Hello Everyone - Previous M3 owner here, looking to get a used Cayenne as the family truckster. I am in the final stages of purchasing an 04 Cayenne S. I have had the PPI, negotiated a price, and plan to go to the dealership tomorrow to get the car.

Then, I came across this message board, and saw all the threads on the coolant pipe issue. Obviously, it is a major fix if the pipes break, and is an expensive preemptive maintenance precaution that would be necessary if not.

Secondly, the car I am looking at sits directly at the peak pipe breakage occurrence mileage on the pipe database, at 69k miles. Otherwise, the car has been well-maintained and serviced.

My question to the forum is: "Knowing what you know now, would original plastic coolant pipes be a deal breaker for purchasing an 03-08 Cayenne?"

 

Hopefully you'd get an extended warranty as any vehicle of this age and technology level will require a significant repair from time to time...for example the driveshaft center carrier bearing is very common failure but if you have a good extended warranty this shouldn't keep you from purchasing. Life is full of surprizes and many are expensive and have nothing to do with car maintenance...so just be prepared.

 

Would the following statement be correct?

"They're going to break, it's a manufacturer design/materials flaw, and replacement should be factored into the purchase price"

 

All the above.

 

If you own it long enough than Yes, it will eventually happen and could even happen tomorrow. However, a seller can't always cover your future need to have this covered in the sales price - if you can get them to than great. I'd be more concerned with finding a clean/low mileage vehicle which you would need/want an extended warranty for anyway as there are many/many things that no one can predict but will be likely as the vehicle ages. Just make sure that the extended warranty provider is a solid one and that the pipes would be listed and covered if they do go under your ownership. If you plan on purchasing it solely on this one factor then shop around for a vehicle that has had the work done already but you'll still find your driveshaft and other common failures will very likely pop up at some point. You won't have much fun in life if you are too cautious with no risk...these aren't Toyotas (I personally wouldn't want a car based purely on maintenance) and, again, will have some major expensive repairs from time to time and you need to be taking this into account...coolant pipes or no coolant pipes.

 

Negotiate the fix or a warranty. It's not that big of a deal

 

I like that solution -- I could possibly negotiate an extended warranty that covers pipe breakage for the price of pipe replacement...

Are there any good 3rd-party warranties that people typically use on here?

 

Just checked extended warranties -- they don't cover the coolant pipes because they consider them hoses, which they view as wear and tear items, like tires.

http://www.warrantys.com/Downloads/B...h_AllPlans.pdf

As a result, they wouldn't cover damages caused by them. So in the case of the coolant pipes cracking/bursting and drenching your starter, they view it as the equivalent of you blowing out your tire, and crunching your rim discs and calipers. They wouldn't cover any of it.

 

That's disappointing that they won't cover the pipes. If there is a warranty out there, other than factory/CPO, that will cover it, someone here will know about it.

 

Have them do a price break and you pay for it, or have them do it on their own dime or dealer warranty.

Or walk if you are not ready for the hassle of when it breaks.

 

I think I'd ask them to replace the pipes as part of the deal.

 

That might work at a Porsche dealer - but a private party or other brand dealer is likely to tell you "not-broke now.. tough.."

 

Agreed. About the best you can hope for in this situation is to talk them down on the price far enough to cover at least the parts for the repair, but maybe even enough to cover parts and labor if you can't do it yourself.

 

Exactly. It's not a matter of IF....you WILL need to replace the pipes and until you do, you risk stranding your family on the side of the road. People in their Dodge trucks love to witness this too . I would get it done asap after you purchase. I caught mine (by coolant smell in garage after driving) before they totally went and I'm at 57k. Great ride otherwise...good luck

 

Yes - I am going to have the replacement done after I buy it. It seems that it is worth getting replaced before they go. I am trying to figure out warranty pricing right now -- I will start another post on that topic.