The search function didn't quite yield what I am trying to get to. I think the auto-generated similar thread list is an awesome feature, but that didn't quite nail it either.
Onward, I will soon be in the market for an '09-'12 and I like to research the life out of everything before I make a move.
I do not want to DD the car and at most it will be driven a time or two per week, maybe a trip or two per year. I have never done a track day, but it does sound like a good time so you never know. We have FIRM not too far from here and I considered giving it a whirl in my BMW, but never got around to it. I'm a DIYer when it comes to my vehicles and have done just about everything except rebuild engines, transmissions, and differentials though I have the urge to go there someday when life settles a bit for me. I don't care much about options be they functional or cosmetic, but I do want to avoid anything that is problematic or make conversion to a simpler form of equipment difficult or too expensive. I haven't driven a manual in a very long time. The manual is enticing and looks like a great time but I have a feeling it will not play well with my back, so I have decided to go with an auto. I am not quite sure where I will go with the car, but I do like to modify things for enhanced function or to increase simplicity. I am very fortunate to have a retired Porsche/Ferarri tech as a customer and he said he would be happy to go with me to check out a Cayman when I find one that I am interested in. I'm looking forward to that experience as I am sure it will be very educational.
What I am looking for is very simple, '09-'12 Cayman S white or blue, sub-60k miles, complete service history and auto. People seem to be holding onto these cars with a white knuckle grip and I assume they must be great cars. I know the financial collapse has a bit to do with it but one would think there would still be a few more on the market.
Is there a particular year from '09-'12 that one might avoid? From my limited research they seem to be very solid and consistent in these years.
Are there any options that one might avoid on these years due to recurring reliability issues, insane part costs or difficulty changing to simpler forms of equipment should they prove to be problematic?
Was adaptive suspension available on these years and should it be avoided if one might want to install a set of coilovers in the future? I can't seem to find a straight answer on that and it is my main concern. I think next on the list of concerns would be auto climate control. I have never seen an auto climate control system that didn't have some weird gremlins sooner or later and have no idea how well Porsche executes those systems.
Any help appreciated.
All 09-12 Caymans (987.2s) are mechanically the same. As with all Porsches there were loads of options but the majority are cosmetic. The primary functional options were PDK, PASM, Sport Chrono, Sport exhaust, and LSD (limited slip differential). None are especially trouble-prone but failures of the PDK occur infrequently which often requires replacement of the transmission. The LSD is by some reports prone to failure with track use, but in near DD use the unit in my '12 CS still functions fine. I can't recall any discussions here in the past decade around problems with the climate control in the 987.2s. If you're going to do coilovers, PASM would be an option you don't need, but it was often selected along with Sport Chrono on more performance oriented builds. BTW there are many discussions here on coilover conversions, and the pluses and minuses of different systems.
Low mileage, fully documented 987.2s are pretty rare in the used market as relatively few were sold compared to the 987.1s and the 981s, but also because they are solid and pretty trouble free, and the last Caymans/Boxsters with hydraulic steering. Some here prefer them over 981s as they are more analogue, and a bit more tactile than the later cars.
you have the opposite problem others have - finding a lightly optioned car vs. finding options you want - on the car....
do consider the non-S model as well as you don't really need a lot of power or options to enjoy this car.
PDK is a great transmission and is really fast - does require change of fluids regularly. Nice to drive though.
only option you may want to watch out for is the ceramic brakes (PCCB) as the parts for these are expensive but there's always the option to go back to steel brakes.
Happy Shopping!
To get around this site's poor search engine, go to Google and enter keywords and site
lanet-9,com (change comma to a period - this site is now changing stuff that looks like a URL to clickable hyperlinks). This is search is much more effective.
V6
