Hi All, I am about to purchase a 1 female owner Panamera 4s 2011 with 35k KMs on it. I am curious about its reliability, there is a warranty package from Porsche Centre in Hong Kong (for electronics and engine only) that costs around 4000USD for 2 years, but not sure if it's the same as the ones USA offers.

I definitely set aside money for oil changes, tyres, other maintenance and repairs and all that stuff those are no problems. I'm just concerned about big fixes, like replacing engine, or things that cost over 10k USD frequently, should I be even worried about that? I will have mechanics do inspections on the vehicle before purchasing.

 

Hi,

I bought a 2011 4S (V8) about a year ago, and I have had happy motoring all year. I had mine inspected by a Porsche dealer, as the car was for sale at a Ferrari dealership. I spent $5k to replace all the fluids & filters, broken underbody part, missing key, spark plugs, all brake discs pads & fluids.
The engine is rock solid.

The only expenses I foresee in the near future are the front control arm bushings and the decarbonizing - the engine runs a little rough when it's cold outside for a minute or 2.

I loooove this car.

 

They are great cars in general but never own a Porsche without a warranty unless you don t mind funding repairs. I d say they won t happen often but when they do they can be expensive. Also maybe look for a service place outside of a Porsche dealer that knows these cars. And what would you do after two years when the warranty is up and the miles are higher on the car which makes it more likely that a repair will be needed?
That s why some people lease.(that's another topic).
Do they offer Porsche certified pre owns by you? Not a bad way to go if available.
Your warranty for electrnoic and engine leave lots out it sounds like? What about suspension, brake stuff, transmission, etc etc.
A transmission would set you back way over 10K USD (maybe twice that last time I checked). But it is a great drivers cars!

 

I don't mind funding repairs that doesn't cost too much, I am expecting around 1.5k - 3k USD/year in maintenance and repairs.

I'm getting an inspection before purchasing to make sure it has no problems, so that should eliminate all big fixes like the transmission you mentioned? The things you mentioned about transmission concerns me about repair costs... I read a lot of positive reviews of it, and some with fixes to make but doesn't seem big.

 

Sounds like you are aware and can handle repairs if and when they come up.

 

Make sure you get a drivetrain warranty as wel not just the engine. I own a 2012 Panamera 4s bought it 2 years ago with no warranty. Experienced multiple problems in 2017 including power steering failure (replaced both steering rack and pump for 4000USD) and just got a chassis system failure message few days ago. These are not the problems that a pre purchase inspection can prevent and since the car has been on the road for 7 years you really don’t know if any components are going to break in the near future

 

 

Been great for me for the since owning it but last month and a 1/2 since the dealer did the Cam Bolt recall, I've been getting a slew of issues.

-Right before Campaign work, I had to get the side mirror motors replaced, they got stuck and would not go back to place.

-Right after getting the car back from campaign work, they failed to top of my engine oil, was low. I was going to top off my self but when I tried to pop the hood of the car I found the latch was jiggling around and hood would not pop open. Back to the dealership, they found cable and hood latch broke, but was not like that before I sent it in for campaign work.

- a week after hood fix, I finally drive the car on the weekend, not even 2 miles from leaving my home. Check engine light, car loses power in the middle of freeway and stars shaking and sounding like a dying 1950's bug. Limp the car back home. Dealer finds dead ignition coil. But they don't know why it died, the car is only 2010 with less than 60K miles in it.

- I get the car back maybe a week later and finally drive it again on the weekend, about to leave the house to enter the freeway, car hesitates on a green light as if tires skip and lose traction going 15mph..... within seconds a check engine light pops up again.

So now I'm going bring to a different dealership to have them check everything the other dealer has done since Campaign recall. One thing I can say is thank god for the extended warranty. I am now contemplating on trading this car in for something very low key till I get a chance to buy a new 911 to my specific specs. I'm so exasperated with this car from the past month and half of the issues, pretty much at the dealership every week, that I may even go buy a brand new truck for now till I get the new 911, as I have LOST trust in regards to the cars reliability. I used to take this to long drives as I do not want to drive wife's Cayman R to long drives or through insane BayArea traffic.

 

Which Bay Area dealer did the cam bolt recall?

 

Fremont. Not entirely saying they caused issue per say, but I just noticed that ever since that campaign, I've been getting issue after issue.

I'll be taking my car to other PCAR dealerships for future services and issues with my car to see if I see any improvement or differences going forward. Unless I move on from this car for now and purchase a new 911 in the future.