Magdaddy

RSbob

Petza914

A Cayenne TTS and a RR are really completely different cars. Anyone who enjoys sporty driving and wants some of that even when they take the SUV is going to be in the Cayenne camp. Anyone who wants to do some serious off-roading or has the last name of Kardashian will be in the Range Rover camp, though the early Cayennes (955 & 957) are very capable off-road in their own right.

Whereas the Cayenne can do 95% of what the RR an do, the RR can't do what a turbo Cayenne can do, especially one with PDCC.

nodoors

^^^This. Despite the Cayenne's formidable ability to break down, the RR also bests it in this category. The british cars can be even harder to obtain parts for and chase down odd problems to boot. Their interior also does not wear nearly as well. On the 2003+ RR models, all the plastic paint on the buttons/dash wears off which makes them look really ragged. Porsche suffers from a few sticky buttons here and there and some paint that can scratch off the steering wheel, but it is not even close. The Cayenne interior ages better than 99% of other cars made since those manufactured prior to the 70's.

NelaK

So true. Until I got into Porches, I never realized just how bad other brands interiors age. Even unloved Cayennes look great inside barring actual damage. A bit dated maybe but everything holds up and looks new.

TomF

^^THIS^^

Twintipin13

My 08 Turbo is probably the best vehicle I have ever owned. I giggle like a little school girl every time I floor it and get thrown back in the seat, it drives great and tows my boat! Pretty much the perfect do anything vehicle. Rip up the auto cross track one day, use it for tow duty the next!

Chrali

I'm going to be unpopular, as I'm not a Porsche devotee and I wrestled with pretty much the same dilemma.

The RR will be a soft wafty vehicle, with the most luxurious interior.
The MB will is a bus, but will have a nice woofly V8 and the biggest boot.
The PC will is more sporty than these, no question of that, but in day to day driving you can't use much of it.

Reliability is subjective at this age, as much can depending on how all of the prior owners looked after their vehicles and all of these can go wrong in suitably wallet wincing ways.
Even where repairs are expected perhaps that's mitigated by one being cheaper to buy over another.

I don't like the RR L322, sometimes I do, sometimes I don't, the rear load area looks too short to me. The L405 is better, but a LOT more expensive.
The MB X166 I like, but again expensive. I actually prefer the facelift 2010+ X164 and would take a GL preferably v8 petrol, or diesel ( as long as it doesn't have adblue).
As for the PC 955 I like the look of mine, but to be honest it eggs me on to (over) speed being more muscle car, than a big soft comfy truck, but reliability can be a concern. I've got more issues on mine in a 5th of the miles than I ever had on my 04' BMW760Li, despite me hammering the BMW every day!

If my 955 blew up, I'd want a Landcruiser 200 V8, or a Mercedes GL; especially as we're getting in rehoming a dog again, but then if I lived in the US I'd be in a fat-*** Cadillac Escalade ESV.

You need to establish your priorities and test them accordingly.

v10rick

Sorry...my conscience won't allow me to do that.

GDA

If you have not already driven one then don't, they are highly addictive and if you can do your own work on them then even more so. A 955 or 957 CTT or CTTS with fresh brakes and properly sorted supsension is a spectactular experience. Effortless power, smooth and supple drive at speeds well in excess of any legal limit and yet, can deal with a foot of snow or towing a trailer / boat etc without even breaking a sweat.

I always thought I needed a full on sports car and then a truck but a Cayenne Turbo checks off a big part of that list.

Wisconsin Joe

First off, welcome.

Second off, as a mechanic, you should be fine. There's good DIY write ups for most of the issues you will see. Parts are readily available. Pelican is ok. For "factory stuff", Suncoast & Sonnen often have the best prices. They routinely beat out the local stealership, even with shipping.
I have a 928, and Roger Tyson at 928s R Us can get Porsche parts at good prices. Maybe not the best prices, but his service is unbeatable. I get most of my stuff for the 928, 944 & 955 from him.
Turning your own wrenches will take a lot of the 'price sting' out of ownership.

You will need a good scan tool to work on it. Durametric & iCarScan are the two common 'enthusiast' tools. I have the Durametric and it works very well for me. Enthusiast version is around $300 and lets you take care of 3 VINs.

