2004-2005 Cayenne buyers guide?!

[IceBoy]

Hi All,

My brother is looking out for an early Porsche Cayenne. He is leaning towards the 3.2.

Can you guys give me an pointers as to watch outs, things to check etc.

He is looking at good low mileage examples.....it is a car he has always wanted since launch, so he wants to scratch his itch!!

IceBoy

[jonny996]

I had one for 4 years which is a very long spell for me, so must have been a good car.
I eat breaks, its not very fast & it uses a LOT of fuel, I had no issues apart from routine.

[davek_964]

I've had a 4.5 S for about 5 years - which I recommend actually, the extra power is really fun even in a car of this size.

Original plastic coolant pipes are a weak point - not sure if that was true of the V6. Think the prop shafts have issues sometimes (listen for clunks) - mine was done shortly before I bought the car.
My starter motor failed - I was told this was most likely because when the coolant pipes split and were replaced by metal ones (before I owned the car) it dumps the coolant all over the starter motor.

I haven't actually noticed it eating brakes - I've done just over 20k miles in the car, replaced the brakes soon after buying it and don't need any for a while yet.
It does drink petrol though - ~15mpg, and not a huge amount more than that even on long runs.

Mine has been generally reliable - although I noticed last night I seem to have no air coming through the center vents which is odd.