2006 56 Plate Porsche Cayman 2.7

[RichForaDay]

Hello PCGB,

I'm currently looking to change my car and having never owned a Porsche (and always wanted to) I thought this could be a good time to get one.

My budget is small at 15k and I've been looking at the 2006 Porsche Cayman 987 2.7 one has caught my eye that has done around 45,000 Miles.

Having done a bit of research ive been concered about the IMS and Bore Score issues, ive tired to do as much research as I can but every other forum I read seems to have conflicting information.

Would a 56 plate 2006 987 have the improved 'beefier' engine?

And is 45,000 on the clock seen as high milage for this model?

My other option is a Z4 for for me it doesnt have the same feeling as a Porsche and the community that comes with it.

Thanks for your help.

 

[JMR]

£15k will get you a nice 2.7 Cayman.

45k is low miles - sounds good.

As far as I understand the 2.7 engine doesn't suffer so much from IMS/ RMS issues as much as the 3.2/3.4

2007 (56) plate models are assumed to have the stronger IMS bearing.

Have a read of the PCGB buying guide below ;-)

https://www.porscheclubgb...987-buyers-guide

 

[Craiglm68]

£15K is defo a healthy budget, opens up to a nice selection of Caymans and Cayman S's. The 2.7 seems by all accounts to carry a minuscule (non existant?) risk re early scoring (to put it in perspective, estimates suggest circa 4-6% of CS's suffered the same fate....say 1 in 20 cars). As for IMS, the same item was used in both cars I believe, the improved IMS came in either during either the 06 or 56 plate period (someone on here will know for sure). Again, the failure rate was very low...sort of like you reading often about people who get struck by lightening or eaten by a shark...because it happens so rarely.

Drive both S and non S models (test driving is a great hobby!) so you know what they're about, but the 2.7 is a lovely engine (I don't think it ever changed during the gen 1 run), needs working harder etc but still quick enough, makes a lovely noise etc.

 

[Motorhead]

I agree with the other contributors' comments. Here's another buying guide in case you've missed it:

https://www.pistonheads.com/news/buyingguide/ph/28004?utm_source=pistonheads.com&utm_medium=Internal&utm_content=Forum%20Link&utm_campaign=Buying%20Guide%20Porsche%20Cayman%20987

FYI 2009 was when the redesigned engine was introduced in which the IMS was deleted. The 3.4L featured direct fuel injection but the 2.9L just had port injection.

Jeff

 

[Buddy]

As Jeff says, plus, I did a trip to Stuttgart a few years ago all four cars were gen1 2 were S and 2 were 2.7's. The S accelerated faster but there was usually just a few minutes wait at the stopping points for the 2.7's to arrive. Quick by most standards, the IMS was the last iteration of that design and so as good as it got, the gen 2 engines were improved but there is a step up in values.

My gen 1 S did 88,000miles before I traded it for my gen 2 and was still going strong, one thing I would advise is to keep the revs above 2,000rpm before accelerating or bringing peak loads on as the lower bore jets only open at 1.8bar so running around at tick over just because it doesn't seem to have a problem isn't a good idea, plus when in traffic crawling lower oil pressure and slow cooling water flow contribute to overheated cylinders.

The club buying guide was written by a well known Porsche journalist and replaced the one that I wrote, one or two points I would disagree with but the same can be said of many articles I read, one reason I read very few of them.

My runabout is an early Z4 2.2 and so I can discuss them if needed, the electric power steering isn't as good as the hydraulic system in the Cayman 987. Handling is however, quite good but they have a few weaknesses, folding roof system is poor as they sat the pump and motor in what amounts to a bucket filled with absorbent material which ends up flooding and failing the motor, it is not as comfortable as the 987 and is not in the same class of driving pleasure, the emissions are equivalent to my gen2 CS which has almost twice the power. Z4 is however better than an MX5 with good brakes etc better hood but the lights are worse than the basic light set on a 987.

 

[RichForaDay]

Thank you for all the great replies. I wish I could afford to push my budget for a 2nd gen but the price really sky rockets for 2009 models and above and I assume that is why.

Thanks Buddy for the info on the Z4, I actually also owned one previosuly and found the exact same problem with the roof wells. I would be looking and the newer generation with the folding hard to where I believe they fixed the problem?

Thanks again for the help and advice, this is the exact reason I perfer the Porsche and the community that comes with them.