2006 Porsche Cayman S 80k mile review

I bought this Cayman S in 2014 and wrote an article about the buying experience and first impressions.  Recently this car hit 80k miles (actually just under but close enough) so I would I would write a review of what it has been like since I bought it.  This is my second Porsche.  The first was a 1987 944S.  This car is a huge upgrade in every way.  This is the best car I have owned, especially from a driver engagement perspective.  When you first get in you already know you are in a very special car.  Often when I am at the gas station filling up I get compliments on the car.  When you start up the flat 6 in the morning it rumbles for a bit as the catalyst warm-up strategy makes for a lopey idle that sounds great.  I have done just a couple minor modifications, 2 of which improved the engine sound.  The first was to replace the restrictive exhaust outlet.  The second was removing the baffles from the air box and installing a K&N filter.  Now you can really hear the sweet induction sound which is hard to describe with words.  I drive the car daily as long as there is no salt on the roads (which takes out most of the winter).  I also give it proper exercise by doing a few track days each year.  On the street you find that you don't even need to brake where you would with mortal cars.  The cars ability to effortlessly change directions is pure magic.

The Good

Pretty much everything!  

• World class leading handling.  Confidence inspiring.  I can't properly describe the feel of this car in words.  You must drive one to understand (not recommended unless you are ready to buy one).  It feels more like a streetable race car then a raceable street car.  
• Awesome looks.  You can see both form and function in this design.
• Mid-engine behind driver design.  Did I mention how well this handles!
• Great engine.  Sound is amazing and power is also good.  Sure, I could always make use of more power but I don't find myself pining away for it.  As you hold the throttle open you can hear the cams phase and open up the flow.  When you upshift at redline you get this incredible wail that reminds me of the F1 cars in the V8 days.  
• Comfortable seats.  I have the standard seats (versus the sport) and even these are great.  Its easy to get in and out yet they still hold you well at the track.  
• Practical spaces to carry stuff.  With 2 trunks you actually have good space to carry stuff for a sports car.  
• Excellent dash and gauges.  All the info you need at a glance.  The analog speedo is a bit less useful but the tach and display are perfect.  
• Great interior.
• The ride is spot on.  A bit firm on rough roads and it could use a bit more firmness on the track but this is a great middle ground.  Its firm but not jarring on rough Midwest roads yet still great at the track.  I don't have the active shocks (PASM) and that would likely improve this even more at the track.
• General ergonomics.  Everything is where it belongs and is intuitive to use.  
• Very simple to change brake pads.  With fixed calipers you just pull a pin and the pads come right out.  This is more important when you tack it as you change pads often.  
• I can comfortably fit with a helmet on.
• The seats go low enough.  In most cars it feels like you sit far too high.  This one lets you lower the seat down where it should be.
• Great automatic HVAC.  Automatic HVAC systems are not created equal.  This one however works very well.  I set it and forget it.  
• Sport Chrono sport mode.  My car has the Sport Chrono system.  While I don't really use the timer, part of this feature in this car is a sport mode for the engine and traction control.  This makes the throttle response crisper, changes to a hard rev limit, and relaxes the traction control nannies so you can have more fun while still not crashing.  
• You don't have to waste money making your engine look good because nobody can see it anyway.  It runs and sounds fantastic and that is what really counts.
• Fuel economy.  Around town I often get over 20mph even with my lead foot and short drives.  At the track I can go 4 sessions on a tank of fuel which is great.  The highway fuel economy is less good, around 26mpg.  If this car had a 7th gear it would likely do well over 30mpg.  At 75mph it is running at 3,000rpm.  Fuel economy is certainly not the focus of this car.

Gripes

This is a short list of minor whining.

• Every other car now feels less good.  The bar has been raised very high and other cars that you once really liked are now below the bar.  
• Crankcase breather issue.  Occasionally at the track it will carry oil over into the intake.  At times this causes smoke on start up.  I have only had this happen a few times and only at the track.  I may have overfilled it as well.  There is a motorsports breather available that fixes this.   
• I cannot reset the oil change reminder without buying expensive tools.  
• A weak battery can cause the body control to reset to factory defaults.  You have to go to the dealer to get features re-enabled.  Never let the battery get run down.  Keep a maintainer on it when storing.  Keep a fresh battery in it.
• No radiator grilles.  There are many fixes for this.  Mine is in this article: https://jimroal.blogspot.com/2015/05/porsche-cayman-s-grilles.html

Maintenance & Repairs

Overall this is a very reliable and durable car.  I don't drive it easy either.  It is also surprisingly easy to work on.

