Anyone out there have first hand knowledge of Cayenne ownership? Maintenance and running costs, any reliability issues, thoughts on build quality, etc?
Brian
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Anyone out there have first hand knowledge of Cayenne ownership? Maintenance and running costs, any reliability issues, thoughts on build quality, etc?
Brian
Brian
I'd stay far away- those prices are outragous & you would never want to drive it offroad. What's the point of it?
Not offroad but after having my Passat with all wheel drive I do like that option for year round driving but I don't like the Passat and I want something a bit bigger.
As far as pricing goes, second hand Cayenne's (I never buy new) are really not too bad....I'm worried on the maintenance because I find that I just can't do the maintenance on the newer vehicles like I did for 20 some odd year on my beloved Mercedes turbo deisel. The old MB turbo deisels were, are, a dream to work on IMHO. And parts aren't really that dear either.
As far as pricing goes, second hand Cayenne's (I never buy new) are really not too bad....I'm worried on the maintenance because I find that I just can't do the maintenance on the newer vehicles like I did for 20 some odd year on my beloved Mercedes turbo deisel. The old MB turbo deisels were, are, a dream to work on IMHO. And parts aren't really that dear either.
Brace yourself when pricing a part with a Porsche number on it!
what about the VW tourag? (sp=?)
....or a Subaru Outback.
... or Mercedes ML series? Personally drive Yota 4Runner as 4x4 - reliable, goes anywhere, reasonable entry price w/great resale --- Not Porsche handling, performance or mystique though (TRD stickers did help some).
Brian,
Don't know specifically about the car. However, I DO know that it was a joint venture between porsche and vw...it's pretty much the same as the tourag. I wouldn't wish a used vw/ audi product on anyone. There is a reason why they don't hold their resale value like a Camry or Accord. Buy that stuff within the warrantee. Run for the hills the day the warrantee expires. Now that I think of it, I would apply this logic to anything other than a Japanese vehicle.
George
Don't know specifically about the car. However, I DO know that it was a joint venture between porsche and vw...it's pretty much the same as the tourag. I wouldn't wish a used vw/ audi product on anyone. There is a reason why they don't hold their resale value like a Camry or Accord. Buy that stuff within the warrantee. Run for the hills the day the warrantee expires. Now that I think of it, I would apply this logic to anything other than a Japanese vehicle.
George
I like MB products but the M series is just butt ugly.
George, your comments on VW/Audi are probably true. My Passat was about a year or so old when I got it. Fully loaded 4-Motion wagon but the build quality, compared to MB, is not up there.
As far as Asian cars go, no thanks. Yes I know that everyone toots the build quality, etc but I just can't get my head around that when the Germans were building quality automobiles the Japaneese were putting four wheels on sewing machines. I remember comparing the new, and first model, Honda Civic to a VW beetle back in the 70's. The beetle won hands down. That said I did have a Datsun 510 once and that was a good little (and very under rated) car at the time. I grew up during a time when you said "must be made in Japan" when anything broke. It was a very common saying back then.
I guess they just don't build them like they used to....
One Asian import I have been thinking about is the diesel Toyota Landcruiser. There seems to be a few that are being imported into Canada from Japan (so they're right hand drive) around the Vancouver area. Prices seem to be very good for these so perhaps that's what I'll look for. Yes, I know its Japaneese but I hear its engine is based in the industructable Benz oil burners and therefore should be relatively easy to work on.
George, your comments on VW/Audi are probably true. My Passat was about a year or so old when I got it. Fully loaded 4-Motion wagon but the build quality, compared to MB, is not up there.
As far as Asian cars go, no thanks. Yes I know that everyone toots the build quality, etc but I just can't get my head around that when the Germans were building quality automobiles the Japaneese were putting four wheels on sewing machines. I remember comparing the new, and first model, Honda Civic to a VW beetle back in the 70's. The beetle won hands down. That said I did have a Datsun 510 once and that was a good little (and very under rated) car at the time. I grew up during a time when you said "must be made in Japan" when anything broke. It was a very common saying back then.
I guess they just don't build them like they used to....
One Asian import I have been thinking about is the diesel Toyota Landcruiser. There seems to be a few that are being imported into Canada from Japan (so they're right hand drive) around the Vancouver area. Prices seem to be very good for these so perhaps that's what I'll look for. Yes, I know its Japaneese but I hear its engine is based in the industructable Benz oil burners and therefore should be relatively easy to work on.
