Considering a High mileage 2008 cayman s Qs
 

Hi,

I am new here, my first post...Considering buying a cayman....

Saw a 2008 P Cayman S with a 165,000 miles for $12K, which look affordable, but I have been reading about a cheap porsche will just cost you more in repairs and maintenance.

My questions is if it passes PPI, does it mean, I will be ok and costing on repair will not be that bad? or never even consider buying a high mileage car at all.

Any advice is appreciated.

here is the listing of the car:

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/cto/d/2008-porsche-cayman-upgrade/6511611519.html

The mileage is indeed high, but I think you have to ask yourself how long you intend to keep the car if you buy it. If you keep it for 3 years and put 10K miles a year on it, then you have a 200K mile car that will be very hard to sell. If you plan to drive it until the wheels fall off, then maybe you'll be able to own it at a low cost per year dollar amount.

Also, are you willing to give up the $12k completely if the car suffers a catastrophic failure? If so, then I'd go all in. After due diligence, of course. Needed is a complete maintenance history, and a clean PPI with overrev report, cam deviations, total hours, etc. The $300 you spend there will be the best you'll ever spend.

At about 100K miles, the suspension might have been ready for replacement. Plus the water pump, AOS, coolant tank, spark plugs, coil packs, etc. Look for these in the maintenance history.

In the final analysis, be prepared to spend about $2k average a year on maintenance. You may get away with a few hundred dollars the first year, but trust me, it'll catch up with you at a later date when you get a bill for $3500.

The car you referred to looks good. Good year - 2008, very little chance of IMS bearing failure. Mileage seems correct for a car driven as a daily driver in LA. Nice options, especially the Sport Chrono.

Just sayin'...............

TO

TeamOxford...Thank you for your insight and advice, it truly mean a lot for a first timer trying to purchase a porsche. But I am still looking.

You will be constantly replacing parts on a car with that kind of mileage. What ever is original is at the end of it's life. Now age wise not bad. If a PPI is good, means nothing glaring at present. Buy a car like this is a project and many people enjoy and look forward to those. You need to be a DIYer or have the money for a mechanic to deal with upkeep if you buy as a project

There are a lot of cool cars out there that are attractively priced, but you typically get what you pay for.

I have owned, still do, a few cars with high miles when purchased. The trick is to find a one owner, freeway miles, perfect service history, etc.
This seems like well looked after and great condition. Being auto in LA it has probably not been thrashed and likely had a few replacement parts that are good for a while yet.
For $12000, or less, I think it could be a good deal!
Sometimes history and condition are more important than miles.
Definitely have a PPI.