Time for a New Car so it is between a older Porsche 911 or a newer Porsche Cayman

JohnK

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Jun 24, 2009
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Miramar, Florida
Time for a New Car so it is between a older Porsche 911 or a newer Porsche Cayman for the same money.
I'm thinking a 2001 911 is a better deal than 2007 or 2008 Porsche Cayman for the same money.
I would like to hear other opinions.
 
Read up on IMS failure. All Porsche water-cooled flat sixes in that time period you mentioned are vulnerable to catastrophic engine failure thanks to this bit of crappy design.
 
Nice predicament to have.

Just those I'd pick the Cayman. I like its looks and and think it much maligned.

But then I'd go see what Maserati I could get for the same budget, just because I prefer to be just a wee bit different.
 
I'm not much of a risk taker, so I would take the Cayman (S).

Pretty much the same power (in the S version) and from what I have read it has very good handling. It should be pretty reliable and it will be much newer.

Arguably the 996 is slightly prettier and for those who care it's a 911.
 
Then you have the problem of maintenance on the Cayman. It's actually worse than the 911 because of its mid engine setup. Pretty much anything but changing the oil sucks. Changing a water pump is a ~5 hour ordeal on one for an experienced tech and you need to remove much of the interior to prevent damage before you begin even working on the engine.

Even if you don't plan to do the work on it yourself, you should still pay attention to this as labor rates are the same for any Porsche and the mid-engine ones just take a lot more time to do almost anything with. Porsches are expensive to maintain and the mid engine ones even more so.
 
Sorry, Spectre old chum but last week's Wheeler Dealers with a Boxster disagrees with you.

Find an aftermarket specialist who knows what they are doing and has the intergrity not to buy or charge you for original parts and they can as least be reasonable to maintain, if not cheap.
 
Sorry, Spectre old chum but last week's Wheeler Dealers with a Boxster disagrees with you.

Find an aftermarket specialist who knows what they are doing and has the intergrity not to buy or charge you for original parts and they can as least be reasonable to maintain, if not cheap.

Sorry, MWF, but Porsche parts are anything but cheap on this side of the pond. WD advice does not necessarily apply for the US market; a Mercedes part that costs ?5 over there can cost $65 or more here.
 
Buy a 996 and do the IMS Retrofit if you're at all worried. 996s are fairly well built and can have some gremlins but it shouldn't eat you out of house and home as long as it wasn't particularily beaten on.

EDIT: and even if the motor did blow you can get an LSx swap kit that actually improves FR weight distribution and COG.
 
I had the same choice last year. I bought a 2005 Launch edition C2S. What it comes down to is both cars are not cheap to own but are incredible to have. I've got 2 young kids that fit in the rear in car seats so the practicality of the 911 vs the cayman made the decision for me but I would almost have rather had the cayman because it reminded me quite a bit of my old miata as in the playfulness and balance. If you need lots of personal room, a cayman won't do it. Even the 911 seems cramped for some people. Either one should make you smile when you see it in the garage.

What are you moving from? an older sedan, a sporty coupe, a motorcycle?
 
The RMS/IMS leaks aren't super prevalent from what I've heard and that the problem is overblown.
The RMS and IMS should not be conflated in this way. Despite sounding similar and both technically being seal leaks, they're very different.

The RMS is "rear main seal". It's not unusual for it to leak some oil. This is fairly common (happened to our 997 C2S Cab), is known and acknowledged by Porsche (they fixed it under warranty in ours - we didn't even know it was happening, the dealer caught it and fixed it and told us when we picked up the car), and all it causes is some oil loss. As the flat 6 in the cars will burn oil anyway, you should be checking the oil regularly, so the only added concern is the stuff that drips out. It's also relatively easy to fix, so if your seal does have issues and you're digging around in there for something else, you can replace it, too. Not a big deal.

The IMS is "intermediate shaft", and the problem is actually with the seal for the bearing for the shaft. The seal breaks down and allows engine oil to enter the bearing. Engine oil isn't the appropriate lubricant, and can bring in contaminants, and can cause the bearing to fail. If the bearing fails, it'll almost certainly cause catastrophic engine failure. But this is rare - Porsche won't provide numbers and no one else has anywhere near a complete picture, but it's a small, small number of cars. The seal was redesigned multiple times through the run, and a 2007 or 2008 should be less likely to fail than a 2001, but neither is immune. The 2001 is easier to retrofit, if I'm remembering what I read correctly.

FWIW, the Cayman has also had engine failures related to oil starvation under high lateral load (cornering hard). There aren't good/effective fixes for this - there are some work-arounds, but they have flaws. It's something you're not likely (at all) to encounter on the street, but it's important to know about for the track. The 911 seems to handle lateral load better than the Cayman, though the basic versions are still vulnerable to oil starvation on slicks or aggressive r-comps on track. If you're considering tracking the cars, there are a lot more relevant details to know, but if not, it's insignificant.

IMO, you need to drive both cars. Some people love one and hate (or don't care about) the other. Some like them both. If you find you like them both, then it's time to dig through all these little details and weigh the pros and cons carefully. :)
 
There was supposedly a design tweak in 2008 for the Cayman's engine that makes it less prone to failure, so there's also that. If you can find an '08, do eet.
 
Drive both. We're mostly particular drivers on here. I can guarantee you that the Cayman is very different to the 911. I prefer the Cayman handling personally.
 
Depends on what you want from the car. Personally I think the air cooled 911's have more character than the basic newer ones. The air cooled cars are pretty reliable and can also be used every day. Sure the newer cars are faster if that's what you want.
 
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And thanks to people like you, the air cooled 911s are actually more expensive (at least if in good shape) than the 996 in the US! Well done, Pry! ;)

That is not limited to the US. It probably applies globally. At least in germany it definitely does. Any decent 964 or 993 is more expensive than a lot of 996 out there.
 
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