Buying a used cayenne
 

My son is looking for a used vehicle and is considering a used Cayenne, any words of advice.
Anything he should know before purchasing?

I would avoid the Cayenne if reliability is key. Porsche really cheaped out under the hood with crappy plastic parts that don't seem to last the test of time on the v8 models. I have heard the v6 Cayenne's are more reliable.

I disagree that these cars are unreliable. I have a 2008 w 6 cylinder and have 155,000 miles on it. My wife and kids drive it and has been by far most reliable car I have had with exception to a tie to my 89 Porsche 911.

Here's what you need to check on: the drive shafts go on the Cayenne but you can buy a new refurbished shaft from Vertex auto parts in FL for a reasonable cost. The brakes wear a little faster than normal SUV's because they are heavy cars but engines if cared for last a lot longer without issues than any Audi or American SUV. My air blower went and that was not expensive. Cant think of anything else that has gone wrong on these cars. Finding a mechanic away from dealer that has the expensive software is key if engine warning light goes on. That happened but was a simple seal by gas tank.

If you can find an 08 - 09 before body redesign for low teens that's a great deal.

Good luck,

Matt

My 04 has 160,000 on it and I love that truck I bought it in 08 for $20,000 and I think it was the best deal I ever got on a used car. As already said the V6 has a few less issues than a V8 the most expensive one being the coolant tubes that is only an issue on the V8 but if you find one that has already been done you are ahead of the game. The older models have common issues the drive shaft as mentioned. The coils go at about 80K the fuel pumps at about that time also. I say if you want a Cayenne get it checked out and go for it.

I love my 06 Cayenne S, it's true there are some areas too look out for but there a blast to drive. They are also fun to work on, maybe it's not for everyone but it's not too difficult to work on these especially with the great support on Pelican. My 2 cents, enjoy.

Thanks for the feed back, seems like 75% in favour.

I know of 1 up here rust free for 9500.00 Canadian, that's like $6000.00 USD.

It looks nice, says runs well maybe a good deal.

I was shopping for one recently. In the US, 6 grands will get you an '04 with >150k miles on the clock. Cargurus website has some good price analyses. It lets you know if you are getting a good deal or not, based on all that is on the market.

I owned a 04 955TT for about a year and had quite a few issues, the coolant pipes were done, however the coolant tee behind the engine went resulting in all coolant being dumped on the road..
Also had to replace a coolant expansion tank few months later as that also developed a leak. Had numerous vacuum leaks as some of those plastic pipes under bonnet get really brittle from the heat that engine produces.
Few months later it wouldn't idle, I looked at ignition coils and 5 of them were cracked, looked at spark plugs and 2 wells were full of oil. Changed all plugs, coils and valve cover gaskets. That did not fix the problem but eliminated any misfires I was reading with Durametric. Upon further investigation I found voltage fluctuation in one of the Air flow meters. Unplugged both MAFs and car ran perfectly. once I installed the new MAF the issue was fixed.

Check engine lights were quite a common occurrence in my case, I recommend Durametric as it saves a lot of trips to the dealer/indy. Based on the codes I would get my cats were on their way out. Also while investigating my no idle issue I came across cam deviation angles which were outside of tolerance indicating chain stretch.

Also had issue with fuel tank purge valve, not an expensive fix but another check light nonetheless.

It also leaked water into the trunk somehow amongst other small issues like headlight connectors going lose and stereo going mute intermittently etc.

I did love the truck and got quite accustomed to constantly working it, however in the end decided to sell it while nothing was "broken" and replaced it with E55 AMG which has been great so far.

So my advice to OP is buy one that has the coolant pipes and Tee done. Take a Durametric tool with you when looking at the truck and check for misfires, cam angle deviation and any stored codes that may not be causing CEL yet. Ask when the coils were changed and budget for them if they haven't recently.

If the heart is set on Cayenne and if the budget allows - go for the turbo model, it is extremely fast and has loads more features than the S.

I have a '05 turbo with 74,000 mi listed in the for sale section. All service up to date. All receipts from purchase in '09.

Other than some little items, our turbo s has been amazing. Best modern suv for the money by far

I would stick with 09 and up, most issues worked out by then. I loved my turbo and it was a VERY reliable truck

Oh mine, all these problems in a year.

Sorry to hi-jack , but , just wondering...did they ever make a Cayenne with standard shift transmission?

Yes, there was one listed in the for sale section not long ago.

Yes the manual was offered atleast through model year 2014. I do not know if it is still available but I am sure someone here can answer that. The gear ratio on manual cayenne is not very performance oriented. 1st gear is extremely short. If performance is why you are interested in the manual you should try one first to see how you like it. All the cars i have owned have been manuals and I have considered a manual cayenne. However you cannot get the manual on the turbo and that is what I am most interested in at the moment.

the only manual Cayenne I've seen was a 955 with a 3.2 V6

The manual was offered on the first generation Cayenne GTS V8's too, not just the V6s.

Never again " What a money pit

Do you mind to elaborate on the issues you had? That can be useful for other potential buyers.

Regards,