• Tires.  Since I do track days its rare tires make it 15k miles.  Nothing wrong with the car here.  Cost of the tires are actually what I consider reasonable.  I can get the top of the line Michelin Pilot Super Sports for under $1k.  I have the 18" rims.  For the track more negative camber is needed and you should also set the toe to 0.  I did a crude adjustment and the tires now wear better at the track.
• Brakes.  Like tires, brakes will go fast if you do track days.  Good pads for this car cost about $200 per axle set (or $400 all around).  Again, these are good pads.  I'm sure you can find cheaper pads but never try to save money on brakes by going with poor quality.  I generally use Hawk pads.  I do have a street set and a different set for track.  More on brakes here.
• Oil & filter.  This is very simple to do at home.  I back the car up on ramps.  The filter and drain plug are right next to each other.  It takes 8.5 quarts of Mobile One 0W-40.  Oil change costs about $80 to do at home.
• Spark plugs.  When I first got this car I thought engine access would be a challenge but really it is not.  Changing the plugs involves removing the rear wheels and a small plastic panel.  After you do that you can easily see all the coils.  Its not hard at all.  
• Interior rattles.  After 80k of Midwest crappy roads and track days it did develop a couple rattles.  One was around the drivers door speaker which I fixed by removing the door panel and tightening everything up.  Another was with the third brake light assembly in the hatch.  Again, I removed the hatch interior panel and tightened everything up.  Another was in the right rear speaker area, again removing trim, tightening stuff.  
• Catalyst DTC.  When I bought the car with 60k miles it had a DTC for catalyst efficiency failure.  I addressed this by moving the HEGO for now.  I would like to upgrade to some good headers which will also correct this.  The efficiency fault just means it is not fully catalyzing the exhaust.  It does not cause any other problems.  This is likely doe to a crankcase breather issue causing oil carry-over.  That breather assembly was replaced just before I bought the car.
• Battery.  Normal cost and easy to change.
• Hood struts.  Typical cost and easy to change.  
• Brake light switch.  Typical cost and easy to change.
• CD Changer failed.  Who cares.  You have a wonderful flat 6!
• Clean the radiators and install grilles.  Without grilles the radiators collect every leaf and rock they can find.  Mine were probably 50% plugged yet the car did not run hot.  Of course, I cleaned them before I went to the track.  
• Starter noise.  I just replaced the starter.  It was under $200 for a reman and simple to change.  
• Weak battery caused the body control to reset to default.  I had to take it to the dealer for an initialization procedure which involves connecting the service tool and enabling the features for the car.  It cost me $70.  Until I had that done my heated seats and garage door opener would not work.

Mercedes E350 4matic first 100k miles

We bought a 2010 E350 4matic in the summer of 2015 with 34k miles on it.  Usually I search a wide radius and spend weeks looking for cars but in this case, it was the 2nd one we drove and we bought it only a few miles from our house.  I would have preferred red or blue but this car looks pretty good in silver in my opinion.  I think this is the best looking Mercedes sedan.  It is sportier looking than the S-Class in my opinion, but I would be open to an S-Class too.  This was the first Mercedes we ever owned but it will likely not be the last.  IN fact, we are shopping for another right now but we will also keep the E350.  I wanted to share our experience with this car after it passed 100k miles.  Actually it has 105k on it as I write this.  We have a 500 mile drive to visit our daughter that we make several times a year.  About 1/3 of the miles we put on this car are trips to see her.  The rest are normal mostly in-town miles.  We get all the seasons here including snow and ice.  Would I buy one again?  Heck yeah!  This has been a great car and I would highly recommend it to others.  These cars are a bargain as used cars.  They drop fast so you can pick up one with low mileage and only a few years old for less than half of new.  You can even find Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) for around half of new with a factory extended warranty.

Driving Impression

We have owned many cars over the years but this is the best overall car.  Driving the 500 mile trip as we often do leaves the driver with no fatigue.  The car inspires confidence and this makes for a low stress driving experience.  For a car of this size and weight it handles very good.  High speed driving feels comfortable and controlled.  Navigating through tight traffic is also as good as it gets.  The 4matic works well in poor traction conditions such as snow and ice.  With 105k on the car it honestly drives exactly the same as when we first got it.  I can get 27mpg on the highway at times, even when averaging over 70mph for the trip (which includes in-town driving).  We get about 20mph in town.  I am quite happy with that.  The engine has acceptable power for the car.  I would prefer the E63 AMG of course but it would be wasted on my wife and this is her daily driver.  

The Good Stuff

This has been a great car overall.  I would buy another in a heartbeat. 

• Virtually non-existent driver fatigue even on long trips in bad weather, which we do often.
• Excellent entertainment system with a dedicated volume knob.  By far the best way to control volume is a good old knob you can feel. The system are an AUX input and you can add an SD card adapter with in the dash.  It also had a hard drive you can store music on.  It has satellite radio built in for those who want that (which is not me by the way).  I wish it had Android Auto but it was built before that was available.
• Excellent controls for the navigation and entertainment system.  The knob control is FAR better than a touch screen.  It is easy to control with one hand while keeping your eyes on the road.  Much less distracting that a touch screen that you have to look at.  
• Great design of the center console door.  It is split in half and opens to each side.  This is far better than most than have a single hinge.
• Great backup camera.
• Excellent 4matic all wheel drive.  This system is full-time AWD with a center differential which is far superior to the automatic engaging part time AWD in most cars.  This system mechanically prevents loss of traction instead of just reacting to it.  It also has stability control to further enhance the system.
• Paddle shifters.  The shifters have a great feel and short throw.
• Transmission controls.  I actually like the Mercedes lever for selecting forward, neutral, reverse, and park.  It is out of the way and simple to use.  It is different than other cars and takes some getting used to.  It clears the console for drink holders and the drink holders are in exactly the right spot.  In most cars the shifter gets in the way and the drinks end up in an odd spot.
• Entertainment display.  I love the way the entertainment display is placed in the dash like it actually was designed for it.  Many new cars have this ugly tablet looking thing sticking out of the dash like it was and afterthought or aftermarket.  Also, I like that it is not a touch screen.  The controls are far superior to a touch screen and the screen remains clean.  
• Hook for grocery bags in trunk.  This is a small but awesome feature to keep your groceries from flailing around in the trunk.  Nets are OK but this hook is far better.  
• I can reset the service reminders myself without any tools!  This is a great feature missing from most cars these days.  Honestly I am surprised Mercedes would do this.  I do my own service and I need to be able to reset the maintenance reminders myself and this car has a way to do that using only the steering wheel buttons.
• Engine access is very open.  I replaced the spark plugs and this is the easiest car I have ever changed plugs on.  The air cleaner assembly comes off with no tools and you can then see all the coils in plain sight with open access.  Most modern cars have the engine tucked so deep under the windshield that you can only see half the engine.  
• Ride.  This car is a great compromise between smooth ride and good handling.  It is serene even at high speeds.  Very low road noise.  You can have a conversation at a whisper while going 90mph even on crappy Midwest roads.  It handles fantastic for a car of this size and weight.  
• Cruise control.  Mercedes did a great job with the cruise control.  You can easily see your set speed on the speedometer.  The simple lever has 2 detents for up (accelerate) and down (decelerate).  Clicking in the first detect changes the set speed by 1mph.  Clicking to the 2nd detent however takes you to the nearest 5mph point.  For instance, if you are going 72mph and you click it up to the 2nd detent once, you will go to 75mph.  If you clicked it twice to the 2nd detent you will go to 80mph.  
• The trip computer. It has an automatic trip computer feature that tracks your trips automatically.  It makes some assumptions about what constitutes a trip and it is pretty good.  You can of course manually start your trips too if you want.
• Everything in the car requires little effort to operate.  It is a great car for older folks or people with arthritis because of this.  

