The pee stick showed 2 lines and its time for a new car. It's a new world for me and buying cars not entirely based on performance or looks has me in quite the jam.

We spend the weekend driving every midsize premium import SUV on the planet. She loves the RX 350 Lexus but there is no way that crap is going in my driveway, although it has the softest ride on the planent and baby would think he was floating around in the clouds while in the back seat. I much prefer the newly announced Acura MDX but the girl says no way, to the point of crying about it when mentioned. We semi agreed she would come off the RX if I never mentioned the MDX again, so there goes 2 of the least depreciation highest value cars from the pool. Probably going to cost me another 50k for being stubborn :/

So, after all the other drives she likes the Cayenne the most (q7 close second I just don't much about them other than I like the Cayenne more) . Lucky for me as I almost bought a turbo S a few weeks ago and have always wanted one but never pulled the trigger. I actually ended up ordering a matte black g63 for myself on a side note.

We drove a base v6, diesel, and a GTS. She would be happy with any of them. The 2 cheaper ones don't have the adjustable suspension but the comfort mode on the GTS doesn't feel any better for back seat baby than standard or diesel.

The base model nor the diesel do much to get my blood flowing but anyone would agree the GTS looks hot. Since this will be the vehicle we take on trip and probably to dinner and out as a family (which all mean I am driving) I much prefer one of the higher end models but don't want to do it if my losses after 18-30 months will be significantly higher.

I have always done well at buying the right cars and getting out at the right time and what I look at and try to decode is the cost of ownership. The initial costs are of little concern as I look at what the car will be worth when I am done with it.

I have played around on Mannheim looking at auction reports and I have to say. The base v6 and diesel cars bring STRONG money 1-2 years old due to the export markets. The GTS has only been out for a year but the 13s that have sold have brought big money also. I tried to use the turbo and the regular S to get an idea of GTS money

I looked back at everything since 11 to try and calculate some values and would like to share them for input along with the msrp of the cars set up the way we would want in the 3 various models (with links to the builds)

I think the turbo (http://www.porsche-code.com/PEPGDSI0) is probably out. I would love it but the extra power is a liability with her driving.
I think that car would be worth 97k for the 1st year, 89k in the 2nd and 77k in the 3rd after a 123k msrp. With a 10% discount that seems readily available on the turbos a sale price of 111k would result in 14k/22k/36k losses over the 3 years

The GTS (http://www.porsche-code.com/PEPGDSI0) is what I think would be the right compromise but if my cost of ownership is the same as a turbo I would prefer the turbo. The GTS does look better though unless you spend 7k on aero mods on the turbo (which I did not on the build above) with a 8% discount that I don't know if is out there the car as I want it is 97k. 13s are bringing 85-95k at Mannheim and this car is pretty well equipped so I think it should do something like 90k the first year, 82 the second and 70 the third. That puts me at 7k/15k/27k for 1-2-3 years

 

The v6 is 2500 less than the diesel (http://www.porsche-code.com/PETH8SZ3)
Smaller wheels and no air ride. I'm not sure what kind of discounts can be had on a v6 but figuring 5%. The only one with miles did 67k at Mannheim but probably had about a 67k sticker.

Either way, I'm thinking 5k/10k/20k on the 1,2,3 yr depreciation off of the 73k number so it's marginally less than the numbers I came up with on the GTS assuming those are correct.

I do like that it has less power for her but hate it for me. Is there a way to retune the v8s

If I can get out of the GTS for 6-13k in 1-2 years that's what I think I'd prefer. I appreciate any input even though I'm not sure if I rememberd to ask any questions. We are going to order a 14 so we have a year of it being new. Are there any new options? Dealers are saying they have the regular 14s inbound or we could order we delivery in 3 months

I'm super excited to be a dad.

 

The girl just built this, how can she have this much taste and like the RX350?????

http://www.porsche-code.com/PE1E9A72

 

Congrats on being a Dad!!! It certainly will change your life forever, believe me when I say that. Not in a bad way, but kiss your old life goodbye.

