ringo951

I have been lurking in this section for a while and have been considering going the Cayenne route for a little while and reading on this board would make one think these things were made by Lucas. I would like to hear from those that actually like their Alpha/Beta's if you will. How terrible these vehicles are seems to have been beaten to death and I wonder if they are really that unreliable or just lots of ranting from unhappy buyers with a lot of little issues. I have owned a lot of different marques and have always been partial to English and German vehicles. Owning a few Range Rover and Jag's both old and new I am all too familiar with lots of little quirks that can be annoying but in the overall picture these vehicles did much more for the soul than any "reliable" jap car will ever do. I perfectly understand ranting when you pay this kind of money for a vehicle and it has problems but is it a totally unreliable useless one to own. Have the problems that plague these MYs not been fixable. I test drove one a couple of years ago and absolutely loved the way it drove and handled but do not want something I can't enjoy or can't get to work in because it will not run or will leave me on the side of the road all the time. I had one of those it was called an RX7 Twin Turbo 3rd Gen. In the 3 years of ownership I probably got to drive it for about 1 year. The rest of the time it lived in the shop not from quirks, it would not run. Finally just dumped it. I have read all the CR comments and the comment by the mechanic in Panorama that have been posted. But, are the Cayenne's of these MYs plagued with a lot of little quirks and can those quirks be fixed, or are they totally unreliable.

Again let me repeat I perfectly understand being pissed when you pay this kind of money for a vehicle and it has problems but It seems to be the same handfull of people that always post how bad these are, so who has positive things to say about these MYs. Sorry for being long winded but this seems to be an important decision to me.

Boeing 717

Yea i may buy my wife one...........are the 04's reliable???


JERRY

nkhalidi

My sister has a very early '05 Cayenne Turbo, and she's had zero problems with it. She's put 25k on it, has her munchkin in the back who likes to kick the seats and trim panels, and basically does no additional maintenance except when warning/maintenance lights come on. No rattles, no hvac issues, no radio/nav issues, no mechanical problems.

I would have no reservations about buying her particular vehicle, or any other CPO '05 Cayenne model.

Renn 951

My May 04 build has been rock solid to date.

Targa Tim

I bought my 2004 CS new with a build date of June 2003. No major problems, just a list of small annoying things (foot brake handle broke a few times, noises from ventilation system, defective radio a few times, door handles got stuck, body aluminum trim pieces got loose...) All were fixed under warranty. Engine, drivetrain and suspension were all problem free. Still a happy camper. Waiting for my new CTT soon...

jumper5836

Nothing but issues for mine and I think I have had every problem that is common to the Cayenne fixed. So hopefully the future will be better.
I love it though much better then the 03 Range Rover. I drive a 996 daily and its great to jump into the CS, it feels like it, I have steel springs and it rides rough like my 996 no air for me, not after all the issues that air suspension has when they get older. No other SUV can come close to the sports car feeling and all the others I've driven just bob around and float over the bumps, and have to much body roll in the corners.

I don't like the new ones though. They ruined the rear lights and the Turbo is plain ugly in the front. Though I do like the front of the new CS, its much better then the Turbo but with the ugly rear lights I have to pass on it. Hopefully they will go back to the old style for the next update.

MadFox

Okay... 1st response is ---- this forum is overly negative and sarcastic because alpha/beta owners were jaded by previous flawless luxury vehicles by other manf. or they were Porsche-files who couldn't believe the attitude change at their dealer to fix KNOWN problems. As you've read.. alpha/beta owners had the "teething pains" of Porsche's first non-sports car.

To specifically answer your question ---- I LOVED by Beta and I HATED my Beta. Most would admit to a LOVE/HATE relationship.. except Larry (but he's dead and I digress). It's about your dealer and your understanding of Porsche's mentality about the newer vehicles. If you can deal with those two issues, come on in the water is warm.

For me, I had "glitches" nearly every month with the Beta. However, it NEVER left me stranded (other than a flat tire -- no spare) and I had every single one, (yes, all) of the glitches. Most have been corrected; but, some you'll have to live with as has been well documented here. If you buy a used alpha/beta, you'd be a fool not go to the CPO route because of the potential for those last few gremlins that will re-assert themselves every now and again with alpha/betas.

I'd suggest you opt for a used '06 (some new ones are around, too) again CPO and then keep the sucker to 100K. To date, I have a "bulletproof" Tit.S with PASM but because of my beta experience I bought an ext. warranty for 7 years/100K and will trade when I get there.

FWIW, I hate the new **** on the '08 Cayenne.. the Tit.S exhaust is the best looking IMHO, and I agree with you, too, that the S is the only decent looking front of the new bunch. I have zero regrets about trading to the Tit.S and love driving it EVERY day (and I did sample all the SUV competition before opting to buy another).

Aeroresh

I've had an '04 for the last year or so. Car is CPO'd but Ive had a few niggly problems and its only the last month that has been trouble free!

Id say beware of the earlier cars if only for the reason stated above. Even if the car is still covered under warranty you'll find alot of the niggly stuff wont be covered!

Brilliant car non the less.

EnigmaWmn

When my '05 CS (2 years of ownership this November) doesn't need to be serviced for the problems that arise I DO enjoy it. Tremendously. I also hate it, tremendously, when it hesitates. Would subject myself to another Cayenne. IF I like what comes out in '09.

Raptor

Spring '04 build ... 34,000 miles, original Diamaris on 22" TechArts, 30,000 km service. No otrher service, no probs. Repeat, no problems.

ringo951

Great feedback guys. Keep it coming. Nice to finally see a group that stays on topic around here. Good to hear positive things about such a unique vehicle.

Sounds like these things are just plauged with a bunch of annoying glitches. Boy am I used to that with the English vehicles but you can't replace the feal they have. Makes those annoyances tollerable in the English and German variety.

ltc

EnigmaWmn is not a guy.....perhaps you haven't seen the pictures.

On topic, or simply what you want to hear?

Unique? Compared to what? A Touareg?
I don't think Cayennes are 'unique', they're simply another overproduced Porsche commodity based vehicle.

droptop

ok, there are people who like their early cayennes. there are also people who haven't had any problems with them. mine was an early 05 build date, and besides

belts
transmission
PCM failure
starting problems
hesitation
uncommanded rear window deployment
elephant *** as windshield wiper

i had no problems with it.

the deal with cayennes (and i suspect any porsche) is having a dealer who can get in front of the problems, instead of reseting the computer until you run out of warranty. the tranny in this thing was 19k, and there was no bloody way i was going to pay for it myself. depending on your dealer, you may or may not have a better experience, but going naked on one of these is foolish at best.

yetis

What she said.

There is ZERO chance I will own this car out of warranty. I have learned to live with the issues, as they have never kept me from using the car, they are just annoying.

This is the most important part regarding a Cayenne. If my Porsche dealer didn't play along, I would be right there, leading the charge on Atlanta. My dealer knows how poorly these issue looks and because of that, seems to take care of it, with minimal resistance.

I do dearly miss my 996.

ringo951

Oops, my apologies did not notice she had posted. And yes I have seen the pictures....




I stand corrected. Always one in the bunch.......

We have all heard the mass of negatives. Just wanted to hear some positive stories.