Thinking about buying a cheap Cayenne...
 

Hey everyone!

I’m looking to replace my daily driver with something fun and a Porsche Cayenne is on my short list. I’m a little scared that the Cayenne might have too many known issues. The more I dig through the forums the more issues I find. I know there is the coolant hose issue on the S model, lots of electrical gremlins, unexplained rough idling issues, etc. I’ve looked at a couple of Cayenne’s so far in the $12,000 range and it seems that more is broken than actually works. Door handles don’t work, radios don’t work, the soft touch coating has rubbed off on every one I’ve seen, lots of ill fitting trim pieces, etc. Have I just been looking at unloved examples, or do they all age this poorly? I realize in that budget I’m looking at a 2004-2006 so they will be far from perfect.

Budget: $15,000 or less (preferably less than $10,000) We have other nice cars so this will be a glorified beater.

My concerns: It seems like the interior wears poorly. Seems like there is a wide variety of known issues. It would be parked outside in the elements

My questions:
Is there any way to tell myself on the lot if the coolant hoses have been swapped for the fixed metal ones?
Will a car in that budget and age be dependable, or will it just leave me broken hearted and unhappy with Porsche?
Would I be buying myself into a maintenance and repair nightmare?
Is there a model year I should shoot for that has less problems?

At your price point, you can get a 955 Turbo. The interiors actually hold up very well on these cars. Just be patient and wait for an example that has been well maintained and comes with records. These cars definitely require some wrench time but are very rewarding. 05/06 tend to have fewer electrical issues.

IIRC, you can use a mechanics mirror and a flash light to tell if the coolant pipes have been changed. You would have to search for the specifics though.

For any "new" used car, you can expect to spend money on maintenance knocking out repairs, preventative maintenance, and scheduled maintenance. Anywhere from $500-$3k depending on condition and age. The parts are relatively cheap but add up quick (cardan shaft - $400, plugs and coils $300, coolant tank $100, etc).

1) It has nothing to do with being able to afford it new. We have multiple cars that were $100,000+ and we paid cash. I'm going to assume you were just using that comment as illustration and not to be condescending.

2) This car would be a utility/beater that we'd haul plants/mulch/etc in but would still be fun to drive other times. I'm not paying more than $15,000 for a glorified pickup truck.

Yes - but your original question included: "Would I be buying myself into a maintenance and repair nightmare?" - that might make one think you have some concern about the cost of the repairs. The comment about affording it new - is related not to the cost of buying the vehicle - it's the cost of keeping it going. Ask a Porsche dealer what an 80,000 mile service costs. It's the same for a 2006 as for a 2017. Actually the 2006 would likely cost more - since the brake fluid would be due to be flushed. Most dealers - $2,000 to $3,000.

If you want to have a utility/beater - I'd suggest buying exactly that.

A Cayenne will not lend itself well to being used as a beater. Even things like a simple brake job, or new tires - runs into the thousands of dollars. Spending that sort of money to haul plants/mulch/etc just seems frivolous - even if you can buy $100,000 cars new for cash.

I think that's what you asked about - but I could be mistaken. It might just be you're looking for confirmation of a decision you've already made. In that case - my opinion will be useless to you.

Have a great day.

I don't get the attitude sometimes. Oh and you think German cars are expensive try buying an unloved Italian car some time. :)


As far as not being able to afford it new I'm in that boat. No way I could afford to pay $250K for a fully loaded CTTS brand new. Doesn't mean I can't wait until they've depreciated into my budget area and buy one though.


To the OP I would agree with other stuff that has been said about finding the right one. Mine is a 2005 and I think the interior is holding up well. Well....It's holding up well other than letting my dogs ride in it and run and hop all over the place. But that's just mine and I don't figure I'm ever gonna get much out of it when I get rid of it so I do as I please with it.


If the big ticket items have been taken care of they can be pretty reliable cars, at least in my experience.

I had same concerns about purchasing a Cayenne - I bought a 2006 twin turbo S 3 years and it's been a terrific vehicle- much less expensive to maintain than the last two Audi's I have owned. Buy one someone has taken care of and I think you'll be very happy.
Phil

Buy this one...
 

https://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/cto/6093841580.html

Looks to be a well sorted example and it's a hell of a lot of vehicle for the money. Don't know the owner, just passing it along since a friend shared it with me.
​​​​​
CTT's are expensive to maintain, no way around it. But they also offer a great value proposition as a silver bullet, one stop shop for everything.