Gripes

This is a short list but, as with most cars (Porsche Cayman excluded) there are a few things that could be better.

• Seats.  The seats are very comfortable except for the fake leather.  I think you can get real leather as an option and I would.  While the fake leather does not wear at all, if does not feel good when wearing shorts and it gets hotter than real leather.  Perforated leather would be a great upgrade here.
• Drivers side blind spot.  The drivers side mirror is small and leaves a big blind spot.  I added a small convex mirror to correct this.  Very simple fix but Mercedes should have dealt with this in my opinion.  Some models has the blind spot warning system which would also be good.
  
• Transmission.  The transmission shifts to a high gear and holds it to the bitter end.  This is actually very common with newer cars.  They do this to optimize fuel economy but it makes the car feel sluggish and jerky at times.  The worst part is merging on from a long ramp such as a cloverleaf.  The transmission shifts all the way up and then when you step into it to merge there is no power and a big delay in downshifting.  Here is where I use the paddle shifters to manually lock a lower gear.  Speaking of the shifters, they seem to be a mere suggestion rather than a command.  Sometimes there is a delay between requesting a lower gear and actually getting it.  Under certain conditions such as requesting an upshift when going downhill, it ignores you all together even when the RPM will still be well below any concern level.  The transmission can occasionally have a jerky downshift.  This improved dramatically after having the fluid and filter changed though. 
• Headlights.  They are fine except I got used to HIDs in my Jaguar and Porsche and my E350 does not have the HID option.  You can get the E-class with HIDs and I would highly recommend it.  You can also retrofit HID which I may do.  
• Cruise control braking.  OK, many would call this a feature but I am not a fan.  If your speed exceeds the set speed of the cruise control by too much, the car will actually apply the brakes to get the speed back down.  I would prefer it not do this under most conditions.  We live in the flat land but in mountains you would actually want to downshift for this, not apply the brakes.  My use case on the flat land is when passing with the cruise set.  I accelerate to get around and then once I am back in the right lane I release the throttle to allow the cruise to resume.  This braking feature kicks in and slows me down rapidly which is not necessary or welcome.  It is easy to just disengage the cruise to pass, then re-engage it after your speed get back to the cruise set speed.
• Seat lumbar controls.  Actually I have this same issue with many cars lumbar controls.  They are not very intuitive and it seems challenging at times to get them set right.
• The entertainment system lacks Bluetooth A2DP (music streaming).  It's crazy how many cars lack this still.  A2DP has been around for a long time before this car was built.  Flip phones supported it back in the eary 2000's yet this 2010 does not support it.  Stupid.  It does have Bluetooth hands-free for phone calls and that works fine.  It also has a port in the glove box where you can connect all sorts of things such as USB and 3.5mm jack with the right adapters.

Repairs & Maintenance

So far this car has been one of the most reliable cars I have owned.  It is also easy to maintain.  While this is the first year of the W212 E-class it is a very reliable and durable car.   

• The biggest maintenance cost with the exception of tires has been the transmission service which cost me $433 to have done at a local shop. The dealer wanted over $700.  Mercedes recommend this every 40k miles which seems excessive.  The fluid is an expensive synthetic which is actually good for life but they recommend changing it due to clutch material building up in the fluid.  My Jaguars used a Mercedes transmission too and back then they claimed they did not ever need a fluid change.  I had a problem with my XJR at 120k miles because of debris in the fluid so I know why they want it changed.  I changed it at 80k.
• Spark plugs.  This was very easy to do at home with only basic tools.  I don't think I spent more than 20 minutes on it.     
• Rear brake rotors and pads.  I have replaced these once due to normal wear.  Parts cost is typical of these components, nothing out of the ordinary and simple to replace. I may not have needed new rotors but I don't skimp on brakes so I replaced them anyway.  I have yet to do the fronts after 105k miles.
• Tires.  Normal wear item of course and I get decent miles from a set.  Cost is typical for a car like this, $229 each on Tire Rack for the OEM Continentals.  Tires are not an area to skimp on so I do not look for cheaper brands.  I also changed the TPMS sensors when I did the tires.  They were all working fine but I wanted to get new ones with the tires rather than wait for them to have dead batteries.  Cost for these was also typical at $52 each on Tire Rack.
• Gas cap.  I had the check engine light come on.  I pulled the DTCs and I had 2 evaporative emissions DTCs.  This happened several times and I check to make sure the cap was tight.  It ended up being a leaky gas cap.  Simple and inexpensive fix.
• Air filters.  These have a bunch of screws to access them but it is still not hard.  There are 2.  Cost is typical of air filters. 
• Oil changes.  I use the recommended 0W-40 Mobile One oil.  Filter change is simple.  Cost for the whole oil change is about $70 and it is very simple to do.  
• Drivers lower seat cover tear.  There is a seam that tears on some of these cars over time.  I have a new cover on the way that cost me $229.  I will update with how this goes.
• HVAC fan motor noise.  It occasionally makes a faint squeaking type noise at certain fan speeds.  This is a common issue in most cars except most cars have enough road noise you don't hear it.  I have one on order for $180.  I will update after I replaced it.
• Battery.  Typical maintenance item.  Lasted about normal.  Simple replacement.  Typical cost.  

