Good Evening All,
Looking at possibly getting a 2010 Panamera S with less than 50k miles. Any reason I couldn't make it a daily driver? It is 10 years old car, what concerns me is that rubber/leather/electronics/engine age etc. I typically do all my own maintenance/repairs. (with your alls help.) I drive 12-15k a year.

Thanks in advance
T.

 

From my experience of having purchased a 2012 Panamera S with 49k miles, I can share the following.

1) you will most likely have suspension issues that either pertain to the air suspension (shocks and compressor going out in my case). The 2010-12 will inevitably have this problem. You are very likely to have to replace several bushings in front (upper control arm, and sway bar bushings in my case). I’m still getting creaking in cold weather so the lower control arms are next.

2) check the car vin you are interested in buying and do a recall check. Mine had 3. from what I hear 2010 has engine bolts that break off. (Gents correct me if I’m wrong)

3) the radiator pipe that goes to the engine can come unglued as it is epoxied in place. You need to watch out for this or have the thermostat housing upgraded to one that allows for clamp on hoses and is bolted on instead of glued.

4) extended warranty is a must have. All above repairs would have set me back $8k. An extended warranty is way cheaper if car has less than 50k miles so I don’t recommend a vehicle over 50k.

its a fun car to drive and you will get looks at the stop light. I found it comfortable for daily use but am considering getting a work only commuter vehicle to keep the miles off. Watch the curves, I accidentally clipped one of my black rims the other day so I’m gonna have to have them refurbished.


Thats my 2 cents

 

as Panatela stated there are a few things to look after, but otherwise these cars are solid, and since you do your own wrenching you can easily get away without the extended warranty

my car has 60k on it and the interior looks and feels brand new (2010 4S, full leather)

on the front suspension issue (mine is very minor at this time) I'm actually making some Polyurethane bushings to replace the stock rubber, I helped Yves replace the bushings on his PPTS last year, a good bit of work but not impossible for the home mechanic
we will be doing my car this spring.

I hope to also do the thermostat housing on my car this spring as well, it is the one thing that I worry about as it can be catastrophic, the air shocks usually give you some warning as they start to fail - slowly sinking over time when not in use.

 

Awesome. Thanks guys. The thermostat housing sounds scary. I will be looking into that prior to buying as well as check on here to see the scoop of that thermostat.

panatela, A commuter car is exactly what I am trying to avoid. I have the fun car (Aston V8V) and a commuter (Q5TDI) and looking to be able to actually park my daily in the garage so they both have to go and thus looking for a fun/sporty/functional daily driver. The Panamera is about the only vehicle that seems to be the best of all worlds. Plus I miss my Cayman S.

 

the thermostat is one of those low percentage failures, but it is enough to make you go hmmm

you might get lucky and find a car that has had it done - Ciaka's had already been replaced

 

I recently shared my parts list on the thermostat housing fix, it's slightly below 500$ if you also replace the thermostat itself, which I would recommend.
The stealership wants 2,500$ for this job and claims it's 10 hours of work.
I'll be doing mine somewhere over the next month and will report back.

By the way, if you want the best of both worlds you should look into a turbo. You need the extra horsepower since you're dealing with a heavier car.
Turbos also respond very well to a flash which immediately gives you +100HP. Just my 2 cents.

 

Agreed look into a Turbo, especially if you can get prior service records. Get a good independent tech in your area and do preventative maintenance and get it out of the way so your not stuck searching for DIYs on here. I bought my 2011 PTT knowing it needed tires and front end suspension. After owning for about 8 months I have done the following;

-rebuilt both front air struts
-changed both upper and lower control arms
-both stabilizer links
-stabilizer bar upper and lower bushings (eliminated the creaking going over bumps when cold)
-replace oil air separator
-replace all coils and plugs
-PDK fluid and 1st gear fluid change
-high pressure fuel pump replaced, fuel pressure nozzle, camshaft plug (worst and most $$ job but common failure)
-both front wheel bearings
-front and rear brake pads and sensors
-air filter, cabin air filter

Next up left and right outer tie rods, and fuel tank breather valve (still getting EVAP code p044 after changing pump and fuel cap gasket)

I won't give up, just want to make it up to standard. Feel free to reach out for any questions.

 

oh - how do you like that VantageV8? I have been toying with the idea of replacing my 2013 pano S with one with the manual trans. Seems like a great GT cruiser that is also a bit of a supercar pedigree and can't beat the looks. Although it probably isn't as nice as the Panamera to drive and is a drop in performance as well. But what a sexy machine! For me the Pano is a weekend road trip car, but I guess is also the closest thing I have to a daily driver besides my 4x4 truck.

 

Geez! How much did these cost you?

 

Fuel pump was by far the most expensive part about $1,800 and took almost 3 weeks to get part. You can get a set of struts new or rebuild OEM ones for under $800-$1500. Control arms upper and lower about $500 per side. The rest was all preventative maintenance

 

I have an 07V8V with 6 speed. It is really interesting. The hand built nature of it, I love. The lacking of only 2 passengers, I don't love.

 

Love the idea of a turbo but nervous about the extra strain on the motor, as a daily driver. Thoughts?

 

My Turbo S was actually my daily commuter (office car) till I recently retired. It was like taking a bazooka to a knife fight, especially on those TX highways which suffer from pick-up congestion. I never felt like I put any strain on that engine, after all, this is a Porsche. For perspective, I also have a 911 Turbo with the smaller 3.6L engine. Both cars have some modifications and I run them at around 600HP. The 911 feels a bit more 'stressed' than the Pannie, but overall there seems to be a wide safety margin in that German engineering.
Do not let the above comments scare you away. People on this site are passionate about their cars. The first gen pannie is a rocking deal, esp when taking into account the high original MSRP. Some of us initially have to catch up with deferred maintenance caused by the previous owner, but once you get to a stable platform these are incredible cars.

 

3 of the 4 Porsche’s I have owned have the “catch up maintenance”. I expect it at the price point I buy at.

Thanks for your 2 cents. I like that thought processes. May just do the turbo. Sadly to do turbo I have to wait until spring. That way I can get fair value out of Aston since during the winter no one wants one here in the Midwest.