£750* of Beige Porsche Cayenne
Discussion
I had been searching for a Cayenne to replace my v8 Jeep Grand Cherokee, as I wanted something with better comfort and road manners. As great as it was off-road, the solid axle Jeep needed constant steering input to keep in a straight line on the motorway. The Chrysler build quality definitely tested my mechanical abilities over the course of ownership, so feel prepared for what a Cayenne project might throw at me.
The 3.2 seemed to be the best option for ease of maintenance and dependability, however I wanted one with a decent spec and anything but black, silver or grey.
This "Jarama Beige" example came up at an auction house in Exeter, with online bidding via Bidspotter. From the pictures I could tell it had the important stuff line Xenons, heated seats, cruise control plus some nice to haves like memory seats and the panoramic roof. The car is on coil springs but I would've been fine with air suspension.
It was registered as a Cat N last year, with no record of it going to a salvage auction (I think this is down to paint damage and a broken drivers side mirror which i'll touch on later). Reassuringly it was a dealer part exchange, and I could tell from the MOT history that the car had been reasonably well cared for and driven regularly.
Being in the midlands I wasn't able to go see it. I was expecting to bid up to around £1500-1800 based on what I'd seen elsewhere but to my surprise I won the auction at 750 quid. With it being so cheap I kept my expectations pretty low!
The auction fee was £105, and I arranged transport for the following day for £370. £1225 in total.
Here is how the car arrived. My first indication that I made the right choice was when the tailgate stayed up, the previous owner had gone to the effort of doing the struts. I was amazed to find it started right up and went into all the gears.
The car came with both keys, the book pack, and a stack of invoices including the original purchase invoice.
It includes a full service history, with fairly recent bills for big ticket items like tyres, brakes, gearbox service, a rebuilt front diff.
I spotted right away the paintwork on the driver's side wing and doors is looking pretty poor. It seems that it was given a rattle can paint job. There is also the odd broken plastic trim piece and the driver's door sags (should be able to fix this with a shim).
It was quite dirty, and was clearly used as dog transportation. I set to work giving it a proper clean with the wet vac and scrubbing all of the interior surfaces (with a helper). Over all it turned out quite presentable, plus the panoramic roof works!
As you can probably tell, the driver's side needs to be painted. I wouldn't usually bother but since the rest of the car is so nice I'm going to see about getting a body shop to sort it. I may ask them to sand and clearcoat the headlights at the same time.
I've put about 100 miles on it over the weekend and it's performed very well. There is of course a list of things I want to refresh to get it ready to be a put into regular use. The list will no doubt grow further.
Yes, it'll be more like a £3000 Cayenne once this is all done, but should be up to a standard that I'm happy with and ready for all kinds of weekend adventures/ runs to the tip/ snow days.
The 3.2 seemed to be the best option for ease of maintenance and dependability, however I wanted one with a decent spec and anything but black, silver or grey.
This "Jarama Beige" example came up at an auction house in Exeter, with online bidding via Bidspotter. From the pictures I could tell it had the important stuff line Xenons, heated seats, cruise control plus some nice to haves like memory seats and the panoramic roof. The car is on coil springs but I would've been fine with air suspension.
It was registered as a Cat N last year, with no record of it going to a salvage auction (I think this is down to paint damage and a broken drivers side mirror which i'll touch on later). Reassuringly it was a dealer part exchange, and I could tell from the MOT history that the car had been reasonably well cared for and driven regularly.
Being in the midlands I wasn't able to go see it. I was expecting to bid up to around £1500-1800 based on what I'd seen elsewhere but to my surprise I won the auction at 750 quid. With it being so cheap I kept my expectations pretty low!
The auction fee was £105, and I arranged transport for the following day for £370. £1225 in total.
Here is how the car arrived. My first indication that I made the right choice was when the tailgate stayed up, the previous owner had gone to the effort of doing the struts. I was amazed to find it started right up and went into all the gears.
The car came with both keys, the book pack, and a stack of invoices including the original purchase invoice.
It includes a full service history, with fairly recent bills for big ticket items like tyres, brakes, gearbox service, a rebuilt front diff.
I spotted right away the paintwork on the driver's side wing and doors is looking pretty poor. It seems that it was given a rattle can paint job. There is also the odd broken plastic trim piece and the driver's door sags (should be able to fix this with a shim).
It was quite dirty, and was clearly used as dog transportation. I set to work giving it a proper clean with the wet vac and scrubbing all of the interior surfaces (with a helper). Over all it turned out quite presentable, plus the panoramic roof works!
As you can probably tell, the driver's side needs to be painted. I wouldn't usually bother but since the rest of the car is so nice I'm going to see about getting a body shop to sort it. I may ask them to sand and clearcoat the headlights at the same time.
I've put about 100 miles on it over the weekend and it's performed very well. There is of course a list of things I want to refresh to get it ready to be a put into regular use. The list will no doubt grow further.
- Wiper blades, floor mats etc.
- Engine oil and filters.
- Coil packs - there is a misfire when warming up.
- Air conditioning - doesn't work currently, needs investigation.
- Suspension arms - rear lowers are looking questionable due to rust, and potentially front uppers due to ball joint play.
- Stereo - the PCM is completely dead so will get replaced with an Android unit.
Yes, it'll be more like a £3000 Cayenne once this is all done, but should be up to a standard that I'm happy with and ready for all kinds of weekend adventures/ runs to the tip/ snow days.
Edited by eth2190 on Tuesday 11th March 11:33
MC Bodge said:
A good buy.
Will you be doing desert rallying in it too?
No rallying for this one!Will you be doing desert rallying in it too?
I took the Jeep green laning a fair bit. The biggest hurdle to doing that with the Cayenne is it's width would mean the bodywork getting ruined. I may however get another set of wheels with all terrain tyres in time for next winter.
eth2190 said:
No rallying for this one!
I took the Jeep green laning a fair bit. The biggest hurdle to doing that with the Cayenne is it's width would mean the bodywork getting ruined. I may however get another set of wheels with all terrain tyres in time for next winter.
In case you haven't seen it, your reference thread is here. I took the Jeep green laning a fair bit. The biggest hurdle to doing that with the Cayenne is it's width would mean the bodywork getting ruined. I may however get another set of wheels with all terrain tyres in time for next winter.
I beat you by £250! (but you have cruise and pano roof!)
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Great cars - love mine but it's a bit thirsty for knocking about/commuting to work.
(but you have cruise and pano roof!)https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Great cars - love mine but it's a bit thirsty for knocking about/commuting to work.
RustyNissanPrairie said:
I beat you by £250! (but you have cruise and pano roof!)
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Great cars - love mine but it's a bit thirsty for knocking about/commuting to work.
I did have a good read of your thread before making my mind up on getting one. It was useful perspective on the DIY upkeep side of things. (but you have cruise and pano roof!)https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Great cars - love mine but it's a bit thirsty for knocking about/commuting to work.
The job for this evening was setting up this Airvidox odour eliminator to get rid of any residual smells. It's pretty potent stuff.
Various parts should start to arrive in the next few days, so more to come.
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