DWPC

My '06 CTT is nearing 100K miles, and in coming months will need tires, front end refurb, brakes, and 100K mi. major maintenance so I'm looking at maybe 30-40% of the value in costs and I'll still have a 13 yr old car with 100k miles; though in excellent shape. Drove a new Macan yesterday and liked it more than I thought. Also saw a CPO '18 Macan S ex-loaner that could be a very good deal. Opinions will help me decide.

RSbob

The i see you understand that you have already reached the point of diminishing returns with your 06 and it will no doubt only get worse. So the question is about sentiment or preservation with its incumbent costs or the expense of a slightly used fully warranty new car? I drove an 18 Macan for a week and absolutely loved it. Super comfortable, fast, excellent road manners, good on gas and the list goes on. If I had the coin I would have purchased that one on the spot. The only thing it needs IMO is a lift kit since I am used to the Cayenne’ height.

So so take a depreciation hit but have a warranty and modern safety and the electronic wizardry or keep plowing money into a depreciating asset (Macans keep their value better than all cars in its class). For me it’s a no brainer. Bet you had similar thoughts.

J'sWorld

If you had said 200k miles maybe a different story. Financially, you will lose on the Macan.

Wisconsin Joe

Virtually any car purchase is a financial loss.
With some extreme exceptions, it's almost always cheaper to keep the older car.

Despite the 'diminishing returns' part of the older car, compare the cost of all the listed repairs with the monthly payment on the Macan. How many months will those costs cover. Betcha it's not very many.

But buying cars, especially these cars is much more than just finances.
There's a lot of emotion in it. What price can you put on 'pride of ownership'? Or 'joy of driving'? Or 'more modern safety and convenience features'?
All of those factor in and have a value.

rileyracing1

My heart says keep the 955 ...Trust me I know I have one with 140,000 km and it really is a great suv and drives like a premium suv should with substance and not like the newer ones.

Having said that my head says as a daily driver a new Macan makes more practical sense , I would keep both for what it's worth .

Shawn Stanford

What..?

You didn't say, but a low mileage 2018 Macan S is going to run you at least $50k. If you finance it for 60 months, your payment is going to be $900 a month. There's no way your CTT is going to cost you $900 every month. I doubt it will cost you $2,000 a year for normal maintenance.

If you like the Macan, get it. But don't try to justify the purchase by wondering if it's worth putting the money into the CTT. If you take care of it, you'll get 200k miles out of it, and it will cost you far less than a new Macan.

RSbob

The only element missing from the discussion is reliability. Which vehicle would you take on a 1,200 mile road trip with zero hesitation? If one is proactive about preventative maintenance then it’s probably a push. If one repairs as they go, then probably not so much. I fall in the latter camp since but make sure routine maintenance is performed.

I am taking my 08 Cayenne S from Seattle to Sacramento to Monterrey and back next month. The prospect of a cardan shaft failure, water pump issue, ignition lock problem, a cracked Coil or whatever else will make the trip less than care free. Every day it runs problem free will make me feel lucky (this board has made me paranoid). Yes those things, other than the ignition lock and water pump have been inspected, but no guarantees. With a new Macan there are no guarantees, but probability of fewer issues is on your side. If Cayennes were bulletproof, there would not be advice to budget $2K a year to keep them running or claims about the most expensive vehicle ever owned, or advice on repairs other than routine maintenance for high mileage older vehicles.

Shawn Stanford

I'd jump in my '05 with 160k and drive it to the moon. I've driven old P-Cars all over the country with no problems (at least, none that I couldn't solve with a little roadside maintenance, and that only for my '82 928). Last year I drove an '01 Boxster with 110k that I'd just purchased from Oklahoma to Pennsylvania. I drove my old 944 on multi-day trips all the time. I guess the point being that - in my experience - Porsches are no more problematic than any car, and much less so than most.

$2k a year is normal maintenance for high mileage older vehicles - especially if they're daily driven, and that's an outside budget. My Cayenne costs me maybe $1,000 a year in maintenance, including the normal stuff, like tires. I think that's holds true over the entire time I've had it, and over the last 10 years and I've put 80k on it.

