redcloud75013

Hi there!

My 2010 Mazda 6 gave up the ghost earlier this month... and it's time for an upgrade... I've been eyeing Macans for a while and I was hoping to get some help to narrow down options.

I'm mostly looking at a CPOed Macan S... with less than 30,000 miles. I don't think I can swing the higher price for a GTS - and given the car I've been driven these past 10 years, I'm pretty sure the Macan S will suffice in terms of power and torque... I can always do an ECU tune at some point, I suppose? After reviewing posts for the past weeks, I decided to register and have a few questions for the knowledgeable folks around here...

1. Are there any model years to avoid? given my threshold for mileage, I'm looking at 2018+...
2. I have two must-have options... Sports Chrono package - and PASM (or ideally air suspension)... any reason NOT to get these on the Macan S? It's actually rather difficult to find these two options on CPO vehicles in my area (SoCal - LA.... be good to have air suspension on these rough surface streets...)
3. Are there any dealers to avoid in the LA / Orange / San Diego area? Looks like it's more or less the same - with folks reporting good experiences... and the few very bad ones
4. Where would you suggest to take the car for a PPI?

Thanks in advance for the input here, folks... this is my first post - I'm excited to get into a Porsche - but also realize there's a lot for me to learn...

ducktails

FWIW I bought my Carrera T at Porsche Newport Beach and they were very plain, honest and easy to deal with.

redcloud75013

Thanks! They seem to be no non-sense kinda guys from what I can tell... thanks for confirming.

offagain

1 - Just traded in my C63S for a Macan S - totally different cars and loved the AMG, but the ride was getting very draining (its bad, especially on NorCal city roads). With the changes in my driving requirements, decided jumping back to Porsche was worth it. Mine is just normal steel springs and the ride is excellent. Air does make a difference and it is nicer, but the ride on normal springs is excellent as it stands. I have watched a few reviews and some journalists comment that the air suspension might be a bit bouncy, but either way, ride will be excellent and certainly not a necessity to get the air option.

2 - If you are looking at CPO, pretty much any dealer should be good. Porsche dealers are, in general, excellent with a few exceptions. I havent dealt with any SoCal dealers, but the ones in NorCal have been great and very professional. Different experience than dealing with other brands and they know it!

3 - If you are looking at CPO, it should have a very detailed inspection, which you should be able to get access to. Additionally, the CPO program should also have a 2 year warranty too, so it should be pretty good on your piece of mind. If you can, go for CPO. If you get something from a non-Porsche dealer, I would actually ask your local Porsche center to provide a PPI. I believe they can and will, for a price, so it might be worth checking with them.

redcloud75013

Thank you for the input! This is great to know re: air suspension... it's just difficult to find vehicles that are both well optioned and have an upgraded suspension within my other requirements... so I'll probably let go of this one (and one less thing to fail, I suppose?). I also realized that if I really want it, the 'Sport +' mode can be added as an add-on for $800 and a few $s of labor... which means I'll probably forego the chrono package too. That should open more options... I think the pandemic has made this a bit of a seller market... for Porsche's best selling vehicle, it's suprisinglyy difficult to find a lot of choice, even in a large market like SoCal.

offagain

The Macan we bought (nicely optioned in stock one - not special order) didnt have Sport Chrono either. I thought I was disappointed, but really dont worry about it. Yeah, it gives you launch mode, which I used precisely zero times on my older AMG in 3 years, so dont need that. I did have a 2011 Cayenne S without SC and at the time, you didnt get the clock on the top of the dash. 2018+ Macan's, I believe, all come with the clock on the dash, which is nice. So I have the clock, no additional modes and I dont have launch control that I will never use... To be honest, still getting to live with the Macan S, but its no sports car. Its a very effective luxury small SUV with a capability that hides it size, height and weight. Its not a sports car, and as such, I dont think it needs Sports+ mode. Now, Turbo with 444BHP? Yeah, that probably needs it, S? Not so much. Love it for what it is, which is an excellent small SUV.

