Depreciation’s a beautiful thing, isn’t it? I mean, it sucks for people who buy new cars, but I certainly wouldn’t have been able to buy a brand new Porsche Boxster and BMW 3 Series at this point in life. Aside from a few blue chip cars, depreciation eventually comes for everything, and the latest victim of note is the original Porsche Panamera, the car that taught many Americans what the word “gopping” meant.
Since early examples are more than a decade old at this point, and the styling is controversial to say the least, they’ve slid into tantalizingly cheap territory. I’m talking new Toyota Corolla money, certified pre-owned Honda CR-V money, the sort of money that could make you want to roll the dice.
However, is buying a decade-old German luxury sedan a good idea? Well, in the case of the Panamera, it all depends.
Fast, Butt-Ugly
When the Porsche Panamera debuted, people thought it was the ugliest thing Porsche had ever made, an impressive feat considering the Cayenne existed. James May described the Panamera Turbo as the “four-wheel-drive Elephant Man,” while Car And Driver was more charitable, writing that “The humpbacked hatchback styling is having a hard time finding friends.”
However, because just about every other car on the road has grown substantially uglier over the past 14 years, the original Porsche Panamera doesn’t look that bad anymore. It’s as if one day, a light switch was thrown while we slept, and everyone collectively decided that the original Panamera is fine. Frankly, that’s a good thing, because these executive sedans could be optioned up to be properly quick.
Sure, the base model with its 300-horsepower V6 won’t set your trousers alight, but it’s only up from there. The Panamera S sported a 400-horsepower 4.8-liter V8, the Panamera GTS upped the ante to 430 horsepower, the Panamera Turbo bolted on a pair of turbochargers for a peak output of 500 horsepower, and the Panamera Turbo S ratcheted things up a click to 550 horsepower.
While even the cheapest model could crack 160 mph, the V8 Panamera S had a claimed zero-to-62 mph time of 5.4 seconds, and things only got quicker from there. Adding all-wheel-drive gets that time down to five seconds flat, and the Panamera Turbo with the Sport Chrono package cut that time down to four seconds. All American cars came with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, too, which is still properly quick by modern standards.
Cram It In The Hatch
Sure, if you just wanted a big, fast, cheap sedan, you could buy an early Chrysler 300C SRT-8 with a 6.1-liter V8. However, the Panamera offers two obvious advantages over the big Chrysler. For one, the interior panels don’t feel like they’re made by child laborers. It’s legit big car luxury in a Panamera through and through. Secondly, the Panamera is a five-door liftback, and that means it can probably replace a crossover SUV as a family car. With the rear seats folded down, you get 44.6 cu.-ft. of cargo space, and that’s even taking into account the sloping roofline. However, since few people actually load their vehicles up beyond the window lines, the cargo length in this five-door Porsche makes it a formidable school run machine.
Oh, and if you need to haul more, don’t worry. When properly equipped, the Panamera is capable of towing 4,850 pounds. Shocking, right? This means you can tow your cheap 944 track car to the track in a cheap Panamera and look like an absolute boss even with a U-Haul sticker on the trailer. Try that in a Toyota RAV4.
How Cheap Are We Talking?
When I say these things are cheap, I mean it. This 2011 Panamera 4S recently hammered on Bring A Trailer for $26,000, and it’s pretty much loaded to the hilt. I’m talking 19-inch wheels, the Sport Chrono package, power-operated sunshades, front and rear parking sensors, a proximity key system, a walnut steering wheel, and a Bose stereo. Best of all? It had just 63,000 miles on the clock when it sold, certainly on the low end for a 12-year-old car.
Over on Cars & Bids, the deals on these big Porsches are even better. Here’s a Panamera Turbo that hammered for $22,750. That’s low-spec Elantra money for a 500-horsepower family liftback with a top-shelf Burmester sound system. Granted, this particular example has two recorded hits on its Carfax and 97,600 miles on the clock, but that’s still an excellent price for something this quick.
