Shawn Stanford

...with all your horror stories and busted Cayennes and stuff.

I was thinking I could get a decent Cayenne in the $25k range, something from the '04 to '06 years, that I could use as a daily driver. There are a lot of Cayennes out there in my price range; some with mileage of 40k to 60k. However, after lurking for a few weeks and reading through the advice and warnings other would-be owners have received, I'm very hesitant to take the risk. I've been looking for CPO, but for what I want to spend, they're rare and distant.

I'm not afraid of putting money into maintenance and repair (I have a trustworthy mechanic and a 944 turbo), but I read posts where you guys are taking the thing to the dealer two dozen times a year and putting thousands and thousands into this and that and everything else. I can't do that.

Should I abandon the search? Should I resolve myself to a long and possibly fruitless wait for a CPO? Is there some magical combination of model years, models and mileage that will be less risky?

I'm not looking for a miracle, just some reassurance that I'm not spending $25k on a vehicle that I can't rely upon. That being the case, I might as well keep driving my wife's old minivan. *gag*

ltc

What are you afraid of, it's only the most produced vehicle in Porsche history?



Your coolant tubes will burst, taking your starter and transmission seals with it, your cardan shaft will deteriorate until you can barely hold onto the steering wheel past 40 mph, your coils will crack taking the spark plugs with them, but the rough idle will keep you awake at stop lights late at night (and in the rain the wipers making the sound of an elephant dragging its *** across the windshield also helps), your horns will fill up with water

Anything that can possibly go wrong has already been posted and answered here ...

wirunner

You're welcome! Your bank account will thank us too. Everything from maintenance to repairs are very expensive. It may be a "great" SUV but not a cheap one.

Nice summary Lewis!

ltc

I know what Larry would do if he were here....

Boeing 717

Dude, this is the most negative forum on rennlist. Ive never seen so many people bash their own cars. They are more than happy to tell someone else not to buy one yet they dont seem to ever sell the "overpriced piece of junk" that they own. If you want one, BUY IT. Its true they could be expensive to fix but what Porsche is not?? Look at the known common problems that exist on these cars then do a pre-purchase inspection for a little peice of mind, $300 bucks.

wirunner

Jerry, come on now. Does honesty = negativity? I really don't think so.

To be quite frank, we are doing someone a favor by stating the facts: Cayennes (particularly early V8 models) have a long list of common problems that are genuinely expensive to fix. The problems are not a possibility of occuring, they are guaranteed to fail at some point. Having owned two, I can tell you all common problems WILL occur (and then some "extra" surprise failures).

Does that mean it's not a fantastic performance SUV? No!! It is!

If you can't afford to play, you shouldn't play. These things are not cheap to own. If you're an extreme DIY, maybe no big deal-- Buy it...otherwise get one with a warranty. I do think the "P!g" is a great vehicle - when it's working. My latest experience is that properly working is rare - I have 50 pages of dealer receipts from the past 12 months to prove it.

Wouldn't you feel bad if some poor sucker on a limited budget bought a naked P!g and then said "gee sure wished someone told me every friggin thing that could go wrong would".

With all that said, I would pay extra for A506.

Boeing 717

I understand what your saying, there is absolutely nothing wrong with telling someone what they may be getting into financially and the facts about these cars; however, i've spent quite a bit of time in various rennlist forums and I have often felt that this place tends to be extremely negative. I mean look at this guy Shawn, he comes in here and in a short while he is "terrified" of Cayennes, so either these cars are junk or their is a very negative atmosphere in here. I know these cars are not junk so it must be the latter. Yes they are expensive to own, Porsches are not cheap to maintain but having a 944 turbo im sure hes aware of that.

Shawn Stanford

My 944 turbo hasn't crushed me. It only has 65,000 miles on it and other than routine maintenance - which comes to about $300 a few times a year, it has set me back about $2k for a steering mechanism rebuild.

I don't put a huge amount of mileage on my cars: my daily commute is <20 miles round trip and I go on a couple 1000+ mile trips a year. And, any driving I do will be split with the 944. But, again, I can't have a garage queen; this will be my daily driver with a 944 as my other car. The Cayenne has to be ready for duty 99% of the time.

I'm getting the strong impression that is tough to achieve with Cayennes prior to '08.

EnigmaWmn

Well, Shawn, in order not to scare you away and make you terrified of Cayennes, which the negative ones around here like to refer to as The P!G, let me just get to the facts:

An oil change at an independent shop runs me $200. I do it every 5k.

I'm closing in on 130k on an '05 CS purchased brand new and pretty much everything except the engine, transmission and cardan shaft has been replaced, many times more than twice. CEL resulting from an EVAP leak came on for, ummmm, at least the 8th time last week.

Brakes are about $500, then there are tires.

Recent big repair was upper & lower control arm bushings at $1.7k. Starter at $959 before that.

CS has left me stranded at least twice in the past.

Please take into account that there are those who have had different experiences. We are all adults here, so if you get "scared" or "terrified", I make no apologies, as you are responsible for your own decisions, especially when buying a car.

Lastly, the car is amazing on the road (when it's not in the shop), that's why I'm waiting for my '11 to arrive some time next month. My standard advice is to buy as close to brand new as possible, although look how well I did

Boeing 717

I think most of the common problems could be remedied for a few thousand bucks if and when you experience them, cheaper if you do some yourself such as the drive shaft problem (approx, $300 rebuilt unit from vertex). Get the common problems fixed and you should have a strong daily driver. We've had ours 2 years now and it has 45000 miles. I just did the 40k service + all brake components and new battery for about $1100 dollars other than that $700 for new tires and $180 for coils which may be refunded by Porsche. As far as mechanical issues.... none other than 2 corroded coils and weak rear hatch struts which were replaced under warranty. Had we owned this car from new, that would not have been alot to pay for maintenance over 5 years. But like any used car just make sure its been maintained and definetely do a PPI.

wirunner

I love that picture!! I have a whole filing folder for P!g receipts too (too many for the glove box now).

You're statement couldn't be more true...fantastic vehicle when it works...

Could always get a V6 Shawn as it appears they have less powertrain issues - Sounds super boring though. The V8 exhaust note alone is *sometimes* worth the multiple week stint at the dealership.

EnigmaWmn

and when you have a good mechanic. While the new P!G will be under warranty for first 50k, this time around I will be completely relaxed about anything that might happen afterwards. My mechanic is amazing and that means I won't be dealing with morons at surrounding Porsche dealerships.

Boeing 717

Unless you get a v6 with the sport exhaust option.......sounds pretty gnarly for an SUV.

yeldogt

My 06 had most all of the common afflictions -- all covered by the new car warranty. The frustrating aspect of my ownership has to do with Porsche not improving parts ....... Part fails .. Replace with same part .....Part fails. So you are never sure it is fixed.

I love the truck -- not enough to sell mine with 45k and take the hit on a new one.

Cole

There are several owners with over 200K on theirs with little issues. (which gives them little reason to come here).

This is also the most negative Cayenne Forum on the net. Go ask this same question on 6speedOnline, Pelican, Renntech, Planet9 and others.