Considering Purchase of 2004 Cayenne Turbo

[AVIA8R]

I'm considering trading in my 2002 Carrera 4S for a 2004 Cayenne Turbo. Ca someone give me suggestions on what to look for. I found one with 22k miles in Chicago and was wondering if there were problem areas that I should inspect prior to purchase.

Any help would be appreciated.

[mudman2]

if its an early 04 , i.e. april 03 - oct 03, walk away

If its later than that make sure you get a CPO or factor in a third party warranty as there are many issues with the 03/04, less with 05 less still with 06. Mainly electrical gremlins, transmission module changes and updates to cure(reduce) drive by wire lag issues.

The engine is basically rock solid, the transmission on later 04 models are better from the point of view of reduced(never eliminated) hesitation. Misc things like the rear hatch glass opening by themselves, badly set up alignment, Drive Shaft (Carden Shaft) failure, remote controls having no range, wiper blades of bad quality, all of which should have been taken care of by the dealer when serviced but you never know. On top of that dont forget the designed oil consumption on the TT of about 1 ltr every 1500 miles or so.

I am sure I missed some stuff and others an chip in.. If well looked after from new by a good dealer its most likely a good car but it could also be VERY bad if out of warranty.

Check the TSB's listed here and you will get the picture.

By the way i have an 04 S and I am still thrilled to drive it even with all the crap I had to go thru (first name terms with all the mechanics at the dealer)

I'm considering trading in my 2002 Carrera 4S for a 2004 Cayenne Turbo. Ca someone give me suggestions on what to look for. I found one with 22k miles in Chicago and was wondering if there were problem areas that I should inspect prior to purchase.

Any help would be appreciated.

[red_turbo]

My '04 CT has been in the shop quite a few times... It was definitely a nuisance, but after 54k miles on it, I'm still VERY happy with the car. It left the factory in July '03. Since then I have all the service records (I'm the 3rd buyer). I'll follow up a detailed list but from my quick glance a major repair was one of the intercoolers having a leaking gasket (found at 20k service). I know the second buyer and I KNOW that he's driven this thing to the ground and I'm still amazed at how solid it is. You'll run into electrical gremlins... I believe the some of the bulbs were giving false alerts due to defective wiring, but that was covered under a TSB. Knock on wood, nothing major... the warranty has since expired, and I was offered another 3/36 warranty for 6k... NO THANKS. I told them if I have to even pay half that much in repairs, then it's not a Porsche and I'll sell it.

I'll have the list later, I'll have to dig up the service records. Oh, mudman2 is right about oil consumption too. :)

[AVIA8R]

My '04 CT has been in the shop quite a few times... It was definitely a nuisance, but after 54k miles on it, I'm still VERY happy with the car. It left the factory in July '03. Since then I have all the service records (I'm the 3rd buyer). I'll follow up a detailed list but from my quick glance a major repair was one of the intercoolers having a leaking gasket (found at 20k service). I know the second buyer and I KNOW that he's driven this thing to the ground and I'm still amazed at how solid it is. You'll run into electrical gremlins... I believe the some of the bulbs were giving false alerts due to defective wiring, but that was covered under a TSB. Knock on wood, nothing major... the warranty has since expired, and I was offered another 3/36 warranty for 6k... NO THANKS. I told them if I have to even pay half that much in repairs, then it's not a Porsche and I'll sell it.

I'll have the list later, I'll have to dig up the service records. Oh, mudman2 is right about oil consumption too. :)

Thanks for the reply to my earlier post. Can you tell me if one of your bulbls that were giving false alerts was the driver's-side front turn signals? It stopped working right after I bought the car. I check the bulb and it didn't appear to be burnt-out. I put the same bulb back in and it worked for about two weeks before it stopped wrrking again. I'm going to replace the bulb tomorrow with a set of Sylvanna clear (yellow when lit) bulbs. I'm a little nervous though becuae they're 27 W instead of 21 W.

Also, on a few occasions, I've gotten the 'Place selector in "P"' while I'm driving. This should appear only if you have the car in anything other than park while the engine is off. But, its happening while driving. Have you had this happen?

Again, thanks for the post.

Matt

[red_turbo]

Okay, I've reviewed my service records and here's a summary of major warranty repairs:

30k: Two faults, idle air control and throttle actuator... no actual problems found.

30k: Brake Wear Light: Replaced all brakes. $1600

30k: Faulty water pump (bearing noise)

37k: Rear parking sensor failed.

40k: Faulty washer nozzle (found at 40k service)

Low tone horn replaced.

Oil leaking from bank 2 intercooler (replaced o-ring and cam cover)

41k: Replace driver side seat belt (weak retraction).

That's about it, I'm at 54k now. I'm hoping that the major problems have gone away... maybe that's why they give 50k warranties? :)

[3ball]

Make sure you have the CD changer cartridge (if it has a changer), the Navigation CDs. Those were the two things I missed when I inspected mine for purchase.