Considering buying 987.2S w/ 125k - advice sought

Hi, I'm basically in love with the Cayman —thanks for sharing your passion here, and am now in pursuit of one. My budget is <$30k. The car I'm considering is a 2009 S with around 125k on it. The owner has a pretty good baseline on what has been done by him and the PO who had dealer service records, but I have some concerns about PM that needs doing and what work might creep up in the first 1-2 years of ownership. I'm fairly handy in the garage so some DIY is not out of the question--I actually enjoy wrenching and have done shocks/struts, installed LSD, LCAs, tranny and diff. bushings, VANOS, VCG, etc. on the four E46 BMWs we have owned. What’s been done fairly recently: Oil and filter Coolant Expansion Tank and fluid Front brakes and rotors New Michelin PSS Spark plugs Serpentine belt (@80k) What I’m a concerned about on a 12-year-old car with this mileage: Thermostat and sensors Water pump Hoses Shocks and struts Control arm bushings Rear brakes/rotors and bleed Tie rod ends End links Belt tensioners Battery (Feb 2016) Coils AOS PDK fluid Diff fluid Power steering fluid/reservoir What are your thoughts generally and on what needs to be done soon (and negotiated into purchase price)? Based on your feedback, I’m considering a PPI this week. TIA.

Would negotiate all of your listed items into the price if you can. Water pump and all fluids (including brake) would be first/mandatory in my mind. Coils and AOS would be next . Am also curious to see what others will have to offer.

Tom nailed it with pump, AOS and coils. Also listen for suspension bushings clunking over bumps. If shocks are original they have got to be worn. Those items can add up quick. Honestly, you can get a nice car for the same price with half the miles. Why not be patient? Especially is many of those items are original? If the boat bug bites me hard enough, mine might be up for sale...

B ring O ver A nother T housand? I loved my Searay, wish I could use it one weekend a year in July and then give the keys right back to the new owner.

Thanks. And being patient is probably good advice. My thoughts on the PPI are perhaps I can get the price down to the mid (or hopefully low) $20s to cover the needed outlay for cash... Warm weather is coming!

although these cars are well made and reliable. I would strongly recommend the PPI. That said at 125K anything could happen when you leave the sale. What you mention has been done is in the area of $1500 or so , and what you could do on your list is 3X's that A PPI would rule a lot of those items as needed or not needed , especially if you ask for specific information. Low 20's seem high to me , but the market calls the shots. Good luck , keep us posted

Brake fluid is supposed to be flushed every 2 years. Shifter cables are a known weak point and if it still has the original cables I would put that on your list of preventative maintenance. Low 20's doesn't seem high to me. Low mileage clean 987.2 S's seem to be going for high 30's or even low 40's. Personally, I would consider a 987.2 base with much lower miles and likely much better condition over a long in the tooth S. That's just me though. With Porsches, I don't think its a great idea to stretch yourself so thin that you can barely afford it, or have to settle for a worn out example. Maybe the one youre looking at is really clean and well maintained but just with high miles, I dont know. Edit: I think I see the one you’re looking at. Looks to be in decent shape for the mileage. Hope he still has the original taillights. Low 20s seems like it would be a stretch from the asking price...

987.2S with 125k for low 20s... I would consider it if the car was in the right spec. PDK helps with limiting the over rev potential (doesnt eliminate it completely I think), BUT - pdk itself could be a problem. I dont know how reasonable that is, but I wouldnt buy the car without testing how it grabs. Taking all other things into consideration (suspension refresh being nr 2). I have 63k miles on my 987.2S with manual, did 20k miles on it myself, and I am not worried to take this thing to 200k at all. And I drive the damn thing like I stole it.

Thanks for the dialogue and advice folks. The current asking price is ~$28k. The seller has not indicated how much he is willing to come down (though I did ask). I guess he's waiting on me to make an offer w/ or w/out the PPI to back me up. @sectachrome I think you have found the gray 125k mi CS with (unserviced) PDK and (unserviced) LSD that I am considering. And I agree it would be probably be a stretch to get him to $20-22k from where we are now. I think I'll keep searching and trying to be patient...

