Cayenne ownership: questions.
Discussion
Evening folks.
I'm seriously considering going for a Cayenne and have a few questions please.
Got around a 15k budget and am looking for a replacement for my FF Range Rover Vogue TD6 which iv'e had for over 6 years.
Iv'e done some reading up and know about the coolant pipes issue and propshaft bearings.
Can someone enlighten me with the pro's and con's as to the choice between the 3.2 or the 4.5. Is the 3.2 a bad choice with regards to it's engine?
Also, tyres: I remember reading some horror stories about having to replace the tyres every 6 months or so,
Is this related to a particular year/spec/wheel size?
Anything else I need to be aware of.
I'm also looking at LPG'd Cayenne's and may get the conversion done after purchase.
There seems to be a lot of low mileage 3.2's around but not so many of the others.
Your opinions and advice please.
Many thanks.
I'm seriously considering going for a Cayenne and have a few questions please.
Got around a 15k budget and am looking for a replacement for my FF Range Rover Vogue TD6 which iv'e had for over 6 years.
Iv'e done some reading up and know about the coolant pipes issue and propshaft bearings.
Can someone enlighten me with the pro's and con's as to the choice between the 3.2 or the 4.5. Is the 3.2 a bad choice with regards to it's engine?
Also, tyres: I remember reading some horror stories about having to replace the tyres every 6 months or so,
Is this related to a particular year/spec/wheel size?
Anything else I need to be aware of.
I'm also looking at LPG'd Cayenne's and may get the conversion done after purchase.
There seems to be a lot of low mileage 3.2's around but not so many of the others.
Your opinions and advice please.
Many thanks.
I think most on here will tell you that there is no point in getting the std Cayenne over the S as both have similar mpg but the smaller engine has considerably less go and you therefore may as well get a Toureg.
I've only driven the S and it is an amazing car - just about capable of anything. Pre 2006 are cheaper (for the time being) on tax, and for 15k you could get a nice one.
Go for 20 inch wheels and air suspension and you must get it inspected by someone who knows what they are doing.
Get one, you won't regret it
I've only driven the S and it is an amazing car - just about capable of anything. Pre 2006 are cheaper (for the time being) on tax, and for 15k you could get a nice one.
Go for 20 inch wheels and air suspension and you must get it inspected by someone who knows what they are doing.
Get one, you won't regret it
I bought a 60k miles Turbo for £14k not too long ago. They're almost the same "economy" as the 4.5, but with the extra grunt and without the chocolate engine. Mine had recently had the prop shaft, discs + pads and water pipes replaced at an OPC. Since purchasing I've treated it to a full service including coil packs at my indy who also replaced a split CV boot I'd missed whilst inspecting (or picked up in the interim) but that's because I'm a bit anal about my cars. I replaced the battery too, but I think the dealer I got it from had allowed it to run flat in his lot before I bought it.
The 3.2 is underpowered for a 2.5T car and as you need to thrash it you'll not get any better consumption. The 4.5 is capable, but suffers with bore-scoring whereas the stronger blocks on the Turbo don't. There's a private CT on Autotrader with 30k miles up for £11k at the mo. Seems like a strong bargain, depending if it needs anything. Bills can soon mount up though. Brakes - £1k, Tyres - £1k, Propshaft at OPC - £1k, and so on.
The computer is showing 15.9mpg average and doesn't seem to be far off. I don't really check as these aren't the cars to be buying if you're worried about those figures. Check all the electrics as gremlins are famous. The rear passenger window on mine likes to drop by itself unless you turn of the rear controls from the drivers door. I'll get round to looking into that soon, but I rarely have rear passengers so it's not top of my list of priorities.
Mine has Air Suspension which is fantastic. The PCM2 is a bit pants by today's standards so I wouldn't let the lack of this put you off an otherwise good car. On the whole they're a fantastic motor if you can get your head around the terrible looks of the thing. Comfy, more than capable and a nice steer for the size.
The 3.2 is underpowered for a 2.5T car and as you need to thrash it you'll not get any better consumption. The 4.5 is capable, but suffers with bore-scoring whereas the stronger blocks on the Turbo don't. There's a private CT on Autotrader with 30k miles up for £11k at the mo. Seems like a strong bargain, depending if it needs anything. Bills can soon mount up though. Brakes - £1k, Tyres - £1k, Propshaft at OPC - £1k, and so on.
