jjwand

I'm looking at a 2006 997S with only 5,000 miles on it. Is there such a thing as too few miles? Obviously 600 miles a year is quite low. Normally thats a good thing but is there an issue if a Carrera isn't driven enough?

txfight00

The issue is that it had the wrong owner

Macster

Maybe.

First the car is still new. While it has aged some it has not covered any real distance. New car problems can still be yet to come.

The car probably does not have any warranty so if anything needs attention you will have to pay for this.

However, a number of new cars do not manifest any real serious issues for a good number of miles. (Example? My 2002 Boxster which was just fine save for an RMS at around 25K miles until around 80K miles when the AOS failed, and then a wheel bearing failed, and the original #1 O2 sensors.)

There is the lack of use.

The oil used in these cars is a good oil. What do I read in the May 2014 issue of Excellence on page 62: '' "Porsche did a very good job of the oil spray system in the Metzger [sic] motor", said John. "We made a few small modifications to this that are not necessary all the time but are simply there to cope with a just in case situation. Most of today's well known fully synthetic oils like the Mobil One that Porsche and we use are really good," John explained, "I have seen cars sit around for six months and then start up with no damage to the internal metal surfaces upon later examination." ''

"John" in the above is "John Bray, the man responsible for engine development and special operations at Evolutions Motorsport (EVOMS), which developed this big-bang motor alongside Shark Werks own resident boffin, James Hendry."

But the oil (POA based) is unfriendly to seals. Ester (an additive) is used to counter POA's seal unfriendliness but because the engine isn't run much and used regularly the seals shrink anyhow and they can leak.

The seals' shrinkage is less when the car is new -- or even new engines would leak. I do not know if the shrinkage is linear or holds off for a while -- a few years -- then comes on with a vengeance. I do not know if the shrinkage stops with regular usage or if it continues.

(Case in point: I bought a low miles (10K) 03 Turbo in June 2009. It developed a selector shaft leak "early" at around 30K miles. The transmission was replaced -- under CPO warranty. The car was rather fine for a good while then at a bit over 100K miles the water pump developed a leak, the RMS developed a leak, the rear spoiler cylinders developed leaks, the front diff axle flange seals developed leaks.)

There can be an even more serious issue. The car sits with water in the oil. This water when the engine is running combines with other combustion byproducts and forms acid. This acid is addressed by oil additives but if the oil doesn't circulate the acids can gain the upper hand. The concern is the acid attacks the IMSB seal which compromises this seal. Or the acid forms a spot of corrosion on a valve spring. This can lead to a fracture of the spring later. Or the oil creates a spot on a camshaft lobe what results in over time a flat lobe on the camshaft. Or a spot of corrosion on a camshaft chain link plate. Or a spot of corrosion on a rod. And so on.

Last but not least comes price. Invariably a seller of a low miles car believes the car commands a premium price. Well, whether it does or it doesn't isn't the issue right now. What is the issue is that if you pay a premium this evaporates as you drive the car, add miles. Thus you suffer -- at least on paper until you move the car on -- a larger portion of depreciation than you would otherwise.

'course, only you can make the call as to whether this is unacceptable to you. You may feel that paying a premium to get a low miles car is worth it even if you add miles because you get a low miles car, used to be sure, but in pristine (at least cosmetically) shape. You still pay less, way less (hopefully) than what you would have paid had you bought the car new, yet you get an (almost) new car.

Give the car a thorough used car check out. This requires a test ride then a test drive. The route should cover 15 miles and allow the driver to demo the car as you intend to use it. Then at the starting point you take the car out as a driver and drive the same route, drive the car the same way.

You must experience the car in its natural state that is with the engine running and the card on the road, doing what you will be asking it to do.

Afterward if you still like the car then perform a thorough used car check out. Assume nothing works until you confirm it does. Use the Porsche CPO check list for your inspection. You can't do all the checks but you can do a lot.

If you still like the car and believe you can buy it get a PPI. Among other things, this should have the car on a lift so the tech can check for any leaks anywhere. Since you have ridden/driven the car for around an hour this should have any active leaks easy to spot. The tech looks for other things, accident damage repair. Do not dismiss this. Even unsold new cars can be damaged and repaired. (I know of one that was sold but unregistered as the dealer discovered the car was bought under false pretenses and recovered the car posthaste.)

The DME overrev counters are read along with the engine run time. This is used to sanity check the odometer. Generally any odometer tampering is used to clock a car with say over lease allowed miles to under lease allowed miles to avoid the penalty of bringing the car back with too many miles. It is generally not used to turn a 50K mile car into a 5K mile car. But you never know. (However, there are cosmetic things that would/should give the car away as a clocked car.)

