Thinking of buying an 08 Cayenne S

RSBob · RSBob's Garage

Am I crazy? Yes, there is an issue with the driveshaft support and the coolant pipes which need to be remedied but is buying a low mileage S a fools errand?

RKDinOKC · RKDinOKC's Garage

Got an 04 S that the coolant pipes and driveshaft support had already been replaced. No trouble with it except the water pump (not too bad $$$) at 140K.

3 years later sold it and got a 05 turbo and have only had to fix the brake booster lines. It is also at 140K. About the same cost as the water pump.

Got each of them when they reached $10K. Upgraded to the turbo to get the cornering lights.

Aurel · Aurel's Garage

I replaced the driveshaft support myself on my 2008 cayenne. It is no big deal with the part made by vertex, there is no need to remove the driveshaft. Grind the old one out and bolt the two halves in for the new one.

WPOZZZ · 11-10-2018, 08:00 PM

Go for it!

rfuerst911sc · 11-11-2018, 03:08 AM

I have been threatening to buy one just haven't found the right one yet . Great vehicles for the most part I say get a PPI and if clean go for it .

RSBob · RSBob's Garage

Yeah am really Jonesing for one of those bad boys. Since I haven’t bought a car in a while I went to Cars.com, Kelly Blue Book, and Edmunds car valuation tools and got the private sell, dealer trade value and Edmonds had a suggested dealer price. For the mileage, condition and options I fed into the tools and took the average price for Very Good condition then looked at the selling price of the Cayenne and calculated their profit. The suggested high private party sell price matched the suggested dealer price. Armed with my numbers went to the seller and told them based on the tools they were looking to make $6K on the sale. They laughed and said they were lucky to make a grand on each sale, but they sell used cars based on volume. They said $17K for an S with 65K miles, I said I would give them $15k and to think about it. They contacted me the next day and dropped the price to $16K, which according to the lying sales guy would mean zero profit. Told him it’s a no go unless they get to $15. Will see if I hear from them again in a few days. I hate car dealers.

island911 · 11-11-2018, 05:48 PM

I've had mine for about a devcade now. (Yikes!)

Anyway, they are not tirmed anywhere near the same.

Air suspension and full leather are on the top of my have to haves.

onewhippedpuppy · 11-12-2018, 04:46 AM

They are dirt cheap for what you get, I’ve seen clean 100k turbos at $10k. I really enjoyed my GTS, if you are in the position of needing an SUV I say go for it.

Tim Hancock · 11-12-2018, 05:20 AM

I have a 6 cyl '08. It has about 180k on it now. When I first got it at about 120k, I pulled the valve chest out of the trans and had it rebuilt due to some odd shifting (I bought it knowing it had minor issues with trans). Other than that, it has been trouble free. My wife likes it much more than her previous X5. Drives more like a car than a truck and it pulls our 21' boat with no issues. I am now in the market for a 2012 6 cylinder Cayenne with 60 - 100k mileage. My wife will get the newer one and I will likely use the '08 as my drive to work car.

rfuerst911sc · 11-12-2018, 06:09 AM

Tim Hancock what are your thoughts on the 6 cylinder vs. the weight of the vehicle ? In most real world situations do you feel the 6 is enough engine ? I know the 6 doesn't get much better MPG then the V8 but I have shied away from the six thinking it doesn't have enough grunt for the weight the pepper wagon has . Maybe I'm wrong .

island911 · 11-12-2018, 06:53 AM

I expect that in most situations you won't notice a 6 vs an 8. Perhaps notice a 10% longer span between fill-ups.

The 8 helps end those on-ramp acceleration 'arguments' with Camrys and such; the turbos end those arguments with an exclamation point.

1990C4S · 11-12-2018, 07:01 AM

I thought the 6 cylinder was prone to cylinder failures?

rfuerst911sc · 11-12-2018, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1990C4S

I thought the 6 cylinder was prone to cylinder failures?

This is a problem with the V8's , my understanding is the entire engine is Alusil coated vs. the cylinders being Nikasil coated . The Alusil cylinders wear and that's the start of cylinder failures . Nikasil is MUCH tougher and wears very little if at all . That's why Nickie cylinders from LN Engineering are so popular , they are expensive but almost impossible to wear out . I do not know if the VW based Porsche V6 is prone to this condition .

Tim Hancock · 11-12-2018, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

Tim Hancock what are your thoughts on the 6 cylinder vs. the weight of the vehicle ? In most real world situations do you feel the 6 is enough engine ? I know the 6 doesn't get much better MPG then the V8 but I have shied away from the six thinking it doesn't have enough grunt for the weight the pepper wagon has . Maybe I'm wrong .

The '08 and newer six cylinders have the 3.6 290hp engines. I only typically buy higher mileage vehicles and was steered away from the 8 cylinder variants of the Cayennes as they have more things to go wrong with them (air suspensions, coolant tubes etc). I like the 'S and turbos, but I try to limit my exposure to high mileage problems by going with the simpler 6 cylinder base models. My six is plenty quick and feels downright sporty when in sport mode. It pulls my approximately 4000 pound boat at 70mph without issue. I hauled three motorcycles on a trailer through the mountains in Tennessee and down into northern Georgia a couple years ago and kept forgetting I had a trailer behind me. This thing will haul anything thing the 8 cylinders are rated to haul without issue.

1990C4S · 11-12-2018, 11:34 AM

So the only six to buy is 2008 and newer?

What about V8's?

lendaddy · 11-12-2018, 12:16 PM

I also have a 2008 with the 290HP six. I have 165k on it and it's been a great vehicle so far. The six has plenty of power but it's worth noting that "sport mode" makes a huge difference.

Tim Hancock · 11-12-2018, 02:23 PM

I have a friend with about an '05 six cylinder with manual trans. He is a german indy shop owner and has well over 200k on it and pulls cars all over the place with it. He uses it like a truck and he is the one who advised me to go with the 6 cylinder if buying with high miles like I typically do. He says the fancier 8's have more problems as they age. Other than the Cardan shaft and occasional heater flap motor issues (all Cayennes can have these issues), he claims the sixes have no other vices whether the earlier body styles or the '08 and newer.

Tim Hancock · 11-12-2018, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lendaddy

I also have a 2008 with the 290HP six. I have 165k on it and it's been a great vehicle so far. The six has plenty of power but it's worth noting that "sport mode" makes a huge difference.

I did not know (or I forgot) that you had an 08 also. FWIW I got rid of my old 02 Tundra and now have an '11 Tundra limited with about 100k on it now.... No issues at all.

LakeCleElum · 02:41 PM

A '09 S 25 miles from me:

https://tinyurl.com/y75o6afo

pete3799 · pete3799's Garage

I too have been thinking about buying a Cayenne since my 03 Tacoma rusted out and i had to park it this spring. I've been daily driving my 04 F-550 since. Not a real comfy ride.

Your thoughts on this one? My apology's to RSBob if i'm stepping on your toes.
https://nh.craigslist.org/cto/d/2010-porsche-cayenne/6745441614.html