As a long-term Cayenne owner I found the video below very interesting as it somewhat mirrors my experience. We bought our 2009 Cayenne in 2010. At the time it had 18,000 miles on it, came with the remainder of Porsche’s factory warranty, and was CPO’d, as well. Since that time we’ve added over 140,000 miles for a grand total of 158k+ miles on the odometer. The vast majority of those miles have been trouble free and include numerous cross country road-trips with ourselves and the dogs.
When I think back on major maintenance issues, it’s tough to come up with any. To date, the biggest item I can remember was having to replace the center support on the Cardan/Drive shaft (a common failure point for a lot of 1st and 2nd generation Cayennes). In fact, other than wear parts (brakes, rotors, tires, oil, plugs, filters, etc.) our Cayenne has been pretty much maintenance free. As we continue to accumulate miles on the Cayenne we’ve discussed the possibility of replacing it. However, it continues to run so well (and it still looks great) that it’s hard to justify it.
After watching the video above, I’ve been inspired to create my own long-term ownership report for both my benefit and yours. We’ve seen a few S and Turbo model Cayennes with our kind of mileage still hanging on, but don’t hear much about the V6 model with 150k + miles. What’s the highest mileage Cayenne you know of?
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I own a 2008 Porsche Cayenne with the optional transmission. I bought it in 2011 with 31,400 miles after it came off lease from a local Banker. This fact is only important as I wrongly thought that a Certified Porsche driven by a female banker would now have the issues a speed demon male would have.
WRONG!! The Bridge stone tires lasted only another 12000 miles along with the Brakes, Rotors and Pads. Just after the Certified warranty expired I had to replace the whole CARDAN Shaft assembly with the Dealer and Porsche commented I was only the second 2008 owner to have this happen on a Cayenne! Later I replaced the VERY expensive Battery and finally a massive bill for a valve cover gasket.
Believe it or not I love my Porsche and have used it for vacations and a work car when it hasn't been in the dealers shop. I have had MBs and Acuras for loaners each time: sometimes for two weeks or more while waiting on the parts. I now have paid the vehicle off and have a HARD Fought 82000 miles on it. I am ready to replace brakes and Michelins soon!
Bottom Line I had my Bucket list Porsche and have almost brought a Boxster and Panamera to fill the garage although I expected better from German engineering.
Not to make light of your expenses and repairs, but everything you list, other than the cardan shaft, are wear items and need to be replaced at regular intervals on any car. Depending on miles one could even argue that clave cover gaskets are a wear item, too...
Nice video. My 2004 S is still going strong with 190k miles. It's had its' share of big ticket items (coolant pipes, cardan shaft, throttle valve body, one fuel pump, crankshaft sensor, power steering pump, coil packs, water pump, valve cover gaskets, engine mounts) but I plan on keeping it until it implodes!
Randall, do you do your own maintenance? We do all of our own service maintenance (other than oil changes).
Did the engine mounts corrode? Or, was there some other type of failure?
I have a 2008 with the base 6 cylinder. I bought it 6 1/2 years ago with 30k and it now has 120. It's been great! I also use it to tow my miata to the track with out any issue. In fact, I have towed as far as Mt. Tremblant from Baltimore. What a comfortable ride. Would recommend it to anyone.
We don't tow much with ours. A jet-ski here and there and a small aluminum fishing boat to our neighbors "ramp" to launch it each spring and haul it out each fall. We have, however, used it to pull a full-size FedEx truck out of a muddy culvert on our camp road. Driver was amazed that we could get him out.
I have a 2008 V6 Cayenne with 130,000 miles (it will hit that this weekend, and be due for it's next service). I am the second owner. I have never had to touch the original driveshaft, but I knew that could be an issue when I bought it. I do all of my own repairs, but let the dealer handle regular oil changes, alignments, etc.
I have replaced the battery, at around 100K - but it was the original battery. It is a gigantic AGM battery, but that is a remarkable life for any battery. That is one of the reasons I bought the car - reserve electrical capacity. I plan to run a fridge for longer camping trips, once I can get up off of my wallet and spend $600 for one (that's a lot of bags of ice!). I did let the dealer replace the battery, as the driver's seat must come out, and lots of software updates are needed afterwards. $600. Ouch.
