caymanreview

I have been driving Beemers for 10+ years now and am ready to finally move up to the Porsche brand. I am in the market to buy a lightly used Cayman S. I have identified a 2015 Cayman S (w/PDK) with about 15,000 miles on it. They are asking $58,000. It's being sold by a non AD Porsche dealer. They have a stellar reputation though. I plan on asking for a Carafx report, maintenance report history and an over-rev report. What else should I ask for? Also, this is not a CPO. How important is getting CPO?

Just trying to get feedback and advice what I need to look for when purchasing a used Porsche.

Also, I live in Southern California (LA/OC area) so if anyone has a good mechanic, I'll take the recommendation. Thanks!

I drive about 17,000 miles a year.

KevinGross

Get a pre-purchase inspection (PPI) from a shop that does not have an interest in the car. Should cover mechanical and body condition. This is a must, and if the seller is unwilling, start walking. In SoCal, you cannot walk 100 yards without tripping over a clean, used Porsche of some kind!

CPO is certainly nice to have, but not the end of the world if the car is past that. Carfax can help, but many owners are sly enough to avoid an insurance claim for repairs knowing it'll affect resale value via a future Carfax. Hence the PPI importance.

Do some checking as to available Caymans on, for example, cars.com to get a sense of prices. Avoid using Panorama and Excellence: owners listing cars in them generally have inflated expectations of their cars' market value.

Good luck -- hope this one's a winner for you!

caymanreview

Thanks Kevin, that is very helpful. I will make sure to get a PPI.

Macster

Used Cayman checkout...

The 2015 Cayman S is just a used car so you should inspect/check everything.

My general advice is to visit the car cold. If you can check the engine oil level with the engine cold then do so. (With my Boxster I could. With my Turbo the engine had to be running and up to temperature.) In the car start the engine. Be sure all warning lights come on and then go off once the engine has started. Pay particular attention to the CEL. Be sure the A/C is off. You test the A/C later.

Let the engine idle from cold. You want to listen for any signs of ticking/noises or any other signs the engine may not be healthy. A rough idle, backfires, spitting back, anything out of the ordinary.

Get out of the car and walk around the car checking body panel finish, alignment, and gaps. Note the condition of the wheels, looking for any curb rash. Check the tires.

Check the hood and trunk hinges for any signs the fasteners have had wrenches on them. Check the bolts that hold the front fenders to the car for any signs they have had a wrench on them.

Headlights and condensers — visible by getting down and peering inside the radiator ducts using a bright flash light — should have the same patina. A new headlight or new condenser could be a sign of accident damage repair.

After some few minutes -- the longer the better -- and with the engine still running ok and sounding ok have the seller take you on a test ride. The route should be around 15 miles long and chosen to give the driver a chance to demo the car as you intend to use it. What is wanted is a mix of city driving with stop and go, steady moderate speed cruising on like a boulevard, and some highway/freeway driving. Ideally there should be some opportunities -- once the engine is up to temperature -- for some rather hard acceleration with the driver starting out from a standstill or a slow roll and accelerating hard up through at least a couple of gears. No need to smoke the tires or try to duplicate the factory's 0 to 60mph time but you want to experience the engine under hard acceleration to verify it pulls good, runs right, and afterwards shows no ill effects from the hard acceleration.

As passenger of course pay attention to how the transmission shifts. For an automatic I recommend you have the driver perform a K turn with the PDK cold to see how it handles changes in direction when cold.

Also, as a passenger pay close attention to how the car rides, feels. The car should not want to pull to one side or the other and the hard acceleration should give the driver a chance to perform a hard braking. No tire lock up but you want to verify the brakes have plenty of bite and the car tracks straight under hard braking.

After the 15 mile test ride then back at the starting point -- leaving the engine running -- get behind the wheel and drive the car over the same 15 mile test route and drive it pretty much the same way although since the car is unknown to you you can dial back on the hard acceleration test. You don't want to let the car get away from you and wrap it around a telephone pole.

Repeat the K turn test this time with the PDK up to temperature.

Before you shut off the engine after the 15 mile test ride and 15 mile test drive it is not a bad idea to check if the readiness monitors are all set to complete. I have an OBD2 code reader/data viewer/logger than I can use to connect to the car and confirm all readiness monitor are set to complete. These being set to complete is a good sign the engine and its sensors are healthy.

After your 15 mile test drive then at the starting point if you still like the car confirm all systems work. From the head lights to the tail lights. From the horn to the back up camera (if fitted). The A/C. Check all the controls. The wipers. Everything.

At this point if you still like the car and believe you can buy it for a good price -- based on your market research -- it is good idea to arrange to have the car given a pre-purchase inspection (PPI) by a tech who is qualified to evaluate the car. A Porsche dealer tech can be used. These guys evaluate trade ins all the time.

This gets the car in the air so a check can be made for any leak sign. At the same time a check can be made for any signs of damage or damage repair.

You want to really experience the car in its natural state: engine running and on the road. All cars look good on the dealer’s lot. But it is how they look and run and feel and sound and smell on the road, or after being on the road, that really matters.

Be aware and adjust your price accordingly that the car probably needs some attention: Brake fluid flush/bleed is due every 2 years. engine oil/filter might be due. Tires at least rear ones with 15K miles could be close to needing replacement. I could get 20K miles out of a set of rear tires on both my Boxster and Turbo.

Remember these things: Price is not fact only an opinion. And there is always another car. If you find something negative about this car don't feel you have to buy it. There is another car out there you'll like just as much if not more than this one and it won't have any negatives.

maplefrm

Macster, real nice check list. Thanks

needaporsche

Nice! Thanks for the elaborate post.

caymanreview

inspectX

@caymanreview: PPIs are still important on CPO cars, yes. CPO status simply means that Porsche may be on the hook for major powertrain repairs down the line. It doesn't ensure against prior bodywork or the chance that the car spends every other week in the shop after you buy.

caymanreview

The Carfax report for the 2015 Cayman S I mentioned in my original post shows that the car was privately owned for about 2 years (5/2015>6/2017) and was driven about 15,000 miles. Since June 2017 the car has bounced between a couple different dealers and has only been driven about 50 miles. So the last year it has essentially been inactive, Sitting on the dealer lots. Is this a deal breaker? Major red flag

Furthermore, it has the check engine light on. I spoke on the phone with the dealer and he advised the car has 10 months of factory warranty left on it and he would have a AD Porsche dealer pick it up and perform an inspection and correct whatever triggered the check engine light. Can this dealer inspection under warranty replace the PPI? But honesty, at this point I'm wondering if that year of non-driving is too much of a red flag.

imstimpy

Jumping around on dealer lots can mean a trade-in/buy-back, the build is too unique or boring, the market isn't as hot as they thought, or there is something fishy deterring possible owners. This bouncing, unfortunately, can be common on dealer cars.

The CEL is more concerning. Partially because it happened, but partially because the dealer should address that without you asking them to.

Vettel-ish

I would have some concerns with the car sitting. Think of all the seals and fuel that are now breaking down due to no or little use. Also the CEL is very odd that you would have to ask. Sounds like that dealership does not want to pay for the repairs unless the car sells. On the flip side they are well past the point where that car now cost them money to sit on the lot. You might be able to make a very low offer and they might accept just to get it out of there.

tango131

Ompus

turbo8765