Thats me though - I did talk to someone who refused to buy a Cayenne without SC - personal choice and I would never criticize anyone. Porsche will say you need every option, but they would say that right?

redcloud75013

well, given the type of car I'm upgrading from, and the input here... yes, I can probably live without SC and launch control.... alright - that helps with a cheaper $$ or other options...

hitmonlee

I was in a similar boat and saw big price difference between MY2018 and MY2019+, probably due to both the MY2019 facelift and lots of MY2018 cars coming off lease. If you're just looking for the best deal and don't mind the older look then a 2018 model would probably make more sense. For example I don't think a 2018 GTS is that much more expensive than a 2019 S? Not sure if that's under your budget.

Air suspension does improve ride quality and that's another reason to get a 2018 GTS

Victor C3

About Christmas time I bought a non-CPO 2017 Macan S. I was originally set on a Macan Turbo as I thought I needed to get the “fast” one, but the Macan S is plenty fast enough to get you into trouble on public roads. I’ve gotten it up to 145 mph and routinely push it to the 120’s. I haven’t owned a “proper” modern sports car or even driven one before and the Macan S is plenty sporty to satiate that urge for me (at least for now)

No, you don’t need AS or SC, but I have both and wouldn’t buy a Macan without them. The sport plus mode you get with SC does make a difference in spirited driving, but usually I drive around in sport mode. I almost never use the normal squishy mode. I like the off road more you get with the AS. I’ve only legitimately used it a few times in the 5 months I’ve owned the car, but I do drive on access roads and sketchy paths to get to hiking trailheads. When we got 16” of snow, I used it to get out of my parking spot, but that probably wasn’t necessary.

I do wish that I got the panoramic roof. In my previous car, I liked to crack it to get fresh air and I liked the extra light/connection to the outdoors.

I didn’t get the sport exhaust, which I thought I couldn’t live without. Honestly, I don’t miss it at all. The stock exhaust in sport mode burbles and sounds pretty good without being too obnoxiously loud.

hope you find what you’re looking for!

vinceGTS

I'd suggest a national (or semi national/regional) search on the national pre-owned Porsche CPO website - link attached. You can sort by the options and model you want. With CV19, remote buying is now mainstream. Fly in and drive home. Used Porsche Vehicles
Also, is you want AS and SC, you may find a GTS is a better value. I originally thought I'd get an S, however I found a local CPO'd GTS in the color and options pretty much exactly as I would have checked the boxes.

offagain

Just to add to this, if I could, I would have ALL of the options.... but I cant justify the total price or the fact that I would use many of them rarely. But thats just me.

;-)

PSEE

Even if you're planning on buying CPO - GET A PPI DONE at an independent Porsche specialist. Keep the (honest) Porsche dealerships honest!!!


Good luck!

redcloud75013

Thanks for the input... my only 'worry' is that if I don't get something that well-speced enough, I fear that 'upgraditis' will settle-in and I may want these other options and/or extra performance.... ah... choices....

Thanks for the link... indeed, the GTS may be a good option too - the only ones I could find, though, were pretty well optioned too - and that was a pretty sizeable delta vs. the other S's I was looking at. Will keep looking.

If I were to be in a position to get all the options - I'll likely go to a 911 right away, even a base model...

Noted and hopefully I get to this stage soon!

BIG smoke

I ended up with a a cpo’ed S.
Steel spring never leak, non red calipers hide less expensive rotors and pads.
NON full leather, does not soak up the sun block.
But really, your looking at used. The right colour, and interior is all you get to choose.
There was a time that my wish list was more than 99hp, power lock, power 🪟 and air conditioning. Anything more than that, and you’re spoiling yourself. 😯
I must say, the S stereo is kind of weak.

redcloud75013

ah! thanks for the grounding.... you're right: I don't 'need' some of these options. I think it'll come down to a 2019 S or a 2018 GTS with more miles... wondering whether I should keep driving the wife's Volvo SUV for a while longer, until prices normalize a bit - still seems a bit high due to COVID...