Porsch2018

I have test drove a 2017 911 Carrera, the 718 Cayman and 718 Cayman S. I also test drove a 2014/981 Cayman S. The car I thought was the most fun to drive was the 718 Cayman S. I will be placing and order for the 2018 Cayman S when the dealerships receive their allocations but I want feedback on the Caymans in general and the Porsche brand. I realize that the 718's are a newly redesigned vehicle so reliability is hard to ascertain but I also read vastly different views on the reliability of the Porsche brand.
My experience had been with Honda's almost exclusively...in fact I got 357K miles out of my last Honda Accord without any major issues and sold it for a couple of thousand to buy my latest Honda Accord. On my present Honda vehicle I have about 90K miles without any issues. I understand the importance of maintenance and I am meticulous but I want to hear from Porsche owners....the Good....the Bad....and the Ugly......

Macster

The 718 is too new to have any real data on its overall reliability. To get this takes a number of vehicles in service and time.

There is a thread started by someone who collects reliability data for the older Boxsters/Caymans...Here is a link to that thread:

https://rennlist.com/forums/boxster-...tter-info.html

My personal experience with a Cayman is unfortunately very limited, practically non-existent. I bought a new 2008 Cayman S in April 2009 and by May 2009, just 4 weeks later, it was destroyed when another car hit it.

I do have some experience with the Boxster though, at least the earlier ones. My 2002 has just under 310K miles and has been a very good car. Best car I ever owned.

Sure it has over the years had some things go wrong, but as the miles add up things wear out, things like an AOS (80K miles, and the car is on its 3rd now; these last around 80K to 100K miles is my experience), wheel bearing (90K miles), O2 sensors (<100K miles), the water pump (172K miles), fuel pump (200K miles), coolant tank at I can't recall the miles now but around the 220K mile mark is close.

"Little" things, too. Things like clutch interlock switch, brake light switch, door lock switches, window regulators, even the door membranes (keeps the water on the wet side of the door from getting into the dry side of the door).

More "little" things: coolant cap, oil filler tube cap (on my 2nd one), fuel filler cap (tether broke and the notices the rubber seal was cracked and the cap was probably close to leaking).

What else? Oh yeah, the front and rear trunk struts. These get weak and no longer hold the lid open.

The "biggie" was the passenger side VarioCam solenoid/actuator at Oh I can't recall now maybe at 260K miles.

Original hoses, radiators, 3 wheel bearings are original, all the belt idler and tensioner rollers (the ones on my 996 Turbo have been replaced now twice in just 150K miles), clutch, coils, engine (not even an IMSB "upgrade"). The CV boots split and I had the half shafts removed, cleaned and inspected and the tech reported all ok and then repacked the CV bearings, fitted new boots and installed the half shafts back into the car. These have covered another nearly 50K miles with no issues.

Heater/AC has never needed any attention. I never put the top down so the top hardware is fine. The top started leaking after 13/14 years (of sitting out in the elements) so I had a new aftermarket top installed.

Really the Boxster has been everything I expected it to be and in some ways more.

I'm tempted to buy a new 718 Cayman (as I never drop the top on the Boxster) I'm just having a hard time justifying the expense of buying a new car.

Porsch2018

Wow thanks Macster for the detailed history. I will give the Cayman S and Porsche brand a chance and hope I don't get burnt. Must admit the Cayman S put a smile on my face but surprisingly the 911 Carrera was, well, a little boring.....almost felt like a family car, not sporty with allot more turbo lag then the Cayman S....not sure why.

Porsch2018

Read about this recall on the 718's on another forum:

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/201...347.1489239946

Macster

Never driven -- except briefly during a test drive -- a 911 but my 996 Turbo is not boring.

To be sure it is quite different from my Boxster. In some ways the Turbo is "better" than the Boxster.

Just to be clear, the Boxster's road manners and behavior are sublime. What a well balanced automobile.

But, the view out the Turbo is better. One sits a bit higher up which helps. And the Turbo has fewer and smaller blind spots than the Boxster. And the Turbo cabin is bigger. Doesn't bother me but some passengers comment on how "cramped" the Boxster cabin feels.

My favorite plus with the Turbo is on a long trip I can pull over and move the driver seat all the way back and recline the back and stretch out and catch 40 winks and refresh myself.

If you get the Cayman I have a few things to suggest.

Do an early oil/filter service. I did one for my new Cayman S at 750 miles. The filter housing oil was "filthy" with trash and lots of metalflake (aluminum). This is not unexpected with a new engine but that is no reason to run the initial oil for 5K miles or whatever the change interval is.

