E60 M5 vs. 2011 Cayenne S vs. ???

[ohsix]

I'm going to be buying my wife a new car in the next couple of months and wanted to get some input. She thinks she wants a Porsche Cayenne. They changed substantially for the 2011 model year, so I don't want to buy the old style. If we get a Cayenne, I want the S model just because I don't want the slowest Cayenne on the road. The turbo would be nice but I'm not ready to spend that kind of money.

Outside of business vehicles, I like to buy 1 or 2 year old low mileage vehicles. That's going to be tough with a 2011 Cayenne which has me looking at other things. My wife has had two SUVs in a row and occasionally mentions that she wishes she would have gotten a car instead. This has me looking at cars, and I like fast cars. First, I'd like a 997 911, but that's not a practical car for my wife or a daily driver. Second, I'd like a CTS-V, but my wife hates them. Third, it comes down the M5, AMG E63, or Audi RS6. My father-in-law has an E63 and I don't want to copy him. There's not an Audi dealer anywhere close and I don't even know if they've sold the RS6 in the U.S. recently. So, that leaves me with the M5. I guess they quit selling these in the U.S. in '08 because that's the newest I can find for sale.

What does wb.com think about the M5 and are there other vehicles I should be considering. I'm pretty well limited to a small SUV or 4-door car. Price limit is ~80k, but I'm not above saving money.

[jt09]

ohsix, if this is what you are looking for:

[htownbdr]

I like both the M5 and the E63. But, I think both are about to go through a body style change. And, it is pretty substantial. I don't think they will be making an E63 anymore either.

As far as the comparison of the two, I like the performance of the Beamer MUCH better. E63 may get it in a straight line but that's it. Still like the looks of the MB better. However, electronics is an E63 are pretty outdated.

Porsche also has that new 4 door that if you put 22's on it, looks pretty sweet. But, is there a Porsche dealer anywhere near you?

[htownbdr]

If you get any of those, I better meet you on the track. About half your town goes to these events so just hop on with one of them.

[Commodore]

Ahem.

Click here to see what I picked out

Click here to learn about them

Having driven one of these, this is on top of my 4-door sedan list. [/url]

[htownbdr]

Holy crap!!! Haugy is alive.

Excellent choice btw.

[ohsix]

We looked at Maseratis last night and the only thing she liked was "the pitchfork thing". Another downside to living in BFE is we don't have any upper-end dealerships other than BMW and Mercedes. I'm pretty well limited to four door cars and small SUVs. The Panamera is growing on me, but my wife doesn't like it at all.

I think the most responsible thing is to buy a car that we can get serviced locally. My wife would probably already have a Cayenne, but not having a local Porsche dealer is my biggest concern. Especially for a car that she would drive every day.

htownbdr, after this, my next big purchase is a 911 or an airplane. Hopefully in 2011.

[JV]

Are there no lakes in Midland? Where does a boat fit in to the spending spree? I need you to buy an Axis and let me give it a whirl.

[ohsix]

JV, no real lakes close. The closest is a small one about 70 miles away. Wife's parents and grandparents have houses on LBJ and my parents are currently looking to buy there. A house there would be our next purchase but with 2 houses, soon to be 3 houses, in the family there's no need.

Q: You know what's better than owning a boat?

A: Knowing someone who owns a boat.

[JV]

[htownbdr]

^^^^I think he was talking about boats or lake houses.

If you go the M5 or E63 route, you can still start to do the track until the 911 shows up. You also have that Fort Stockton open Road race not far from you.

What about Lexus? Pretty sure they have one of those there and it seems like half that area owns one. Nothing in that line interests you?

[JV]

[ohsix]

JV, fixed!

htownbdr, She doesn't like the Lexus cars. She used to like the GX 470 (medium SUV), but doesn't like the GX460 which is the newer version. She doesn't like the RX (small SUV) and thinks the LX (big SUV) is too big.

[Brit Rider]

ohsix, We already have the new 5 series here with M5 to follow very shortly so if you're concerned about body style changes I'd really avoid it unless going new. Even then it will be a little wait yet if M5 is the spec you want.

Do you not have the X5 M there? Maybe the decent combination of both worlds for you but certainly no track car.

I do have to tip my hat to the Cayenne. I have a customer with a GTS that I've both been out in and taken apart to modify and it is truly a great car in every respect. Defies physics on the road (Not just speed but the way it handles, brakes, corners etc etc) and is built extremely well. The amount of remote monitoring Porsche have over their cars is also rather impressive... they seem to know what's wrong with it before he even notices it's gone wrong!!!

As for Dealers... how about a Nissan Dealer? Skyline GT-R just got facelifted and is not only a nice quality car but also will eat pretty much anything on the road. Admittedly it's no premium badge but its fast, comfortable, reliable, great quality and AWD is always handy. Not a bad track day car either

If you want something that is a little different... is this worth considering:
http://www.jaguar.com/us/en/#/new_xj/models_and_pricing/models/Supercharged

[tball]

The 2011 Cayenne got a top rating from Car & Driver last month; I like it.

A coworker just picked up a 2007 (?) BMW M6 for 50K. SMOKIN'!!!! If you're not up for an M6, the 650 and 645 are pretty nice too.

We love our 997 but it is definitely not a mommy's daily driver.

Land Rover? New Jag coupes? VW CC? Touareg?

You've got a terrible problem, my friend.

[ohsix]

Brit Rider, those jags are nice, but no local dealer.

