4ocious

The maintenance saga continues, AGAIN! I bought this POS from CarMax on 2/2/13 with 48, 651 miles on the speedo. I also purchased their MaxCare extended warranty for $3K which gives me an additional 6 years or 125,000 miles. Since it was still under OEM warranty when I bought it it needed:

Cardan Shaft replacement,
New Horns,
Passenger Seat Airbag Sensors
Pano Roof seal replacement (leaked and flooded the cargo area)
New Bose subwoofer because it got wet

New brakes replaced by former owner
New tires replaced by former owner and Carmax

So far I've:

Changed the oil and filter (CarMax)
Replaced the yellow side markers with clear white
Had all four wheels rebalanced because of sloppy work
Replaced the windshield wipers
Replaced the shift **** because it was scratched and dented

NOW- My check engine light came on at 50, 400 mile so I took it to a very good and reputable indy who has worked on many of my cars. My indy just told me it needs:

New Water Pump
New Oil Cooler (leaks)
New Thermostat (stuck open, not cooling correctly)
Oil Filter Cap (Gorilla mechanic at CarMax replaced my oil)
Transfer case fluid replacement (recommended)
Transmission fluid changed (recommended)

Thank G-D I purchased the extended warranty which will cover most of the major items (10 hours to replace the thermostat alone). If any of you reading this thread are wondering about Cayenne reliability, I've said enough-draw your own conclusions. NEVER, NEVER again for me!

Targa Tim

Too bad about your car.

I am on my third Cayenne and they are all solid.

rodsky

Whats so bad about that list for a 48K car? That actually looks pretty good. Brakes, side markers, windshield wipers, tires - thats all normal wear and tear.

The now part doesnt look good.

Divot

If you bought an extended warranty that covered oil changes, brake pads, new wiper blades, and new rubber with balancing - you got a deal.

klum1971

Thanks for sharing. This is why I'm always hesistant to buy any previously owned vehicle; no matter how well maintained. Just me tho I guess.

Slow Guy

B.S. it takes 10 hrs to replace the thermostat.... 3hr job at most. Water pump and thermostat can be done in well under 8 hrs, I'd say closer to 5.
I fail to see why you're irate over this vehicle.

ltc

Amazing the effects a P!g has on some people

blackland

What will you buy next time?

AdMan21

normal wear and tear stuff. Wait for the BIG ticket items to go.

JohnnyBahamas

On the bright side, it's less maintenance than a horse.

Targa Tim

Fixed it for you Johnny.

4ocious

Considering an ML/GL63 or perhaps an Audi RS5 for DD. I've had good success with Merc's and I'm inclined to go back to them (sell my 911TT and get another CLK63 AMG Black Series). Time will tell. BTW, CarMax is paying for the thermostat and the oil cooler.

gnat

One of your P!g complaints is a failed water pump and you have an Audi on your possible list? Not only do the things like to fail, Audi likes to really hide them in there so it is a PITA to change them.

I disagree that the big items should be expected on a 3 year 50k car (maybe the cardan shaft, but I don't know the details of that common issue), but a lot of what you list (brakes, fluids, cosmetic stuff, etc..) is either what you should be doing with any used car (because you just can't trust the PO) or it's stuff (the cosmetic bits) that you should have noticed before the purchase and been planning for (if they bothered you).

For the bigger items, as I said I don't think they should be expected, but sometimes you just get a bad run. While the 955 V8s have some well known faults, they are otherwise pretty solid and the 957s are generally reliable too. Sorry that it appears you either got a bad one or are reaping the rewards of a bad PO.

Glad you got a warranty on it, but if it requires CarMax's shop to do the work I'd view it as valuable as the paper it's printed on if you intend to (sans current feelings) keep it long term. In my experience if you don't have an experienced Porsche tech working on a Porsche (be it dealer or independent) then you are asking for trouble. At best things will take longer (and possibly cost more) but I've seen some real hack jobs done by people that didn't know how to do things properly and that only leads to more problems coming up down the road.

4ocious

Although I agree in part with the feedback I've received in response to this post let me be clear. Between 48 and 50K miles +/- the following items have either failed or required replacement. I don't normally keep vehicles very long so if this is normal for a 3-year old Cayenne I can hardly wait for the next 5K miles (if I still own it or it hasn't been seized. see comment later)

Cardan drive shaft
Thermostat
Oil Cooler
Horns
Passenger seat airbag sensors
Pano roof seal
Bose sub woofer

Did I mention I took it to Porsche just before my warranty expired to show them how my headlight covers were discolored and clouded in the interior and the trim on the steering wheel column was cracking and discoloring? I'm still waiting for their answer.

Yes, I also had a PPI performed by Porsche before I bought it but none of the items noted above were discovered. So much for the myth of a PPI.

To top this all this off, I received a call from DEA/IRS this week. Seems my GTS has a seizure warrant in effect because the former owner purchased it with drug money. Never saw this one coming and now I've got to deal with this too!

I stand by my earlier statement-

bigbuzuki

Bad luck on buying a lemon.
Porsche should be more careful in designing cars that appeal to drug dealers.
Before downgrading to a MB or Audi, do try a turbo Cayenne.