I also posted this review http://jimroal.blogspot.com/2016/12/owning-mercedes-e350-4matic.html after we had the car for a while.  

Porsche 987/997 door panel removal

Removing the door panel on cars can be tricky and you often break things.  The are generally attached with an assortment of hidden screws and plastic clips.  I recently removed the drivers door panel on my 2006 Cayman S so I thought I would share some handy info for the next person.

Here are the tools you will need.

• Torx T30 bit and the proper driver or a long T30
• Flat blade screwdriver
• Putty knife

I also had a T30 set which I used for convenience.

Start by removing the trim at the top rear of the door panel and the screw under it.

Then remove the top front panel and the screw under it.  Be careful with this panel.  Pry the bottom edge out and then lift up to remove.  This panel hooks at the top so do not pry on the top.

Now remove the leather trim cover over the door pull handle.  Do this by opening the compartment and prying out on the leather covered trim.

It looks like this with the trim removed.

Now remove the screws at the front and back that are set deeply into the panel.

Now remove the round plastic cover and the screw behind it, both being behind the door latch handle.  You need to hold the handle all the way out to do this.

 This one is best accessed with a shorter torx to ensure you are squarely aligned and don't strip the torx screw or bit.  The tool shown above is not ideal actually.

Next you need to carefully pry the bottom edge of the door panel out releasing the clips.  Here is a photo of the inside of the door panel showing where the plastic clips are.

Unfortunately it seems there is no great way to do this.  Often one or 2 of the clips will not properly release and the panel area holding the clip will break instead.  Plan ahead with some good epoxy to fix the damage.

Once you have the panel disconnected from the door, you need to disconnect the electrical connectors and the door latch cable.

 The door handle cable clips in place with that white plastic cable end.  Start by prying the ends outward away from each other.  Then slide the clip forward until it disengages with the slot.  Once the white plastic cable end is apart from the panel, rotate the cable assembly perpendicular with the hole to disengage the cable.

Be careful with the door latch cable as it does not have much room to work with and you can easily break it.  Depending on options, you may not have all the same connections.

Here is what the inside of the door looks like.

The clips hare 2 piece where the center expands the outer piece when the door panel is pushed in place.  When you pull the door panel, the center is supposed to pull out releasing the clip.  See these 2 clips in the photo below.

Notice the clip on the left is released and the one on the right is still expanded.  They are supposed to release like the one on the left.  If this happens, remove the clip and release it by pressing the center back out.  I used a vice and a hammer for this.

Make sure all 4 tips tuck under the tip properly.  If one is sticking out, push the center in far enough to tuck it back in the then press the center back out fully.

Porsche Cayman S Brakes

I do track days in my 2006 Porsche Cayman S.  The car is basically stock.  This article is a collection of my thoughts around the topic of brakes.

Pads

When I got the car it had a little over 60k miles on it.  I replaced the brake pads with Hawk HPS.  They seemed OK but not really an improvement over stock.  At Putnam Park and Autobahn I did notice these pads would start to fade when hot so I switched to Hawk Street/Race pads which made a huge difference.  These Street/Race pads are basically race pads that work down to cold temperatures.  They are noisy and create copious amounts of dust like any other race pad so its not something you actually want to drive around with daily but they do work for the street, unlike race only pads.  The nice thing about these is you can swap them in at home and drive to/from the track with them and be safe.  The noise when stopping at times is only somewhat embarrassing but not enough to be worth the hassle of swapping pads at the track.  The stopping power is more than double the stock or HPS pads.  They create far more friction for the same pedal pressure.  So much that it takes some getting used to as the first few times you hit the brakes after swapping them in you are surprised by how hard it stops with such little effort.  Once you get used to driving with them, swapping back to the street pads feels a bit alarming at first.

Tire Rack produced this chart showing the various Hawk brake pads:

Hawk Brake Pad Comparison - Tire Rack

MU is the coefficient of friction, higher means more friction.  More friction means more braking force for a given pedal pressure.  Notice that most race pads do not work well at low temperatures which makes them a problem for street use.  In this case low temperature is often well above ambient.  As you can see some of the pads perform very poorly below 300F.  In addition to the problems at low temperatures, they are generally very noisy and can produce copious amounts of dust too.

Rotors

Most Porsches come from the factory with drilled rotors.  The reason drilled rotors became popular is performance applications decades ago was because of a gas layer that would form at high temperatures cause interference between the pad and rotor.  Modern performance brake pads have significantly reduced this problem, and better solutions have evolved.  One of the problems with drilled rotors is they can crack under the temperatures and stress of track use.  Mine started cracking at Road America which is particularly hard on brakes.  Here is a photo showing the small cracks starting to form.

This rotor is not too bad but those cracks can grow.  In extreme cases, the rotor can break off in chunks which is dangerous.  The best solution for track duty is slotted rotors.  I switched my rotors to Sebro slotted.  This photo shows the slotted version next to the factory rotors.

The slots in the rotors help clear the gas layer but don't tend to crack like the drilled rotors.  The slotted rotors also have more metal mass to absorb more heat.  This will help slow down the heating some under hard braking.  The heat can then be released between corners when the brakes are released.

Cooling

Brakes slow the car down by converting mechanical energy (momentum) into heat.  Changing the momentum of the car requires power (HP).  The engine provides the power to accelerate and the brakes provide the power to decelerate (in conventional powertrains).  Normally the braking power capability is much higher than the engine power.  This is a large amount of energy that the brakes much dump as heat.  The rotors require airflow to facilitate this cooling.  The Cayman/Boxster and 911 sports cars have brake cooling ducts to guide more air to the rotors.  The Porsche GT (GT2, GT3, and GT4) cars have more effective cooling ducts that can be fitted to the other 911 and Cayman/Boxster models.  I installed GT3 cooling ducts on my Cayman S.

