Is it time to move on? I love my C55, it's clean, been very reliable to me, and it's a fantastic car. It has all the options and even a few minor upgrades.

But I've always liked the Cayenne Turbo, and being a homeowner now, I could use the extra space in my trips to Home Depot. Now that the 04-06 Cayenne Turbo prices are as much in the tank as our AMG's, I wonder if maybe now is the time to move on to the next one.

Has anyone owned one of these babies or ever driven one? What do you think?

Life's too short and there's too many great cars to own.

 

Almost bought a Ceyanne for my wife last year. It was a 2005 S, with every Turbo option available.

It was a complete blast to drive. I handled much better than my C32 and, even without the turbo, pulled like stink.

The downsides are: Terrible gas mileage, Very expensive coolant tube repair (about $4000-5000) inside the engine, it it has not been updated yet. Oh, and every fix besides that one will cost you an arm and a leg.

I wish I had gotten that one though. It had the updated coolant tube too.

 

Do it man! You said it right, too little time and too many great cars to own! Cars are dying, do it while you can! I am trying to sit tight for 6 months before getting a 997 so I am headed in your general direction too!

 

I'd say do it as long as you're prepared for even HIGHER Maintenance costs!
No competition between the cars otherwise.

 

I test-drove a Cayenne S and it was one of the best-handling automobiles I've ever experienced. They're ugly as sin but you can't tell that from the driver's seat. That said, the coolant tubes are a known issue and have to be addressed before they fail and take out the alternator. If you like wrenching on your own stuff you can replace the plastic tubes with aluminum ones for about $600 (not a really easy job, though). The coil packs are also a known issue but much easier to replace, if not especially cheap. Porsche makes everything an option, so do some research and get the car that has the options you want. Dunno if you're gonna tow with it, but if you are get one that has all the tow goodies factory-installed. And of course, find the Porsche forum and spend some time learning the pros/cons

 

Do they really handle that well? I test drove a Cayenne base version and wasn't impressed overall (based on interior quality, features, power, etc). Though this was a very sterile test drive; I didn't throw it around street corners!

I say go for it, after completing the appropriate research! There's a murdered out Cayenne Turbo near me and those fat quads in back are menacing looking.

Truer words have never been spoken.

 

Toward the end of the year I want to buy my dream car, a Viper GTS. So I've always pictured my AMG next to my GTS in my garage. But I still need a small truck or something (S10, Dakota) for my runs to Home Depot, etc. Leaking wet red mulch water from the 28 bags of mulch I've bought in the trunk of my AMG hasn't pleased me. Plus, you can only cram in 7 at a time.

That now makes 3 cars I'd own, plus the GF's car. I just don't have that much garage and driveway space and that would make a pain to switch out cars in the morning to go to work.

If I consolidate to two cars, this would be how I'd do it. I wonder if maybe I should finance a dealer/CPO Cayenne now, sell the AMG later, and use that money + additional savings to buy the Viper cash, when I'm ready.

From what I've read, the Cayenne seems to be pretty reliable. And I don't think I'd be satisfied with just a Cayenne S, if I'm gonna do it I'm gonna do it big and go for the Turbo. My motto in life now is always buy it fully loaded.

 

Having owned several Porsches (2 911's, a Boxster, and 914) as well as a C32 (current), I would have done the Cayenne Turbo which test drove real well, but what scared me off was the high repair costs on Porsches in general. Having the height adjustable, active suspension really scared me if something happened to it. That said, if I had the choice (money being the deciding factor), I would have bought the Cayenne Turbo and a good extended warranty. (The warranty quote was over $5k alone). Funny story though, when I returned from a spirited test drive, no sooner had I pulled back in and the dealer's floor was covered in coolant, guess the plastic tubes must've cracked!

 

Similar story, took a 2005 Ceyenne for a test drive last year and it over-heated in less than 5 minutes. Brought it back to the dealer with an empty radiator. Wonder where everything went? Walked away from that SUV very quickly.

 

I wouldn't have happened to be in Lake Forest would it?

 

Nope, I had to drive all the way down to San Diego for that flop.

 

Looked into a Cayenne before. Was looking to trade in my E Class. I love them. But like others I hear about them breaking alot and the common issues they can have in the course of a year. That scared me. However the Cayman S has been fine for the most part. I personally would take a Cayenne over any W203 because I found it to be more useful, comfortable and more enjoyable to drive. The downside I find to them is things breaking(I hear that alot) but then again I know of this when they first came out so things could of changed by now. Also the looks are not too great as where the W203 still looks beautiful.

