Bought a 2009 Cayman 2.9, and we are off to a bad start

Why do they use such crap parts in these cars? I've owned it a few months and so far the clutch interlock switch went and now I have a coolant leak. I've only driven the car 600 miles so far. What else should I expect next ? The clutch switch was cheap and DIY but I'm expecting the leak is probably a bad water pump. Have they made the current versions of these parts more reliable? I've noticed they have had multiple generations of each of these parts. Also going through the service history it looks like the clutch switch was done once before. I'm just looking to vent and hopefully hear some comments of people that have had better luck with these cars.

Both are known issues with these cars. Some think of them as maintenance items. A cheap shot you might try is make sure the coolant tank cap is tight and the bleeder valve isn't open. You have to remove the engine cover to access. A few gen 1 cars were fixed this way. A tell tale is pink dried residue on top the tank. If the leak is from the front of the engine it's probably the water pump.

By all means vent away. yes these are common. My 09 had the clutch switch and also a window regulator. My 12 is on it's second water pump. also a PCM failure and a PDLS sensor. But for me the little things are more than offset by the way the cars drive.

Those are minor problems that should be expected. Just one of the pitfalls of buying used. And on top of that, its a high performance machine that was probably pushed a little harder than your run of the mill Camry. Whenever I buy any used vehicle, I expect to put an extra thousand or so into maintenance(parts/scheduled/wear and tear) to make it run right.

Where was the coolant leak? I'm just curious since I also have an 09 and I open up my engine cover periodically.

Another more common reason is that many times these cars aren't driven enough. It is well known that a car sitting for weeks and months at a time will have parts failures that a car that is driven regularly does not have.

hang in there. hopefully the worst is over and now you can focus on enjoying the experience. I too had a few hiccups such as a cracked windshield and a window regulator give up, some strange experiences with the trunk, falling headliner and wear on the lower arms. All addressed with some tender loving care - Hopefully the grey beast has fallen in love with its new owner and will stop kicking up a fuss

Other than examining the caps, look under the car for signs of leaking. Look for dried or crusty pink accumulations - usually at the front of the engine. The water pump is on the right side. The return lines from the radiators are on the left. most water pump leaks from the shaft bearing. If you suspect it is leaking, you can see it better by removing the front cover behind the seats. During my last DIY oil change I noticed considerable pink crust built-up on the left side. It was a leaky hose connector o-ring. Easily and cheaply fixed ($5). So don't assume the worse. Note that there is an identical connector near the water pump where the line goes to the radiators.

If you scan this site you will find several other issues with the 987.2 . Things that have gone wrong since 2010 with my 2009: Clutch, clutch interlock switch (twice), shifter cable at 20K miles and 40K miles (see a pattern?) and battery . Still a great daily driver and lots of fun on the backroads. I don't track the care and I do my own basic service so the major costs have been the clutch ($3K) and second shifter cable ($700). Not outrageous if spread over 5 yr, but a lot more than we spent on Lexus , Toyota , BMW and Honda vehicles in any 5 yr. period. Drives better and is much more fun than any of those cars.

My '11 is on its 4th clutch switch. The last three were the new improved ones.

On my 2009 Boxster S 987.2 I have gone thru 2x Clutch switches, fuel pump , shifter cable and a new battery . I have approximately 60,000 miles so far. I have not gone thru a clutch yet (knock on wood.) -Callahan-

Let me "vent" along with you, I think the failure rate on these cars for items that shouldnt be by any means a maintenance item is higher than I though, yes they are fun to drive etc, but I dont get why Porsche cannot engineer better parts to fix things such as this stupid switch!! Hate it when people say, yes, this is common, so it is ok then!, my latest delima is a cracked "Fuel Sending Unit"!!, how the hell!!! I've owned all kinds of regular cars in the past, I was beating the hell out of them, but never experienced such high rate of failures in one car.

I just wanted to chip in, had my 2009 2.9 for about 3 months and nearly 4k miles. I don't use it as a daily driver, just evenings and weekends mixture of all road types and so far no problems, actually been really surprised as bought the car privately with a few problems (peice of trim missing, cost £9 from porsche and needed a key £210 inc programming) seems a lot cheaper than my old bmw mini. Just want to make sure potential buyers arent put off by the scare stories! Although thinking about it, my drivers window does bounce back down when its about 3/4 way up trying to roll up, had this in my mini aswell, i must be doing something wrong lol.

My trunk strut just failed.... off to get a new one. -Callahan-

Ugh, sorry to hear about your troubles. This is exactly why I bought from CarMax with a Maxcare warranty for 5 years. While aftermarket warranties are often not worth it, I learned from my last Porsche that control arms, water pumps, O2 sensors , etc., tend to go quite often, and it also gives peace of mind from larger transmission or engine failures. That being said, we bought a Prius new over 7 years ago, and we've literally done nothing to it but change the oil and tires ...but guess which car I'd pick any day of the week?