Here is a photo of the factory cooling duct.

Here is a comparison of factory versus GT3 cooling ducts.

 Here is the GT3 cooling duct installed.

Brake Hoses

The brake hydraulic system has very high pressures.  Most of the system uses steel allow lines to route the fluid between the brake components.  However, the brake calipers must move relative to the chassis so hoses are required for this part.  Those hoses are generally made of reinforced rubber.  The problem is that even though these hoses are reinforced to reduce expansion, they still do exhibit some expansion under high pressures.  The fix for this is stainless steel hoses.  There are several available in the aftermarket but make sure you use DOT and TUV approved hoses.  

Brake Fluid

Brake fluid is NOT created equal!  Also, good quality fluid with high wet and dry boiling points is very important, especially in a car that will be used on the track.  When driving at speed on the road course, the car will see repeated heavy braking for 25 minutes or more at a time.  This will cause the calipers to heat up.  If the temperature gets high enough, the fluid can boil.  When this happens the boiling displaces fluid in the caliper with gas.  The displaced fluid is pushed back into the master cylinder.  The gas is compressible.  The next time you hit the brakes the pedal goes to the floor with little to no braking at all.  This is a very dangerous situation and must be avoided.  Any decent track inspection checklist will include replacing the brake fluid just before the event, generally within 30 days.  This is a simple procedure and even expensive brake fluid is far cheaper than loosing brakes at the track.  A good DOT 4 brake fluid is Motul 600 or 660 which is available from many parts stores that sell performance products.  There are other high performance brake fluids.  Pay attention to the wet and dry boiling points.  The reason it needs to be changed so often is water will mix with brake fluid, unlike oils.  Humidity and condensation will get into the brake fluid over time.  Vehicles that do not see high brake temperatures are far less likely to have a problem.     

Maintaining your own car

I was a professional service technician (mechanic) at a Ford dealer for almost 15 years.  It was my first career.  I went to trade school in Arizona to learn my skills and focused on electrical and electronic systems, driveability, and air conditioning.  I did other repairs as well.  I have some of this experience documented on my website here: http://jimroal.com/repair.html.

I completed a BS in Mechanical Engineering and changed careers in 1998.  However, I still do all my own car maintenance.  I have owned several makes and models over the years.  You can see most of them here: http://jimroal.com/cars.htm.  The only things I take the car into a shop for are tires and alignment since these require machines I prefer not to invest in, although I have considered an inexpensive alignment machine.  I have also made small alignment adjustments at times.  I never buy new cars.  I prefer to let others take the depreciation and pick them up for much less just out of warranty.  I have also purchased cars that still have warranty remaining.  Car reliability follows what is called a "bath tub curve".  There is initial reliability issues early in the cars life.  After those get fixes, your reliability is at its best until wear out.

The sweet spot is somewhere between about 10k miles and 150k miles with modern cars that are well maintained.  I often drive my cars well over 150k miles.  I sold my Crown Victoria and Audi with over 250k miles on them.  I sold my XJR and XJ12 with around 150k miles on them.  Buying a new car means you have a higher probability of needing an unscheduled repair because of infant mortality.  You pay extra for that privilege.  Keeping a car too long means you need to replace parts as they wear out.

If you don't properly maintain your car however, you are asking for trouble.  If you use cheap service parts, you are also asking for trouble.

Engine Oil

I use only synthetic oil in everything I own including my lawn mower.  Once you understand just how superior synthetic oil is, you will never go back.  I saw the difference first hand in a 1982 Honda XR250 motorcycle.  This is an air cooled 4-stroke bike.  At the time I lived in Southeast Washington State where there were many sand dunes.  Soft sand really works a bikes engine hard. They get very hot.  I was using original equipment Honda oil in it.  After just 3 rides in the dunes, the oil would be noticeably thicker and very black.  I switched to synthetic (Mobil One) and I could now go 30 rides and it still looked good.  Huge difference.  After I saw that, I was convinced.  I also worked on many turbocharged engines when I was a mechanic.  I saw too many turbo failures caused by oil coking in the bearing.  Basically natural oil cannot handle heat.  Engines make heat.  So, rule #1: use only synthetic oils in all engines.

On cars that get driven at least 10k a year, and that 10k does not have excessive cold starts and very short trips in it, you can go 10k to 15k miles between oil changes if you use good synthetic oil.  I use Mobil One extended performance in most my cars.  My daily driver does get many short trips and cold operation so it gets changed much more often.  Long trips are much easier on the oil so if I take a road trip I may go more miles between changes.  I also like to monitor the oil condition.  I look for excessive blackness, moisture, and viscosity changes,

Spark Plugs (for gasoline engines)

Back in the day spark plugs only lasted about 10k miles.  Cars built since about 1995 can go up to 100k miles on a set of spark plugs, although they are much more expensive spark plugs made with precious metals like platinum or iridium.  The spark plug type and engine dynamics vary the recommended change interval so check with the maintenance schedule for your particular car to find the recommended change interval.  My cars all require spark plugs every 60k miles.  I prefer to use the cars original spark plug.  Often you can get the supplier branded plug which is equivalent.  For instance, many Mercedes use Bosch spark plugs so you can buy the Bosch branded plugs versus buying them directly from Mercedes.  If you let the plugs go too long, the firing voltage increases to where the energy will find new creative paths to ground.  This means failed secondary ignition components which for most modern cars is now the coils.  Best to maintain your spark plugs to prevent that.  

