which one should i get? thinking of buying a cayenne in one month

[nikem4]

hi all:

i am new to this site and i need some help. please offer what you think.

little bit background of me, international student studying MBA at Michigan State University. I bought a 02 BMW m3 the second day i arrived. love the car, love the convertible. however, winter here is as bad as hell, based on what i heard from second year and locals. even though my m3 has a hard top and a set of winter tire, i am seriously thinking buying a large SUV, (one of my friends is 280+ lbs). Cayenne is the first car on my list.

right now i am looking at either a 06 cayenne-s, with 30-40k miles and might have some warranty left or a 04 cayenne turbo, with 55k miles and no warranty left. they are pretty much the same price. from what i know from a friend who has a 04 cayenne turbo in Vancouver, Canada, this car is amazing to drive. however, servicing is extremely expensive and minor problems never end. for those who own a 04 turbo, is it true with you too or my friend is just unlucky enough to own a defect of this early year model.

i understand a 06 will be more reliable and probably more fuel efficient, and i don't have to worry about defect, but i am a performance guy. this is my first SUV and i don't want to be disappointed by its performance. that being said, can i really tell the difference between a S and a turbo? i mean, you can only drive up to 45 miles/hour in a city, Legally.

anyways, any feedback is greatly appreciated. i am ready to join the porsche family and enjoy this forum.

thanks

mike

[Dennis C]

hi all:

i am new to this site and i need some help. please offer what you think.

little bit background of me, international student studying MBA at Michigan State University. I bought a 02 BMW m3 the second day i arrived. love the car, love the convertible. however, winter here is as bad as hell, based on what i heard from second year and locals. even though my m3 has a hard top and a set of winter tire, i am seriously thinking buying a large SUV, (one of my friends is 280+ lbs). Cayenne is the first car on my list.

right now i am looking at either a 06 cayenne-s, with 30-40k miles and might have some warranty left or a 04 cayenne turbo, with 55k miles and no warranty left. they are pretty much the same price. from what i know from a friend who has a 04 cayenne turbo in Vancouver, Canada, this car is amazing to drive. however, servicing is extremely expensive and minor problems never end. for those who own a 04 turbo, is it true with you too or my friend is just unlucky enough to own a defect of this early year model.

i understand a 06 will be more reliable and probably more fuel efficient, and i don't have to worry about defect, but i am a performance guy. this is my first SUV and i don't want to be disappointed by its performance. that being said, can i really tell the difference between a S and a turbo? i mean, you can only drive up to 45 miles/hour in a city, Legally.

anyways, any feedback is greatly appreciated. i am ready to join the porsche family and enjoy this forum.

thanks

mike

Mike,

This isn't an easy question to answer. The two cars you are comparing are different in many ways. Neither of them will give you the driving experience of the M3. The turbo is certainly quick, but it's still an SUV.

Generally speaking, you should buy the newest Porsche that you can afford. The 2004 model year was more prone to issues than the 2006, but neither is immune from problems. You are right about maintenance and repairs, especially at the dealer. They are expensive. For these two reasons, I'd lean towards the newer car based on what I know from your post. You also have to consider the other elements - color, options, wheel/tire size, etc. I am a big fan of PASM, which is standard on turbos and optional on the S. I'd also look at the maintenance history on each vehicle and get a good PPI. If there maintenance history is not available for the turbo, I wouldn't buy it.

Good luck with your choice.

[geoff]

How much performance do you think you need to drive in the snow? Not just for your driving, but taking in to account all the bozos driving around you? No matter how much performance you have, it's still a 5,000+ pound car

Is this a keeper, or just a car to keep for a year or two until you finish your MBA and then you're done with it?

Starting in the '08 model year, the engines got direct injection, so more power AND better mileage, also larger displacement. My '08 S has been great, but I haven't driven it in snow yet

Make sure whatever you buy has tires that will work in cold weather. I think a lot of the Turbos have 20" or 21" tires that are summer tires and won't get much traction in the snow. The larger Cayenne tires are expen$ive

I found the Cayenne parts and service to be much more reasonable than for the Boxster or Carrera.

