Hi-

New to the forum and have not purchased a Panamera yet. Have done a bunch of reseach and just looking for some real advice. Are there any model years that are more reliable or less reliable? Engines, transmissions, etc? i would really like a turbo V8 but for what i would like to spend it would most likely be a 2018/19/20 with anywhere from 50-70K miles. How long are these cars generally reliable before you start having major issues? I currently drive a Lexus and understand i will have more maintenance than that but whats reasonable to expect? Lets assume the car has been properly maintained and service is up to date.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

If you pay someone the maintenance will easily be 2-3 times your Lexus. My wife drives a GX460 and puts 5 times more miles on it than me. All she needs is an 80 dollar oil change every 10K miles. Porsche charges 650 for an oil change and 1200 for spark plugs which have a shorter interval than most cars. My CPO already paid for itself with a leaky motor mount now it's going back for some kind of oil leak. Tires dont last long either at about 2K per set. I don't have a V8, but I have a 2018 4S with about 55K miles. I would never drive one of these without CPO or a Fidelity warranty. Be mindful of the service history too, because the intervals go by time as well as mileage. I noticed a lot of these cars are dumped or off leased right before an expensive 40K/4 year service is due. Something to keep in mind if you are looking at 2020s or newer.

I think these modern VAG engines are a ton more reliable than the old engines that gave them a bad name, but when something happens it wont be cheap. Not uncommon with German makes tbh, but these are the most expensive of the bunch. The PDK is robust, but Porsche refuses to fix anything on them, only replace the entire unit for the better part of 20K.

Not sure if you turn wrenches, but the maintenance is not bad if you are just paying for parts. A lot of the parts cross reference to Audi or VW for a fraction of the cost. I did have to buy a few tools, but I did my last service for a few hundred bucks when the dealer wanted 3K. Front brakes cost me maybe 150 including one time use bolts and sensors. The dealer was around 1000 IIRC.

 

Thank you for your guidance. My wife has a GX460 as well. I do work on my cars a fair amount if time and have done brakes, struts, oil changes. Follow the Lexus forums as well for help and guidance. The PDK transmission and the air shocks make me a little nervous as that might be above my skillset.

Thanks again-

 

Air shocks are crazy expensive, another reason for CPO. You will need a quality bidirectional scan tool or a clone PIWIS to even reset the oil light.

I work on my wife’s car too and these cars aren’t as bad as they say, it’s just the access that’s a problem usually. I did have to buy special tools, none were crazy expensive. Tool to jack the car up, tool to hang the wheel, one to remove the wiper arms to remove the cowl. The tool for the brake calipers is expensive so I made my own. I also bought triple squares and stubby torx. I had to buy a specific 1/2 drive triple square for the brake calipers bolts because I felt like I was going to break the 3/8 drive one in my set getting the torque right. The parts from the dealer are crazy marked up so it’s usually a week or so wait from Gaudin if I need something that Audi doesn’t sell.

All in all I recommend this car if you need a functional back seat. It’s not as fast as my old CTS-V but it beats it in ride quality, looks and interior build quality. The interior is worlds ahead of anything else Germany offers.

 

It isn't bad , i just got one rebuild for 700 through RMT and it is working fine.

https://rebuildmastertech.com/porsch...AaAhN6EALw_wcB


Also I would recommend either getting the turbo S ehybird, or just go with the v6 ehybird, cause the v6 ehybird makes the same power as the Turbo ICE and you can get like 35-45 MPG. While the Turbo would only get you like 10-15 mpg with the same amount of power. So i would recommend looking for a lower miles ehybird and a newer year for the same price. Everything can be retrofit if you really need the turbo spoiler.

I just tune my v6 ehybird and it made 590 hp with 650 lb tq, just a tune don't have any add on

 

Thats for 970. I couldn't find much of any aftermarket for 971.

 

The model years you are considering use the EA825 4.0TTV8. Seems mostly reliable although not many have reached 150k+ miles yet in Panamera, Cayenne or Audi models.

Water pump is a weak link on this engine, as it is a weak link on the contemporary EA839 3.0T/2.9TTV6. Expect water pump replacement before 100k miles. Roughly $6k repair job out of warranty at a Porsche dealer.

Spark plugs are doable, and a hassle, on this engine.

Brakes are dead easy.

There are no air shocks or air struts on these cars, but rather air springs. Air springs are wear parts and should be planned as an expense in the 100k-150k mile range.

Electronics (navigation, entertainment, power windows/roof) seem OK. Active/powered rear spoiler comes up often as a failure item.

 

Thanks- Wow. 590Hp with just a tune. That seems crazy.
Can you confirm the exact engine you have that was able to produce that HP. Also, prior to the tune, did the engine feel sluggish?

It is also suprising that the turbo would only get 10-15MPG. I saw 18 City, 25 highway and 21 combined listed on the window sticker.

 

https://rebuildmastertech.com/porsch...era-2017-2024/


I got mine from them jfyi and work great. I have. 971

 

inhave a v6 2.9 ehybrid 2018. The white one is my car it is a ehybrid. The grey is my buddy car and it is a turbo


This one is turbo 2017 tuned

This one is ehybrid tuned

 

The final tune was 650 lb of troque cause my tuner was able to tune the ev motor to gain a bit more . He was able to hit 714 max but it was kinda running too hot so we left it around 650

 

Really? I see people posting 20+ with 971.1 Turbo or is it just very optimistic figures?

10 to 15mpg is V10 or V12 mpg territory

 

10 to 15mpg is what I get on my GTS since I never use auto start/stop and I'm usually in Sport mode.

 

This figure is actually worse than my X5. I am definitely surprised

 

I have a 970.1 Turbo. In my experience, if I keep my foot out of the throttle, on the highway I can see 27-28mpg per the on board computer. If I'm driving in stop and go city traffic, I'm seeing 15-17 mpg. On the last big road trip I did with my family, driving like I would normally drive, mostly highway with a little city, the on board computer said my average consumption over approx 1500 miles was 23.5mpg. FWIW, I keep my car in normal mode most of the time.