dryadsdad

Hello Panamera Group

My wife drove past a dealer’s lot near us recently and got interested in a Panamera as her next car. Weirdly, the dealer lists it as a 2 although the badge clearly states it’s a 4 which leads me to conclude this general dealer hasn’t a firm grip on all things Porsche.

It’s a base (V6) 2011 with 50k miles on the clock and what the dealer says is a clean CarFax. I’ll examine it if we take this to the next step. There’s no mention of a service record which I’ll also inquire about. I greatly prefer either a service record or a reference to one of the several good indies we have here claiming that shop did the maintenance.

I’d like to ask this group if it thinks this is a silly or wise purchase for a daily driver. Does this model have any endemic issues I need to especially look for in the PPI? What does the 4 over the 2 have to justify the added expense, maintenance and added mass?

We’ve had three P-cars in the past none of which required excessive maintenance. I don’t wish number four if four it’s to be becoming the one which does. For example, my sister bought an allegedly pristine Audi A4 which hit her up for another thousand every few months until she dumped it suffering a major loss. I don’t wish to follow her example.

Any comments welcome. Thanks.

Momvivant

I recently went through this but keep in mind I don’t know much about looking under the hood. I did a lot of research...most preowns even Porsche dealership ones come from auctions as a result of unsold trade-ins. Some are in worst shape than others but dealers can touch it up to look immaculate. I was looking at a 2013...clean Carfax and just beautiful. Took it to a mechanic who did their testing and found that half the car had been painted over. He told me that you couldn’t tell through the naked eye and had to use lighting and inspecting certain things for this. Then, there were the obvious road noises.

Not that this is the way you guys might want to go but I got more peace of mind through a CPO car....even in this 2016 CPO, GP who is tinting the car noticed that the side car panel raised off the brackets (probably due to heat). Porsche is going to fix it with the warranty. It’s only been 1.5 weeks! It’s more cosmetic but still!

I’m a newbie and looks like you’ve got a ton of experience with these cars but wanted to share my recent experience.

dryadsdad

Thanks, Mom. A CPO out of our budget. We're frantically saving for hopefully, a retirement and have allocated roughly $30k for a car. While we could carry a more expensive example, we're determined to stick to our plans. If $30-$35k doesn't get us a decent Pannie, we'll simply shop other marques. My wife has had her eye on one of these since their introduction years ago, but we went 911 and then Cayenne instead. The Panamera strikes her as a more reasonable size than a Cayenne yet still remaining as sporty as a 911.

Dartmouth

Keep up the search is my advise. Your budget is doable for a nice Panemara. I just found and bought a 2010 Panamera 4S loaded that was $118K new in 2010 for $31K with 23,500 miles in perfect condition. Super clean. It was traded in for a new BMW at a dealership and I found it on Cargurus about a week after it was traded in. Ran up to the dealership with my wife, drove it and bought it. Knowing Porsches well I knew what I was looking at and very sure of my comfort level buying it. I then found an old document with the previous owner name and address. Looked up the address and found that the owner was very wealthy with a house over a 1mil. I'm sure it was garage kept and with extremely limited usage. Clean car fax all recalls done on time, serviced regularly where it was bought. They are out there so my advise find the lowest mileage one, and make sure it has clean carfax and service records. Check the paint carefully, make sure it was serviced and oil changed prior to seeing it. Good luck.

dryadsdad

Good to hear you got a great deal on a nice car. I've surveyed the area finding few due to the nature of this area which isn't Porsche free, but they're rare birds. OTOH, if you were shopping for a 4x4 pickup, I could go on and on about how great the prices are here due to them being quite common where, I expect, they're not in NJ especially the shore.

I'll pass on your advice to my wife and see what she wishes to do. Thanks for the info.

saeyedoc

If you're on a limited budget, keep in mind repairs on these can get costly. I'd factor in an extended warranty like a Fidelity Platinum. A blown PDK can cost $25k to replace, they won't repair it.

dryadsdad

Well, a blown PDK will total the car.

It's not that we're broke only choosing now to budget our lives. If this car doesn't work out, it won't mean we'll be living on dog food. It's a toy.

I am a bit let down that nobody listed issues with that generation Pannie or what to watch for on the PPI.

DogWood

the truth is they are very solid cars, the PPI should pickup any normal wear and tear, the only other thing is to check for any open recalls.....

dryadsdad

Thanks, Dog. Appreciated. At this point all I know is one owner and it has an accident history, but I have no clue as to details on the accident.

skiracer

The truth is these are very reliable cars, and if you don't get a Turbo model or a car w/ air suspension your maintenance costs should remain affordable. Take your time and find the right example, even if it means traveling to get it - that's what I did and no regrets. And enjoy the search!

dryadsdad

Thanks. We're not even considering a turbo or air suspension.

dryadsdad

Pannie in the garage.

DogWood

pictures or it didn't happen

Outlaw

PDK “blown” will not total the car.

dryadsdad

If it costs the $25k, it may.