Oh, and that’s just looking at some of the nicer V8 examples on auction sites. Given a little leeway for mileage and location, you can get into a controversial liftback sedan with the more sensible V6 engine for less than $20,000 from the regular ol’ internet classifieds. What could possibly go wrong?
Bore Score And Seven Years Ago
Well, how about catastrophic engine damage? Yep, as the water-cooled Porsche experts at LN Engineering note, the 4.8-liter V8 in these original Panameras isn’t immune to bore scoring, and the firm notes that “Once cylinder bore scoring starts, there is no way to stop it.” If the scoring gets bad enough in these AluSil-plated cylinders, oil consumption grows so vast that OPEC might send you a Christmas card. Fixing this issue will max out your Amex, so a good pre-purchase inspection goes a long way.
In addition to a good poke around with a borescope, it’s also worth checking if any prospective early Panamera models have been in for camshaft adjuster bolt recall work. In 2017, Porsche issued a recall on 2010 to 2012 Panamera S, 4S, and Turbo trims, along with 2011 to 2012 Panamera and Panamera 4 models, because the variable valve timing camshaft adjuster bolts could snap. In Porsche’s words, “The proper functioning of the camshaft controllers cannot be assured over the normal service life of the vehicles,” so the whole batch of cars was recalled.
Oh, and then there’s the litany of coolant leaks that can spring up, the most prolific of which can come from a pipe that connects to the thermostat housing of the 4.8-liter engine, or another pipe that connects to a coolant crossover manifold. The adhesive holding these pipes in can allegedly fail, quickly emptying the cooling system. In 2020, a class-action lawsuit was filed for these issues, and last month, a summary judgement sided with Porsche on the basis of the issue being time-barred. Regardless of legal outcome, if you’re looking at a Panamera, keep your eye out for coolant leaks.
Speaking of aggravating, I need to talk about air filter replacement on these cars because it’s hilarious yet also painful. To access the airbox, you need to remove the front bumper cover. Thankfully, the filter is enormous, so replacement is only required every four years or 40,000 miles, but it’s a pain in the ass once you reach that interval.
Besides a few model-specific problems, I’ve seen Panameras occasionally suffer from the usual issues with any big performance car. Air suspension components wear out, the active rear spoiler can break, walnut blasting the intake valves every 100,000 miles is a good idea since the engines in these cars feature direct injection, and transmissions that are beat on and neglected may not have the greatest service lifespans. Still, if a proper pre-purchase inspection checks out, these original Panamera models are still some of the more reliable heavily-depreciated flagship luxury sedans out there.
Should You Buy A Cheap Porsche Panamera?
Well, it really depends on who you are. The average person looking at a new Toyota Corolla should avoid a bargain Panamera like, well I was going to say the plague, but we all know how that played out. Even in their heavily depreciated state, these are still six-figure cars, and they come with the service bills to match.
However, if you’re handy with a wrench or know a good local independent specialist, are willing to do some legwork, and are interested in owning a fast family hauler for sensible money, I reckon you should consider a Porsche Panamera. They’re a hell of a lot of car for reasonable cash, and they don’t look or feel that old. With an MMI box or screen replacement to support CarPlay, these things are bang up to date, the naturally-aspirated V8 examples still sound glorious, and the liftback makes them genuinely practical. Now, let’s hope that the styling stays controversial enough that too many people don’t latch on and buoy prices.
(Photo credits: Porsche, Bring A Trailer, Cars & Bids, Autotrader)
Support our mission of championing car culture by becoming an Official Autopian Member.
-
How The Most Hated Porsche 911 Is Defying A Softening Market
-
This Is What A 24 Year-Old Plymouth Neon Looks Like With 6 Miles On The Odometer
-
Our Parents Won’t Like The New Breed Of Hot American Classic Cars
-
Here’s Proof You Can Still Buy Cheap Cars On Those Fancy Internet Car Auction Sites
-
The Car Market Is No Longer Crazy: A Look At Cars That Recently Sold And Didn’t Sell At Auction
Got a hot tip? Send it to us here. Or check out the stories on our homepage.