Transmission Oil

Modern cars with automatic transmissions are starting to go to longer term maintenance intervals, some claiming the life of the car.   My XJR had such a transmission.  However, at 120k miles it started doing some strange things.  It would lock up the converter and stall the engine when coming to a stop.  It happened randomly and not all that often but it was really annoying when it happened.  Sometimes it would take several attempts to get going again.  I drained the fluid to change the filter and found the fluid was very cloudy and brown.  It made a fine mud in the pan too.  Suspecting a failing converter clutch I replace the transmission torque converter, the fluid, and filter.  Just as I got the car going again it locked up.  This time I removed the valve body and disassembled it.  I found that mud all over in the valve body clogging passages and orifices and gumming everything up.  I cleaned everything thoroughly and the problem was solved.  So, I now wonder if that lifetime fluid thing really works.  

Brakes

Brakes are an area of particular concern and cheap parts should never be used here.  I had an F250 truck I once installed a set on $19 front brake pads in.  The thing was dangerous after that.  It just could not stop.  I think stopping distance must have increased by at least 30%.  It was awful.  I replaced them a few months later with a good set of Hawk premium pads (about $80) and told myself never again will I use cheap pads.  Another thing cheap pads do is dirty your wheels and squeal.  Not at all worth it.  I prefer Hawk but there are other good brands as well.

Fuel

Even the gas you use makes a difference.  Never try and be cheap by putting in a lower octane than the manufacturer requires.  Always go equal or higher on octane rating.  Also, don't use cheap gas, ever.  Get it from a Shell, Exxon, Mobil, BP, Chevron, etc.  I once got "premium" gas at a Hucks station and put it in my Crown Vic (which only required regular).  The car rattled bad with detonation.  Definitely NOT premium in any way.  Another time I put premium from a no-name station in my XJ8L (which requires premium).  I was on a trip and as I was driving down the highway I noticed a lack of power, surging, and very bad fuel economy (like 10mpg off).  I suspect they had made "premium" by dumping a whole bunch of alcohol in it.  While this does increase the octane rating to prevent detonation, it also has less energy and requires a different air fuel ratio.  I went ahead and continued driving until my tank was down and filled up at a Shell.  Problem solved.  Another problem you can have with cheap gas is poor maintenance of the tanks and pumps at the station which can leave dirt and other material in the fuel.  This plugs your fuel filter and can damage pumps.  The detergents in the fuel are required to keep your fuel system clean.  Back in the late 1980's we had to clean injectors on dozens of cars every week at the shop before fuels started getting the detergents they needed and injector designs improved.   Cheap gas may lack these important detergents.

These detergents not only clean the fuel system but they also help reduce carbon in the engine.  Engine carbon buildup can cause all sorts or problems.  Here is one example of a van with a bad knock that was just carbon.  We fixed this with a few bottles of water.

Don't try this unless you know what you are doing.  Be careful not to get too much water into the engine too fast.  Major engine damage can occur if done incorrectly.  With that said, I have done this to many engines before and never had a problem. You start by getting the carbon hot.  Hold the engine speed up around 3000rpm or so for several minutes.  This will make a terrible noise but there is no good way around it.  Now, find a small vacuum line that goes to a place in the intake manifold that will effect all cylinders.  A hose close to the throttle works.  While holding the engine speed above 3000 put the hose into a full water bottle and let the vacuum suck the water into the engine.  You will need to apply more throttle as the water will make the engine speed drop.  Often you will need to hit 3/4 throttle or so.  After all the water is in the engine you can let it idle again.  If the noise is still present, repeat.  The van above took 3 bottles (16oz to 20oz each) to clear up the knock.

Belts

Most modern cars use Poly-V bents that follow a long path and wrap around pulleys in different directions.  They are commonly referred to as serpentine belts because of this.  These belts are much better than the old V-belts back in the day.  They typically last 60k miles or more.  However, if you run them to failure bad things can happen.  They can get tangles up in adjacent components like hoses, wire harnesses, and other parts and rip them all apart.  Even if that does not happen you are generally stuck on the side of the road since you will often loose charging, cooling, power steering, etc.  Best to keep them in good shape.  Changing them is usually easy and most cars have a routing map under the hood in case you forget how they go on.  These belts can actually accept a certain level of cracking on the ribs and still be OK.  It is easiest to see the cracking where the belt wraps backwards over the pulley (the ribs on the outside).  If any chinks are missing replace the belt right away.  If the cracking gets too excessive change the belt.  

Cam drive belts (timing belts) are a special case.  These must be replaced at the factory specified interval.  It is best to get a complete kit when replacing them.  these kits often include all idlers, a water pump, and tensioners depending on the application.  When these belts fail, severe engine damage generally occurs.  Some engines are designed so that timing belt failure will not damage the engine.  these engines are often called free-wheeling but they are the exception not the rule.  Luckily most modern cars have gone back to chain drives but back in the 1980's and 1990's many cars had timing belts.  Changing timing belts can involve special tools and often involves at least a half day of labor or more.  

Hoses

Cooling system failures are one of the most common causes of cars ending up on the side of the road.  There are many cooling hoses on most modern cars.  If you keep your coolant in good condition these hoses can often last 15 years.  However, you need to check them periodically.  If they get harder or softer replace them right away.  After about 15 years you need to really get them replaced.  In some cases you may need to replace them earlier than that.  

Suspension

Some roads, like the terrible roads here in the Midwest, can really abuse your cars suspension causing premature wear and failure of wheel bearings and suspension components.  This can be dangerous!  Inspect your suspension at least yearly.  Rock the steering wheel back of forth and feel for any clunks or looseness. Raise the wheels off the ground with a floor jack and try to move the top and bottom of the wheel in and out firmly.  Modern cars with sealed wheel bearings should have no looseness.  Visually inspect all suspension bushings too.  