You definitely want heated seats in whatever you buy. Park assist is a nice feature for the Cayenne as well

[nikem4]

Mike,

This isn't an easy question to answer. The two cars you are comparing are different in many ways. Neither of them will give you the driving experience of the M3. The turbo is certainly quick, but it's still an SUV.

Generally speaking, you should buy the newest Porsche that you can afford. The 2004 model year was more prone to issues than the 2006, but neither is immune from problems. You are right about maintenance and repairs, especially at the dealer. They are expensive. For these two reasons, I'd lean towards the newer car based on what I know from your post. You also have to consider the other elements - color, options, wheel/tire size, etc. I am a big fan of PASM, which is standard on turbos and optional on the S. I'd also look at the maintenance history on each vehicle and get a good PPI. If there maintenance history is not available for the turbo, I wouldn't buy it.

Good luck with your choice.

thanks for the info. what is PPI? i guess this is a nooby question for sure.

How much performance do you think you need to drive in the snow? Not just for your driving, but taking in to account all the bozos driving around you? No matter how much performance you have, it's still a 5,000+ pound car

Is this a keeper, or just a car to keep for a year or two until you finish your MBA and then you're done with it?

Starting in the '08 model year, the engines got direct injection, so more power AND better mileage, also larger displacement. My '08 S has been great, but I haven't driven it in snow yet

Make sure whatever you buy has tires that will work in cold weather. I think a lot of the Turbos have 20" or 21" tires that are summer tires and won't get much traction in the snow. The larger Cayenne tires are expen$ive

I found the Cayenne parts and service to be much more reasonable than for the Boxster or Carrera.

You definitely want heated seats in whatever you buy. Park assist is a nice feature for the Cayenne as well

well, i dont really need lots of power in the snow, i guess its the turbo, that actual word, gets me excited. its a car i will drive for two years and probably ship back to Canada or whatever, not too sure on that yet. i was think if i buy the turbo,i would at least get a 2 years 24,000 mile extended warranty for sure. which quoted by the dealer at 2200 dollors, which is not that bad. 08-s are running at at least 40+k, which is out of my price range already. yes, your winter tire thing got my thinking, maybe i can use the dunlop winter tire for my m3 on the cayenne? they are 225/45R17. my guess its that they are too small and probably can not withstand the heavy weight of the cayenne. but anyways, i hope the all season on the turbo can get me though two winters.

just talk to the dealer today, i need to run a service every 20,000 miles and minor one cost me 450 and major one cost me 900. so, again, that is something to add up to the bill. anyways, i am going to check out some cayenne in Chicago tomorrow. wish me best of luck find the right one.

[SA321]

i could never understand why anyone would buy a turbo in country where they put you in jail if you do 100mph. If you are in Italy or south france you are ok up to 220kmh, floor in germany. there it makes sense but US?

[nikem4]

i could never understand why anyone would buy a turbo in country where they put you in jail if you do 100mph. If you are in Italy or south france you are ok up to 220kmh, floor in germany. there it makes sense but US?

totally make sense. So I guess we only need Ford and GM then. LOL

[cayenneturboabbe]

hi all:

i am new to this site and i need some help. please offer what you think.

little bit background of me, international student studying MBA at Michigan State University. I bought a 02 BMW m3 the second day i arrived. love the car, love the convertible. however, winter here is as bad as hell, based on what i heard from second year and locals. even though my m3 has a hard top and a set of winter tire, i am seriously thinking buying a large SUV, (one of my friends is 280+ lbs). Cayenne is the first car on my list.

right now i am looking at either a 06 cayenne-s, with 30-40k miles and might have some warranty left or a 04 cayenne turbo, with 55k miles and no warranty left. they are pretty much the same price. from what i know from a friend who has a 04 cayenne turbo in Vancouver, Canada, this car is amazing to drive. however, servicing is extremely expensive and minor problems never end. for those who own a 04 turbo, is it true with you too or my friend is just unlucky enough to own a defect of this early year model.

i understand a 06 will be more reliable and probably more fuel efficient, and i don't have to worry about defect, but i am a performance guy. this is my first SUV and i don't want to be disappointed by its performance. that being said, can i really tell the difference between a S and a turbo? i mean, you can only drive up to 45 miles/hour in a city, Legally.

anyways, any feedback is greatly appreciated. i am ready to join the porsche family and enjoy this forum.

thanks

mike

Hey Mike,

I have a 04 Turbo I'm looking to sell shortly. Feel free to email at info@rockstarmedia.biz if you have any questions. I'm located in Novi just outside Detroit. Bill

[Dennis C]

A PPI is a pre-purchase inspection. You should have it done by a qualified independent mechanic who is very familiar with Porsche vehicles, or by a Porsche dealer who is impartial (i.e. not the selling dealer).

