£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.
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.
RustyNissanPrairie said:
In preparation for servicing the Cayenne I picked up some beefier ramps on marketplace for £30. My old ones were only rated to 2 tonne and I never had much faith in them. These should be more than strong enough.
I took the car to a local mot place to get it on the lift for an inspection. I find it worthwhile as it's often hard to get a full picture while laying on your back.
Other than some corrosion on the rear subframe they couldn't find fault with it. Even the notorious prop shaft centre bearing was fine. It looks like it has been replaced not too long ago.
The car does exhibit a vibration that increases with speed, so it's not clear what's causing this. It could be that the prop is out of balance. I can live with it for now.
Some service bits arrived also. Keen to get started I went ahead and replaced the original coil packs as it's very easy on this engine. The plugs have plenty of life left in them.
One spark plug well had quite a bit of oil in it. It looks like the gasket might be pinched, so will tackle this at a later date.
I installed the shim to correct the driver's door sag. Before it would need to be slammed but now its latching nicely with a gentle push. The gaps look decent as well.
After speaking to a body shop its looking like fixing the dull paintwork on the driver's side would set me back about £1k. As an alternative I'm going to look for a replacement wing in the correct colour. The wing is the most obvious from how it contrasts with the rest of the front end. The doors might be somewhat passable with some polishing work, and I can still get it painted later down the line.
Next step will be fresh fluids.
Spinakerr said:
Congratulations, that is a very smart buy. Just goes to show, again, how many perfectly useable cars get written off and sink in value.
Thanks for posting up Airivox, keen to hear ypur experiebce as I need to extricate dog smells from my latest purchase!
Thanks. The Airvidox has definitely done the trick in terms of removing the musty smell. I expect it'll smell faintly of chlorine for a few weeks though. Thanks for posting up Airivox, keen to hear ypur experiebce as I need to extricate dog smells from my latest purchase!
Completed the engine oil service today along with the serpentine belt.
The android head unit arrived so I was able to get that installed as well. Everything seems to integrate well with the steering wheel controls etc.
The touch screen is pretty iffy, hopefully I wont need to use it much beyond initial setup.
The android head unit arrived so I was able to get that installed as well. Everything seems to integrate well with the steering wheel controls etc.
The touch screen is pretty iffy, hopefully I wont need to use it much beyond initial setup.
The Cayenne had it's first proper test in the form of a weekend trip to Betws-y-Coed, North Wales. Around 300 miles in total.
I took a couple of scenic diversions, via the B4407 heading there, and ticking off the Evo triangle on the return trip. Beautiful roads and barely another car around. Pics below.
Overall a very pleasant drive. I haven't found the VR6 to be hugely lacking in terms of power, it moves along fairly well. The handling is amazing compared to any SUV I've experienced, and I'm blown away by how it responds to being chucked around corners.
I suppose this links in with the compliance over bumps, which is pretty bad at the moment. On poor roads it feels like a car slammed on to the bump stops. Obviously the easiest way to try to remedy this would be to go to smaller wheels. I may try 17s, even if they do look a little odd on such a big car.
In the meantime, the next jobs on the list are going to be new front & rear lower control arms and an alignment.
I took a couple of scenic diversions, via the B4407 heading there, and ticking off the Evo triangle on the return trip. Beautiful roads and barely another car around. Pics below.
Overall a very pleasant drive. I haven't found the VR6 to be hugely lacking in terms of power, it moves along fairly well. The handling is amazing compared to any SUV I've experienced, and I'm blown away by how it responds to being chucked around corners.
I suppose this links in with the compliance over bumps, which is pretty bad at the moment. On poor roads it feels like a car slammed on to the bump stops. Obviously the easiest way to try to remedy this would be to go to smaller wheels. I may try 17s, even if they do look a little odd on such a big car.
In the meantime, the next jobs on the list are going to be new front & rear lower control arms and an alignment.
I'm curious about the suspension differences between these and the Touareg in terms of comfort. Apparently the Touareg rides much softer, and sits about an inch taller.
I haven't been able to find specs on the OEM coil springs but Eibach have a lowering kit for both models, and their specs corroborate with this.