I have a 2011 base with 117k and have had it three years, I didn't get any paper work with it and didn't get a ppi, however I enjoy working on cars. That being said, I went thru and started replacing the spark plugs, coils, neither one needed changed and I feel I could have waited. I also changed the filters and those too were fresh. All the mainttance had been done, I bought it with 98k miles. This last summer I took it down to do the PDK fluid change and change the thermostat and check the water pump for any kind of movement as well as put a new belt on. I also ended up putting a new vent hose for the AOS since the one on it was split. I ended taking off the drivers side header for one reason or another, can't remember, anywho I found three of the bolts loose on the header. Anywho now the fun begins, As I pumped down the cooling system to suck in the new coolant, I could not get it to the point recommended, 24 to 26, I took the rest of the bottom covers off and found that cooling line running to the radiators had corrosion on one of the connections, I ended up having to replace both pieces as I could not separate them. After that I still couldn't get it to pump down and was having a hard to convincing myself that the front bumper cover needed to be removed. I finally did that and while I was tracing the cooling lines I disconnected both hoses that go from under the car to the side right before the radiator, there is another set of hoses that connect to these, anywho they looked good from the outside however after I removed the lower one it had crap all over it. I went over to the drivers side and took those hoses off and the same thing. My point is just because they have records showing the coolant was replaced doesn't mean the system is in good standing. The cooling systems on these cars are something else. There are more o-rings on this car than most of the semi conductor tools I worked on thru the years.

Forgot to mention, that little line in the first picture to the left of the hoses can be used as a purge valve for the radiators. it runs thru to the other side and connects to the left side radiator, that hose runs back and connects behind the vent valve on the resevour.

Thanks @Frankford . And thus part of my concerns. I once bought a high-miles BMW from the north east that was pretty much completely roached out from all of the salt and winter crap they go through up there. At least this car is from Florida/NC, but as you say you never know what you’re getting into ... (though a PPI would help).

Hi there. I'm only adding on here because I was you in March of 2020, exactly one year ago. I wanted a 2009 Cayman S under 35K. I almost pulled the trigger on several cars, but just kept waiting. In July I found one for 33K with 27K miles. I would have even trailered that purchase but crazily was fifteen minutes from my house. That avoided many of your concerns. So my vote is to wait if you can. I still replaced all filters and brakes myself to save money. And it brings me joy on a weekly basis as there are no winters in SoCal. Good luck whatever you decide.

The first one to mention price loses.

I thought you “Sentinel” guys only drive trucks. You must be a horse of a different color.

Haha. Too funny. I guess I may be a bit of an odd duck. No lift kits here!

Thanks for the input. I was tracking a 981 a few miles from me priced in the mid $30s, but it looks like it may have sold. Checking with the dealership now.

I'd go for a Base Cayman with nice upgrades and lower miles tbh from a dealer if poss. I owned a 09 Cayman S in 2010 and recently bought a 2014 base Cayman as I got more for my buck leaving off the S. Got mine through Carvana and had them replace the roof liner too. lol Carvana has a 2009 Cayman 51k for $27k..

Thanks. I don't see that on Carvana though I have been looking there too. All their affordable listings seem to be "Purchase Pending"

Yeah, they don't last long. I was using Car Guru when I was looking. If you see one on Carvana jump on it as you can always release it if you don't want it. I went through loads and used a VIN check webpage to see exactly what upgrades were on each one. I wanted some specific things like the Nav system etc. There is a coming soon on there https://www.carvana.com/vehicle/1697562 $28k with 19k miles...

Bugger... someone else has reserved it. lol.. You can get in line in case they bail...

Thanks @kevin1971 I'm not sure why that one didn't come up in my search. I've tagged it to be alerted (though I'm sure I am not the first...)

So I ended up in a low mile 981 . And love it!

Whoa!! That's gorgeous! I'm jealous. Looks in great condition. You scored. 😍

That thing is so beautiful. Admittedly, I'm a white paint guy. (with a Black Porsche . Go figure) Sent from my SM-G988U using Tapatalk

if i was the owner, i wouldn't stand for listing wear items on my over 100,000 mile car and trying to justify a price reduction for each one. i wouldn't be rude about it, but i'd be thinking "make an offer or go home" and wouldn't really be listening...