vwbrd

I'm looking at a 2010 with 53,500 miles. It's a good price and great color scheme, lots of options (sport chrono, burmeister, pasm/pdcc/air suspension). https://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/ct...879953852.html

I looked at it today, and while it has a few chips and scratches, and something funky going on with the trim piece under the windshield, it is beautiful. I've always wanted a Porsche, but with 2 little kids, I can't justify a 911. A Cayenne would be (slightly) more practical, but this car just calls to me. Even though I told myself I would get something with blind spot warning and reverse cam (this has neither), I still really liked this car in person.

However, it hasn't had the following recall done:
"The threaded connections of the fastening screws for the camshaft controllers can become strained to such an extent that the function of the camshaft controller cannot be guaranteed over the service life of the vehicle."

Is this a big deal, or is it a thing where as long as it gets done before something goes boom, it's okay? I am having an indy Porsche specialist check it out Monday.

He has had the control arms replaced recently. Other than that, the coolant pipes, the recall mentioned, is there anything else to look for? It does have air suspension, which I wouldn't have chosen, I know it will fail eventually, but a)it's low miles (not sure if this is more a function of years or miles) and b) it doesn't seem like it's that bad to fix yourself, which I can do.

Through my credit union, I priced an aftermarket gold level warranty for $7676 ($100 deductible, 48months, 50k miles). Thoughts on this? Like I said, I can wrench if I need to--I'm hoping not to. I know this is the first model year of a new model, which makes me leery, but on the other hand, it's had 9 years to break by now... For 37

The other thing that blows my mind is that this car is 7.5" longer than my Honda Pilot!

Paul Rathjen

The recall probably has to be done before they can sell it. If not, no I would drive the car without having the cam adjuster bolt recall done. The bolts sheer off and make the engine blow up. Its pretty serious.

Air suspension has some issues but is manageable.

Coolant pipes are hit and miss, but I don't think there is an official recall is there? There is just a service bulletin about what to look for and do about it. I really wish there was a recall campaign on that as well as the air suspension block.

Good that the front control arms have been replaced. There should be a recall on this but there isn't. These always go bad and get noisy but aren't a performance concern.

That warranty price is beyond ridiculous. I paid $4900 for 48,000 mile 4 yr best warranty from Ally. That's about 2x what you should be paying.

The Panamera isn't a car to own if its a stretch on your budget to buy used.

vwbrd

Paul, thanks for the reply. That's kinda how I felt about the recall. I did let the individual selling it know it had an open recall, so hopefully he gets it taken care of, but after weighing it some more, I decided to pass on this car. I am currently looking at a CTT, which has some of the same possible scenarios, like air suspension, but has no outstanding recalls (cam screws already done). I will definitely shop the warranty some more on it. I am not pushing the budget. I could spend another $5k for warranty or 5-10k for extreme repairs out of pocket.

saeyedoc

Warranty costs are VERY dependent on mileage. Get pricing on a Fidelity Platinum, that's the one most of us get since they are very dealer friendly and cover almost everything. I got a good price from my dealer, but many buy from Mike Jourdan at Mossey Motors, PM me if you want his number. We had a '12 for several years with no problems until it got totaled, no problems so far with our '13.

Paul Rathjen

Fidelity is good. I have not had success in getting a warranty with Fidelity after a cars original warranty has expired. Even if you have 1 month left yes, past that no. But that's just been my experience.

saeyedoc

I got mine long after the original warranty expired, right before the CPO expired.