Well not fully, I will still have 2 BMW's, but the DD I am looking at is a 2004 115K miles 955 Porsche Cayenne Turbo, more info below.
Ive been scouring up as much info on these as possible in the last week or so. Here is what I have on the list of "common" problems to look for.

1. Coolant pipes, aluminum good, plastic bad ($800 diy)

2. Coil packs, what mileage do they tend to crap out on? They give misfire codes when bad, correct? ($350 diy)

3. Cardon shaft bushing, sounds like midget with hammer in tranny tunnel. All the time, or just at certain tranny loads? ($500 diy)

4. Valve body, clunk when downshift at high loads 5th->4th, 6->5th, but not when triptronic is used? ($1500, PIA, diy)

5. Air ride compressor ring, air ride wont function properly ($150 diy)


Besides the normal stuff like exhaust smell/smoke, alignment issues, fluids smell/look/feel and/or anything else unruly, what else should I look for. Im a weekend wrencher, so I am confident to spot the obvious "generic" problems.


Whats the opinion of the group on this purchase?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Porsche-Caye...-/251407608879


I talked with him and he said he has 15 pages of records on the car, this makes me very very happy. Research shows it was in Texas for the last 50K miles, then to Florida. I plan to take it to Zotz (http://www.germanexcellence.com/) in Orlando for a PPI. Im going to see it this Saturday and will go back the following week to purchase, if it all checks out.

Any and all advice is appreciated!!
Sorry for the cross-post with 6speed, trying to get as much info as quickly as possible.

 

The listing ended. Did you buy it?

First, you may not run into the valve body issue - doesn't show up on all vehicles. Also another wear part is the lower control arms. Technically you can just press in new bushings but the ball joint is attached and not replaceable. Most people just replace the whole control arms which includes the bushings and ball joint.

In re: to when to do coils and plugs... Plugs are every 40k and coils will start to give you a rough idle before a full misfire. There have been over a dozen updates to the coils so if you are running original parts they most likely should be changed to the updated part.

 

As endless stated lower control arms will need replaced for sure. Be sure to upgrade to Turbo S arms. Much better bushing design.

 

I did not buy it, the seller ended it and put it up on craigslist. But the Ebay ad contains the most info about the car.

Thanks for the info!

 

That particular specimen looked a tad rough inside to me. Not that it was abused just that it was a loved and well used vehicle. Obviously pictures are always different than real life. I came from a 2007 X3 and traded "down" to a 2004 cayenne S and fraaken love the porsche. Just keep in mind that there are A LOT of cayennes out there so take your time and don't get trigger happy. New specimens bubble up ALL the time. What is your budget btw (approx)?

 

I was actually looking for an X5 for the wife when I came across this car. I said hey, I like this, lets do some research. From what I see the CTT's with 115ish miles are going for about $17K. His CL ad says $15900, which seems to be a good price, but its been for sale for a month or so, I would imagine if it was a great deal at that price it woulda been bought already.... but who knows.

Im looking to spend around $16000 when everything is said and done (tax, tag, title). Im not really in a rush, but I just bought a house at the end of a mile long dirt road that is very ill maintained. She is in a BMW 325 and Im in a 330 and I can hear the cars whimpering when they are covered in mud hitting 50 potholes whenever we leave the house.

As Im sure you guys have experienced, I have a case of the "oh, I wants". And im sure once I drive it I will be even more excited. So no REAL rush, but i dont want to wait too long, esp if this is a good deal and only an hour from my house.

Thanks again!!

 

FWIW a neighbor has an X5 "M edition". I took it for an extended drive and doesn't come close to the P!G overall. Quality wise the P!G kills the X5, it handles better and acceleration difference is academic.

 

You know thats what sold me on it. In order to get a X5 that can even come close to the P!G I would pay easily 2.5 times as much. So the wifey is gonna get an X5 4.6/8is and I get to give porsche a try after only owning BMW's since I was 16...... we will see how it goes.

oh yeah, a quick note from my research.
Porsche forums: X5 vs P!G: everyone chose P!G
BMW forums: X5 vs P!G: it was split 50/50

That sold me on it too, thanks for the warm welcome guys, less than 12 hours till my test drive

 

Time for the nitty gritty details on the car. I am entrusting the grand wisdom of this forum This is after a 45 minute inspection and a 15 minute test drive.

Problems found, no particular order:

nick in widscreen, small, possibly repaired with epoxy already
driver door rear hatch button non responsive
rear hatch shocks not holding door up
Torque stabalizer on top of engine is a little worn, small cracks
---"Brake Booster Faulty" warning on startup!!!!!
Brake fluid is at minimum amount
sunglass holder wont stay up
rear rotors are about finished
front axels have stickers, possibly replaced?
front ride height pistons? have stickers
Guibo bolts appear to be new, so possible recent change
tranny says made in germany, i thought i read somewhere that the tranny was china made??
car was in new england until at least 4 years ago, so some expected rust on under carraige, but nothin I saw was alarming, but then again one rusted bolt can ruin a saturday afternoon
front sway bar has paint chipping on each (left/right)
bend towards back of car
front left, near and on the swaybar bend.... the is a decent amount of oil, some on the plastic covers etc.
Oil level is at minimum on dipstick, but i know every MFG has weird way to check

Car started and drove just fine, damn its fast, not just for an SAV, but fast-fast. A decent amount of valve clatter, not sure how much is normal, didnt seem like a lot, but coming from BMW a typewriter is a normal amount

Major concerns:
OIL OIL OIL, I forgot my small toolbox in the garage, so i didnt take off the splash guard to see source
Brake booster faulty in allaince with "low" brake fluid

He is asking $16000, whats the opinion of the group on that price for these negatives, can I find a better turbo for that much $$, it about near my budget for it?
Thanks for the advice!!!!!!!!

 

I just picked up an '04 CTT with 59k miles for $18k.

I noticed a bit of valve noise when the oil was at the minimum level and it went away as soon as I topped it off. Minimum is down 1.5 quarts.

 

I wouldn't bother with it at 16k. There are plenty of well cared for turbos for under $20k.

If the owner isn't taking care of things like oil and brakes, you never know what else he has skipped out on.

The rear hatch strut failure is fairly common, and there are a couple of DIY's on it.

 

I agree, spend just a little more and you won't have to worry about any of those issues.

 

Anyone else have some oil weepage that falls just above the front left sway bar?


Im thinkin about offering $14K, maybe settle on $15? any thoughts guys?

 

Is it a Turbo? If so that's common for the drivers side IC inlet hose to weep oil. A quick hose replacement will cure that problem most of the time.

 

Recently my indy noticed a fair amount of oil that had been seeping and finding its way around underneath. Culprit, tiny hairline crack in the oil plug. It was like 1mm.. but enough for the oil to make a mess over time. I was only about 1/2 quart down since the last oil change (fairly recent) but it was enough to make a big mess under there. Now I'm not saying that is the same issue.. but its a happy ending since a new plug is extremely cheap.

At $14.5-15k for a CTT.. you have room to absorb a few grand in repairs.