Just never forget that repairs will be far more expensive than the benchmark Corolla ever will be. I’ve owned high end used cars and the old saw about costing as much or more than a new one once repairs are taken into consideration hold true.
I remember cylinder scoring being an issue in the earlier v8 cayennes when I was looking into those a while back, but if you stepped up to the turbo they did not have that issue (i’m sure they had/have plenty of other issues!). Anybody know if the same happens to be true for these earlier panameras?
I wonder how much a Carmax Maxcare warranty would be on one.
Lol
My boyfriend used to have a V6T Panny S. It was a phenomenal car. Super comfy, had tons of room, quick, fun, etc. And the facelift got a new hatch, so it was ever so slightly less humpbacked. It’s kinda like the Cayenne in terms of people who say it “isn’t a real Porsche” plainly have never driven one. They’re just awesome.
The air suspension meant we did shit in that car Porsche would definitely not approve of. But we got some great looks at the “4wd SUV only access” campgrounds lmao
I think it would be interesting to own the diesel 4S with the 4.0L V8 turbodiesel. Road and track claims 0-60 mph in 3.8 seconds. THAT can fuck with a Hellcat. And it gets 36 mpg. We didn’t get that one in the U.S. though, nor would I want to have to pay to maintain it even on my current income.
Also, I’d rather that engine come in a Cayman. But Porsche never had the balls to do it…
Oh my god that fucks. Never knew that existed. Europe gets so much cool stuff 🙁
If I had read that statement without the pictures I would call it the hottest take of 2023. But wow, I guess it’s really been awhile since I saw a first gen model because I definitely agree.
I never understood the hate for the Panamera. Quite frankly, I love the design. It’s unusual enough to stand out, clearly not a 911, but also clearly related to the 911.
It’s always been the pricey known VAG engine faults that have kept me away from the used market. Even the odd and expensive maintenance requirements aren’t that bad considering what you get in return.
If these had proper Porsche flat 6 engines instead VW/Audi hand-me-downs, I probably would have bought one already.
This. If I’m buying a Porsche I want Porsche mechanicals. Not Audi nonsense that’s designed to only make it to the end of a lease.
Firstly they’re Porsche engines, not Audi. That’s as wrong as calling an Alfa Busso a FIAT engine.
Second, it’s hilarious to complain about Porsche engine longevity when driving a Hyundai, famous for the ‘1 quart of oil per 1,000 miles’ oil consumption spec and main bearings that won’t make it halfway through warranty period.
The Porsche v8 is a Porsche engine developed by Porsche it is not a hand me down, it is in fact developed from the same engine that originally was in the 928.
Fair enough, that’s good information I could have researched. I thought they were based on the Audi 4.2.
But even so, none of the Panamera V8s have been in my price range until recently. Maybe it’s time to start looking again.
Same, when it came out I thought, huh, that’s different, and kinda cool.
You make excellent points. But just to supplement your comparison, I am the proud owner of a high end Corolla, a GR Corolla (with the Core package.) The owner’s manual calls for changing the fluid for the transfer case and both differentials every 2 years/24,000 miles (and a warning about a voided warranty if gasoline lower than 91 octane is used.) My particular Corolla has Porsche (or Ferrari) maintenance requirements.
Porsche would probably go ahead and say those fluids are lifetime and not have a maintenance interval.
Your corolla is MORE maintenance intensive than a Porsche*
*hahahahahaha no.
I would absolutely buy the Corolla instead.
If you want something that will cost you a fortune in maintenance and repairs, why not get a used Audi A7 which doesn’t look like a bottom dwelling sea creature?
Bargainamera, guajira bargainamera…
Bargainameeera, guajira bargainameeeeraaaa…
It stuck in my head. Sorry folks.
Fuck my mind.
This song runs thorough my head every single time I see one on the road
Shhh…. let these get even cheaper and quit telling people about them (I really want one). I love the fat-wagon looks of them – even when they first came out. They’re like the Cadillac of Porches.
