Who knows 2011 cayennes?

[unclebilly]

They are writing off my wife’s 06 Cayenne Turbo because the turbo housing is also cracked. This is $6000 in supplemental damage.

We haven’t got an offer yet but the market here for used Cayennes is HOT. I’ve started looking for a replacement and 2 have sold before we got there. There is one 06 Cayenne Turbo S for sale within 500 miles, no other 955 turbos and 1 957 Turbo with some rear damage and not optioned as well as what we had (it’s out).

At the top of my list right now is a 2011 Cayenne S. I know nothing about this generation of Cayenne. It does have the panoramic roof and a trailer hitch (both positives). It doesn’t have air suspension which is a negative for us with the farm duty this will see.

Who knows these? What do I need to look out for?

[billybek]

Damn deer. People should shoot and eat those things...

Bummer they wrote of the pepper wagon. Hope they settle out fair.

[island911]

You lose the rear glass opening separately, but you also lose 400 lbs. - Yeah, IDK how they did that. The 2011 is actually slight larger in height and width. (doesn't look it)

That the S you are looking at doesn't have air suspension is a deal breaker for me. My wife's is on steel springs, I much prefer mine with air suspension.

[stealthn]

My wife drives a 2012 S and I have to say it’s a great driving suv. Typical Cayenne stuff, drive shaft bearings, leaking timing chain covers (like the Macan), coolant tubes, etc.
Transfer case - Porsche extended the warranty on these though

All in all great vehicles.

[Tim Hancock]

Does your wife really need a turbo or S version? My wife daily drives a '13 and I daily drive an '08. Both are the 6 cylinders and in sport mode they are plenty peppy. The '08 has about 230k on it and the '13 has just over 100K. I purposely chose the 6 cylinders due to the fact that they have less issues to deal with once the mileage starts to go up.

I have pulled my 21' boat on tandem trailer (guessing 4k lbs?) several times with each and they were fine.

[rfuerst911sc]

In my casual searches for a pepper wagon many reviews say to stay away from the 2011 model year . Reviews on the internet are probably 50% true so take it for what it's worth .

I would also agree just based on the online reviews and forums that the six cylinder models have better long term reliability . If going that route I would look for a 3.6 over the 3.2 .

Good luck with your search and keep us updated on the results .

[1990C4S]

If you want one inspected in the GTA I could go look at it.

Shipping is cheap.

[David]

I had a 2011 Turbo from 60K to 110K miles then sold it to a Pelican. It was relatively trouble free. Fuel pump is an issue but you just change it when it goes bad perhaps with the controller too. If a V8, make sure the aluminum cam bolts were replaced (they went a little overboard finding the 400 lbs to cut). Change the transfer case fluid more often than called for.

[unclebilly]

The aluminum timing bolts are a concern and explain whey a bunch of top end and timing chain work was done on the 2012 we missed out on…

Supposedly you can check if they have been changed by looking in the oil cap? There is a RL thread on this but I can’t find it.

[unclebilly]

Originally Posted by Tim Hancock

Does your wife really need a turbo or S version? My wife daily drives a '13 and I daily drive an '08...

We need 'utility', more than 'sports car'. Based on this, is the 958 still capable of utility duty like a 955 / 957?

Also, without the air suspension, is the 958 too low?

[Dan J]

I've had 4 Cayenne S' currently have an 11. I also own an independent Porsche/ Euro repair shop so am somewhat familiar with them. I love Cayenne's and wouldn't drive anything else in the winter
For me the S is the sweet spot - plenty of power, can tow a alum trailer with a 911 easily, and can pass any car anywhere anytime. My 11 has been very trouble free ( they all have been) It's a nice step up from my 09 The 8 spd trans is great and the mpg is 4mpg better which I did not expect
There is a service bulletin on the transfer case and aluminum cam bolts Make sure these have been done My have too's on are: Small sunroof, ( the big ones all leak eventually a BIG problem) Spring suspension only (with air ride it's not if but when they will fail), Black interior, factory tow hitch
Sorry for the long winded response

[Dan J]

Also prefer the S. Turbo's too fast and to much to break, 6 is too slow (for me) The DFI V8's have been extremely good

[island911]

Originally Posted by Dan J

.. Spring suspension only (with air ride it's not if but when they will fail),

You mean throw a fault.