Now I'm thinking I'll get a 997 as a third car and maybe we can find her a lightly used '11 Cayenne in 6 or 9 months. She said she'd rather wait on a Cayenne than get something else. The way I justify this is if one needs to be in the shop (5 hours away), we have a 3rd car to drive.

[STPHNSN23]

as if you ever need to justify buying a 911 i really like the 11 cayennes too. i wonder if i'll be able to find a deal on a used one by the time i'm car shopping.

[Bambamski]

If you don't have an Audi dealer close by don't buy the Audi. Not many shops can service of fix them. And they don't have the best reliability record.

A buddy has a Cayenne and loves it. they're smoken fast as well. That would be my number one choice hands down in your list. The AMG is nice but for the money you can get more car elsewhere.

I looked at the maserati when i was looking for my car a couple of years ago. I ended up not going with it because they only place I could service it would be the ferrari dealship in town. I didn't feel like paying 250 bucks and hour for an oil change...

Why don't you look at the Aston Martin DB9? you should be able to get an 06 or 07 for 70k ish? That's the car I'll look at when it comes time to get a new toy. Best looking car made IMO(sound amazing too). and in the line up with all the cars you mentioned the other cars wouldn't even get a single look...

[wakeboarderdave1]

[htownbdr]

[ky1e]

Do you have any Land Rover dealers in the area? If you are thinking Cayenne, definitely want to consider a RR sport supercharged. The stock car comes pretty decked out vs the cayenne where you have to add on every option from a virtually empty car. You will end up spending the same price after putting in the options that you want as the RR sport SC and have a lot less horsepower, and for 510 hp, the car doesn't move unless you want it too in which case it cooks.

[ohsix]

ky1e, no local Land Rover dealers. Wife really wants a Cayenne so that's what she'll probably end up with. I've heard nothing but good things about the new Cayenne. I've noticed what you said about the pricing. The Cayenne S starts at $63k but most sticker for about $80k with options. Right now, I'm looking at 07-09 911s for me. Will probably wait a few months until some lightly used '11 Cayennes start showing up for sale.

[htownbdr]

What 997 are you looking for?

[ohsix]

htownbdr, not sure yet. I would like a turbo with as little miles as possible for <$80k. It looks like I could get a 2007 or 2008 with about 20,000 miles on it. Not sure if I should be worried about that many miles. I would prefer the tiptronic if I get a turbo. If it looks like a good TT is out of my price range I'll look at the Carrera S and 4S. Not sure if I would want the all wheel drive or not. The only thing I'm sure of is I don't want a cabriolet. What are your thoughts considering my price range?

[ohsix]

It seems like the turbos on ebay in price range all have something I don't like about them. I would prefer white, then black, then silver, then dark gray, then other colors.

This one's great except for the yellow seat belts and panel:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2007-Porsche-911-TURBO-6-spd-w-Only-12k-miles-/290505018375?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item43a372cc07

This one's nice, but not any of my favorite colors and wish the wheels weren't chromed.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2007-PORSCHE-TWIN-TURBO-MIDNIGHT-BLUE-SAND-17-000-MILES-/390267862627?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item5addc6fe63

Don't like the wheels and the fact that it's had 3 owners is a little bit of a turn off.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2007-PORSCHE-911-TURBO-COUPE-6-SPEED-6K-MILES-/190475782255?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item2c593dc86f

[PimpinD2]

how about that lil guy? my friends pop just picked her up =P

[htownbdr]

Depends on what you want it for. If it is just for street, turbo is the way to go. I loved mine. The awd is great. And, on a tt, you can get huge power in upgrades for not much money. I would watch out for whether it was tracked. Check the over rev's and get a ppi. Absolutely not on the tip. If that's your thing, get a gtr or an m3.

If the track is going to be your thing, not gonna beat the gt3. If you want an in betweener, the gt2 is a beast. But, you will have to drop to a 996 here and I know you don't like those.

Go check out 6speedonline.com and post your criteria there. They will have tons of good advice.

[htownbdr]

One last thought, would stay away from anything modded and the last one looks like it has some. First one looks good. Seat belts are cheap.

Second one is ugly.

[STPHNSN23]

htownbdr, what's your username on 6speed?

[htownbdr]

Same. I'm very original. I don't post much there though. Mainly hang out in GT3 section and the classifieds.

[STPHNSN23]

ya. i haven't even registered. i just like to look at all the pretty pictures.

[ohsix]

Looks like I'll be picking up my new to me 997TT tomorrow. It's a 2008 silver 6-speed with 10k miles on it. I don't typically like vanity license plates, but I hate the new Texas plates. I'm looking at getting a different plate design, but I won't be "personalizing" the characters on the plate.

For some reason it won't let me link the images. Here are the ones I'm considering:

http://www.myplates.com/Images/Plates/PLPD127

http://www.myplates.com/Images/Plates/PLPD103

http://www.myplates.com/Images/Plates/PLPD303

Thoughts?

[STPHNSN23]

f the plates. we want pics of the car!

[htownbdr]

Awesome!!! In January there is a track event in Houston. Get your a$% there. If not, there is one in College Station in March.

I am getting the one that is black with a star taking up the left side. But, it is on a black car. I don't like vanity plates either. Just don't like blue and red on my car.

[htownbdr]

Seriously go join 6speed if you haven't already. Tons of info there. But, first thing they will tell you is replace he side markers with clear, get a short shift kit, get a flash and get an exhaust. Flash and exhaust REALLY open that car up.