I did another oil change at around 750 miles later, at 1500 miles, and the oil filter housing oil still had a bit of a metallic sheen to it but it wouldn't even photograph. Then at 2K miles -- end of "break in" -- I had the oil/filter service done again.

Why I stress this is I did an early -- approx 4K miles -- oil/filter service with my Boxster (after an oil analysis found 7% water in the oil -- due to condensation normal but excrebated by the fact I was driving the Boxster in the dead of a mid-west winter and the engine is cold blooded taking a long time to warm up and the lousy crankcase ventilation system) and decided to not follow the 15K mile oil change interval and 30K mile filter change interval offered by the factory but to adhere to a 5K mile oil/filter service interval and I think this has contributed to the long and trouble free engine life the Boxster has delivered.

(Might add I have been a fan of any early oil/filter service and not running the oil too long with all my cars/motorcycles and have always managed to get big miles from engines with no signs of any wear.)

Other fluid services you can do on schedule although I tend towards doing a transmission/diff fluid service "early". Say if the transmission fluid change interval is 90K miles I often do one at 60K or even 45K miles. (Although with my 2001 Camaro Z28 I did one at around 18K miles since a year or two before my 2001 Chevy had a tranmission fluid service recommendation at 18K miles then with later models eliminated it. Might mention too I had an early transmission/diff fluid service done to my Turbo, at around 30K miles and the tech found a leaking selector shaft seal and the transmission was replaced under warranty. This leak might have not made itself known before the warranty expired and I might have had to pay for the seal replacement out of pocket then.)

Oh, while there is no scheduled coolant change interval I am a firm believer in doing this every 4 or 5 years. This helps prolong the life of the water pump and the radiators and heater core and oil/water heat exchanger.

Next read up and learn where the body water drains are and keep these clear of plant trash. To keep this to a mininum between cleanings I avoid parking my cars under trees and near plants that shed leaf and plant litter.

Also, while it took years before any trouble in this area appeared after a car wash or rain check the door bottoms -- carpets -- for any signs of water. Any water at this location is a sign of a bad/failed door membrane.

I bring up the water drain and door bottom items because water in the cabin in these cars is a real problem. The security module is located under the passenger seat on the cabin floor and any water gets this wet and damages the heck out of the module.

Probably the alignment is "off". But if the car doesn't pull or wander and the tires don't howl you can probably continue to drive the car as it is. In the case of my Cayman S I knew just a few minutes after leaving the dealership the alignment was off. I didn't bother to test drive the car since it was new and I had spent so much time with my Boxster I knew how the Cayman would drive but waited a few days to be sure and see if any other new car problems appeared (one did with the stereo) then took the car back and got an alignment under the new car warranty. (The stereo was reset but the bad behavior returned after a few more days and this was replaced under warranty.)

Just be aware that "alignment" is a special case issue that many dealers only "warranty" for just a few months and few thousand miles after one leaves the showroom floor.

After a while after you put some miles on the car at least I like to get the car properly aligned and then generally it will stay aligned through a number of sets of tires. I use the tire wear pattern to know if the alignment has changed. Uneven wear across the tread face is a good sign of improper toe adjustment at the rear of the car (or less common at the front of the car).

When you get your new car be sure to post some pics.

Porsch2018

Once again, Thanks for all the Great information. It helps to talk with people that have owned a Porsche, and know. I would never have thought to change the oil/oil filter that frequently out of the gate but I guess with a high performance engine it would pay in the long run. So you are recommending 750/1500/2000 then every 5K.....is that reasonable?
Will definitely post pictures......as soon as I receive the car.

Macster

Up to you when to change the oil out of schedule.

But maybe I can offer something to help you decide.

My experience prior to my Porsche ownership experience was with rebuilt engines. In these cases I was told to upon initial engine start run the engine some time at a high idle to "break in" the cam/lifters mainly. (Told or in some cases the cam maker had some kind of cam/lifter break in procedure to follow.) The rings seated rather quickly in just a few minutes or less of engine time. One could tell when this occurred as the engine would run better.

Then after this "break in" the procedure was to drain and replace the initial oil with fresh oil and change the filter. Then how often after this one wanted to change the oil was up to the individual but generally one would adapt the change interval recommended by the factory unless the engine was being used for mainly competition.

Regardless I would if it were my car change the oil early. At 750 miles is a good number. Or maybe even sooner at 500 miles. (Given how much trash I found in my Cayman's oil I would have changed it at 500 miles had I known.)