The computer is showing 15.9mpg average and doesn't seem to be far off. I don't really check as these aren't the cars to be buying if you're worried about those figures. Check all the electrics as gremlins are famous. The rear passenger window on mine likes to drop by itself unless you turn of the rear controls from the drivers door. I'll get round to looking into that soon, but I rarely have rear passengers so it's not top of my list of priorities.
Mine has Air Suspension which is fantastic. The PCM2 is a bit pants by today's standards so I wouldn't let the lack of this put you off an otherwise good car. On the whole they're a fantastic motor if you can get your head around the terrible looks of the thing. Comfy, more than capable and a nice steer for the size.
My cousins turbo is for sale; 53 plate, PASM and level control, Litronic and cornering lights, 20's, roof rails, sill steps, met grey with grey leather, PCM and tv's in rear with games console connectivity its on PH -
http://ec2-46-137-117-189.eu-west-1.compute.amazon...
Ignore the 21's mentioned (he read it wrong!)
http://ec2-46-137-117-189.eu-west-1.compute.amazon...
Ignore the 21's mentioned (he read it wrong!)
Edited by Pope on Saturday 9th March 20:01
Edited by Pope on Saturday 9th March 20:05
Why would you not want a Turbo? They really won't be any more expensive than a V8 to maintain, especially if the V8 scores it's bores. And yes, they do chew through tyres. It's simply a function of a 2.5T car starting, stopping and handling corners surprisingly well for a big beast. If you're worried about running costs on consumable items then maybe a Cayenne isn't for you.
Edited by BrewsterBear on Sunday 10th March 17:46
I had a gen 1 KN Turbo for about 3 years - put over 60k miles on it
only had two sets of tyres during that time
Pirellis were crap and wore out quickly
Yokohama's were ace - great grip and low wear
Did use M&S tyres in winter though
very capable car
cant really see why you would buy a std 4.5 when for a little more you can have a turbo with all the toys as standard
When looking I drove all varients, and had them on loan for a week at a time (friendly OPC)
3.2 always hunts gears unless you live in norfolk 21mpg
4.5 nice but you always feel you may be missing something 20mpg
4.5T as above but without the missing bit ! 19mpg
My average mpg over the life of mine was 19.8
all 4.5s have the risk of blowwing coolant pipes, so check to see if they have been replaced - make sure you check the bill for all parts used - some garages miss some important but small parts out.
centre propshaft bearing can wear, and there is a risk of water in the offside rear d pillar due to popped off rear window washer pipes - your ECU's will get wet if this happens, and its common - new version of nozzle clip exists to fix the issue for pence
only had two sets of tyres during that time
Pirellis were crap and wore out quickly
Yokohama's were ace - great grip and low wear
Did use M&S tyres in winter though
very capable car
cant really see why you would buy a std 4.5 when for a little more you can have a turbo with all the toys as standard
When looking I drove all varients, and had them on loan for a week at a time (friendly OPC)
3.2 always hunts gears unless you live in norfolk 21mpg
4.5 nice but you always feel you may be missing something 20mpg
4.5T as above but without the missing bit ! 19mpg
My average mpg over the life of mine was 19.8
all 4.5s have the risk of blowwing coolant pipes, so check to see if they have been replaced - make sure you check the bill for all parts used - some garages miss some important but small parts out.
centre propshaft bearing can wear, and there is a risk of water in the offside rear d pillar due to popped off rear window washer pipes - your ECU's will get wet if this happens, and its common - new version of nozzle clip exists to fix the issue for pence
Muffster said:
Interesting posts, thanks.
The CT in the last post fits the bill almost perfectly for me, except I don't want a turbo.
I can't help thinking they have got more to go wrong and parts will be eye wateringly expensive.
Thanks.
You do - you just don't know it yet The CT in the last post fits the bill almost perfectly for me, except I don't want a turbo.
I can't help thinking they have got more to go wrong and parts will be eye wateringly expensive.
Thanks.
Seriously though, you would be misguided to think that an S is likely to be materially cheaper than a Turbo. They are both expensive cars to keep maintained properly, and when things do go wrong it can cost a lot regardless. That's why they're relatively cheap - that and the hideous MPG.
