Cayenne buyer's advise?

[ChrisZang]

Hi,

I am looking for a used car for the wifey.
Looking somewhere in the ~ $25k range
Current candidates are:
a) 2006 ML350
b) 2005/6 E350 or E320
c) 2003/4 Cayenne S

Any owners of these cars out there with their opinions?
Also does anyone know if there is something I should look out for (meaning be worried about) when looking at a 2004 Cayenne S?

Thanks

[RandallNeighbour]

I don't own one of those, but I gotta tell you that the cost of ownership on the Cayenne as a mommy wagon is gonna hurt.

My mechanic says that the brake pads and discs wear out rather quickly on a Cayenne, especially driven long and hard in traffic or making a lot of stops the way moms seem to do. And those parts are not cheap.

The rubber on the Cayenne won't be cheap either.

Why no bimmers on your list?

[ChrisZang]

thanks, I am not much of a BMW guy - even though I am originally from Munich, where these cars come from

Hey one more thing: I just read the "THE ABANDONED TURBOCHARGER PROJECT" on your web-page.
Do you have a few links to read up on?

Thanks

[eightsandaces]

Buy a toureg, same body, probably can steal one too.

[Perfectlap]

don't mean to be a jerky boy but how come "the wifey's car" list is always mostly SUVs? Is the SUV the new "chick car"? I was just having the conversation with my buddy who wants to by a 996 for himself and was looking for suggestion on a car for her. He named every fancy SUV and a few not so fancy ones. I suggested just getting a nice 3 series or finding a nice second hand 5 series or Lexus. This particular time I suggested that he get a CayenneS because I think he would neglect the hell out of a 996. With a CayenneS you kill two birds with one stone, nice car to take the misus out in and a good functional car and they're both weekend drivers so two cars sounds like overkill.

p.s.
If you get the Cayenne get the S or look at a nicely optioned Touraeg

[ekam]

The ML is a POS...

Get a X5 or RX and call it a day.

[ChrisZang]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

don't mean to be a jerky boy but how come "the wifey's car" list is always mostly SUVs? Is the SUV the new "chick car"?

p.s.
If you get the Cayenne get the S or look at a nicely optioned Touraeg

Well, my wife's a M.D. and while working in the ER for a while she noticed that the people who got in accidents who were in an SUV had lesser injuries than the ones who were not in an SUV (She really wants a Hummer but I could talk her out of that and am still pitching the safety of a Mercedes E class to her...)
Oh yes, she also had a Land/Range Rover in mind but I could also talk her out of that (phew)

But yes, Touareg is also a good option, but then again I hope that I can also drive the car from time to time and I am a Porsche guy

[ekam]

Originally Posted by ChrisZang

Oh yes, she also had a Land/Range Rover in mind but I could also talk her out of that (phew)

Show her this:

http://jalopnik.com/5277286/range-rover-owner-advertises-faults-on-lemon-parked-outside-dealer


As for SUVs are safer, please. Take a look at the crash ratings first before generalizing...

http://www.iihs.org/

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by ChrisZang

Well, my wife's a M.D. and while working in the ER for a while she noticed that the people who got in accidents who were in an SUV had lesser injuries than the ones who were not in an SUV (She really wants a Hummer but I could talk her out of that and am still pitching the safety of a Mercedes E class to her...)
Oh yes, she also had a Land/Range Rover in mind but I could also talk her out of that (phew)

But yes, Touareg is also a good option, but then again I hope that I can also drive the car from time to time and I am a Porsche guy

well I'd be curious to hear what your better half would say if you asked her how the folks in the other car that the SUV crashed into fared. If everyone drove a sedan that didn't roll right through all the other cars maybe everyone would make out better in terms of accidents.
To me its like plastic football helmets. If we stuck with old school leather helmets people wouldn't use their noggin protectors to do really stupid things.... like talk on the cell phone instead of looking out for the guy in the little sports car that just drove into the blind spot. I'm a cyclist, if I had a dollar for everytime an SUV driver came within a poker card of my pedal and never had a clue I'd be retired.

[cnavarro]

I vote for a diesel treg - I love my '04 v10. Fast is an understatement. Gets up and goes just like a Turbo Cayenne and does it averaging well over 20 mpg, even with a leadfoot. I can get upwards of 26-27 mpg on the highway too.

I can concur on the safety of a Land Rover. My father in law rolled his Series 1 Disco pulling a 24 ft trailer with 3 cars on it on a country road in IN, with me driving behind. Barrel rolled about 6 times after jacknifing into a ditch. Not a scratch on him. Can't say the cars on the trailer faired better tho.

Forgot to mention he did it at about 40 mph too. Lots of stored energy! Not a single piece of glass broke on the Land Rover, although the frame was pretty mangled.

[stephen wilson]

Keep in mind, crash testing is done vs. fixed objects, so all vehicles are on "equal footing". But in the real world a #2600 Miata will fare much worse vs. a #6000 SUV.

[ChrisZang]

Originally Posted by ekam

The ML is a POS...

can you give me a bit more detail on this?