Cayman Question

[Guest]

Dear all,

I am currently looking to purchase a Cayman Design Edition 1 and I was wondering if I could tap in to your knowledge......

I have found what I feel is the perfect car for me at a local non performnace specialist (i.e. the bulk of their business is mondeo's etc although they do do the odd Porsche, Lotus etc). They took the car on trade in for a Lotus.

The mileage is low and car is in reasonable condition although it does have a few stone chips. I had an RAC inspection performed and they highlighted a couple of areas of concern:

1) the outer edges of all four tyres are wearing marginally quicked than the inner edges / centre. The engineer didnt think this was a problem and siad a four wheel alignment should resolve it
2) The car has badly corroded and pitted brake discs and therefore requires discs and pads all around

Thinking about it, the low mileage, tyre wear, stone chips and worn brakes probably points to it having been on track a bit? Not a problem to me in itself, just a theory.

Anyway, I asked the dealer to discount the amount that it will cost to have the brakes replaced and the a four wheel alignment performed at my local Porsche specialist however they have refused, instead saying that they will do the work themselves.

This worries me as I feel it may affect the future value of the car by having a non specialist perform the work (currently all the history is either Porsche franchised or specialist).

My questions are:

1) Do you feel having a non specialist perform the work will affect the future value? (they want to perform a service on it as well to cover their backs in terms of my consumer rights should anything go wrong. It doesnt need a service and again im worried about having a non specialist stamp in the book).
2) Would you trust a non specialist to do this kind of work?

Thanks for any help that you can provide.

JM

 

[Geoff_Fields]

Sounds to me like an unloved and abused Cayman, WALK AWAY! There are plenty of nice examples around if you can bring yourself to look at non "design edition 1" cars. If the budget permits look at gen 2 variants,even if with more miles.

 

[Buddy]

The design edition was on sale in 2007 if I remember correctly and came with some options as standard but most Cayman S's did have a number of options fitted. A full alignment check isn't expensive but correction depending on what is required can be but not to be done by a non alignment specialist, the favoured one being Centre Gravity on this forum. Under normal road use the discs will generally last something approaching 40,000mls but corrosion/pitting would seem to indicate it was kept out of doors and not garaged, this pitting could also have increased the wear rate. Non-specialist servicing? While not a real problem in itself since it isn't complicated, I'd be dubious, I personally would look firstly at the OPC used car list of the Porsche centres ( two years warranty ) and then amongst specialists such as RSJ Sportscars, Autofarm or 911 Virgin all are on the internet. The one you're looking at could prove expensive, even if they reduced the price, plenty more good ones about.

 

[Macan360]

Hi All Tyre edge wear on all tyres is not always a sign of a problem, On both my brand new Subaru Impeza and my Cayman S i have seen this and is caused by cornering as long as it is just on the radius edge of the tyre. As far as coroded discs are concerned this can be caused simply by washing and putting the car away with out putting heat into the brakes to remove the water. However excessive corrosion would appear to indicate the car has been outside sometime or stored unused. Either way a decent dealer would have sorted this prior to sale. It sounds to me your instincts are saying something is not right here. Always go with your intincts. In my opinion you should walk away. Buying a bad example will soon erode any saving you might make over a genuine Porsche dealer car.

 

[Motorhead]

How about some details JM - age, price, mileage, your location? The service and disc/pad work's not beyond the scope of any competent mechanic but you'd need to be assured that they're using either Porsche approved or reputable parts. They should also be using Porsche approved oil (Mobil 1). If you're concerned, surely you can just ask them not to stamp the book and they could just give you a work sheet detailing what they've done. I'm afraid that stone chips, particularly on the frontal area, are a fact of life with any Porsche. It's that low bonnet. I'm sure that the RAC inspection was fine but it's a pity that you didn't opt for a specialist who knows the cars best from experience. I agree with the others' comments; there are plenty of good cars out there, so don't settle for second best because it could prove very expensive. Good luck with your search. Jeff