engiekev said:Keith Tanner said:Hands up everyone who immediately thought of a lifted Panther. It actually does tick the boxes pretty well :)
Here I thought you were going to recommend a Miata with a lift kit
Luxobarge and Miata don't really match up...
Can’t believe no one’s mentioned the 80s Riviera GRM did for the Gambler 500 :P
If I'm missing something, are there any other options similar in size and capability to the Cayenne, without the Cayenne reliability (of lack of?)?
It would be nice to have something a bit more maneuverable than a Sequoia or LX, I keep going back to the Cayenne but I am not too keen on taking it to the local Porsche shop every 6 months for major work.
engiekev said:If I'm missing something, are there any other options similar in size and capability to the Cayenne, without the Cayenne reliability (of lack of?)?
It would be nice to have something a bit more maneuverable than a Sequoia or LX, I keep going back to the Cayenne but I am not too keen on taking it to the local Porsche shop every 6 months for major work.
Lexus GX. other than the towing capacity.
In reply to MrChaos :
I keep coming back to that too! Honestly not impressed with the 5th Gen 4Runner offering for how much they sell for now. The GX seems better in every way except maybe slight MPG disadvantage, and cargo space, but with so many more advantages.
Looking for local examples to check out in person and test drive, then next step is offloading the Pathfinder V8. It's a great truck and ticks all these boxes but its getting tired, and we want a newer truck.
I have lost my mind, I'm now adding the VW Touareg and Audi S7 to the list. Specifically with the diesel powertrain. Hear me out!
The dieselgate recall resulted in work which extended the base vehicle warranty to 10yr/120k from build date, OR 4yr/48k from when recall was performed.
For those also interested, there is a site where you can enter the VIN to see when the recall was performed:
https://www.vwcourtsettlement.com/en/3-0-models/
Ludicrous List:
The part I get hung up on is the cost savings on fuel for the efficient diesels, it isn't that much in reality. At 10k miles / year, assuming 30mpg diesel vs. 20mpg gas, it's about $300/year. And I'm guessing I will spend far more than $300/year in parts on the VW/Audi/Porsche, so is it worth it? Or do I stick with the tried and true Lexus V8?
Not choosing sides but your VW/Audi/Porsche website reminded me. For Toyota, Scion and Lexus you can go to their respective websites and there you will find a section for Owners. Even if you don't own the potential car yet, you can set up a username and password for the site. Then when you enter the VIN of the potential purchase it will return to you service record of any dealer service done anywhere in the US. All free!
I have used this info to make some purchasing decisions on a couple for Prius. I bought a 188k salvage Prius resulting me having it on the road for just $1k. The reason I purchased it was that this site showed me great details of dealer service including the PO buying 4 tires from the dealership. It has been a great car.
This bad boy will likely be going up for sale this summer!
I've got this off road luxobarge for sale well below your budget.
I started pricing out the diesel Colorado and Canyons today at work. They seem to be pretty decent and actually have a 7000lb tow capacity. They tend to be all over the price range though at about $40k new and $20k with 100k miles and unknown reliability. I'm in a similar boat to you though consistently cross shopping the full-size SUV market for something to occasionally tow a project car but still be a daily comfortably
That picture in your description of the 13+ gx460 is a 10'-12', the ugly predator ones are 13'-up. You've got pm :)
Carbon (Forum Supporter) said:That picture in your description of the 13+ gx460 is a 10'-12', the ugly predator ones are 13'-up. You've got pm :)
Nice catch! I actually don't mind the early predator monster grills, 2014-? In the right colors the grill doesn't look terrible, not pretty though.
At some point they let the interns get ahold of the design or something and we got this. It somehow looks much worse.
CTeo said:
This bad boy will likely be going up for sale this summer!
Do I get banned from GRM if I don't buy this? I'm trying to find any negatives but don't see many.
