FormerRotor

Ok, so before I get to the story, we’ll start with…
The Question: My substantially better half’s Cayenne Diesel with PASM+Air looks to be a total loss after a recent storm [see below photos]. She’s thinking she is starting to regret getting attached to vehicles after looking for and finding the perfect ones so we’re broadening the search.

Base requirements for a Cayenne will be…
- Heated Steering Wheel
- Ventilated/Heated Front Seats
- Heated Rear Seats
- Air Suspension
…thus we’re considering looking for a…
- 2013+ Diesel (2015+ preferred)
- 2013-2019 GTS
- 2013-2019 Turbo / Turbo S
- If really cheap as a temporary fix for a few years, maybe an E-Hybrid just for something different (but we’d rather not as we like to baby our cars to 200k+ miles and we don’t trust these to make it there without 2 batteries to the tune of the original purchase price)

Also in the running…
- 2018 BMW X5 diesel (preferably with the dynamic handling package in lieu of the cayenne’s PASM+air, but ventilated seats alone are already hard to find on these)

Clearly we prefer the turbo diesels for the family-hauler part of our stable, but what vehicles would you target? Do you have a well-maintained Cd+Air you might be willing to part with (allow me to introduce you to our insurance company’s check book) or other? Any particular listings look good to you? Are there known issues or model years to avoid/prefer within those listed to avoid? I’d be particularly interested in any thoughts on the V8 vs V6 GTS Model Years as to consensus on reliability/longevity.

Something helpful: IF you have a CD with air, it would be great if you could reply with the model year, Mileage, what price it would take for you to part with your beloved turbo diesel (even if there isn’t one). This came in handy with our other car when we negotiated value with the insurance co. as we found a forum member who was willing to sell his similarly spec'd model for ~300% of blue book and the insurance co wasn’t able to find any other comparable vehicles available for sale.

The Story: About a year ago, another driver decided to pull accross double yellows into us and I was in a high speed head on Collission in my wife’s then-favorite-car-ever, a 2017 BMW X5 Diesel with nearly every option (air suspension, dynamic handling, executive packages, literally every tech option, bang & olufson, etc). We walked away, but the car was not so lucky.

Fate smiled upon us and we were, however, luck enough to find a Cayenne Diesel with Air Suspension and all of our basic requirements sitting (for months) on a commercial Ford lot in Detroit, and we snatched it up at quite the deal. We were just getting settled in for the long haul: performing fluid changes & services, replacing bits that weren’t looking as new (bumper trim, gear shift, etc), and decided to celebrate with a trip down to Jeep Country in the Hatteras National Seashore, Ocracoke, & Carova (Outer Banks) for some great views and fun driving.


👆 Bypassing the Jeep Rental


👆 And Enjoying the Views.

We got home, unpacked, and went inside for a quick nap, but—less than 30 minutes later— Mother Nature decided she had other plans for “Grandma” (the nickname my girls gave the CD for its age, class, love of a leisurely pace, and ability to surprise everyone with its athleticism)...



We sat by while waiting for the utility to make it out for days (they had bigger fish to fry with piles of recent storm damage), and the tree was finally removed and power restored ~4-5 days later…


The crazy part: The car starts & drives. Even with thousands of pounds of weight on top, the car never bottomed out, retaining ~2” of clearance on the root ball side. These things are absolute tanks. All tires and suspension components survived (not even a leak from an air shock), but there is no chance that this will be anything but a total loss when we consider the work it will take to return the passenger compartment & structural components to their original safe, sound & beautiful condition.

So now we pose the question: what are your thoughts on replacement? Poor wifey needs a win, but has commanded that I’m not allowed to overspend (hence the model years).

Apologies in advance if I don’t check in too often. Lots going on. Best! ~FR

garrett376

From your list, a nicely optioned 2013 Turbo will be the most bang for your buck.

sscott91

I'm terribly sorry you are having to deal with this. A disappointing fate for a beautiful vehicle.

In response to your inquiry about pricing, I have a well maintained 2015 CD with air that just surpassed 90,000 miles. As steep as it sounds, at this point I wouldn't consider letting the truck go for less than $60k. Happy to PM you more details if it helps in speaking with your insurance provider.

Best of luck with your search for a replacement.

FormerRotor

Thanks for this, @sscott91 ! No need to justify "steep" amongst this crowd. We all understand the rarity and demand for CD's with Air (especially those maintained by an enthusiast). If we wind up needing it in support of insurance, I'll be sure to reach out via PM. Even just the post is helpful for telling the story to the insurance representatives who may not know the ins&outs of the Cayenne Diesel world. Take care of that rare beauty/beast!