 

Well guys I went to go test drive an 05 Turbo today and the result was meh. Sure, the car is nice, and the car is fast (even though it doesn't feel like it, but we sure got up to speed pretty quickly) but it just wasn't all that for me. It probably was the aged interior that turned me off. It had 100,000 miles, and the interior had as many miles as the exterior unfortunately.

Next to it was an 08 GTS. Man, that is a sharp looking car with the mid-model refresh. Then he turned it on, and wow, the exhaust sounds fantastic. Definitely well thought out by Porsche. Interior with the alcantara everywhere is nice, and the interior looked great/unused. I definitely think I need to focus more on finding a nice post-mmc GTS rather than a pre-mmc Turbo. The NA V8 power is definitely more linear, and you can tell where it starts to lose steam at the top of the powerband, funny, just like my C55. The C55 still feels faster, but the darn thing with 400+ hp definitely still moves.

Now the only other problem is the current KBB values of the C55. I thought they were around $18k now, and when I looked at KBB this morning, fully loaded, it was UNDER $16k. That's ridiculous. Even fully loaded, with ALL the options ever offered from the factory for the US, and even a few additional minor upgrades. This car has been SO reliable to me over the past 3 years and 60,000 miles, that it kinda costs me MORE money to get rid of a car that's given me so many trouble free miles. I don't think I'd let this go for less than $20k, so I guess it's going to be a long sell. And even that's a deal.

 

Ill buy it!

 

You drive an 06 350 6spd, the rarest and most sought after of the W203's?

 

It was a joke. If I had the money I would have the 350 6spd and the C55.

 

I don't think I could ever buy a Porsche. Mainly because the few I've been in just have the controls and positions of things in odd places that I'm not sure I could live with (like the key on the left side of the steering column). Plus, I just hear too much about very common major problems that cost a small fortune to put right. They do handle very well, but I just don't think that's enough of a trade-off for me. I do agree about having an SUV though, I love my Trailblazer SS. 400hp for only $19k, too.

I will say though, it is bad *** that you can get the Cayenne with a manual transmission.

 

There's a blue one at United http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...ngId=317159227

 

Thats crazy you can get that with a manual!

 

Having driven a Porsche for 15 years, I found the positions (especially the key location) to be intuitive.

FYI, the key location dates back to the running start at Le Mans. The driver could jump into the Porsche, start the car with his hand closet to the door, while putting the car into gear with his right hand. Seconds count in a running start.

 

The other issue I have is the amount of compliments I get with the C55. Even now I get a lot of "hey, is that yours?". Nothing else, just that. Just yesterday in the Wendy's drive thru the guy stuck his head out "hey, what year is this?" "cause man this thing is cleeeeaan". Not the first time I've had drive thru compliments. Sigh.

 

If I were you, I'd keep the C55 and just go buy a cheap SUV. You can get a NICE older Trailblazer or Tahoe for $7k-10k if you look. I only paid $7k for my old 02 Trailblazer 3 years ago with 95k miles and it had every option but Bose and the heated/memory seats and was very well taken care of.

 

+1

I would keep the C55, or if you think it is time to move on, look for another fun car that has depreciated (I seem to recall you considering a Crossfire - the SRT-6 are going for dirt cheap right now and are a heck of a lot of fun to drive - ask me how I know! - Also, if you have the P-car itch, there are plenty of used Porsches out there that are reasonably priced and would be less expensive to work on [perhaps not by much] than a Cayenne]) and, separately, a rig for your yard duties and home depot trips.

When my C55 was totaled, I was pretty torn up. Instead of replacing it with another C55, I pocketed some coin and bought a nice used SRT-6 thinking that would be my DD until further notice. But because I saved so much by purchasing the SRT, come winter time I couldn't resist looking at a 'beater' vehicle on Craigslist. Sure enough, I found an older Jeep Wrangler for a very good price and snatched it up. I was hesitant to take on two cars for obvious reasons (e.g. 2x the maintenance/expenses, need space to park them), but I can honestly say I couldn't be happier. If you are a gearhead like most of us on here (and I am pretty sure you are), having two vehicles to work on is twice the fun, especially if you have your garage queen (the C55 in your case) and your beater (the Wrangler in my case). Since Jeep parts are so cheap, and it is so incredibly easy to work on, its a joy to own. I don't have to worry about the Jeep to much, it pretty much just chugs along with minor maintenance, and I can baby the SRT-6 with the more expensive parts and fluids. And I enjoy knowing that both my SRT and my Jeep were less expensive combined than my C55! Insurance really isn't that much higher with two vehicles either, especially if one is older with higher mileage.

Anyways, just food for thought. Buying one expensive SUV as a compromise isn't your only option!

 

I say keep the beast! C55

 

I would love a Cayanne Turbo. Slick looking truck. But I'll take the ML55 just based on a reliability stand point