Cayenne Front - Wire diameter 16.5mm, length 314mm
Cayenne Rear - Wire diameter 15.2mm, length 296mm
Touareg Front - Wire diameter 15.5mm, length 347mm
Touareg Rear - Wire diameter 14.5mm, length 330mm
Assuming Eibach have specified each to be close to the stock spring rates, I wonder whether the Touareg lowering springs could give me the ride quality I'm after. These would in theory keep ride height very close to existing, and keep some of the sporty feel.
When I get time I'll take some measurements of the Cayenne coils to see how they compare.
Update:
Changing coils is a little drastic all things considered. I will leave it alone for now.
The 19s have grown on me, so I'm leaning towards keeping them and moving to a 255/55r19 all season after the summer. There's plenty of options available as its a standard size for Disco 4s, Range Rovers etc. I may get the wheels refurbed at the same time.
I haven't been able to find specs on the OEM coil springs but Eibach have a lowering kit for both models, and their specs corroborate with this.
Cayenne Front - Wire diameter 16.5mm, length 314mm
Cayenne Rear - Wire diameter 15.2mm, length 296mm
Touareg Front - Wire diameter 15.5mm, length 347mm
Touareg Rear - Wire diameter 14.5mm, length 330mm
Assuming Eibach have specified each to be close to the stock spring rates, I wonder whether the Touareg lowering springs could give me the ride quality I'm after. These would in theory keep ride height very close to existing, and keep some of the sporty feel.
When I get time I'll take some measurements of the Cayenne coils to see how they compare.
Edited by eth2190 on Monday 24th March 23:46
Update:
Changing coils is a little drastic all things considered. I will leave it alone for now.
The 19s have grown on me, so I'm leaning towards keeping them and moving to a 255/55r19 all season after the summer. There's plenty of options available as its a standard size for Disco 4s, Range Rovers etc. I may get the wheels refurbed at the same time.
Edited by eth2190 on Thursday 27th March 10:47
The Cayenne is plugging along nicely, and recently hit 140k miles. I've continued with progress on a few improvements.
The headlights got a refresh using the Meguiar's two step headlight restoration kit. This turned out pretty well. I went a little extra by machine polishing after the coating had cured for a few days.
The bumper alignment bothered me a little. It turns out the bracket was completely missing, so I found a replacement on eBay.
Before:
After:
It still has a misfire/ rough idle when cold. Research pointed to vacuum leaks being a possible cause, and potentially the PCV oil separator diaphragm. I started with the PCV as the original had very brittle hoses, and as I suspected, the diaphragm was looking worse for wear. Not sure if it's completely solved the issue but it's definitely good to replace the knackered part.
Testing for vacuum leaks using a smoke machine may be something I look at in future.
New unit installed:
Next was to upgrade to auto headlights. All it needed was the switch, which I found for around £50 on eBay. A bit pricey but they don't appear to be very common.
Finishing off with a gratuitous shot in the nice weather:
The headlights got a refresh using the Meguiar's two step headlight restoration kit. This turned out pretty well. I went a little extra by machine polishing after the coating had cured for a few days.
The bumper alignment bothered me a little. It turns out the bracket was completely missing, so I found a replacement on eBay.
Before:
After:
It still has a misfire/ rough idle when cold. Research pointed to vacuum leaks being a possible cause, and potentially the PCV oil separator diaphragm. I started with the PCV as the original had very brittle hoses, and as I suspected, the diaphragm was looking worse for wear. Not sure if it's completely solved the issue but it's definitely good to replace the knackered part.
Testing for vacuum leaks using a smoke machine may be something I look at in future.
New unit installed:
Next was to upgrade to auto headlights. All it needed was the switch, which I found for around £50 on eBay. A bit pricey but they don't appear to be very common.
Finishing off with a gratuitous shot in the nice weather:
RustyNissanPrairie said:
Thanks!
But...... Last night I ended up down a wormhole of VW/Porsche headlight switches after reading your post.
I've gone with a similar era Jetta switch for £12 which appears to be the same as the Cayenne switch but has very slightly different font/pictograms hence the lack of Porsche tax.
