in good health now with 1,000 miles/month since April and she says thanks every day. Solid as a rock.
Seriously not an issue, just embarrassing to a hotshot driver. Especially the first couple of times when I hadn't learned that you must completely turn the key to the off position before moving it back to 'on' and engaging the starter. Adding to my embarrassment the first time, I was afraid the guy behind would run into me as the car slowed unexpectedly, so as soon as the engine caught I slapped the shift into the far left corner for first gear. Of course, the far left column isn't one-two in a Porsche, it's reverse-null, so I ended up in reverse and lost another full second correcting that problem. Of course, I suppose my back-up lights galvanized the driver behind better than dinner and drinks with Johnny Depp, but at least she didn't hit me. I pulled alongside at the next intersection, lowered a window and apologized. She got a kick out of it. Darn it.
Basically, all of that except the kinky starter switch and the reverse being upper left is typical of high-performance engines I learned on, so I just adapted a technique with a little more clutch slip. Then they changed the HPFP and it all went away. Now the engine is as docile at low speed as a ... as a... jeez, my golf cart is far worse. As docile as a Peruvian Paso. That covers it.

Incidentally, 08/08 is the build date for my car also. And I also found that it drove better and better as the miles built up. I first noticed the lovely throaty exhaust note around 20,000 I think. Great cars.
Gary
The Best Porsche Posts for Porsche Enthusiasts
I think my build is first quarter 2009.
Campy Chorus all the way...for you cyclists.

Cheers!
Couple of observations on oil and soot. During the first 5k miles, I drove it shifing at 4k RPM and never 100% throttle. It did go throgh abot 2 qts of oil and soot a bit. As it rolled 5k miles during a trip, I downshifted and wound it to redline in 2nd and 3rd. Hasn't used a drop of oil, or sooted, since then.