Service Information and Tools

Model year 1996 or newer vehicles sold in the US fall under a law called Service Information Rule (SIR) which dictates that OEM service information and electronic service tool must be made available outside the OEM dealer network for "a reasonable fee" which the government "helps" the OEM decide.  Because of this, you can access the factory manuals to service your vehicle.  It is required that it be a website where users can subscribe for various access levels.  The National Automotive Service Task Force (NASTF) polices this to make sure OEM are complying.  You can find their website here: http://nastf.org/ .  You can sign up for a free account.  They keep a directory of where to find these OEM service information websites since they are rarely linked from the OEM's main public website.  Right-to-Repair laws are expanding this beyond emissions related system to include the whole vehicle.    

More to come....

I plan to add more to this so check back occasionally.

Buying and owning a Porsche Cayman S

I sold my Porsche 944S in June 2014 so I could replace it with a newer Porsche.  I started looking for a 996 (or 1999 - 2004 911 for the non-Porsche folks) or Cayman S.  My goal was to find something around $30k, hopefully under.  I don't mind miles as much as age.  The newer the better.  However the colors and features are the most important. I use several sources to find a car.

• Auto Trader.  This is one of the best used car tools there is.  Decent search capability and nearly every new and used dealer, plus private party sellers, use this site.  
• eBay.  While this has auctions, it also has classified and buy-it-now. Many dealer and private parties use this as well.  
• Car Gurus.  Not as good as the others but still useful.
• NADA.  Good to get car pricing info, specs, and more.
• Kelly Blue Book.  Another good pricing website.
• Edmunds.  Good for specs and info mostly.  Also have some listings and pricing info.
• Craigslist. Although this generally has lower priced cars on it.  I was not able to find many Porsches here. You can set up an RSS feed to capture several Claigslist sites.

I also look at local dealer websites.  Since I am always looking for a less common car, searching just the local dealers and classifieds rarely gets the cars I want (although I did find my 944S and XJ12 locally). Instead, I do a radius search.  While there are several good 996's around its hard to get the right set of features and colors.  Porsche's have so many options.  It seems that most German cars are either silver or black for some reason so finding a color I like can be a challenge.  Cayman's are harder to find.  It is the lowest volume car Porsche makes.  There just aren't all that many around.  I have always wanted a mid-engine car though and the Cayman is a fantastic one.  The 996 is also a great car and the prices are very low for what this car is.  When you look at the design where the engine is out the back, behind the rear axle, it seems strange.  However, you must drive one before judging them.  I have driven many, mostly the turbo's, and they are fantastic cars.

My search took months.  I kept expanding my radius.  I drove a 2004 C4S in Chicago but the condition was not so good.  Drove great though.  I drove a Cayman S in Indiana but the color and feature set was just not quite compelling enough.  I had a long email exchange with a guy in Ohio but his car was more than I wanted to pay.  We came close to a deal but never made it happen.  The farther you go the more risky the deal is.  Pictures and video just are not even close to seeing the car in person.  Pictures are 2 dimensional so its hard to tell shadows and reflections from damage.  There is so much you just don't see.  The sellers almost always leave out the important shots.  You don't get pictures under the car, or in the areas where rust could be an issue. I have traveled for hours before only to be greatly disappointed.  I found a few good prospects only to find they sold by the time I contacted the seller.  After months of searching, I finally found what I wanted.  One was in Florida and another in Virginia.  By the time I checked on the Florida car, it was gone.  Realizing I need to act fast or loose it, I called on the Virginia car.  It was at a used car lot in Manassas.  Not exactly the best place to buy a car.  I checked CarFax and found the history.  It was clean but the car had several owners and had been through auctions more than once.  Not good.  Cars are usually sent to auction when the dealership where it was traded in feel it is not good enough for their lot.  There are many reasons a car might not be good enough.  Many new car dealers only carry cars they can certify pre-owned or the car is in exceptional condition.  When you are looking for a $30k Porsche though, you are likely not in the certified pre-owned category anyway.  Those start in the $50k range usually. So, back to the 2006 Cayman S.  It had so many things right with it.  It was Guards red (my favorite) with black interior.  It had a 6-speed manual, Sports Chrono package, heated seats, power memory seats, premium sound, rain sensor wipers, and bi-xenon headlights.  It did not have the navigation system which I did not want. It also had a CD changer which I am sorta neutral on.  I asked the dealer for more detailed photos and videos.  They complied, although they shot them with an iPhone and compressed them for email so the quality was not very good.  It was hard to tell for sure the condition.  I finally just took a chance, bought a on-way plane ticket to Dulles airport (about 15 miles from the dealer), and hoped for the best.

I got to Dulles and took a cab to the dealer.  At this point I was fairly committed to this purchase.  Sure, I could back out, get a cab back to the airport, and hope for a flight home.  As we drove up I saw the car and from the cab, it looked great.  The lot was not much.  A gravel lot with a small building.  No shop.  However, it did have many nice cars.  There was an Audi R8 parked next to the Cayman and there were mostly Mercedes and BMW's.  The salesman came out and greeted me.  We went to the car and he handed me the key.  I hopped in the car and fired it up.  It cranked slowly but started fine.  It sounded good, no noises, smoke, or leaks.  I took off for a drive.  The car felt fantastic.  When I came up to a cloverleaf I took it with a bit of speed.  Cayman's handle fantastic, like no other.  I knew right then I had my ride home.  Acceleration was also great, as was everything else about the drive.  These cars just feel very tight and connected.  I get back to the car lot and noticed that the heated seats did not work.  The key also had a damaged non-functioning remote.  The cosmetic condition of the car was very good though considering its many owners and trips through auction.  I figured I can fix the other stuff.  I also shut the car off and started it up again.  It cranked slow again. I took off the battery cover to find an original Porsche battery.  So, I attempted to negotiate a price drop based on the things I found.   I said the car needed a new battery, the heated seats were inop, and there was only 1 key and it had a bad remote.  The dealer stuck to their price stating they had other buyers lined up.  Sure, this could very well be a lie.  This dealer did not always tell the truth.  They also claimed the battery was new and that Cayman's always crank slow.  I thought it over for a few minutes (which was all I had since the dealer was closing soon).  I finally decided to just go for it.  I paid for the car.

