Well not fully, I will still have 2 BMW's, but the DD I am looking at is a 2004 115K miles 955 Porsche Cayenne Turbo, more info below.
Ive been scouring up as much info on these as possible in the last week or so. Here is what I have on the list of "common" problems to look for.

1. Coolant pipes, aluminum good, plastic bad ($800 diy)

2. Coil packs, what mileage do they tend to crap out on? They give misfire codes when bad, correct? ($350 diy)

3. Cardon shaft bushing, sounds like midget with hammer in tranny tunnel. All the time, or just at certain tranny loads? ($500 diy)

4. Valve body, clunk when downshift at high loads 5th->4th, 6->5th, but not when triptronic is used? ($1500, PIA, diy)

5. Air ride compressor ring, air ride wont function properly ($150 diy)


Besides the normal stuff like exhaust smell/smoke, alignment issues, fluids smell/look/feel and/or anything else unruly, what else should I look for. Im a weekend wrencher, so I am confident to spot the obvious "generic" problems.


Whats the opinion of the group on this purchase?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Porsche-Caye...-/251407608879


I talked with him and he said he has 15 pages of records on the car, this makes me very very happy. Research shows it was in Texas for the last 50K miles, then to Florida. I plan to take it to Zotz (http://www.germanexcellence.com/) in Orlando for a PPI. Im going to see it this Saturday and will go back the following week to purchase, if it all checks out.

Any and all advice is appreciated!!

 

I emailed that guy when I was on the hunt a month back. I have the records if you'd like to see them. Pipes were don't but the service history wasn't as extensive as it could be. If the interior wasn't black I would have gone to check it out though.

 

Cant send PM's yet so I will just post here

That would be great if you could send them over. He said he didnt have electronic copies and that I could see the records when I go see the car.

Did you find anything else about the car? Was the guy nice, Ive only emailed him.

Thanks for the help/info

Kielthomasg at gmail dot com

 

Ok I sent 3 emails with records. Looking them over again there was more than I had thought. Window sticker is always nice to have too. I only spoke with him over the phone but he seemed nice enough. Good luck with the hunt.

 

You the man, Thanks. How did you get a hold of them?

 

Asked him to send copies when we spoke on the phone. Looks like he snapped pics with his phone and emailed from there. Strange that he said he didnt have electronic copies.

 

Im guessin he was too busy to pull them up on his phone and send em to me. oh well. Funny thing is the car was originally purchased no more than 15 miles from my hometown.

 

Time for the nitty gritty details on the car. I am entrusting the grand wisdom of this forum This is after a 45 minute inspection and a 15 minute test drive.

Problems found, no particular order:

nick in widscreen, small, possibly repaired with epoxy already
driver door rear hatch button non responsive
rear hatch shocks not holding door up
Torque stabalizer on top of engine is a little worn, small cracks
---"Brake Booster Faulty" warning on startup!!!!!
Brake fluid is at minimum amount
sunglass holder wont stay up
rear rotors are about finished
front axels have stickers, possibly replaced?
front ride height pistons? have stickers
Guibo bolts appear to be new, so possible recent change
tranny says made in germany, i thought i read somewhere that the tranny was china made??
car was in new england until at least 4 years ago, so some expected rust on under carraige, but nothin I saw was alarming, but then again one rusted bolt can ruin a saturday afternoon
front sway bar has paint chipping on each (left/right)
bend towards back of car
front left, near and on the swaybar bend.... the is a decent amount of oil, some on the plastic covers etc.
Oil level is at minimum on dipstick, but i know every MFG has weird way to check

Car started and drove just fine, damn its fast, not just for an SAV, but fast-fast. A decent amount of valve clatter, not sure how much is normal, didnt seem like a lot, but coming from BMW a typewriter is a normal amount

Major concerns:
OIL OIL OIL, I forgot my small toolbox in the garage, so i didnt take off the splash guard to see source
Brake booster faulty in allaince with "low" brake fluid

He is asking $16000, whats the opinion of the group on that price for these negatives, can I find a better turbo for that much $$, it about near my budget for it?
Thanks for the advice!!!!!!!!

 

one thing to add is it missing the spare tire?

 

No spare tire.

 

I wouldn't worry about these items. If the small nick has not been mended yet, I would get that done.

These should be basic repairs. I can tell you that the torque arm is about $140 and is a DIY to replace. You should be able to tackle everything else too. Did you press the rear hatch button for atleast 10 seconds?

The transmission should be made by Aisin, TR60SN, which I believe is Japanese. In any event, given the complexity of the Cayenne electrical system, I doubt there is a different transmission installed.



I wouldn't worry about this too much. Cayenne's are known to seep a little oil from the driver side intercooler hose. From what I understand, they all do this a little and it is part of the package. I go through about a quart of oil every 2 months or so.

This is the most concerning to me. What does the owner say about it? Has it been looked at yet?

 

The dealer said " I checked online and read that it is probably a vacuum hose to the booster".

Brakes felt normal, he has driven the car maybe 100 or so miles without any issues.

Anyone else have some oil weepage that falls just above the front left sway bar?


Im thinkin about offering $14K, maybe settle on $15? any thoughts guys?

 

It's already pretty cheap but it never hurts to check for wiggle room

 

I would think that is most likely that case, but would still have it confirmed during your PPI.

Feel free to ask around, however, like I said before, this is normal.

Not sure of the current pricing from this make/model, but it sounded already really reasonable to me for what you are getting.

 

Thanks for the help guys, I am teetering on the purchase. If I can get it for $14500 <>$15000 after the fee's/taxes. I will be a happy camper.