In reply to engiekev :
If it makes it any harder for you, southern car, lived it's whole life in Georgia, so zero rust, but it's also currently up in IN with me, pretty easy to jump up to MI if you know what I mean. I might have to throw this on the forum for sale page before I hit up FB marketplace.
I love the look of a kitted out 460. They also came with crawl control. You can add it to one without it for around $700 I believe.
CTeo said:In reply to engiekev :
If it makes it any harder for you, southern car, lived it's whole life in Georgia, so zero rust, but it's also currently up in IN with me, pretty easy to jump up to MI if you know what I mean. I might have to throw this on the forum for sale page before I hit up FB marketplace.
You absolutely should list it here first! Much better chances of a GRMer picking it up and continuing to rallycross or use it other ways it should be used, instead of some facebook stance boi picking it up and trashing it.
Also SCCA Nationals are in Ohio this year, I'm sure you could sell it there in a heartbeat. List it early enough and someone can buy it, and then drive at the event, hah!
grover said:I love the look of a kitted out 460. They also came with crawl control. You can add it to one without it for around $700 I believe.
KDSS is also standard on the GX460, another plus.
I do as well, much better than a kitted out Touareg or Cayenne, which always seems to look out of place. I really don't mind the monster grill on 2014+ in the right color with some non factory wheels (TRD pro look fantastic). We want to find a white or gray truck, white truck gets the black TRD wheels, gray truck gets the gray TRD wheels.
One drawback of the GX460 vs 4Runner is the cargo space, the GX460 only came with 3rd row while the 4Runner is 3rd row optional. And with all seats folded down, max cargo space of 4runner is 88ft^3, GX460 only 65ft^3! Huge difference, I doubt I can sleep in the back of a GX460, but maybe that's a good thing to move beyond.
We're getting our 2nd shot in a week, then off to test drive some trucks.
In reply to engiekev :
I don't think you can sleep in a 460, in fact, I just went to mine in the garage and that's not happening. We have "old lexus gold" color or tan on our 460, it's not terrible looking but it needs wheels and tires to look better. I actually think that bigger wheels and tires would really provide the softer ride I'm looking for out of it.
Didn't drive a diesel, but drove a 2013 VR6 Touareg that was perfect size and interior configuration, really a nice vehicle. It didn't have the "special" or interesting factor Swmbo was looking for though, especially coming from Q5 (Amazing) and Q7 (nice, but definitely felt like the bigger vehicle it is).
I'll be curious to see what you come up with!
classicJackets (FS) said:Didn't drive a diesel, but drove a 2013 VR6 Touareg that was perfect size and interior configuration, really a nice vehicle. It didn't have the "special" or interesting factor Swmbo was looking for though, especially coming from Q5 (Amazing) and Q7 (nice, but definitely felt like the bigger vehicle it is).
I'll be curious to see what you come up with!
If you liked the Q5, check out a SQ5! Too small for our needs but they are sharp and quite quick.
In reply to engiekev :
Sadly too small for ours as well, a forum member has an absolutely gorgeous, pristine (but tuned) Q5 for sale at a great price. That was a really, really fun ride though.
If you want a fun to drive SUV that can tow, a Cayenne S or GTS would be really hard to beat. S models are fairly reasonable used. Maintence costs on the other hand...
I'm only really considering the VAG Diesels because of the dieselgate extended engine and emissions warranty, the V8 scares me a bit due to the cylinder scoring issues at higher mileage.
Getting closer to the target...
We test drove a 2013 GX460 with 78k miles, expected a real cherry and boy was I wrong! It was quite trashed, clearly had dog owners. Major vibration in the front end on the highway the Lexus dealer mechanics "didn't notice", and stated "must be flat spotted tires" (tires were also brand new...). Ignoring those faults and assessing the drivability and overall package: not impressed. It certainly handled well, very flat while cornering, but the interior and powertrain leave a LOT to be desired. I get that it's a basic truck, but the V8 never felt like it was making more than V6 power (maybe this is due to the weight or pedal calibration?), even at WOT. Compared to our Pathfinder V8, the pathfinder is a damn rocket ship. We both agreed our Pathfinder V8 with 150k miles was in better shape than this example, and drove nicer other than the flat-handling of the GX.