After the deal was done, the dealer was closing as I left.  I hopped in the car and off I went.  I had an 800 mile trip ahead of me.  Just a few miles down the road the "check engine" light came ON.  Oh great I thought.  Knowing how OBD works I figured they had cleared the DTC's just before I got there, likely by disconnecting the battery. 2 trip DTC's take 2 drive cycles to complete.  My road test was the first trip.  My trip home was the 2nd.  I did not feel any drivability issues so I decided it was likely a catalyst or O2 monitor so I could just ignore it for now.  Going back to the shady dealer would be pointless, especially since they were now closed.

The route from Dulles to I70 was not a simple one.  I turned On Google Maps and trusted it to take me the best way.  As it turns out, there was traffic issues on some of the main highways so I ended up on small 2-lane roads going through West Virginia and Maryland.  At one point I was going over a one-lane bridge on Gaston Road in West Virginia.  The road was fantastic!  It seemed like one continuous piece of perfect new asphalt making a tight winding path through the mountains.  The Cayman and I loved it!  I have never owned a car quite like this.  I can't explain it with words, you just need to experience it yourself.  While many cars seem to complain when you push them, the Cayman taunts you for more, almost as if to say "is that all you got".  The level of confidence it inspires is probably dangerous but is absolutely intoxicating and addictive.  I was amazed at the power too.  The Cayman S has a 295HP flat 6.  295HP these days is not that much.  The car is light though, about 2900lbs.  The 6-speed drivetrain is set up to optimize for performance, like all Porsche S cars.  The gears are evenly spaced and 6th gear redline is also the cars max speed of 173mph.  I was never that impressed by the sound of Porsche flat 6 engines actually, until now.  From inside the car you get a different experience. The Cayman has the intake right behind the driver, through the side grille behind the door.   The induction sound is fantastic.  At WOT you can hear the cams change angle as the revs increase until you get this beautiful wail near redline. At idle it does not really make that much sound.  Very different from an old-school American V8.  You really need WOT and high rpm to enjoy the sound of European cars like this Porsche.

Once I got to Ohio, the rest of the drive was on boring flat, 4-lane divided freeways.  We really need autobahn style unlimited zones here in the states.  I stayed the night in Washington Pennsylvania.  I got up early the next day and drove home.

I checked DTC's when I got home to find P0421 which is intended to detect the catalyst not storing oxygen properly.  This is usually caused by a bad catalyst (no longer converting).  I swapped the 2 downstream O2 sensors and confirmed that the issue stayed with the catalyst and not the sensor.  When I modified the exhaust later I also moved the sensor on that back to the muffler (after the 2nd catalyst) and the DTC and light are now fixed.

I tried to program the himelink system for my garage door but I found it too did not work.  Nice.  One more thing wrong with this car.  I searched the web for the heated seat and Homelink issues.  This is always a good first step as most problem have been experienced by someone before.  Knowledge based troubleshooting is how it is done in the real world.  Anyway, sure enough, I found numerous posts on multiple forums for this exact complaint.  It turns out that Porsche have some problems with their body control.  To be honest, the software has a defect where a low battery condition can cause the module to reset to factory defaults and disable several features including heated seats, homelink, and rain sensing wipers function (wiped work but don't respond to rain).  The fix is to have the dealer perform a "hand over" procedure.  This procedure was intended for new cars.  The dealer just has to connect the service tool (a special Porsche tool, not a generic OBD tool) and configure the cars features.  Once this was done, all the features worked.

The key was expensive!  From the dealer, it cost about $400 for the key and remote.  It had to be ordered and then programmed at the dealer.  The new key head has been updated though and it is much nicer than the original.

At this point I had $28,500 into the purchase price plus $70 to get the hand over procedure done, and $400 to get the key and remote, and have it programmed.  Still under $30k and now everything works.  I also changed the spark plugs and oil.  I have been driving the car for months now and it is fantastic. I have put about 5k miles on it since I bought it (800 in the first 2 days).  Every day I drive it, it puts a huge smile on my face.  Strange how a car can do that.  Every other car just feels boring and unrefined now in comparison.  I have never had a car handle so fantastic before.  This design where the weight is all down low and centered in the car is ideal.  There is a very low moment of inertial about the center of the mass so very little effort is require for the car to change direction.  You can feel it right away.  Here is a great article explaining it. The weight is also down low because the engine is a flat 6 and not a typical V or inline configuration. This means the car stays flatter in corners even without over stiff suspension. The force stays on all 4 wheels more than most other cars.  There is never any under-steer.  You can get over-steer by applying heavy throttle in a corner but it is controllable and very fun.  The PSM will keep you in control while still having fun.  In sport mode, you get even more fun.

Cayman S 3.4L engine and trans assembly

Cayman versus 911 Carrera

My car has the smaller wheels and tires on it. These wheels are usually used for winter only.  They are 17" diameter and 30mm narrower than the original wheels.  They had installed new summer tires on them though.  Even with these the car still has good grip.  I look forward to upgrading back to the original size after I wear these tires out.  I figure a few track days will delete most of that tread.  I like the wheel style better than the lobster claw so many of these cars came with though. So far I have only had the car to one autocross.  

Update 2016: Replaced the wheels with 2010 Cayman S 18" and Pilot Super Sport tires.

Engine speed versus vehicle speed in each gear

After I upgraded the wheels and tires

Shot from Garmin Virb Ultra 30 mounted on custom camera bar

Here are some YouTube videos from other owners and reviewers of the Cayman.