- they are nearly as fast as a similar vintage sport sedan

- they are equally prestigious as a 7 series or S class for the country club (IMO)

- they can off road like a RR

- they can tow like a half ton pickup

- they are well built and reliable (don't confuse expensive to maintain with unreliable)

It's not the best at anything, but it does a lot of things extremely well. As I read somewhere on here at one point:

It sucks gas, shreds tires, chews brakes, costs a fortune to maintain, and it will be the best vehicle you've ever owned

I agree with many of the comments above, as a current and very happy owner of a 2005 Cayenne Turbo:

The car is over engineered, solidly built, and is super reliable given appropriate maintenance.

The cost of maintenance can add up, but isn't that bad given all that it can do. A good independent Porsche mechanic is highly recommended.

The car had a few issues: I had the cardan shaft, coolant pipes, coils, and rear trunk struts all replaced under warranty. Which is typical. Otherwise, the car has been great.

I just returned from a 700 mile road trip with my family and the car performed so well! We traveled fast, safe, and in style! I'm going to keep this car until the wheels fall off!

I think all the concerns about maintenance are great and all - but nearly none of the maintenance issues on an 04-08 cayenne are critical to operation. They are fantastic used cars, and great bang for the buck. Yes, brakes are expensive, yes oil changes are expensive, but you're not driving a 2004 chevy tahoe either.

The real challenge will be how much of the work can you do yourself, if you need the dealer to do the brake job, expect a 3k$ brake job, but the reality is its only 800$ in parts with new rotors. If you need the dealer to do the dry sump oil and filter change, expect 600$, otherwise it's 12 quarts and a filter from o'reillys.

Don't get me wrong, it's more expensive than maintaining a 2004 tahoe but it's not disasterous. The 2004-2008s are pretty damn reliable short of a few minor things.

Not so minor things:

• Coolant pipes - 955 issue. Not so much 957.
• Driveshaft (aka Cardan Shaft) bearing mount
• Scored cylinders on V8's - apparently all of them.
• Transmission bugs on the early 955's.
• Failing steering columns that require replacing the whole darn thing
• Fuel pumps - in-tank on 955, high-pressure one on the 957.

Any one of those - done at a dealership - will cost in excess of $1,000. To me that moves them out of the "minor" category. Some will be so expensive as to make it impractical to repair (scored cylinders.) Not all of them will happen to all Cayenne 955/957s. In general the 957 is considerably better on several of them. But there is a risk of these on any Cayenne you'll consider.

What I'd consider minor things are:

• Headlight wiring melting down
• Floods in the car due to plugged drains and leaky cowls
• Wiring meltdowns due to the plugged drains
• Air-suspension problems if so equipped
• Various and sundry coolant leaks
• Cooling fan controller failure - and the part is not available - you have to buy the entire fan assembly.
• Audio amps blowing up (Bose especially)
• Rear video cam (if equipped) failing

Once all of these are addressed - it's not too bad on reliability - but it's an expensive road to get to that point, especially if you aren't a pretty skilled DIY'er.

Things that hold up real well - the leather seating, carpeting, general interior except for the soft-touch surfaces/knobs - which will suffer if you touch them. The paint is generally exceptional, and they aren't known for rust problems. The suspension is good for > 100k miles.

Maybe someday someone will write a real Buyers-Guide to the 955/957 series.

I've owned a bunch of 955s from 2004 on, and everythign from CPO 8k mile examples to 180k+ mile - all turbos, and all driven hard. By far the most prevalent problem is the coolant pipes and any used one by NOW would have had them replaced (or should have) - of the 4 I've owned literally not ONE of the other "not so minor" issues you describe I've had a problem with. Now the minor ones, I've had none of those issues except for the air suspension and amps - both of which were replaced with aftermarket replacements and rode better and sounded better.

For certain though if you aren't a competent shade tree/work shop mechanic it can add up quickly - but the car is not particularly difficult to work on or complicated to diagnose and trouble shoot.

At this point the trucks are cheap enough not fixing some of those things is becoming an option and driving it into the ground.