Lo mile 986 vs Hi mile 987
 

In my long slow search for a 986/987, I've seen for about $23K I can get a 2001 S with low miles (25k) in great condition, or I can get a 2006 with 50k miles. Which is the better deal? The 2006 looks great, but the non-replaceable IMS scares me. Any chance that a 987 solution to the IMS problem will be developed that is cost effective?

the low mileage on the 986 can be a little scary . the 987 seems like the better of the 2 . from what i understand the 987 has very very few failures and is so much more modern . 50k might be slightly high mileage for an 06 .

50k miles is hardly high miles.

I'd buy the car you prefer. If you prefer 987s, go for it. Likewise the 986.

Failures of the larger non-replaceable bearing seem to be very rare.

Test drive both. I have a 987 and love it. 986 is no slouch though if blah blah is replaced. New options out there with more coming. Take your time.

I drove both and liked both. It came down to finding a clean one at a good price. The one preference I had is I liked the 986S over the base 987 even thought the 987 gets close to the 986S in terms of hp it was the low end torque that I preferred. Figure out what you like.

I liked my Cayman, but I LOVE my 986S... I guess it's just personal preference.

Off topic but for that sort of 986S you might pay up to GBP£8,500 in the UK which at fx of 1.6 is ~USD$13,500!!

When I was looking for my 986S I noticed that RHD cars from the UK were half price compared to central Europe. Something about the steering wheel being on the wrong side I guess. :D

I paid almost $28K in Germany for my 2004 which is half of what it would have been here in Norway. Cars are cheap the the US and UK...

To the OP, I can't comment on the 987, but I don't think any of us would really worry about 50K miles being a lot. 150K maybe...