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I have always loved Porsches and have wanted to own one, but also need practicality, as this would be only car, so Cayennes and Panameras have been in my sight for years. I am now looking at this 2013 Cayenne GTS with 45K miles that's beautiful and I can afford. I am planning to go see it soon and may even put a deposit on it for the dealer to hold it for me, but have two main questions for this forum.
A friend of mine that's very knowledgeable of cars and currently owns two Porsches (including a 2017 Cayenne GTS) tells me used Porsches are at least 3 times more expensive to repair than BMW's. I have had 5 BMW's in a row, including my current 2012 535i and know how pricey repairs on them can get, so that's one scary thought. He also mentioned PASM is a common and very expensive system to repair. As I mentioned, I am very new to Porsche, so excuse my ignorance. Is PASM the same thing as PDCC? In your opinions, can this car get really that much more expensive to repair than a BMW and is this one very expensive repair to watch out for since it's common? Any way to test before I buy?
I hear PDCC is a must in these cars. And here comes my second question... This is a photo of the actual car. Can you tell by looking at it whether the car has PASM/PDCC? I am guessing that Sport Normal button there is the key, but really don't know.
Hi Razor - welcome to the forum. I'm moving this to the 958 subforum - where all Cayenne's from 2011 to present are discussed. There is a sticky at the top of the page about buying a 958 - that might be worthwhile reading. And Porsche 3X BMW? Nah.. mebbe 1.5x. Parts prices are sometimes silly, but we've aftermarket sourced a lot of them, and labor prices are close to the same. Thing is - a Cayenne will need fewer repairs than your BMW's have (BTDT - owned about 10 BMW's before my first Cayenne..) so it works out probably less expensive to own a Cayenne. Anyway - read the sticky then if you have questions - ask away.
The car you're looking at has PASM - it may or may not have PDCC.. you have to look under the hood to determine that.
- Porsche parts may be more expensive than BMW and the dealer may or may not charge higher labor rates, if we are comparing new-ish BMWs to Porsche maint costs , at the dealer, there may not be a 300% difference, but 50% is possible. I just replaced a wheel in my 2013 GTS and it was $2501 for 1 wheel
- A general rule of thumb that a lot of people follow is that the car one can "Afford" is NOT the car one can only afford to purchase, but also a car one can afford to repair and maintain. If you have been paying our of pocket for your 5 BMWs, then I am sure you can afford to maintain a GTS.
That said, I would probably not own a newer Porsche without a good (Fidelity, Zurich) Extended warranty. A 4-5 yr plan should run you about $5000-$7500. Other than Torque converters I am not really aware of any Cayenne Specific issues on a 13+ GTS. but that alone will cost tyou a lot more than what a warranty will cost you.
- All 958.1 GTS come with PASM, ride height and "sport" mode and sport exhaust (only engaged it sport mode). '14 and newer ones also come with a separate button for sport exhaust which is a nice feature.
- 2013 and newer GTS models do not have any console/dash designation for PTV or PDCC. You have to look at build sheet and confirm. I looked for 3+ months and did not find a single one in my area and decided to without PDCC. Its not something you can add so if its a priority, make sure the car is equipped as you would like. PDC is easy to spot from under the car, the front sway bar looks very different and there is a hydrolic reservoir under the hood.
- Judging by the picture you posted, the car seems to have red deviated stitching, which is nice, car does NOT have cooled seats and the seats look like they are standard 8 way and not the 14/18 way fully adjustable. As I said earlier, there is NO designation for PDCC or PTV on newer cars, frankly I dont miss it.
Firstly, there are people on this forum with PASM cars with over 120K miles and still no issues. We live in a world full of what I call "google Experts"..I dont know your "very knowledgeable friend" but its always good practice to get multiple opinions...
As for PASM and PDCC..
PASM is electronically controlled active suspension (dampers). Driver select-able suspension stiffness and depending on drive mode, active suspension that stiffens and loosens dampers depending on driving conditions and cornering loads.
PDCC is active roll bars/sway bars. Instead of a fixed rate and thickness roll bar, you have active rolls bars that tighten on side Vs the other while cornering, resulting in less body roll.
Recently bought a 2013 GTS. Make sure to have someone check the thermostat housing to make sure the glued in pipes are secure. I had to have this updated repair and it's in excess of $2K to have done.
In spite of that, I'm loving driving around the Santa Cruz mountains in sport mode. It corners flatter than my '74 911 and accelerates like a rocket.
13-14 Cayenne GTS has one of the best engines Porsche ever made. Naturally aspired V8 that sounds great with good power. PDCC is not really required to give you a good stable ride even under speed. I have put 50k and no issues at all, bought a CPO 2 years ago. One of the best cars I have ever had. A keeper. BMWs are nice but they break quite often if Driven hard in my experiences with several 5 series - M5, 528 and 525.....
I looked really hard for a GTS with PDCC and PTV when I bought mine in 2016. I couldn't find one that ticked all the boxes, so I got one without. I put 24k miles on it, and did 4 track days with it (2 at NHMS and 2 at Palmer Motorsports Park) when my race car was down. I really can't say that the car needed better swaybars; it handled really well given the 5000lb (weighed on the NASCAR scales at NHMS) weight, and stock tires. It was fast, 119mph on the GPS into turn 1 @ Palmer, which is faster than my race car by 5mph, and had amazing brakes. The handling, I thought, was a good match with the slippy tires. More grip, and I would have been a little concerned about rolling the car if it went 2 wheels off mid-turn. Daily driving, I don't think the PDCC would hurt, but again, I never felt like it needed 'more'. It felt a little overdamped in sport mode, but PDCC wouldn't help that.
My advice is find the car that is most appealing with the color/options/interior, and don't sweat it too much on PDCC. Plus, it's one less expensive thing to go wrong if you keep it long term/out of warranty.
I have a 14 GTS w/o PDCC or PTV and I don't suffer because of it. I also came from a BMW - 2012 750Li - and I will never buy another BMW again in my life. Porsche ownership is a cakewalk compared to the nightmare of BMWs. A good indy is the key - of course the dealer overcharges for everything, just like BMW. The difference is my Porsches (now on #5) never break, while I never had any peace of mind with the roundel. Great car to drive, horrible car to own.
Now, the Cayenne is going to cost you more than a Honda, but I promise you it is worth it. My GTS might be the best daily driver I've ever owned.
02-25-2018, 05:17 PM
Considering a 2013 Cayenne GTS and have questions
