Porsche 997 Years to Avoid (and the Best Years to Buy)

Rankings

1. 1
   2005Avg $43,031 12-mo +21.8%

   n=146 sold

   Sep 11, '262005 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe$38k

   Sep 9, '262005 Porsche 911 Carrera S Coupe$60k

   Sep 3, '262005 Porsche 911 Carrera S Coupe$50k
2. 2
   2006Avg $49,156 12-mo +5.5%

   n=252 sold

   Sep 11, '262006 Porsche 911 Carrera S Coupe$101k

   Sep 7, '262006 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet 6-Speed$46k

   Sep 1, '262006 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S$50k
3. 3
   2007Avg $87,574 12-mo +16.8%

   n=314 sold

   Sep 11, '262007 Porsche 911 Carrera S Cabriolet 6-Speed$56k

   Sep 11, '262007 Porsche 911 Turbo Coupe 6-Speed$202k

   Sep 3, '262007 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S Coupe$46k
4. 4
   2008Avg $97,239 12-mo +12.4%

   n=262 sold

   Sep 9, '262008 Porsche 911 Turbo$94k

   Sep 6, '262008 Porsche 911 GT3 RS$204k

   Sep 6, '262008 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet$84k
5. 5
   2009Avg $73,879 12-mo -1.9%

   n=174 sold

   Sep 10, '262009 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup$90k

   Sep 7, '262009 Porsche 911 Carrera 997.2$41k

   Aug 30, '262009 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S Cabriolet$52k
6. 6
   2010Avg $146,252 12-mo +38.4%

   n=113 sold

   Sep 10, '262010 Porsche 911 Carrera$37k

   Sep 10, '262010 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S Cabriolet$55k

   Aug 28, '262010 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S Coupe$110k
7. 7
   2011Avg $185,410 12-mo +6.6%

   n=165 sold

   Sep 11, '262011 Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet$155k

   Sep 5, '262011 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Coupe 6-Speed$178k

   Sep 2, '262011 Porsche 911 Carrera S Coupe 6-Speed$125k
8. 8
   2012Avg $106,431 12-mo +0.1%

   n=106 sold

   Sep 9, '262012 Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet$117k

   Aug 31, '262012 Porsche 911 Turbo S Coupe$134k

   Aug 27, '262012 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS$116k

Comparison

How to Choose

• 2005 is the year most buyers avoid: first production run, the highest IMS failure reports, and the lowest average price on this page ($43K).
• 2005 and early-2006 engines use the smaller, serviceable IMS bearing — the $2K-$3K preventive retrofit applies to these cars. Later 997.1s carry a larger bearing that can't be replaced without opening the engine, but it fails far less often.
• 2009 brought the 997.2's DFI engine — no IMS bearing at all — plus PDK. It's the reliability inflection point, even though the year averages here don't show a price jump (they blend Carreras with Turbo and GT models).
• 2011-2012 are the final 997.2 years with all refinements. The GTS (2011+) is the pick of the generation — and GT/Turbo sales are why the 2010-2011 averages read so high.
• Turbo and GT3 models in ANY year use the Mezger engine with zero IMS risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which 997 years have IMS problems?

Only the 997.1 Carrera models (2005-2008) have IMS bearing risk, and it's concentrated in 2005-early 2006 cars with the smaller serviceable bearing. The 997.2 (2009-2012) uses a completely different engine (DFI) with no IMS. Turbo and GT3 models in ALL years use the Mezger engine, which also has no IMS concern.

Is a 2005 Porsche 997 a bad buy?

2005 has the highest IMS failure reports and the lowest prices — a $43K average in our data versus $48K for 2006. It's a fine car if you get the preventive bearing retrofit (possible on this year's engine) and a thorough pre-purchase inspection.

What year 997 should I buy?

2009-2012 (997.2) are the safest Carrera buys — no IMS, DFI engine, PDK available. For Turbo or GT3, any year is fine (Mezger engine). If budget is tight, a well-documented 2006-2008 is excellent value: its larger IMS bearing rarely fails, though it can't be preemptively swapped.

How much does the 997 IMS fix cost?

On 2005-early 2006 engines with the serviceable bearing, the preventive upgrade runs $2,000-$3,000 alongside a clutch job. Later 997.1 engines use a larger bearing that can't be replaced without opening the engine — the consolation is that it very rarely fails. A failed bearing means $15K-$25K for a rebuild on any of them.