997.2 Engine Reliability
or get current 997.2 gt3 car which may be better than GTS depending of planned usage pattern.
As others have noted, I have also read that water pumps and fuel pumps are common issues but to me that is minor. RMS or other forms of engine failure are a major problem IMHO and Porsche waited too long to correct it.
In truth, the trolls don't care whether they are right or wrong, so long as they can create controversy. Thus the certainty of their posts. As it happens, the trolls and the skeptics both were wrong. The 997.1 fixed many of the complaints of 996 owners and the 997.2's fixed most of the remainder. Mind you, it still doesn't have automatic headlights, massage seats, nor even radar-controlled cruise circuits... but we owners struggle along.
As for the cracked cylinder liner, I really am sorry to hear about your misfortune. Cylinder liners are a regular point of failure for high-performance engines. My point is they are not endemic and never were in the water-cooled Porsches despite what people may hear. In racing, they are a common problem because the cars subject the engines to almost intolerable temperature extremes in certain conditions. In road cars, using liquid coolant solves many of the problems of the very high combustion chamber temps required by emission regulations, but it can't solve all of them and some engines will fail. It is not possible to build an engine with extreme performance goals like ours have and also with the stolid reliability of the great iron lumps of the past.
Nevertheless, the 964 and 996 generations were pretty much a low point for Porsche. They were compelled to reduce costs while increasing sales or go under. As a result, some of the manufacturing choices were marginal at best. Those days are behind fortunately. You won't be disappointed if you buy a 997.2, nor in my opinion, a 991.
Gary
The Best Porsche Posts for Porsche Enthusiasts
Based on the content of your posts, I think you just described yourself. haha
If someone has a couple of non descriptive letters above their avatar along with number of posts and join date as their only references,I am not going to take as much credence from their advice.
I'm interested in first hand experiences. I'm not really that interested in conjecture. I'm pretty sure that the Porsche engineers have weighed the cost vs reliability parameters and I'm also pretty sure that they are not willing to share that info with the public.
So far, I have only read positive things about this engine.
there is a LOT of 997.1 cars with m96/m97 motors that run on track and street, some even supercharged and nothing happens to them. there is a rennlist member here with 996 m96 car with EVO charger, he has a lot of track miles on the car and nothing happens. 997.2 only started from 2009, it is hardly 3 years and almost no 997.2 cars were fully transformed into trqack only cars so we indeed do not have enough statistical evidence yet to make any concrete conclusions.
so far on forums it was was quiet regarding to blown engines on 997.2 cars and that`s as much as we can tell.
and nothing of that has anything to do with 991 cars which no one ever saw yet.