The most sensitive faulting... Yet I have never had mine actually fail. Even sitting for weeks, if not months.

[Jeff Alton]

Much like DanJ, we had an 05 Turbo we put 250K KMS on and now have an 11 Turbo we have 150K KMS on. Love them. Also own a Euro/Porsche shop.

The 11 (958) is a massive improvement over the 955 in performance, comfort and economy. Ours is mildly modified and makes around 600hp. It is a great vehicle. Never had a single issue with air suspension on our cars, they are not BMW or MB.... That said, in the shop we have still seen very few issue, all of which were easily repaired.

Cheers

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

We need 'utility', more than 'sports car'. Based on this, is the 958 still capable of utility duty like a 955 / 957?

Also, without the air suspension, is the 958 too low?

Not sure what you aim to do with yours in regard to "utility". As I mentioned previously we have pulled our 4k boat with both the '08 and'13 base Cayennes with no issue. I have also taken both vehicles on ski trips with old college buddies (so 4 adult males) 4 sets of skis on roof rack, trunk area filled to roof with luggage and a large filled to the brim (beer, food, cooler) steel full width cargo carrier sticking way out the back of the Reese hitch. Neither car felt like it was squatting down.

While I rarely push the sport mode button as 99.9% of my driving is just daily driving to work and back, Both the older 6 spd and the newer 8 spd really feel quick/sporty when you put your foot in it.

Most of my bias against the more complicated optioned out 8 cylinder variants admittedly comes from my research before buying my older '08 and I was looking at older used high mileage Cayennes. The older 8 cylinders definitely had more issues than the 6 cylinders had back then. I do all my own repairs/maintenance and typically buy our cars with over 50k on the clock and then drive them to often over 200K. Neither my wife or I care about some the new fangled high tech whiz bang stuff found in new cars. Simpler base models with fewer systems to go wrong are always more desirable for us.

[unclebilly]

Tim - we have a ranch so it will be driven in the field. It will be used to herd cattle on rare occasions but will also be used for hauling skis in a roof box 2-4 times week during the winter months. Our vehicles see mostly highway use but also see frequent off-road use. Not much city driving.

Based on the feedback here, I think we will just buy this 11 z cayenne S without the suspension and some of the other options and just enjoy it.

[Tim Hancock]

My '13 6 cylinder base model on last years ski trip with 4 adults.... We had it loaded up pretty good. No issues at all driving 4 hrs to northern Michigan sometimes way too fast.






The '08 base from a previous year loaded the same.

[Tim Hancock]

I should note that our '13 does not have roof accessory mounting tracks so I had to modify an older set of roof bars and mount via the door ledges. Not ideal but it worked. The '08 has a built in flush mounting rail to attack roof accessories.

I am pretty sure the newer ones can come with or with the rails depending on how car is optioned.

[ninelevenick]

I can also attest as to how great Cayennes are. We have an '06 S with over 161k miles and a '13 CTT with 45k miles. Love them both. I agree with others who say the 958 is a huge overall improvement over the 955. Regular proactive maintenance is required for both. For example, you definitely want to regularly change transfer case oil on the 958 - already mentioned above. As far as driving feel: we post to this board so we all love 911s. It's kind of like a cult. I would argue that the Cayenne experience is also cult like. I would imagine driving most other SUVs would be rather dull in comparison.

Technical question for you guys, especially the ones who own a shop: is it possible to change out the engine mounts on the CTT without removing the engine? One day mine will need to be replaced, and I cringe at the thought of all the $$$$ it will take to pay a shop to do the task.

[Jeff Alton]

You need to drop the carrier, remove turbos, remove alternator..... decent sized job....

Cheers