Right now our family long-haul car is a ’94 Cadillac Fleetwood. It’s great, but after buying my XK8 I’ve started gravitating towards future family long-haulers that have a bit less wallow along with less than 11 grease-certs that need attention in the front end at every oil change.
There was one of these used Panameras nearby on FB-mp that had around 135,000 miles on it. It didn’t look like it at all – it was stunning just how clean it was in the pictures and the interior appeared to be new. In fact, it was one of those rare times the owner appeared to correctly use the term “mint”. The color was a glorious beer-bottle brown which appeared to have a light metallic in it. At $25K, it languished for quite a while and I doubt it ever sold at that price with those miles, but the glimpse of what-could-be and thoughts of tearing along the Georgia autobahn on the way to see the in-laws have set the imagination-hook deep.
Can’t wait to see what the prices are on these by the time I get my home equity loan paid off (about four years at the current pace). I’ll make sure to keep my AAA membership paid up as well.
I’ve looked into these before, and beyond expensive maintenance, the major expense I can’t get over are the price of tires on v8 panamaras. It’s too large of a guaranteed cost every 2 years on top of the unknown problems that can pop up.
I don’t like these just because a front engined sedan meant to look like a 911 is heresy, and doesnt actually look good. If I wanted an RS6 I’d just get the rs6 rather than an rs6 in a 911 bodykit.
25k or so for a car that can pull 0-60 in 5.5 or whatever seconds is fast, and decent value, but if you’re after cheap speed, you can do a lot better. Even if you specifically want a sedan that can drive your family around AND is cheap speed, you can do better.
A Hemi powered 300 would serve you pretty well and I see decent ones in the 20s all the time. It’s all the fun of a Charger RT with way less stigma. Obviously most of the go fast bits that work for the Charger/Challenger will also work for a 300. You can build yourself a pretty impressive sleeper considering how well the 5.7 takes to tuning.
The Charger and 300 are a great example of a better choice than a used Panamera.
I’ve always loved the 300 styling
I literally work at a reputable independent German specialist shop and as much as I do love a good Panamera, I absolutely would never, ever recommend someone on a Corolla budget buy one. Just a normal oil service on a Panamera is usually in the $350-400 range for us. Then there’s the coolant leaks and suspension problems that will inevitably occur. This is the definition of champagne on a beer budget. Do not do it!
(But Panameras are actually dope af…)
Years ago a friend at work showed me a picture of a first gen Cayenne he was thinking about buying. I asked him how he felt about four-figure repair bills. He bought an Explorer.
Cayennes aren’t as bad as Panameras overall, but more often than not, the repairs are still in four-figure territory. Oil services on the V8s are usually a little higher than Panameras, but just because they have a slightly longer labor time for checking and cleaning evap drains
Cayennes are one of those cars that aren’t actually that expensive to own if you do the work yourself though. For example carrier bearing failure: >$2k if you have someone else do it. <$100 if you do it yourself. Of course, you need to have the free time…
Very true, and I have saved quite a bit of money doing as much DIY as I can (although doing the hatch struts made me seriously consider selling it before they need to be done again). My work colleague though was not a DIY type, nor did he have much free time.
Haha the hatch struts on my touareg are in pretty bad shape but I have no desire to swap em.
I’ve seen 5 figure repairs on those. A coolant pipe fitting broke, which was an engine out job.
“Just a normal oil service on a Panamera is usually in the $350-400 range for us.”
To a certified Cheap Bastard DIYer like myself that seems ABSURDLY high. Why is that? For my cars oil runs $20ish for 5 quarts of full synthetic and maybe $4-5 for an aftermarket filter and maybe 15 minutes of labor easy enough a child can do it (I know, I’ve been changing oil since I was a child). That’s without lifts, pits, power tools or any professional tools, just hand tools, maybe a jack, a regular drain pan and jug of oil.
