mx22

Hi guys,

I've been looking for a few days now at 2007 Carrera S at local Porsche dealer. Car has 60k miles, but is one owner car and will come with CPO.

I know CPO gives me 2 years of pretty much full warranty, yet I'm rather worried about IMS. From what I gathered, early 997s were just as bad as 996s as far as IMS, however bearing was improved sometime in 06. How much of an improvement that new bearing is? Should I really be worried about it? And if yes, what (if anything at all) can be done about it.

Other then IMS, are there any other big problems to keep in mind?

Thank You!

Mspeedster

Overall, the 997 has proven to be very reliable. It ranked number 1 as JD powers most reliable sports car for many years. IMHO, the fear factor on the IMS bearing has more to do with the internet vs. actual failures. On the '06-'08 models, verified failures have been very rare. But if the smallest chance of an engine failure bothers you, look into an extended warranty after your CPO expires. My '06 has been 100% trouble free (knock on wood), it's been the most reliable car I've owned to date (and I'm over 50).

mx22

Thanks a lot! Can you comment on the maintenance costs? I'm coming from 928 and pretty much everything I had to do on the car, I did it either myself or had friends help me out - I'm sure with 997 pretty much everything will have to be handled by a dealer...

utkinpol

997 cars are very easy to work on and most work can be done DIY. As of IMS etc internal engine issues, I would not overly worry, especially with an CPO car. But if you do have any reservations - best way for you to go is with any '09+ 997.2 car - it will cost more to buy but you will not have to worry about IMS.

My car now has 61k miles, got it with 38k miles, tracked it a lot, car is fine so far. And I do most maintenance myself. Love it.

Poshaman

My car has been completely issue-free for last 4 1/2 years. I've put on happy 26K miles on it since I bought it. I am planning on diy maintenances from now on since I am out of warrenty.

mx22

Thanks a lot guys, sounds encouraging. I've been torn apart between '07 Carrera S (can't really swing another 10-15k for 997.2) and '11 Cayman S, but the more I think about the more I'm inclined towards the 911...

alexb76

Gotto get the 911... I was in the same boat between Cayman and 911, but at the end nothing compares to having a 911.

07-08 cars are the most reliable 997.1 car, their IMS is upgraded and is not an issue... early 05s had the older bearings (which could be upgraded anyways), so overall, don't worry at all, specially if it's CPO!

Coloradoheel

I bought my 07 4S in July '11. I have since put a little more than 15000 miles on it, and have tracked it 8 days.

No mechanical issues - just regular maintenance (oil, tires, brake pads, etc) which you can DIY.

Pretty much a bulletproof car.

hagfish2

2005 997 is the most reliable Porsche I have owned, including my old 88 Carrera. Changed out the IMS bearing at 78,000 miles, just for piece of mind. Go for it!

Charolastra

Wouldn't say the 997.1 is a bulletproof car. I bought my '07 C2S last December, and in 11 months of ownership, I've had to replace my PSE exhaust valve baffle ($650), and water pump ($1700). From what I gather, the IMS issue is rather overblown, but you should still keep some extra $$$ around for when parts go bad.

Even with these issues, the car is still the best vehicle I've ever bought, and I don't regret it for a second!

USMC_DS1

My '08 997.1S w/ 55K miles has been very reliable so far. I DIY as well so the maintenance cost has been reasonable... about $1K in maintenance parts since I purchased it in FEB2011 with 45K miles on the clock: oil filters, oil, air filters, cabin filters, s-belt, coolant, ignition coils, spark plugs, and the water pump. BTW, the WP is the most expensive part and that's only ~$250 if you DIY. Note that much of my maintenance is preemptively. Instead of removing say the spark plugs and just inspecting it or waiting for symptoms of failure I'll go ahead and replace the part. Since the WP is known to go out at ~40-50K miles or sooner... that was done as a DIY job before it failed me on the road. So far all maintenance has been DIY projects with the exception of a TPMS sensor replaced under warranty.

I agree with the others re the potential IMS issue... you should be fine with the '07 as it has the new re-designed bearing and CPO to boot. In fact, you'll be well challenged to find a proven case of the IMS causing of an "engine grenade" for the 06-08MY 997.1. If anything you may want to be more aware of the potential overheating issues than IMS. Here's a long read from a Porsche engine rebuilder, hartech.org. http://www.hartech.org/docs/buyers%2...20part%205.pdf
It provides insight into some of the common catastrophic engine failures they've seen with numerous engine rebuilds. It was one of the reasons I started focusing my attention on engine cooling with a 3rd radiator, proper engine warm up before any hard driving, and shifting at higher RPMs.