GTS is too new to get reliable depreciation data. I would say the number one will be the Diesel, followed by the GTS. Turbo is going to be high, just look at some of the numbers on Manheim. It's pretty shocking, actually. Too bad about the MDX. That thing's depreciation isn't on a curve so much as a mesa, much like the torque curve of a TTS. Ours is a 2007 with just over 90k miles and it's still worth about 40% of what I paid for it!!! Plus it's been dead reliable and we've loved driving it. But the new one just isn't different enough and I think I might go insane getting another one.

You can see by my Avatar where I ended up. Being in TX and having to do LONG pulls on nothing but straight roads, the diesel makes the most sense. My heart would love a GTS but it would be a total waste here.

ANY Cayenne is at the top of the list of driver involvement and excitement for SUV's. You can't go wrong with any of them, really, from the V6 all the way to the turbo S. It's too bad we can't get the diesel S here as that would just be a total no-brainer.

As it stands, I think you'll sacrifice a bit of residual from the GTS to the diesel, but you will certainly have less trouble shifting it when you are done with it, and it'll put more of a smile on your face when you have to go out at midnight to get diapers (yes, this really does happen despite best planning). Cracking that V8 to the redline will certainly improve your mood coming back from paying 3x as much for things that hold poop at 1:00 AM because it's the only place that's open. I'd say live a little, it won't be much of a hit.

Good luck!

 

I had the G55 and the GTS.

If ride quality is important, I would say the baby will be screaming its lungs out in both rides.

My girlfriend at the time, would not do any long distance traveling with me in the GTS but when I got the Turbo, she was happy as pie. So if the Turbo is not an option I would stick with the Base, or Diesel. How come no S?

 

We couldnt tell any difference in the S to the GTS. Whats the ride difference between the Turbo and those?

I never paid any attention to the ride when i was looking at the turbo S i was in sport mode hauling ***

 

The rebound rate is different and the GTS is lowered via air suspension from the factory.

On smooth pavement where road is perfect, there is no difference.

But on average roads, you will feel more of the imperfections of the road. I think the easiest way to explain it is take both vehicles for a test drive. "Accidently" go over those reflectors dividing lanes and medians...you will notice how each suspension soaks up these things differently. Go over a speed bump, the difference how a suspension reacts is even more pronounced. The less travel and difference in rebound rate makes the GTS feel like you took a drop off a ledge when you come down from the speed bump.

The Turbo is more "Caddy" life for a lack of better terms. The GTS feels like more 911 like.

 

We did that with everything except the turbo, the gts s diesel and v6 all seemed about the same and the s and the gts were in comfort mode

 

Cayennes like the GTS and Turbo are great for someone who loves cars like the 911 but must have both performance and practicality.

For me it was a no brainer to get the V6 which my girlfriend is the primary driver . The key was to buy a highly speced V6 with umber cream , panoramic roof, Bose , ventilated seats , turbo wheels ,etc. where the car's primary use is for comfort and practical mileage . She sits in traffic most of the time and a turbo or Gts would be a waste . If we go out together we like the comfort and both love the gas mileage as we put miles galore on it.

The V6 is actually more nimble and agile than I had imagined . In fact comparing it to the last gen loaner I had I felt it was not underpowered at all for city driving .
If we want to drive a faster car . I have a modified 997 turbo but I look at an SUV more as a rational vehicle . In fact I like the diesel concept too but it was not out in 2012 .

As for the GtS and turbo they are outstanding and quite amazing vehicles . The idea of a two ton SUV flying around racetracks or running 1/4 mile events is impressive . However . given the huge success of PDK I do wonder if its just a matter of time before it makes its way into the Cayenne and if it does I feel that both the high HP Turbo and the GTS might take ahuge resale hit . PDK is phenominal mated to a Turbo as it wil maintain boost on upshifts . PDK also is one element which would also compliment the track style GTS . If PDK is even hinted at in the future .. I wil be even more happy that the V6 was the choice .

You cant lose with any of these machines . Just pick whichever you both can enjoy for your driving needs.

Good luck.

 

Hahaha..... Sounds like something I would say. Vetoed!

 

ordered a wild green gts.