Porsche Cayenne... any advice?

My parents currently have a BMW 328 (e46) convertible as their main daily driver for nipping to the supermarket, gym, restaurants, etc... and they're thinking of trading it in for a Porsche Cayenne. As I'm probably the most passionate car guy in the family, they've asked me what I think. Unfortunately, I don't really know much about SUVs so can't really say anything helpful.

So, has anyone here got any experience with the Cayenne? I imagine they'll probably want to go for a new off-the-lot 1st Generation Cayenne with the 2nd Generation car now starting to depress the former's prices.

I vaguely recall being told that the 'standard' Cayenne has a VW engine in it, while the Cayenne S and Cayenne Turbo have Porsche engines. I imagine my folks will be looking between the Cayenne and Cayenne S - I don't think they'll contemplate a Turbo as they already have a Porsche 993 convertible to get their speed thrills.

So what's a 1st Generation Cayenne or Cayenne S like to live with? Functionality? Fun? Reliability? Running costs? Anything to look for? And, in your opinion, would it be a good trade from a BMW 3-series (e46) to take over daily driving duties? Certainly, I imagine it'd be easier for adults to get in and out of the back seats. For any real heavy work or towing, they've also got a Ford F350 Dually with a 5th wheel - so the Cayenne won't be used for anything like that.

Any general impressions or specific guidance I can quote and copy to e-mails for my folks would be greatly appreciated.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

Thanks very much everyone, I've passed along your advice to my dad and sent him the link for ordering the Excellence December 2010 back issue.

I'll let you know whether my folks decide to go for it and shall post pictures on their behalf if they do.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

Thank you for the thoughtful replies everyone, I am passing them all along to my folks - who are doing plenty of reading up at the moment.

As to 'rival' cars... my mom looked inside a BMW X5 and loved it, but my dad was only a bit better than lukewarm on it. I think he might want a bit of a change from BMW and has long been a Porsche guy. Both are unenthusiastic about the idea of a Mercedes M-class (even though they haven't yet been in one and their next door neighbour works for a Merc dealer) because of a really bad experience in the past with a Mercedes lemon and subsequent failure of Mercedes as a manufacturer to honour their warranty without fuss. My dad went so far as to swear that he will never own another Mercedes again. And finally, they had a heavily optioned GMC Yukon in the past and enjoyed it, but are looking at slightly more premium SUVs this time around.

For the moment, they're still deciding what in the garage should go to make way for the new daily driver... as they want to reduce the total number of vehicles (3 cars, a dually truck, and a 5th wheel trailer). So they're doing plenty of reading around, and thus far the Cayenne does look good.

Thank you very much.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

Just got off the phone with my parents and things are moving more quickly than I'd previously thought...

They've asked their local Porsche dealer to find a low mileage 2010 Cayenne S (not white and not black) to see what the options are in terms of spec/deals. The same company runs both the local Porsche and BMW dealers and my parents have previously bought two BMWs from the salesman they're working with now, so they're hopeful he'll be able to find the right car for them. They're waiting for a call from him later today to see what Cayenne S examples he can find and what sort of trade-in he can offer for their 3-series. So it'll depend on whether they can work out a good deal, but they're leaning towards making the purchase as soon as the right car turns up.

Edit: The dealer has a 2010 Cayenne S that's new and pretty loaded with options for just over $60k. They also have a 2008 Cayenne S with 20,000 miles on it that's coming in as a trade on 2011 Cayenne S. Dad's trying to find out if the 2008 has the updated 4.7 liter engine or the older 4.5 - if it's the updated V8 then he'll focus on trying to do a deal on that one. If not, then he'll push for an aggressive deal on the 2010 Cayenne S (as $60k is a little more than he wants to spend right now) and see what happens. Apparently today is the best day to try to do a deal because the car dealers are trying to meet end-of-year quotas. If all else fails, he might hang on and try again next December. The dealers are apparently frantically selling cars today so my folks are just hanging on waiting for a call from them.​

It seems my dad goes pretty rapidly from saying "I'm thinking about..." to "I want to buy a...". Come to think of it, he did that with the 993 too when I asked you guys for advice to pass along... (FChat link: "Porsche 911: air-cooled vs. water-cooled... what's the difference?").

Thanks again for the information everyone, it has been a big help to them.

All the best,
Andrew.

PS:
I get really excited about car buying... even when it's not me doing it.

 

2010/2011 Cayenne S: They test drove a 2008 X5, a brand new X5, a 1st generation Cayenne S and a 2nd generation Cayenne S. I think now they're holding out for the 2nd generation Cayenne S - overall my folks liked the interior better, although my mom thought the chrome on the large air vents was a bit "blingy". The Porsche is so far ahead of the BMW that the X5 is no longer being considered at all. The dealer is still trying to put something together (getting back to them Monday/Tuesday, I think) on a 2010/2011 Cayenne S. Failing that, they might consider waiting a year to get this new model when it's a year old and might be a more affordable buy.

V6 vs V8 (value/depreciation?): One other option (if the S falls though this coming week) might be to look into a 2010/2011 Cayenne (V6), but they will need to spec it with automatic transmission for my mom to be able to drive it. I would think the price differential to the V8 (with auto etc as standard) wouldn't be large enough to make that worthwhile. Presumably, the V6 would lose a greater percentage of value compared to the V8? Generally my folks tend to keep a daily driver for 5 or 6 years before making a change and my gut instinct is that the V8 is the better deal long-term (even putting power aside for a moment). What do you guys think on that front?

Edit: I found this depreciation calculator on the Cayenne vs. the Cayenne S on a UK site but can't seem to find a similar calculator for the US market.

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I suspect the value of the V8 suffered greater depreciation in the UK than it would see in the USA due to the UK's introduction of £400/year road taxes for "environmental" (i.e. revenue generating) reasons. ​

All the best,
Andrew.

 

lol - yep, don't worry, they realise that. Just wondering which is the lesser of the evils.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

Thanks Erik, that's a good idea.

All the best,
Andrew.