Are the wholesale costs that much more expensive or the work to change the oil on one of these fancy engines that much more involved than econoboxes? Is there more to it than draining old oil out, replacing the filter and putting the correct amount of fresh new correct oil in?
To give a general idea, we use Motul on Porsches and it’s usually around $140 more or less, depending on quantity and the price of the week. The filter is $30-40, then there’s an hour and a half of labor. The labor includes an inspection because we are doing an oil service comparable to the dealer, not an oil change like a quick lube. It also includes time to reset the oil service indicator and bits and bobs like that. Then add in a few bucks in shop supplies and sales tax and that’s how we get there.
Hmm. I see Motul Synthetic on Amazon for $43/5L jug and that’s retail price. Assuming you need two of those that’s still a hefty markup. That’s not even getting into whether Motul’s more expensive oil makes any difference vs cheapo Wal-Mart Super tech as long as it meets the requirements for that engine. Even the cheapest oils today usually exceed those older specs so IMO fancy oil is overkill.
I see Panamera oil filters run anywhere from $5-30 retail so your price is anywhere from outrageous to OK depending on what you’re putting in. If you’re putting in official Porsche filters personally blessed by each of the bishops of Stuttgart wonderful. If its an unblessed bulk cheapo Ecotec or even cheaper unbranded generic that does the job, it’d be nice for the customer to see at least some of those savings.
Inspection? Might be worth it to some for the peace of mind. There IS value in having an experienced set of eyes look over the car and note potential problems at least once in a while and definitely before purchase.
That said I’ve fallen into the dealer inspection trap of replacing parts that did not need replacing (as confirmed by an independent shop) so I have trust issues with such inspections. Claiming your inspection is “comparable to the dealer” isn’t confidence inspiring given that experience so I hope your inspections come with a good explanation of why parts might need replacing, how soon and whether it can be put off.
Resetting the counter though, come on! That takes maybe a minute along with those other bits and bobs that can be done while the oil is draining.
Having worked on our family’s 924T I have experienced the awfulness that Porsches can be. I owned a Scirocco of similar vintage and the difference in wrenching was night and day. We haven’t owned a Porsche since. It was crazy how terrible that Porsche was to wrench on so I was thinking perhaps a Panamera might be a similar PITA which would help explain the cost of that normal oil service. If however changing the oil and filter on a Panamera is comparable to a Toyota I’ll stick with DIY.
My local dealer has steadily ramped up the price for oil and filters for my truck. They charge anywhere from 2 to 3 times the retail price for them. I’m totally happy to pay for labor if I’m having someone else change my oil, but overpaying that much for the materials is insulting.
I started bringing my own filters years ago after they charged me $90 for a filter I could buy for $30 (or for $10 if I got a reputable aftermarket brand), and they’ve started to pull the same thing on oil so I’ll be bringing my own for that in the future as well. I hope gouging me once was worth losing my business forever.
Why not just DIY? You probably won’t even need to lift a truck and its an easy enough job, even if you have to do it on the street. Plus its a truck so the used oil and filter can ride in the bed till you get around to dropping them off for recycling. I’d bet it’d take even less time than to drive to the dealer too, much less the wait for them to get around to it.
I could, but I’ve actually found it to be a bit of a pain to get rid of used oil around here (the convenient places are only open during the work day, and the places open at night won’t always take it because they let their used oil containers fill up completely) so the fact that one oil change on the truck would fill my container is annoying. I also get free tire rotations because I bought my tires at this dealer (surprisingly, their price on those was good), and while I can do those myself too it takes a not-insignificant amount of time.
I’m close to being annoyed enough to just DIY, but if they’ll let me provide the supplies I’m still okay with paying them to do it.
Free tire rotations are a good thing.
2004 Cayenne S owner here. My best advice for anyone looking to buy a heavily-depreciated modern Porsche is to be prepared to eventually own a well-kept classic Porsche. I bought my Cayenne in 2014 for 11.5K from the original owner. Properly running a depreciated modern Porsche means properly maintaining it. Properly maintaining it means that there will come a point about 5 years in where you either cut your losses or plan to keep it forever as “sunk cost” gets replaced with “financially suicidal if I ever sell this thing” sometime between years 5 and 7.