Don't let this board spook you. That's why people come to forums: To figure out a problem. You're essentially complaining that a doctor's office is full of sick people. Of course it is!

I'm surprised that someone who owns a 914 has concerns about the reliability and maintenance on a Cayenne!

RSbob

Points well taken.

My 914 is completely rebuilt with a bulletproof rebuilt 3 liter with 3K miles. I would meet you on the moon with it. Zero hesitation to drive it anywhere, besides, it is so basic that with the few tools I carry with it I could do an engine drop if needed, or more likely a clutch cable adjustment. Love that car. Every time I drive it I get at least one thumbs up or people approach me when parked to talk about their former/current or future 914. Tomorrow I am raising its agreed value to $45K since 6 conversion values just keep going up.

Shawn Stanford

I love me some 914. When I was 12 I did a community theater production and the music director was a college kid with a 914, and it stuck with me. Every year at Hershey there's a pack of them that comes roaring in together, and they look like they're having a blast. I only wish I'd moved on one before they started climbing in value.

But I probably will still get one at some point. In fact: I'm sure I will.

Petza914

Yep, lots of us joint 914 / Cayenne owners. The 914 is so simple, with a few spares and some tools, there's not much you can't fix on the side of the road. My first 914 was my college car and it did a couple VA to FL round trips, VA to Syracuse (home at the time) round trips, etc. It's the car that started me on the Porsche bug and taught me about cars. I've rigged a hand throttle when the throttle cable became the primary battery ground and melted the internal sheathing, locking up the cable, did the last 400 miles of a 600 mile trip without a starter (you know how many gas stations are at the top of a hill just off the interstate so you can roll start a car - not many), drove 200 miles with a fractured front tie rod on one side dodging road bumps on that side like nobody's business, changed plugs, cap, and rotor in a parking lot, and a bunch of other adventures, but always got where I was going. The biggest problem with the 914 is its so low you can't access much from underneath unless you back up onto a parking curb





With the Cayenne, there's much more complexity, and an on-trip issue has a higher chance of needing AAA and a rental car, but our 09 957 TTS is our family trip car and I don't really worry about it's reliability since getting it all sorted last year.

I did things like the 1-piece driveshaft to mitigate potential issues we could have while hundreds of miles from home and it has now completed a few 1,000 mile trips, so the confidence level keeps increasing.

The Macan is much smaller though. The Cayenne is about as small a vehicle as we could have for how we use it, and probably half the time, we install the Skybox on it to be able to fit everything (boogie boards and beach chairs for the sand, golf clubs and other stuff, ski gear, etc).






If you regularly use a lot of the capacity of the Cayenne, I think you'll find the Macan too small. At 6'1" I also don't fit in the rear seat of a Macan from a headroom perspective, with more than just my hair hitting the roof. If you drive adult friends out to dinner or have taller kids, that would be another reason to keep the Cayenne.

The Macans do drive great though - especially the GTS and Turbo models. They almost feel like lifted up 911s. Our next vehicle may be a Macan for my wife to use as a DD, but it will be an addition to, not a replacement for anything else.

dr914

keep the turbo! What is a Macan anyway but a more expensive Cayenne without any of the great storage room, comfort, safety, road presence, and utility?

Shawn Stanford

This is also true of the 928, although the 928 has enough room to take home the ramps you bought at the Auto Zone for the repair.

sprfrkr

Whoa, how did you do that? With a jack? That rear ramp can't clear the door sill on the ground, right?

Pillow

Amen! SMALL to no rear cargo area at all in a Macon. Shoot the Cayenne is dismal enough on rear cargo capacity.

You know the pecking order! 911>Cayman>Boxster>Panamera>Cayenne>>>>>>> Macon. The Macon is the CR-V/RAV4 of Porsche... It just leaves you scratching your head as to why not Civic/Corolla. All that SUV swagger... WUT?