Or you can wait a bit longer and do it at 1000 miles. However, I feel (just a feeling) 1000 miles is "pushing" it. Oil is cheap so my preference would be to do the initial oil change sooner rather than later.

As I mentioned at the initial oil change at 750 miles I found a lot of trash/metalflake/sparkles in the oil filter housing oil. I wasn't too concerned as my engine rebuilding experience had made me aware of just how much trash new (or rebuilt but the same thing) engines shed.

But since I was entering what I hoped to be a long term relationship with a new car I wanted to know if this filthy oil was "normal" new engine filthiness or something else, so I changed the oil again not quite another 750 miles later. I couldn't wait until another 750 miles had passed.

If the 2nd oil change found the oil filthy again this was worth knowing. If the 2nd oil change found the oil not filthy this too was worth knowing.

As it turned out while the 2nd oil change found the oil filter housing oil showing a bit of metalflake (alum.) in the oil it was way way less than before. Way way less. Enough less to convince me the filthiness level of the initial oil was indeed just due to the normal metal shedding a new engine does.

The 3rd oil change done at the "end" of "break-in" (2K miles) and just prior to me heading out on the 1st long road trip I didn't even bother to check the oil's condition. I had this service done at a dealer because I wanted the car road worthiness inspected prior to heading out on what I expected to be a 4K to 5K mile road trip during which time I would get to know the car's capabilities better -- if you know what I mean and I think you do -- and I wanted the oil to be fresh.

Unfortunately an accident the Friday night after work just prior to my leaving the next day on the road trip destroyed the car so I didn't get a chance to reap the benefits of the early initial oil/filter services.

But I'm sure you'll get to enjoy your new car for as long as you want and an early oil/filter change or two is a good start to a long and trouble free service life from your new car.

Porsch2018

Sorry to hear about your Cayman....that must have a real tough deal.

Great advice and I will definitely change the oil if not 750 then possibly 500miles.

Just placed my order but now I am second guessing color choices, though I have about six weeks to agonize and make changes........

Macster

Was quite a shock to lose the car like that. But I picked up a nice low miles 996 Turbo after the (air bag) dust settled.

Still I would have liked to see how the Cayman S turned out. It was a very sweet car.

At the dealer today checking on my 2002 Boxster and spotted a lava orange Cayman S on the floor. (List: $87K. Just about double what I paid for my 2002 base Boxster back in 2002 and around $36K more than I paid for my 2008 Cayman S in 2009.) Not a bad color but not my favorite.

If I were checking of the option boxes miami blue or graphite blue or carmine red or even sapphire blue metallic would sorely tempt me. I'd need a 4 sided coin to decide. Wait there's racing yellow. My Cayman S was speed yellow. Speed. Racing. It is all good. Then for no additional cost guards red or white would be nice colors. I like no additional cost.

Porsch2018

Hi Macster....I looked over the colors again and decided to go with the Miami Blue that goes real well with the leather Interior with Sport-Tex Seat Centers in Graphite Blue/Chalk looks pretty sharp. Looking at a June build.....

Macster

That will be one fine looking car with those exterior and interior color choices.

A guy I know ordered a new 911 in miami blue but I don't recall the interior. It was two tone of that I'm pretty sure.

He waited and waited -- a few months -- and then had to leave town on business. Car came in -- you guessed it -- while he was out of town.

I was by where he works the other day and asked to see the car but he's not driving it now after putting hundreds of miles on it right after he got back and picked up the car. Don't know who he is saving those miles for though when he turns the car back in -- it is a lease -- I might be tempted if the price is right. Has that all wheel steering setup which he said he test drove examples with and without and prefers they way the car handles with the all wheel steering.

Porsch2018

My car is going to get allot of use...it is not leased and will definitely not be a garage queen. My wife and I each have our own car this will be the third so that means one of our cars will get less use but I intend to use the Cayman pretty often......

Curt Wohlgemuth

I have a 718 CS on order in MB as well. The interior choice was difficult for me; personally, I think the graphite blue interior clashes with the MB exterior. I'd have gone with the Sport-Tex seats as well, if I could get them in a black/chalk interior combo.

So I went with the full leather black/chalk interior with my car.

Good luck!

Porsch2018

Curt what is your build date, is it in June? My vehicle enters the body shop on the 16th of June (V260) and projected to exit on the 30th of June (V270) and completion on the same day (V300).......do you have your tracking data yet?

Curt Wohlgemuth

My car was supposed to enter the body shop yesterday (Mar 17), and be in the dealer around June 5 or so.

Haven't seen an update from my SA yet though.