These things go through tires & brakes fairly fast, gas even faster. But some of that is dependent on how you drive.

It's an amazing road car. I've taken mine on a couple 'sorta long' trips. (3-4 hours each way). Drives well, rides well, very comfortable, even for 4 adults. Highway cruise of 75-80 is very nice. It will go faster just as nice, but the WI State Patrol is pretty vigilant.
I don't have PDCC, so I can't comment on that, but even without it, it handles better than any other SUV, better than many cars.

It also does pretty good off road. I see a fair amount of snow, and it drives in the slippery stuff quite well. I run Blizzaks, and drive like a person should on snow and have no issues. It does have the 'stupid enhancers' of ABS, traction & stability control, so people who don't understand basic physics (friction of various surfaces mostly) can find themselves in a ditch or into another car pretty easily.
I am often gone for work, and while I have kind neighbors who will take care of the snow sometimes, I still will get home to find the plow has put 2 or 3 feet of snow at the bottom of my driveway. Run the air suspension up to 'special terrain', low range & lock the T/C up and I've gotten through it every time. Last year we had a huge spring snow storm. I ended up with about 4' at the end of the drive. The bottom 2' were ice. Really. I ended up climbing up an almost vertical face and putting the front tires on top of the bank. It didn't sink into it, it was on top. I could feel the fronts going down on the other side, so I backed off. I could see getting high-centered on it and getting stuck. Then having everyone going by taking a pic and posting it. Then having all my friends ask "did you see the car on the snowbank? It looked just like yours!!" It took a skid steer to clear out the snow.
But the Cayenne climbed up on top of it with ease.
There's a variety of pics of people taking a Cayenne off road on here. There was even a guy who did a bit of modification and ran a Baja rally with it.

The one you mention sounds like it has potential. If I were you, I'd drive it. See if it's what you want.

You seem to have a good handle on what ownership will entail. If you haven't already, read the 'thinking about buying' sticky thread. It covers most of the more common issues.

tadink

The CTT is incredible - awesome power and simply unbelievable in snow and off-road - much better than anyone ever thought it would be! I tell people it is a very 'well designed' vehicle with 'simply terrible engineering' by the factory. At least with 107k miles on mine I'm thru most of the truly stupid stuff (plastic coolant pipes, coolant T's, goddam cardan shaft, plastic coolant tank fittings, etc etc etc). Having all that horsepower firmly planted in a capable vehicle is pure magic. For awhile I was running about $2.00 for every mile driven - $6,000 in repairs and maint. over 3,000 miles, but I just did over a thousand 'trouble free' miles (except for blowing up the goddam cardan shaft, but that was only $12.00 to fix!).

On balance - find the newest one you can afford and look at all the repairs that have been done, carefully. Then compare that list to all the other stupid stuff that is going to break - being a mechanic is going to help your 'joy of ownership' a LOT!!

tadink
Napa

MTSduke

Thank you all for the replies.
I bit the bullet and bought this thing last week. What a superb vehicle. Possibly the best all round vehicle on the market (?) for obvious reasons to most who've owned them.
After 3000km in one week, my only complaints, the relatively small interior space - comparable to a BMW E46 or E90 wagon from memory. And it would be good if cruise set speed was displayed in the instrument cluster - can be a guessing game at times.
I don't think its as pleasant to drive open road as my W126 or W140 S Class, probably due to its 20" wheels and relatively hard ride (even on 'comfort').
But its not far off, and as soon as the open road turns twisty this thing will own them all day.
My best fuel consumption was 11.5l/100km (20.4 mpg) over a 320km loop, and I pulled my '66 Mustang 500km north over some decent hills to return 19l/100km (12.3mpg). Fair to say if you need any more towing capacity the next option will be the 2500 pick ups.
I'm not in the US so I probably won't bother with your recommendations for parts through Indi shops/repairers, I've found Pelican easy for MB/BMW parts, will also look into the others as well.

slavie

Congrats on the purchase. Good to hear you like it.

Though why is the steering wheel black? Prior accident and they only found a black airbag/steering wheel combo to put in?

MTSduke

Quite possibly. A google of the interior sees me grateful its not the same colour as the dash, although it reminds me of being a kid when the first 996 911s were new. Could they be optioned with the black steering wheel? I haven't decoded the VIN yet.