That Turbo in the link looks nice!
brewsterbear, i take your point however, i don't want to be buying into a car which would potentially need new tyres every 6 months.
I'm trying to establish if this is just related to a particular wheel size.
Red997 thanks for the post. So what size wheels did you have on your Gen1 turbo?
Got to admit i'm beginning to see the light with regards to a CT!!
I'm trying to establish if this is just related to a particular wheel size.
Red997 thanks for the post. So what size wheels did you have on your Gen1 turbo?
Got to admit i'm beginning to see the light with regards to a CT!!
6 months is a pretty arbitrary number though. It'll all depend on how many miles you do, how you drive and where you drive. Given the figures that red997 quotes for mpg and tyre wear I'd imagine there's got to be a fair amount of motorway driving in there - something they do exceptionally well. I have 20" Michelin Diaramis on mine and they came with 4-5mm all round. I've done about 3k miles and they're down to about 3mm and will want replacing soon - £1k. I do live in the sticks and most of my miles are on more interesting roads.
As other's have said, at this end of the market it will entirely depend upon condition and whether you find one with the expensive stuff done rather than whether it has a couple of turbos more than an S. I didn't test drive an S when looking. I knew that for the sake of 1-2mpg difference I'd prefer the grunt of a Turbo and the peace-of-mind of no bore scoring issues.
As other's have said, at this end of the market it will entirely depend upon condition and whether you find one with the expensive stuff done rather than whether it has a couple of turbos more than an S. I didn't test drive an S when looking. I knew that for the sake of 1-2mpg difference I'd prefer the grunt of a Turbo and the peace-of-mind of no bore scoring issues.
4.5S, air suspension. 275/45/19 tyres , new set every 12,000 miles, Conti SportContacts £800. Car currently on 96,000 miles and showing 17.6 mpg average consumption . 15/16 around town, 22/23mpg on motorway .
Service and Geo set up every 2 years approximately £1,200.
Only notable problem was a tensioner seized throwing the belt off, interesting when the power steering goes !
Talk of chocolate engines is total guff when compared to numbers built.
Service and Geo set up every 2 years approximately £1,200.
Only notable problem was a tensioner seized throwing the belt off, interesting when the power steering goes !
Talk of chocolate engines is total guff when compared to numbers built.
Brewsterbear.
Thanks for your last post. That was an interesting point about bore scoring.
Is this such a problem that i should disregard looking at either the 3.2 or 4.5 as they are prone to suffer from this.
i have been to look at a few recently onlt to find they have been sold, none of which were a turbo.
Is this a well known issue or are pepole going in blind.
As you can imagine, i don't want to buy something which could be a ticking time bomb!
Thanks.
Thanks for your last post. That was an interesting point about bore scoring.
Is this such a problem that i should disregard looking at either the 3.2 or 4.5 as they are prone to suffer from this.
i have been to look at a few recently onlt to find they have been sold, none of which were a turbo.
Is this a well known issue or are pepole going in blind.
As you can imagine, i don't want to buy something which could be a ticking time bomb!
Thanks.
how many KN purchasers actually read car forums such as this ?
IMHO, probably less than 1%
so yes, they probably are going in 'blind' just like most car purchasers
I think we are a bit of an exception to the norm
I also agree re the % of issues per volume of cars built - not endemic
just my 2p
David
IMHO, probably less than 1%
so yes, they probably are going in 'blind' just like most car purchasers
I think we are a bit of an exception to the norm
I also agree re the % of issues per volume of cars built - not endemic
just my 2p
David
All very interesting stuff.
There seems to be a fair few 3.2 v6 to choose from. However, it would be nice to have all the bell and whistles.
Trouble is, it will be the wifes main car, she regularly does quite long motorway journeys and our TD6 RR must probably be one of the least stressed motors around as she never does above 70 when on the motorway!
The turbo would hardly ever come on boost and would scare her if it did!!!!
There seems to be a fair few 3.2 v6 to choose from. However, it would be nice to have all the bell and whistles.
Trouble is, it will be the wifes main car, she regularly does quite long motorway journeys and our TD6 RR must probably be one of the least stressed motors around as she never does above 70 when on the motorway!
The turbo would hardly ever come on boost and would scare her if it did!!!!
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