Roman ACS

id MAYBE sell mine for 45-50k. i just broke 100,000 miles.

lml999

So sorry to see this @FormerRotor .

As a RL Community Team member I'll prescribe the following to help with your recovery:You can thank me in the morning.

Quadcammer

Td6 range rover. Im headed to a supercharged autobiography but the diesel isnt a bad option

FormerRotor

Thanks, @Roman ACS ! Very helpful!

Thanks for the condolences & love the thought, @lml999 . Only challenge is where to place the better half, ~110# dog and offspring in the Boxster (all of our other vehicles are already fairly small). A hot hatch with a manual, however, may fulfill my wife's teenage vehicle fantasies, provide a bit of short-term fun, leave us in a much happier mood for Cayenne hunting, and give us a text-free vehicle for our daughter to use when she gets her license. A 2023 GTI may not be Rennlist worthy, but I'd consider it the generic version of your prescription. Think the pup will fit?

Interesting thought! Honestly (for right or wrong), I've always avoided owning Range Rovers. Think it could prove long-term reliable?

DrZ1

You may want to consider the Audi Q7 diesel. It’s search for quite some time for the right cayenne Diesel, but eventually settled on a Q7 for probably almost half the cost. I actually was looking for highermileage ones to qualify for the engine out reseal. Having a Mercedes diesel with air In the past, had me set an a long one without air. I actually like the extra cargo space and with the same engine it tows very well.

My q7 is the prestige with the S line package and technology package with 92k. I ended up paying 18,000 after some refunding for previous owner, installing a remote start and cutting into the harness. I paid 6500 for Fidelity, platinum warranty. It currently is at Audi having the engine out reseal. So far Fidelity has paid out a new Steering column since it was making some noise and two doorhandles. I’m not sure if the Cayenne diesels have problems with the doorhandles like the Audi do.

lml999

Ah, "Team Doorhandle."

Audi has had issues with door handles ever since the 100/200 platforms in the late '80s, maybe earlier.

The Cayenne diesel has the same door handles as other Cayennes, albeit with some diesel smell on the driver's handle.

And we have not had any issues with the door handles on our '13 Q7 TDi, which we love. It's got about 165K on it now. (and yes, a Fidelity warranty is very useful!)

technivoro.us

I bought a '22 GTI for my wife's daily. It's a great little car, the only annoying bit is the haptic controls. There are basically no real physical buttons in the car. Instead they're capacitive sensors with iPhone like clickers. You have to use the center screen for most settings as well. Not unique to VW by any means these days, but a bit jarring when you've come from the glorious feast of physical buttons that is the 958 era Cayenne. She's driven our two huskies in the back seat, but the hatch would be a no-go. They both generally ride in the hatch of my Cayenne behind a safety barrier.

That Cayenne is very similar looking white 2014 CD with air to yours, with only 45K miles. I can't see selling it for less than high $50s.

lml999

Well, you could get a Sylvan Sport Easy go trailer, put some seats in it and pull the fam/dog behind you when necessary.

Or maybe a 911...I hear they have back seats.

With regard to your questions on the GTI - drive one for five years and report back.

I'd get an older one with real tactile controls. Previous gen?

skiahh

Realizing you named the vehicle "Grandma" for it's slow, stately demeanor, I'm not sure this would be a valid option, but have you considered the Macans?

FormerRotor

how did I not think of the trailer? we checked out the GTIs (to the extent we could find some available. The capacitive buttons are definitely a bummer but (despite the FWD) the lack of real parking/hand brake is what felt funny to us. Perhaps an older model indeed.

We never had it in the running due to its size (the Cayenne was already a bit cramped for our family unit), but as hard as it is to find a Cayenne with the specs we’d like, we should probably revisit it.

Yesterday we went to pick up a CPO 958 that we liked the specs, history, and price of but we missed it by 2 hours (shouldn’t have let it wait until a Saturday).

lml999

With a desirable car, the first two sentences on the phone are:

"Is it still available?"
"Do you have a pen and paper? Write down my credit card number and run it now. I'll wait."

Seriously.

I missed a '10 Touareg TDi with air because it was sold between my first and second call (60 minutes). It was under priced by $10K because the used car dealer didn't know what they had. I bought its twin (with air) two months later for full market value.

I wasn't willing to let that happen with my Cayenne S two years ago.