I am currently thinking about getting a Cayenne and unfortunately search didn't get me much info about what to look for on 955 vs 957. I read from somewhere that 04 is the year to avoid and the V6 suffers poor quality from VW. However these articles are not from creditable source like 6speedonline so I would like to see if any existing owners can share some highlights whether 957 worth the extra money or even a 06 955 would be just as reliable.

Any info is greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!

 

I had a 04 Cayenne S for 4 years. Overall quite reliable.

Now have 08 Cayenne turbo. Also reliable, but brake noise is annoying and there is no fix.

Buddy has a 06 Cayenne turbo which is also reliable.

I will buy any of them again without a doubt. But since you're buying one with no warranty, a PPI is a must. Good luck.

 

I think the 04 think has been blown horribly out of proportion. Hold on for a little ride and I will explain.


There were more 2004 Cayennes produced than any other year. There are barely more 2005+2006 as all of the 04s.

Just think about the timeline and how it is perceived in the eyes of the service department.

-In 2004/5 the only cars coming in for service are the limited number of 03s and the huge number of 04s.

-Now in 2005/6, all the 04s have a year more driving and on average 18-30K more miles on them than the newly introduced 05s. Which had about 40% fewer produced.

-Then in 2006/7 there were even fewer 2006 cars produced, the 05 only have a year of driving on them and the 04s are racking up the miles.

-The total number of 2005+2006 vehicles is just a touch higher than the total number of the 2004s. So even if they all see the shop equally as much the *PERCEPTION* is that the 2004s are in there TWICE as much. Add in some added differential amount for the earlier cars on average having more miles than a later car and that can skew the perception even more.

That is my $0.04 on the topic.

 

That's for the valuable input, Cole and Tim!

Out of curiosity, do you know if there is any reason why Cayenne production keep dropping? From what I see it should be a hot seller back then given it priced right and performed well...

I was also looking into 957, however from what I was told that's when Porsche USA cut their production by 50% (yet to be verified), thus it is much harder to get a good sample without paying premium...

 

Here is my theory.

-03 Porsche got their toes wet and only made a few to see if people would buy them. There was tons of interest so in 04 They produced as many as they could sell, every one that wanted one bought one. So in 05 sales dropped. This is when Porsche started to offer special editions to attract new buyers. Sales were still down in 06 so Porsche stopped production to "Face lift" the Cayenne for the 08+ model years.

 

I'll throw in my .02 also and say that I have an 04 S with almost 102,000 miles on it (when I bought it had just over 99,000) and it is a great truck. It was well cared for and had 2 of the major problems already taken care of prior to my purchasing it. (coils and coolant pipes) I love it and would do it all over again. I would also agree with getting a PPI done first. Good luck and enjoy when you finally pull the trigger.

Mama

 

I have a 05 with 40k miles. The 05 was harder to find, as most I came across in my price range ($20-23k) were 04s. I thought they would have worked out more of the issues by this model year so this is why I opted for the newer year even though I could have gotten a few more features/options for same price.

I think it comes down to price. I paid $23,299 so for me it was about the value. I would have liked a newer one but given a majority of the depreciation has already occurred it seemed like a no brainer to get a truck that was 6 years old vs. 3 years.

Also, there are tons of deals, so take your time. I sent so many offers before I found one that worked for me.

 

Awesome! Thanks for the great tips!

Yeah I just read about the coils and coolant pipes issue from an article in Excellence magazine as well, seems like Cayenne are pretty well built and no major issue so far.

That leads to the next question, would it be worthwhile to get a S if the primary goal is just commuter? Is the 6 cyl engine coming from VW R32 no matter if it's 05 or 08?

 

not to jump on and steal the thread, but I am considering a Cayenne, any thoughts on the 2008 GTS

 

Try to get an 09, better pcu. Also for the price of a GTS you could get the same year turbo for a couple thousand more.