Are there any Panamera Gurus here?
 

I’m considering upgrading the wife’s 2010 Mercedes E350 with something a little more current.

MPG is not a huge issue since she only puts 6,000 miles a year on her car. I’m thinking about a used Panamera. Does the brain trust have any recommendations on the most reliable years. What years should I avoid?

For example, I am not interested in the air suspension option, sometimes the more bells and whistles makes life more complicated. Just looking for a solid dependable ride. It doesn’t need to be a 4S, GTS, turbo, or hybrid. Knock wood, my 2005 Cayenne Base is still running strong with no “drama” after 18 years.

I didn’t post this in the Panamera tech section because it’s not a tech question, besides a lot of non Panamera owners have some good insight.

Thanks for your wisdom.

Edit:

Here is an interesting thread from the Panamera tech section.

https://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-panamera-taycan-forum/1081587-any-panamera-owners-here.html

IMO the air suspension option is the best.

If avoidance of bells and whistles is the goal, how about a 1966 VW bug?

Seriously, cars started becoming disposable bells and whistles on wheels in the 90's, so... :-/

Porsche has exceedingly aggressive fault reporting. Great for getting the dealerships some servicing (income) I suppose.

BTW, not a Panamera guru here, at all. Just a free bump.

Thanks pal. My BIL had an issue with his Panamera’s air suspension and said it was a pain to deal with out of warranty.

Just wondering which years to avoid, which to look for.

My friend had one of the first gen ones.... something about cam bolts or camshaft thing that was recalled and is big dollars.

In socal I wouldn't worry to much about air suspension. Rust belt more of an issue with this technology

I have no information other than they are fantastic machines.

One of our friends has a year old GTS. We rode in the back and had more leg room than many cars in the front. A very comfortable ride, and just a really nice car.

My favorite ride was at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit. I was one of three other adult men passengers as we got a "taxi ride" with the professional driver. He said Hang-on and between the words hang and on, he launched it. My eyes had trouble focusing until it shifted into 2nd. On the back stretch there is a hill and cresting the hill a track prepped, gutted interior, 944 Turbo of another friend, he could hit 100 MPH when the tires were just right, and the engine running perfect. The Panamera hit 110 over that hill, and he drifted it through the bus stop turn. That thing was flying! Wheeeeee.

It should not possible for a 4 passenger car with 4 men in it to go that fast. Wow.

Of course, that is in a car owned by PCNA and they are paying for the tires and gas and the salary of the driver.

Two of my Land Rovers have air suspension. Love it! It really smooths things out. On my 2001 RR, the vehicle actually lowers about 10mm at 50ish mph. Really tightens things up.

On the flip side, I've read of horror stories for those that have converted an air suspension vehicle to coils.

I have a 2011 4S and love the car. The air suspension is a common problem and can be expensive to repair out of warranty. The flaw is an o-ring on the top of the air shock.

There are several forums such as

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/panamera-75/

and

https://rennlist.com/forums/panamera-167/

Good luck!

I've driven and ridden in a students car at the track. I was impressed with the handling. I had a buddy get Porsche to finally buy back a Gen 1 Panamera hybrid he bought as a CPO car. They had a good record of it shutting down out of nowhere from the time they bought it. Porsche through a lot of parts at it over a few year period.

This recall is still open and Porsche is still taking care of the bill....

Find an independent with the correct diagnostic tools and correct physical tools (there are a couple of special bits) to work on it. It is not a complicated system, and failure is rare.

I have a 2013 GTS as a daily driver ... I have owned it for 6 years ... nothing other than regular maintenance except, this year I replaced the front suspension arms (all 4) to fix a minor noise issue ... the problem was that the inboard bushings on the upper control arms de-laminated from the arm on the outside diameter ... about $1,300 and 8 hours of my time. Could have been $500 and 5 hours, but now I have a fully rebuilt front suspension. No air-suspension issues. Worthy to note that this is, by far, the longest that I have ever owned a car ... I usually turn over the fleet on on a 6-month to 1-year basis ... I drive this car every day and walk away wanting nothing more.

I have a Panamera Turbo ST, 2018. It's the nicest road car I have ever owned. And blisteringly fast in a straight line. They are generally reliable, but very complex mechanically and electronically. Personally, I am not sure I would own one out of warranty...but everyone has a different unexpected budget limit so YMMV.

On the Panamera forum on Rennlist it's not uncommon to see $15-35K repair bills. Not frequent, but it happens. Remember the sister to the Panamera is the Bentley Continental, so you should be thinking in that league w/ a Panamera. I bought mine used/CPO with very low mileage, it was over $200K new, CPO warranty until 2027.

The generations are
970.1 (2010-2013)
970.2 (2014-2016)
971.1 (2017-2020)
971.2 (2020-present)

While I don't own an e-Hybrid, I have heard it's a good idea to avoid the e-Hybrid models in the 970. Apparently they got a lot better in the 971 as far as issues go.


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