[nikem4]

A PPI is a pre-purchase inspection. You should have it done by a qualified independent mechanic who is very familiar with Porsche vehicles, or by a Porsche dealer who is impartial (i.e. not the selling dealer).

thanks, that is exactly what i would do. now here is the situation, the private seller has done an inspection on the turbo and found out there is couple leakage, one of which is the coolant leak, and will cause 10k+ to fix and a lift of the engine, according to the mechanic who inspect it.

can anyone verify the story? I thought this coolant leakage is a common failure on some of the cayenne out there. and it cause 10k+ to fix?!?!

[Dennis C]

A PPI is a pre-purchase inspection. You should have it done by a qualified independent mechanic who is very familiar with Porsche vehicles, or by a Porsche dealer who is impartial (i.e. not the selling dealer).

thanks, that is exactly what i would do. now here is the situation, the private seller has done an inspection on the turbo and found out there is couple leakage, one of which is the coolant leak, and will cause 10k+ to fix and a lift of the engine, according to the mechanic who inspect it.

can anyone verify the story? I thought this coolant leakage is a common failure on some of the cayenne out there. and it cause 10k+ to fix?!?!

If the coolant leak is caused by the well-documented plastic coolant tubes failing, then the repair should cost less than $2,000 including all labor and parts.

[nikem4]

A PPI is a pre-purchase inspection. You should have it done by a qualified independent mechanic who is very familiar with Porsche vehicles, or by a Porsche dealer who is impartial (i.e. not the selling dealer).

thanks, that is exactly what i would do. now here is the situation, the private seller has done an inspection on the turbo and found out there is couple leakage, one of which is the coolant leak, and will cause 10k+ to fix and a lift of the engine, according to the mechanic who inspect it.

can anyone verify the story? I thought this coolant leakage is a common failure on some of the cayenne out there. and it cause 10k+ to fix?!?!

If the coolant leak is caused by the well-documented plastic coolant tubes failing, then the repair should cost less than $2,000 including all labor and parts.

thanks Dennis. it was my bad. i mistook 15 hundred with 15 grand. that solves the problem

[woeis]

'02 M3 or Cayenne '04 Turbo or 06' S? I have an '02 3-series and think it is the greatest car ever built with no problems at 90K and also have an '04 Cayenne S that has had every common problem that is reported on this site. I would go with a '06 Cayenne S that will have fewer problems and make sure it has the adjustable air suspension with ride height control if concerned about snow and it will still be capable of maintaining a smooth ride for the ladies. Cayennes without suspension management (PASM) will ride firm. I love my Cayenne and like wrenching on it but the E46 M3 is the better vehicle. Since you're in college you need to know that any Porsche is better than any BMW when picking up the opposite sex.

[nikem4]

'02 M3 or Cayenne '04 Turbo or 06' S? I have an '02 3-series and think it is the greatest car ever built with no problems at 90K and also have an '04 Cayenne S that has had every common problem that is reported on this site. I would go with a '06 Cayenne S that will have fewer problems and make sure it has the adjustable air suspension with ride height control if concerned about snow and it will still be capable of maintaining a smooth ride for the ladies. Cayennes without suspension management (PASM) will ride firm. I love my Cayenne and like wrenching on it but the E46 M3 is the better vehicle. Since you're in college you need to know that any Porsche is better than any BMW when picking up the opposite sex.

I already have the 02 m3, thanks for the nice word about it. I have spotted a 04 turbo with 77k and 4 months of CPO left. however, to buy a third party extended warranty, the bill is 48xx. wondering whether i should go for it.

about picking up girls, whatever you say makes me LOL. I wish that is true. plus, MSU is ranked the 4th among all the universities national wide for its craziness of party and of ladies.