Nice, sounds like a good find But...... Last night I ended up down a wormhole of VW/Porsche headlight switches after reading your post.
I've gone with a similar era Jetta switch for £12 which appears to be the same as the Cayenne switch but has very slightly different font/pictograms hence the lack of Porsche tax.
Ended up having my local mechanic fit the lower control arms today. Forgot to get a picture of the old ones but the rears were pretty badly corroded and the fronts had torn bushings as I had suspected. Expecting to see some improvement in the steering feel once it's had a full alignment
I opted for the aluminium front arms listed for Audi Q7 to save some weight and benefit from the larger diameter bushing.
I opted for the aluminium front arms listed for Audi Q7 to save some weight and benefit from the larger diameter bushing.
I've been steadily racking up the miles on the Cayenne, around 3k since getting it. It's taken me to Wales a couple more times plus the Peaks yesterday.
Have continued to tinker with minor details such as replacing the headlight wiring pigtails where the old ones had degraded insulation. It also passed it's MOT without any drama.
The main change has been fitting a set of base spec 17" wheels after treating them to a rattle-can refurb and a set of Continental All Seasons. I like the understated look, and the ride has improved a little. Perhaps not the cushy ride I was hoping for but at least the narrower rubber (235 vs 275) seems to have added a couple mpg to the average.
The new tyres are quieter too. Which is highlighting how badly the front diff is howling. Pretty disappointing since the previous owner spent £1100 on a rebuild in September last year. I'll keep an eye out for a reasonably priced used diff to swap in at some point.
Have continued to tinker with minor details such as replacing the headlight wiring pigtails where the old ones had degraded insulation. It also passed it's MOT without any drama.
The main change has been fitting a set of base spec 17" wheels after treating them to a rattle-can refurb and a set of Continental All Seasons. I like the understated look, and the ride has improved a little. Perhaps not the cushy ride I was hoping for but at least the narrower rubber (235 vs 275) seems to have added a couple mpg to the average.
The new tyres are quieter too. Which is highlighting how badly the front diff is howling. Pretty disappointing since the previous owner spent £1100 on a rebuild in September last year. I'll keep an eye out for a reasonably priced used diff to swap in at some point.
SAS Tom said:
RM said:
eth2190 said:
The main change has been fitting a set of base spec 17" wheels after treating them to a rattle-can refurb and a set of Continental All Seasons.
Quick question, if you don t mask off the tyres for a rattle can spray, how do you remove the paint from the tyres?The new narrower wheels were looking very tucked in at the rear.
I opted to fit 20mm spacers. In hindsight 15mm would've been enough.
The car is filthy as it's covered another 400 miles taking us to Devon and back.
Nice to see it gets a few appreciative looks when parked up. I'm guessing it's due to the rarity of seeing a 955 out and about these days.
I opted to fit 20mm spacers. In hindsight 15mm would've been enough.
The car is filthy as it's covered another 400 miles taking us to Devon and back.
Nice to see it gets a few appreciative looks when parked up. I'm guessing it's due to the rarity of seeing a 955 out and about these days.
I'm pretty happy with the 3.2. I had a v8 Grand Cherokee before this, and thought I would miss having a v8, however that hasn't been the case at all.
Once up to speed on a B road it's a joy to drive, more than a big SUV has any right to be. If I could change one thing it would be to upgrade to a modern 8 speed transmission.
Once up to speed on a B road it's a joy to drive, more than a big SUV has any right to be. If I could change one thing it would be to upgrade to a modern 8 speed transmission.
Another 400-odd miles covered at the weekend with a trip to London, plus a bit of a detour on the return trip.
Reliable as ever and still indicating 24mpg. The only minor complaint being the AC couldn't fully keep up with slow London traffic and 30 degree heat. I guess this is due to the greenhouse effect of the pano roof.
Crossing Tower Bridge:
Reliable as ever and still indicating 24mpg. The only minor complaint being the AC couldn't fully keep up with slow London traffic and 30 degree heat. I guess this is due to the greenhouse effect of the pano roof.
Crossing Tower Bridge:
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