Hunt3R

Geezus, Macster... Talk about a thorough answer!

Blu311

One option is to get the lower mileage car like this one and get a warranty, they are usually easier to get and cheaper with the low mileage.

BIG smoke

Really 5ooo miles? That is a shame.
As above. I'm assuming it was dealer serviced every year and a yearly oil change. Is it documented?
If not, any seat wear? A plethora of store chips? I assuming its super clean? The front rads should be clean and non dented from crap ingestion.
It would be all about price for me. $80k? is too much. Low $40's would be about right I would think.
You'll need new tires. Those ones are too old. Sell them to someone with a lease return, that needs tread.
Where are the pictures!

MJBird993

+1

I wouldn't be too worried about the low miles as long as they've had the annual oil changes and bi-annual brake fluid flush. You still need a PPI.

JayRace

Personally I would be worried about an 8+ year old car with only 5k miles on it. It's bad for anything mechanical to sit so long with so little use. I would want to know a lot more about how the car was maintained and how it was stored. You'll probably have a lot of gremlins pop up when you put it into normal use.

stefang

Another issue to me would be the usage pattern. Was it driven 600/year or 5k the first year and then parked? The service records would tell the tale.

gpjli2

Let me just add:

Depends on how the annual mileage was put on. if the car is owned by a savvy owner he might run it hard once a month to get it's juices flowing and change the fluids once or twice a year (service receipts). This would be a great find at low miles.

More likely tho is that the car was used occasionally when new and then deserted. Minimal to no service was ever done. Car was not stored properly. All the concerns Mac and others raise are very real here. This might not be a good investment.

Service history is still the best indicator for a prospective buyer, maybe even more so in low mileage situations.

Ynot

A car with such few miles, you might want to check for RMS leaks, seals dries up after a few months and it'll cost you about $1,500 to replace. New tires and an oil change right away, if you do get it.

wardrive

I got a 07 with 7700 miles. Owner has records of annual oil changes plus other services. Got a clean PPI report. Got a very low price on the warranty from Fidelity due to the low miles - 5yrs/60k miles. Been driving the car for months now and no problems (knock on wood).

See the car. Drive the car. Get a PPI, and if its clean, pull the trigger.

SJP3003

I bought an 06 997S a few weeks ago with 6000 miles and regular service and have been addressing over a dozen items:

1. Service last month did not include serpentine belt. I just had that done, and the belt tensioners required replacement too.

2. A/C was venting condensation onto passenger footwell area. A drainage tube was clogged.

3. A/C was throwing too much air up towards the windshield causing fogging. This has yet to be corrected.

4. A/C was tossing out bits of black foam particles. Dealer service addressed this.

5. Sliders on A/C control unit were severely discolored. I ordered anew head unit last week.

6. Radio buttons were gummy. I ordered two replacements from Suncoast yesterday.

7. Floormats were OK but not great...just replaced these.

8. The drain tube from the sunroof to the rear drivers side was clogged causing the head liner to get wet.

9. Brakes feel wooden although brake fluid was just replaced and brakes are not worn.

10. The digital display at the bottom of the central gauge in the gauge cluster stopped working as I drove from the dealer to my house. I ordered a replacement last week.

11. The tires were still the OEMs--- a safety hazard since they were 8 years old.

12. A few minor scratches on the center console (will be matching the interior color to get an acrilyc paint to apply for touch ups).

13. The pollen filter required replacement...just done.

14. The red portion of the seatbelt latch receiver has discolored for all belts. Will revive if possible or replace.

15.Given the headliner and footwell leaks, the car had a musty smell (better now but still an issue)...looking for alternatives to address this (will be trying fabric softener sheets, baking soda and hot lemon water).

16. One cupholder above the glovebox is broken...new cupholder ordered today.

Can't wait to get all these items fully sorted out.

Ben Z

Ditto for all these on my '05 with 57K miles. #3 is directly related to #4 (the foam gone from the flapper that closes off the defroster outlets when the air is being directed through the dash vents). What did the dealer service do? If all they did was vacuum out the outlets, the problem will come back. Mine stopped blowing chunks for almost a year then started back up again. Dealer said to fix it they would have to take the whole dash apart. I opted to not do it because every time I had a dealer do that to a car the dash rattled and squeaked from then on.

Testor's model car paint for the red latches worked well. Same for the red frunk latch that turned pink on me (it also developed a shrinkage crack which I filled with resin before painting)
.

jjwand

The dealer did just disclose that there are "wear" issues with both the temp control and fan control. Really odd "wear" that appears isolated to these two controls. I'm rather concerned because the car lived in a hot, humid, salty area so corrosion is a fear. Anyone ever seen anything like the attached?