kolosy

Looking at a 981 Cayman S with around 90k on it. I'd like to use it as a dedicated track toy. I've been a BMW guy my whole life and that's a reasonable mileage starting point for an M3. How about on this side of the fence? Am I asking for trouble or is this a reasonable mileage? Anything specific to look out for? Sounds like the 981 platform is more reliable than the 986s were...

Cuda911

I would say that's reasonable for a track car, assuming in decent condition and maintenance was done.

ANGST

send it

kolosy

just ran a carfax and it's had 3 accidents including "undercarriage damage" and a tow.

... NEXT!

Nowanker

Still might not be a bad starting point for a track car.
Exactly what was the 'undercarriage damage'... something simple, and easily repaired? Maybe a bent control arm from some light impact?
As long as the chassis is straight, use the carfax and bargain the holy livin' sh*t out of it!
People looking for a street car will be put off, and it might wind up at a great price!

ANGST

Yeah if you use that to bargain down , and the price is right , you may be looking at the "perfect" track car right here. Especially if you can get a PPI , and see if it will align correctly . I have a friend get a great deal on an M3 he was planning to track because it had a dented floorpan .

Carrera51

If the tub is straight, has good service records, and can be purchased well below market, then it sounds like a nice race car donor.

kolosy

hmmm.

let's see where i can get him. service records are ... spotty. do you guys trust a Porsche dealer to do a good PPI or go Indy? He does have repair receipts from the accident and it looks like they didn't do any suspension work, but did replace a wheel.

Nowanker

Not the dealer!!!!!!
Find a performance oriented indy.
Typical dealer tech looks at a used car very differently, as if it's coming through their used car department.
Less about the real structure of the car, and more from the perspective of 'we already own this, so what profitable-to-me work can I sell?'
Came from an independent shop background, then went to work for a dealer. I was shocked at some of the different attitudes.
There are, of course, some talented and diligent techs at the dealership.
Unfortunately, you're at luck of the draw when you bring a car there.

Frank 993 C4S

If you are buying a car for track use that is not cosmetically perfect, that is fine but a car with major accident damage where you don't know how it has been repaired or maintained is a very risky proposition because everything wears out quicker at the track and failures can lead to bad situations. These are aluminum chassis cars - there is no such thing as an acceptable dent in the floor pan with these cars. If you really want to assess your risk, you really need to bring the car to a bodyshop that is Porsche certified for repairs of aluminum chassis. How much are you willing to spend on your PPI?

PTSFX

Only caution would be if it’s a PDK. Depending on how it’s been driven, that could be something that breaks sooner rather than later, speaking from personal experience (albeit with a 987).

kolosy

yeah, guy is pretty stuck on price so i'm gonna pass. was basically willing to come down $2K off a recent BaT auction for a comparable car *without* accident damage. Not so, my man. Not so. Thanks all for your advice.

matttheboatman

Not speaking for this particular car, but it turns out that the 981 platform may be the single best car Porsche has ever produced. A wonderful track car and daily driver. I've had a '14 S / '15 GTS '16 GT4 / and another '14 S. lots of track miles, ZERO mechanical failures of any kind. (of course, they were all propertly maintained and prepped).

Some notes on the 981s from my experience;
- you will have to change the headliner
- replace coils and spark plugs periodically (coils fail because too much heat, plugs replaced so they don't seize).
- service the PDK prior to its recommended 100k interval.
- replace pulleys and belts.
- swap brake caliper bolds with Tarrett studs or you or your mechanic WILL strip your aluminum uprights.

Zhao

Agreed. More people should probably take aluminum cars to bodyshops over mechanical shops for PPIs. Who cares if it needs brakes and a fluid flush, a mechanic isn't going to be able to tell you if the engine is going to last 100000km more or is going to blow up in 15. What is more costly and more valuable knowledge is if there are any accidents on it, claimed or not claimed, and any shoddy repairs. The worst repaired cars often do not have accident history.


Every so often on here some sociopath posts about how their car got written off for non repairable structural damage and thinks they can repair it themselves just because its 'minor' damage. Then half the forum agrees that there is no problem fixing that damage 'cheaply'. Plenty of those people are also fixing cars that didn't get written off, or not fixing stuff and hiding it.

Just one problem is aluminum cracks, and those cracks will work larger and larger over time potentially until there is a failure. Aluminum is also difficult to repair and very expensive to fix as it often involves replacement. Replacement on a Porsche often involves huge sections of the car. Undercarriage damage on a Porsche can mean not-repairable as depending on the vehicle there is a good chance the portion needed is sold as a huge section, or is part of a huge section that porsche deemed not repairable. People are cheap, and a lot of people don't care if you die as long as they save or make their money cutting corners. I know a 1inch tear in a gt4 in the wrong spot will write it off and there is one out there like that the guy wanted to buy back and fix by hiding it. Most people would think it's fine, maybe everyone would miss it, but maybe 20 years from now it cracks down the entire structural piece and puts itself into a wall doing 200kph + down a straight. I tried explaining that to that guy and he quite literally didn't care. So be careful buying a car with aluminum structure out there with undercarriage damage or multiple accidents.

I don't worry about accident cars so much in my country but I rarely see US cars repaired properly.

Kitc2246

As Okie recommended add the 911 coil pack heat shields. I added in Spring 2020 and no issues with original coil packs after 30+ track days.

Added the third radiator.

981 oil temps are high, PDK more so. I see 265+ on hot days. PDK has never gone into limp mode. Mobil 1 5W-50

My PDK pan gasket just failed. Had the fluid replaced last year.

Ditto on the brake caliper studs. Son and I stripped one in my 987.2

You will need adjustable LCAs to get front negative camber. I have -2.8 with 18s and Hankook RS4s