dgcate

Hey folks...

I had a 2006 997S. The perfect car (for me). Loved everything about it. However, I did sell it just as the factory warranty was coming to an end. (Wasnt tired of it at all). But I feared owning it out of warranty.

Now I'm looking at a 997.2. My plan would be to "drive it 'till the wheels fall off". So I'm wanting some feedback on how these cars have been holding up. 100k mi. 150k mi. 175k?

Anyone know or have experience with really higher miles with these engines, etc?

It may still be a little early to know. They're not old cars and it doesn't appear that many have climbed on up into those kinds of milages yet.

Just thought I'd ask. Wanting a long term driver! My 2006 pick up has 120k on the clock and I trust it completely. Any reason a .2 shouldn't be just as durable?

Looking for a long-term relationship!

Thank you
David

Philster

Anecdotally... the .2 is looking like the car to have with the redesigned engine.

Less complicated... less parts.

There are some bore scoring issues, which seem to affect all manufacturers nowadays. No IMSB, so there's a biggie.

I lose track, but .2 is DFI? If so, you're looking at DFI issues, not specifically related to Porsche. DFI might leave the intake valves carboned up... so more care/maintenance/vigilance... but this is not a deal breaker; it's a info point. Some companies try to solve this by using traditional fuel injection at low RPM to wash those valves.

Generally... seems like the .2, because of the engine upgrades and maintaining hydraulic steering, is the way to go.

wwilliams88

I'm at 86K miles and still going strong. Only regular maintenance on the engine plus the fuel pump replacement under the campaign

tomc_mets

Year of your car and what about a fuel pump campaign?
T

OKB

the fuel pumps were 09 dont know after that, but in 09 were by vin and apparently limited to certain dates built

Wayne Smith

Good feed back. Definitely there are fewer parts to go wrong!

Do you know of any specific cases of bore scoring? I do not. It's been written but never authenticated to my knowledge.

The 9A1 motor is DFI. But the injection is pointed into the back of the intake valve as well as the cylinder. This cleans the valve. This also helps break up the spray to minimize cylinder wall washing and bore scoring (see previous paragraph). I have never heard of walnut shells being used on this motor.

I'm near 63K miles on my C4S and am very happy. I've had the car for 28K miles over the last 13 months and see no reason this won't be a 300K vehicle.

Porsche made this motor mainstream. I think there is a good reason for that.

Blu311

Good post as usual Wayne! I agree not to worry about bore scoring and carbon build-up. Just warm the car up before going past 4k rpm.

I have a 2009 base 997.2 with 65.5k miles. Outside of normal maintenance, the car has needed nothing. PO did mostly highway miles and it still has original clutch and brakes. Even the date stamp on the battery is from late 2008, so I haven't even had to replace that yet. I'm planning for brakes, clutch, tires, and normal maintenance and trusting that the car will treat me as well as I treat it.

My daily is a 2006 Rav4 V6 4wd with over 135k miles, and I trust it completely. I trust the 911 virtually the same, but I'm not oblivious to the fact that anything could go wrong with either car at anytime and that repairs on the 911 will be more expensive. But having read nearly every 997 thread on this forum for over 2 years, there are not many 997 problems and even fewer 997.2 problems. I have seen a handful of 997.2 cars over 100k and reports have been good, I've even seen a few for sale around 150k miles.

Good luck with your search!

Sam H.

I have an '09 997.2 with 86,000 miles. Bought it a year and a half ago CPO. It has had no engine issues, either prior to or after my ownership. Engine seems stout. I've noticed a bit of soot in the tailpipes, but the dealer claims that's normal for the DFI engines. In my experience, 997.2 is a fun and dependable daily driver. I wouldn't be scared of a higher mileage car, as long as regular maintenance has been done.

dgcate

Thanks for the feedback. Back in '06, I bought my "S" with 3500 mi. on it from our local dealer. The factory had already swapped the engine out on it because of a bad cylinder (scored/cracked). The only trouble it gave me was the water pump was replaced (under warranty). As the warranty was about to expire the engine developed a "slapping" noise on start up and that motivated me to sell the car. It was probably nothing and it's probably running fine to this day but I knew about those cylinder problems first hand. I just don't need to buy a car that'll need a 15k dollar motor out of warranty.

I believe the .2 engine was addressed for this issue. That's what's causing me to lean in that direction. I believe I can buy a low milage .2 and drive it with confidence for the next 100-125k miles, no problem. Hold onto to it for 12 to 15 years.

At least...that's the working plan!

Philster

Some poor bastard on here bought a used 997 and asked about oil burning... turned out he had scoring on a used car he just got. In looking into some info for him, I was shocked to see scoring mentioned in another forum/thread about the new engines.

Nonetheless, it was just a thread... nothing confirmed... and scoring can be a product of poor maintenance, too. But it is generally something no engine type can fully avoid, it's just the rate at which different engines suffer from it.

Side Bar: Funny, if you read about any problems, the pampered cars suffer the most from all of them. It seems that Porsche owners who run the snot out of their cars are the enthusiasts -- the same ones who know every noise and quirk, and we're the same ones knowing all the real maintenance tricks, schedules, updates.

.

Wayne Smith

The following is only my opinion ...

These cars like to be driven. They like to be driven hard once they reach thermal equilibrium. They do not like to sit. They merely endure cold.

If I were in the market I would be looking for a car that was driven at least 10K miles a year. Ideally the use would be year round. I would be buying private to ensure the previous owner was an enthusiast (proper attention, proper knowledge, proper care). I would be looking for a warm climate car.

Before anybody from the upper latitudes or altitudes jumps on me, yes, you can find a good cold climate car. And if your unicorn came from such a background and really spoke to you, you should grab it. But don't forget a complete PPI and realize when you yank the mufflers to send them to Darin Fister, you may chunk a few knuckles!

Good luck with your search. I don't believe you can go wrong

Note ... Private party purchases are not for everyone. If you go down this path remember to buy the seller first and the car second. For me, I feel I gain background the dealer can't or won't tell me. But there are pitfalls to beware of.

vern1

I am curious why you didn't have the "slapping" noise looked at given the car was still under warranty ? You could be still driving it

LP Beck

I couldn't agree more with Wayne about driving these cars hard. My story regarding oil burning in my car: purchased a 2009 997.2 C2 from local Porsche dealer last December, 2014. CPO with 19k miles, a real cream puff! 19k miles in 5 years soumds good, right? Wrong, it burned oil like crazy (to me), a quart in 1200 miles. I was pretty upset and resigned to adding oil at every other gas stop. Began reading the forum and soon saw a pattern, drive these cars like they were designed and built for, and so I did. I now have 26k miles on my car, and am happy to report oil usage is almost nil.

I have to believe my car was babied by the PO to its detriment. They are sports cars, I say drive them spiritedly, just don't abuse them. They will thrive!

apperception

I just purchased an 06 997 S with 87,000 miles. Seal grey over cocoa brown) Today, I picked it up from Goldcrest motorsports (Wow! great shop in Atlanta). All it needed was $431.00 in routine maintenance. No IMS issues or significant repair history.

Ericson38

Jake Raby posted pictures of a 9A1 engine with bore scoring a couple of weeks ago. I think it was a long thread in the 996 forum. That's the first I heard of it, but he stated that they have known about it for a while now.