Fellas,



Have been looking for a used Cayenne for a long time- finally found a nice Black 06 CS Titanium Ed with 64K miles- picking it up tomorrow. The main reason it took so damn long is reliability concerns outlined by many members here ie. coolant pipes, coils, cardan shaft, etc- but after test driving '06 X5's, GX470's, MDX's, etc- nothing drove like the Pepper.



Now need your advice- would you guys take the CS to your local shop for any prophylactic maintenence even if everything checks out fine right now? I was thinking about getting the coolant pipes changed immediately- anything else while I'm at it?



Thanks

 

Coils...latest version
Plugs...fouled from previous cracked coils
Cardan shaft...bearing play
Horns...impersonating fishbowls
Check under rear spoiler ... Impersonating fishbowls
Headlights...rework for ventilation and loose connectors

Shall I go on?

 

And, no, you don't need a prophylactic when driving a Cayenne...just a brown paper bag will suffice.

 

I approached mine (also purchased at 54k miles) as a project.

My truck is CPO, so big problems will go to Porsche.

Some they aren't going to cover until they break, and that would be a PITA if they broke far from home - I paid my independent to do. The coolant pipes (I bought the parts and helped with the labor..) were done. Cost was roughly $2k. I'm considering R&R of the Cardin shaft and replacing the bearing and mount (I already purchased a spare center bearing assembly - about $80/Ebay that now lives in the spare-tire well.. and was carried for 8,500 miles on a recent coast-2-coast-2-coast trip.)

I also did a 60k service on the truck before leaving on the long trip. New filters, oil/filter, plugs, etc. And I purchased a spare coil to bring with me (from NAPA, less then $20.. a Beru IIRC).

It seems the non-turbos don't drown the horns (might have something to do with the extra center opening in the bumper on the turbos) so that's a non-issue AFAIK. The rear wing - haven't had it open, but I'd expect to see signs of water leakage when the tailgate is open and the wing is tipped on edge if there was water in it, and since it went through Irene without a problem, I suspect mine is a non-issue.

My headlights have never fogged up, and making sure the plug-in connections are good is about a 15 minute project per side. Use some grease on all sliding and fastening points, and a bit around the plug assembly so it slides together well and you'll probably be fine.

So the answer to your question about having prophylactic maintenance done - depends on your comfort level. I was much more confident leaving on the C2C2C trip knowing I had the new coolant pipes in place. Figured the driveshaft could be taken care of on the road if necessary (either by Porsche CPO, or in the few states with no dealer - by a local driveshaft shop with my spare bearing.)

I've found carrying a spare coil invokes Eilenberger's Law of Spares: "You'll never need the part you have.." and it's corollary "the possible need for a part increases with the distance from the part.." I carry one on my BMW cars and my BMW motorcycle - and despite BMW having coil failure rates that make Porsche look reliable - I've never needed one since I started carrying a spare.

Total failures for the entire trip - one $1.95 side marker light bulb, replaced in a motel lot in Bismark ND. NO oil used. NO coolant used.

 

Add a water pump to that list.
60K mi on my Pepper.

Some coolant was needed every week, thought it was the tubes. The indy shop said it was leaking from the W/P weep hole. I asked that they replace the coolant tubes as well.

BTW I checked a P dealer and several indy shops in the DC Metro area. Nobody will install parts suppiled by the customer. All quote the labor time from All Data which is 14 hours. The P dealer quoted $3300.

Found an indy shop in Winchester VA who replaced the W/P, coolant tubes and did the 60K mi service, minus coils and plugs, for a $1300 labor charge.

 

Try Len Stoler in Owings Mills.