Only other issue I have had is the HVAC fan (easily replaced in about 30 minutes) and I broke the annoying clips on the harness on one of the coils when changing the plugs at 100K. Otherwise, just factory service and tires. Costs less to maintain than my wife's Toyota Venza (even her 20" tires cost more).
The car (truck?) regularly carries multiple canoes and kayaks on Yakima crossbars and an extender Load Warrior basket rack. I have all the goodies for the rack, and carry a second spare on the roof on longer offroad trips. I also have the shovel bracket (Q: "What is that for?" A: "That is my toilet"). Heading into the woods on Friday for three days with 3 boats and all of my camping gear.
I have owned many Toyota Landcruisers, going back to a 1967 FJ40. I thought I would need less offroad capability, because my home state of Maryland has fewer legal offroad miles now. But it doesn't matter - the Cayenne will go anywhere I need to go. I have scraped bottom once or twice, and plan to build a simple aluminum bash guard set-up one of these days. I have pulled tree stumps with it, and dragged logs out of the woods on a family farm in WV. My family was appalled when I threw mud in the front window via the front tires while pulling a stump, but I thought it was just the way it should be used.
The 2008 still has the dual-range 4WD, recommended for certain conditions. But I rarely need it.
We also use it to tow a 3500 lb 20 foot camper trailer a few times a year. It requires patience in the mountains of WV with the V6, but on flatter roads it will go 75 mph with the cruise control set and the trailer hooked up.
And it still looks good when cleaned up and going out to dinner whenever the snow is too deep for my 911.
Love it. And recommend it.
Mark,
Glad to hear how much your enjoying yours. Sounds like you use it similar to how we use ours. Every time we go to the dump the guys at the entry gate are always amazed that we'll use it to haul trash. I've tried many times to explain that it's just a "truck" and at this point it probably equates to a lower cost of ownership than their newly leased $45k pickup they replace every 36 months.
Sorry, mine is not a v6 (as you requested), but...mine is a 2006 Turbo S. It has 228,000 miles on it. Every single one of the known issues has occurred and been fixed. It eats oil faster than it eats miles (suspect valve guide seals), but still runs like a top. It is my daily driver and trip car. The battery lasted 10 years and 200,000 miles. I love this car, depend on it and just can't see getting rid of it. We'll see how many miles I can rack up!
Glen,
Check back with us in a couple of years and let us know where you are mileage wise.
Hopefully others will see your post and understand the importance of making sure that all the "usual suspect" maintenance issues have been taken care of and documented when purchasing any model used Cayenne.
Can you please list the, "usual suspect" items? We're planning on moving to Maine soon and I need to sell my old Jeep Cherokee XJ and am looking for a used Cayenne. I just started looking and have read various stories about coolant pipes, but not much else...
I love your site and look forward to reading it in my inbox every week. Keep up the great work!
Aktifspeed
The "usual suspects" depends on the year and model you're looking at...
I have an 09 turbo s with 83 on it, have thought about trading it in for newer but it runs great and is comfortable on the road so probably will keep it. I have changed the driveshaft , tires and battery in the past two years of ownership as well as a few oil changes so I'm happy with it. I wonder how far it will go but with regular oil changes and taking care of it I think it will be fine.
I bought my 2006 TT about 5 years ago with 60000 miles on it. Now have 180000 and running great. Have had the normal issues but once done, seems to last. Had it on race tracks around the US and that is a blast chasing down or at least staying with 911 and close to GT3s. Has cel light but diagnosed as startup something or other. Doesn't seem to bother it. Love it and will drive it tell it drops.
My 05 CTT's only issue is the pcm. OS and maps are out of date and dealer wants $600 to update. But, the backup cam is not working and it lacks the functionality of new systems (phone, Pandora, etc). A Porsche specialty stereo shop quoted me $2,400 to upgrade, but there's got to be a more cost effective upgrade. Any suggestions?