Having owned several German / European made cars and a few Asian built cars may I suggest you consider a few other things?
1) The cost of service
2) The cost of parts
3) The amount of service "required" as spelled out in the owner
1) The cost of service
2) The cost of parts
3) The amount of service "required" as spelled out in the owner
You hit the nail on the head Jim. Its the service and parts that kills you.
But I've always found MB to be very reasonable. Even once I ordered front rotors from the dealer, who is also a Maxda dealer. The price was something like $75 each which I thought was high. The delaer said be thankful its not a Mazda as those factory rotors could get up to $300.
No, I must say that my old Benz was never costly to repair...but I did most of the work myself. And that is the other thing with the old MB cars....they were easy to work on. Even things like hose clamps were positioned in such a way as you could easily get at it with a screwdriver. Other cars I've wrenched on you have to wonder how the heck they ever got that hose clamp on with all the crap blocking access.
I've come to think that its a sign of the times. Modern cars just are not meant to be worked on by backyard, shadetree mechanics.
But I've always found MB to be very reasonable. Even once I ordered front rotors from the dealer, who is also a Maxda dealer. The price was something like $75 each which I thought was high. The delaer said be thankful its not a Mazda as those factory rotors could get up to $300.
No, I must say that my old Benz was never costly to repair...but I did most of the work myself. And that is the other thing with the old MB cars....they were easy to work on. Even things like hose clamps were positioned in such a way as you could easily get at it with a screwdriver. Other cars I've wrenched on you have to wonder how the heck they ever got that hose clamp on with all the crap blocking access.
I've come to think that its a sign of the times. Modern cars just are not meant to be worked on by backyard, shadetree mechanics.
I used to work for Fisher Body Central Engineering at General Motors in the 60's. We went to great pains to show, directly on the engineering drawings, that certain standard tools actually did have clearance access to most bolts (door hinges, window adjustments, door locks, etc.) for future service adjustment.
Compare that to a recent video of a current Mustang assembly plant. Nearly every major assembly (engine, suspension, doors, dashboard, etc.) was sub-assembled off-line and installed as a fully completed module. That is why you end up with vehicles where you have to loosen a motor mount and raise the engine to change a spark plug (older Couger) or remove the front wheels to grease the lower ball joints (PT Cruiser).
I guess the flip side is that many cars are getting 100,000 to 150,000 miles without any major leaks or required repairs.
Compare that to a recent video of a current Mustang assembly plant. Nearly every major assembly (engine, suspension, doors, dashboard, etc.) was sub-assembled off-line and installed as a fully completed module. That is why you end up with vehicles where you have to loosen a motor mount and raise the engine to change a spark plug (older Couger) or remove the front wheels to grease the lower ball joints (PT Cruiser).
I guess the flip side is that many cars are getting 100,000 to 150,000 miles without any major leaks or required repairs.
Consider the VW Touareg. It has basically the same options only lower maintenance prices. If the Cayenne S is the temptation, take a serious look at the V10 TDI Touareg, it's a monster.
-=theron
-=theron
...i've got to add that i absolutely love any vehicle that comes out of germany and europe, on general. i've just grown to a point to appreciate an every day driver that simply does not fail me. i too remember the crap that used to come out of japan. i guess time change...heck, ford used to build cool cars!! time really does change things.
things to consider: Toyotas are made in Georgia (USA), and my Mazda 6 was built in Detroit; my F-150: somewhere in Canada. All three certainly have parts in them made in Mexico and Asia. There is no such thing as a "foreign" car. How Porsche and MB, et al. handle all of this global village business, I can't say, but you get the drift here. And my Speedster was built in CA, out of parts from Germany, China, Mexico, and God (and maybe John Steele) only knows where all else. I'm just sayin' . . .
Kelly, you're probably right. I went with the Passat originally as it has VW's version of the Porsche Tiptronic and the Audi Quattro. They all seem to share technology and parts these days. Even my old MB 300SD, the airconditioning system was GM. Identical except that the threaded holes in the compressor were metric.
In the end I think I will just stay with the Passat...better the devil you know than the one you don't. But if I could find a decent V10 diesel Touareg or an immaculate MB 300TD, Hmmmm
In the end I think I will just stay with the Passat...better the devil you know than the one you don't. But if I could find a decent V10 diesel Touareg or an immaculate MB 300TD, Hmmmm