Good afternoon everyone,
I've been a long time Rennlister with a 944, but me and the wife have been looking into getting a Cayenne for a while now. I saw this Cayenne on CL and was curious what was wrong with it and why he was parting it out. He said it overheated so I'm assuming warped heads, but he hasn't torn into it at all (or parted anything) yet. We conditionally agreed on $2500 for the complete vehicle, but I told him I wanted to do more research before I pulled the trigger. That being said, are replacement/used heads available and what kind of money are we talking about? I don't HAVE to have this thing right now so I would work on it as I had time, but for $2500, I figured it was a pretty good deal. I've been reading a lot on this board over the past few weeks and I've learned a lot, so thanks for all of the knowledge here. If the coolant tubes haven't been done, I would do those while I had it torn down of course. With this engine overheating, what else do I need to worry about it? Could it overheating have caused the cylinder scoring issue? With a head replacement, what else would be a 'while you're in there kind of thing' to do? Any advice and input is very much appreciated. Thanks!

 

The engines are finicky enough when it comes to scoring, the last thing I'd want is one that's been severely overheated.
Factor in the mileage and the premium cost of Cayenne parts and that thing is strictly a parts car. You could easily drop $15K into it and still have a flaming piece of ****. I can find decent lower mileage 955s all day long for $5K to $6K. At $10K a 955 S better have full records, need nothing and have under 100K miles.

And if you still decide to buy it, do research on head removal. From the few forum threads I've read in the past, most claim it's an engine out job. If that's the case, you have two choices...a lift and special cradle to properly drop the engine/suspension out the bottom or the hack way of ripping off the entire front end and dragging it out horizontally.
Your 944 is a dream to work on compared to a Cayenne and the parts will seem free compared to a Cayenne.

 

A replacement engine is about $3000 on Ebay. If you're capable and willing to do the work yourself then I think its possible. I don't know the cost of the cylinder head replacement, but a replacement engine will be your upper limit at least. At a $2500 purchase price + $3000 engine + $1000 miscellaneous things, you're looking at around $6500 which is around what you'll find a running Cayenne for. Your time will definitely have no value, and you're taking a risk on the car which makes it not the best value for money. Of course if working on cars is just what you do for fun, then I don't think its a bad idea at all.

Also - I have to disagree with 19psi. A 944 might be easier to work on but I don't think it'll be cheaper. A 30 year old car will have countless things that you'll want to do 'while you're in there' or deferred maintenance or restoration things. A 10-15 year old car won't be nearly as bad. When you go to fix the cylinder heads, you won't feel the urge to redo the fuel lines or whatever else on a Cayenne.

 

Thanks for the advice, gents. Yeah, I'll be redoing the brake and fuel lines on the 944 shortly, so with a newer vehicle, I won't have to worry about that thankfully. There doesn't seem to be much info out there on doing a Cayenne head gasket/head replacement but, good to know it would have to come out. Dropping the whole drivetrain would be tough so I'd probably go out the front. Cayennes must be cheaper up that way. I've seen a few $5k-$6K, but they all have 160K miles plus. Decent Cayennes from what I've seen go for around $7.5K-$9K. Anyway, thanks for the advice, I'll keep looking this weekend on what's out there, worse come worse, $2500 still isn't bad for a parts vehicle if I pull the trigger on another Cayenne.

 

Located in VA, based on the garage pics could be a good buy...https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/...983369103.html

 

Might be worth traveling to a larger "white collar" city. The Chicago area is flooded with them. When I was shopping, I probably had 50 at any given time to choose from. When I'd search Indianapolis, 2 or 3 at best.
This is pretty much on par with the current market in the Chicagoland area:
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...7540233977114/
72K miles for $6900.00. And if you find a base V6, they'll practically pay you to take it. lol!

If you're not in a hurry, wait another year and buy a 2010 model. Seems when a Cayenne hits 10 years old the resale value takes a huge dive. And with a 2010 model, you're well out of the woods when it comes to playing the engine lottery.

 

Already called and emailed him, nothing. Second Cayenne seller to do that to me. I thought when you post a for sale ad, you wanted to sell it, haha, who knows. Thanks.

 

Not a bad thought, a bigger city and more available would drive a more competitive price. I've been mostly looking in the DC area so that helps, but I'll widen my search.

Good to know about the 2010, good call. If a couple I've looked into don't pan out, I'll just put the Brembos on till next year and see what's out there.

 

Maybe not the fuel lines (yet), just plastic vent lines and a million other cheesy plastic tubes that crack if you look at them wrong. Plastic coolant pipes that burst. Tees that burst. Glued in coolant pipes that blow apart. Plastic coolant expansion tanks that leak at the seams. Rubber bushings in cardan shafts, control arms and engine struts that can't seem to make it 70K miles. Coil packs with a shorter life than the sparks plugs they're attached to. If you don't get that starter while in there, odds are it'll bite you a few months down the road with the multiple key turns or "Cayenne Kazoo". Water pump time? Better replace that plastic pulley too. Engine out for some reason? Probably a good time to replace the expensive alternator that is otherwise next to impossible to get at.

I've never owned a 944, but I'm guessing the quality and engineering is up there with a 928...a time before endless plastic, inferior rubber and glue.

 

Speaking as someone currently trying to sell a car on craigslist, I'll tell you that the scammers seem much more interested in my car than real buyers so far. So if that seller is getting similar responses, he may be wrongly thinking you're in the scammer group. I may have made that mistake myself already. So I'd say try again, trying to appear as legit as you can. LOL

 

I've had great luck with Craigslist when buying things. I know what sellers are going through, so when I reply to something I'm interested in, I usually start off with "I'm real and I'm local." Then ask genuine questions and give my name and phone number. Sellers almost always respond to that.

When selling, I admit to ignoring a lot of people, especially if it's for a vehicle. If someone responds with a single line of "I'm interested" or "I'll take it." That's an automatic delete...it's either someone too stupid to own what I'm selling or a scammer. Lines of text lingo or ebonics is another automatic delete. The lowballer/flipper who seems genuine at first is the real time killer.

 

I ended up getting in touch with him so I'm going to run up to NoVA tomorrow and look at the '04 S. I'm going to look at a '08 S while I'm up there too but it has some deer front end damage, however it comes with an '06 S same color parts car. I figured the '06 S and the '08 S would be the same, but the headlights and front bumper look a little different. Did Porsche slightly change the body style in 08? I'm not so sure the '06 parts would exactly fit the '08. Thanks again for all the input yall!

 

An '06 = 955, an '08=957. The '08 is a "facelift" model - where styling front and rear was changed to make a "new" model. There were in addition, engine changes. So - the '06 parts might fit on the '08, but only if you used all of them (center section, hood, fenders, grilles, bumper) - and you'd end up with a car that looks older than it is. Not a financially sound idea.

 

Ok gotcha. I hadn't fully figured out the different Cayenne homologations. I knew they looked off. Thanks for the confirmation, not such a good deal now.

 

Did you buy it? The post has been deleted.