Asking price: $28,000! Is it really worth $20k more than our current Pathfinder V8? No. Hard pass, we won't be looking at another GX. I really came in wanting to like it, it seemed perfect on paper, but it's not for us.
Next up, the wild card! Porsche Cayenne Diesel. This one was quite the find: local in MI, 3 previous owners (First 2 were in CA and TX, only in MI for a couple years), emissions recall was performed relatively late (2018 sept, so still almost 2 yrs left on the extended warranty), and it was listed for a great price ($5k less than the lexus).
Of course, there had to be something wrong, right? Taking a look at the nearly pristine (for MI standards) underbody, noticed a not-so-small oil puddle, uh oh. The dealer stated they just did an oil change, maybe it was leftover spillage or they overfilled? Wishful thinking.
Wall of text long story incoming:
Of course, these don't have a dipstick, you have to use the oil level cluster info. And this only works when the engine oil is warm and the car sits key-off for several minutes before attempting. We took it for a short drive and were blown away, it felt like a private jet compared to the tonka truck Lexus. After getting back, checked the oil level and it was at minimum, not good.
We asked the salesperson to get it on a lift to take a look, but the answer was "its saturday and we cant put it on the lift due to the oil leak". What?? I guess they didnt want to put it up there, since the techs who "do the major work" don't come in Saturdays. We left and told them we were very interested (Probably a mistake, I should have pushed to see it on a lift immediately), and wanted to hear back on what they found with the leak on Monday. 1hr later we get a call stating they magically were able to get it on the lift after we left! This is why people hate dealers (it's a Ford dealer, what do you expect?).
Good news, it was a broken oil drain plug (common problem on the diesels apparently?). Bad news, who knows how long its been running on minimum oil level. I never did notice the low oil pressure light, or notice low oil pressure on the cluster, and I'm assuming they broke the plug when they changed the oil upon delivery. I'll take a gamble on this, since the emissions warranty continues until 2022 Sept., if it's wiped the bearings or turbo, it will likely fail before then and the emissions warranty covers damn near everything on the engine.
TLDR: broken oil drain plug, they're getting a new plug Monday and I'll likely buy it then AFTER getting PPI by local indy porsche shop.
Super pumped, I am now spoiled by Porsche interiors and I can't go back. The diesel is a workhorse, it drives very similar to the new Chevy 3.0L diesel; amazing on the highway, not so quick off the line, torque for days.
Plan is to upsize tires one aspect ratio to start, 255/60R18 if I can find some decent mild A/T tires like a Falken Wildpeak or Nokian Rotiiva. Roof rack, hitch install, and just drive it.
The only build I could find that offers any idea on the aftermarket is Jeff Seeleys, amazing work, they sourced a custom KW coilover based on VW Touareg military spec (??). Those may be in the cards in the future.
https://expeditionportal.com/overlanding-needs-more-e-motion-porsche-cayenne/
I can't find anything on KW's site, but I do see these DDC spec coilovers, not cheap!
I tried to pm you but it didn't work, I've got an 11 gx460 with 88k on it for sale. Its got ridiculously bright 40" led bar k&n air and cabin, fresh fluids all around and thule rack. It's a unique package in that its loaded, with Mark Levinson audio, nav, rear entertainment, all the fixuns, park district, 4zone, heated (even in rear)and cooled, but no air suspension. I've never seen another like that. Special order was what the previous owner told me, avoiding problematic air suspension. It's an awesome truck, just too used to 1900lb mid engined stuff that I can drift on the way everywhere
$ 22 if it was someone on here, in this market I think I could get $24 if I wanted to deal with the strangers.
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