So... My wife and I are in a quandry. We got married over the summer and both have cars that don't allow us to get up to the mountain and ski/board (just an hour from our home) or really move anything of decent size (Our 10 foot christmas tree this year was an adventure). I have a BMW 5 series and she has a 3 series. We're interested in picking up an 05 or 06 Cayenne or Cayenne S with 40k miles on them, although I'd prefer the S. Could you chime in on major differences between the two model years and advantages to one over the other? There seems to be about a 5-8k price difference between similarily-equipped 05's and 06's. Also - to those of you who have also recently picked up an 05 or 06, how has your reliability been? Any help is much appreciate.

 

the v6 is significantly underpowered but will deliver your handling in snow and other conditions. itll be good for you if you dont give a crap about power.

 

mmmmm I love power..... I don't need an excessive amount (is there such?) but yea - I feel I'd be compromising with a V6 although I DO drive around most of the workday as a medical sales rep so how much of a difference is there ACTUALLY between the V6 and V8 in MPG?

I'm most concerned with reliability - I have a lot of friends that have spoken up about how expensive these cars are to repair, and how often they find themselves in a repair garage. To those of you that have 05-06 Cayennes, how has your luck been so far?

 

pick up an '06 S and purchase an extended warranty. You should be able to find one around $30K or slightly under.

 

Yea that's the price point I've been looking to hit. In terms of the extended warranties - I've been told there are few companies that offer one for this model - is that the case? If I pick up let's say an 06 w/ 40k miles, how much can I expect to spend to get one thru 100,000? Do they even offer one that high? Is it similar to BMW where you can either get a warranty, a maintinence plan, or both combined? I know my 5er was spendy - about $2400 for the maitinence plan, and about $3000 for the warranty to be added to it to cover anything and everything.

 

expect to pay approx $3K for a 3-yr/up to 100K-mile aftermarket warranty. I believe there are at least 2 companies out there that offer this. No maintenance plan; just warranty. Make sure you read the fine print as to what is covered and what is not. It should be a comprehensive warranty inclusive of everything except for wearable parts(ie, tires, brake pads, etc.)

 

here's a somewhat recent thread:

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...-warranty.html