These have gotten to the point that they’re on buy here pay here type lots here in the DC area and they’ve kind of become a status symbol for working and lower class sorts of folks. I think it’s the “wait I can get a Porsche for HOW much?!” phenomenon and unfortunately I doubt that the majority of people who buy these have any idea what they’re in for.
Other than being butt ugly what concerns me most about these is the powertrains, and honestly that’s my main concern about anything VAG. I could be wrong but I believe all of these engines are shared with Audi and pretty much every non flat 4 or 6 in their lineup is. Hell the godforsaken EA888 is in the Macan…and while I’ve experienced the 3 liter turbo V6 and think it’s a damn nice engine I still wouldn’t bank on long term reliability…and VAG V8s are notorious for a reason.
Believe it or not Porsches 2010-present flat 6s and 4s are incredibly reliable. I think they’re more or less why Porsche has garnered a better reputation for longevity in recent years…and I’d be keen to roll the dice on engineering that came right from the Porsche nerds and isn’t poisoned by VW.
But these? Not worth it to me personally…and keep in mind that if your PDK goes wrong you’re looking at a minimum of 4 figures of work…and if you’re stuck with total replacement I’ve heard they run as high as $20,000. Remember kids…it may be a $25,000 car but the work to keep it on the road is equivalent to what a $100,000+ car needs.
If you crave MAXIMUM PARSH OVERLOAD BRO just get something with a flat 6. I love Porsche as you all know and have been tempted by certified examples of Panameras/higher spec Macans/etc. many a time….but IMHO stuff like this only offers a small taste of what makes the brand great and isn’t worth the massive mechanical headaches you’ll run in to.
Just get the nicest manual 997.2 911 you can afford.
I believe that Porsche flat sixes in general are pretty solid motors. I mean it is still just a Beetle.
FUCK OFF CLARKSON
I’m not a superstitious man, but one of my favorite curses is:
“May someone give you a free 10 year old Porsche that just needs a little work”
“Ran when parked, needs minor work, don’t have time, title clear but not in my name, no tire kickers, price firm, I know what I got.”
Still available if ad is still up
The one thing I really like about the Panamera is that the key fob is shaped like a miniature Panamera.
That’s a good reason to choose a car, right?
I think it’s a better reason to just buy the FOB instead.
Fob*
It’s a word, not an acronym
Maybe he was shouting it? 😉
Interesting article…I think the design isn’t too bad at all…I think it’s partly just that there is so much focus on one amazing design (911) that anything Porsche that deviates too much from that just throws off the viewpoint…not a bad thing, just a variable. This article made me want one of these because of the great deal for what you get…just need the $ for it now
I gotta say that the red one is tempting. I see gray and black for sale too often, but that red one is cheap enough and different enough. Of course, like most of them these days, it appears to be at a sketchy lot and may be in similarly sketchy condition.
Why is there not a car show similar to the Golden Bachelor?
Premise: One lone human must choose between a group of luxury cars all over 15 years old. Which car will he ultimately accept the keys of, and which car will break down first? Will it be the Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, Aston etc?
Episode example: Find out next week as human takes 5 of our eligible cars to a nice restaurant and sees how the valets feel about each of the 5 vehicles.
These episodes will write themselves.
and magically after spending a few days getting to know the winning car they will proclaim it’s the greatest car I have ever driven in my life… finalize the relationship…. only to find out a few months later from many breakdowns and large repair bills they sent it to the crusher and got a new GR Corolla..
But also kinda sounds old school Top Geary.
Like old Top Gear, wouldn’t be factual at all, but would be fun!
When did new Top Gear become old Top Gear? Does that make the pre-trio Top Gear into stone age Top Gear?
Have you watched it? It sure feels like pre-trio TG is stone age (to me at least, though it was pretty much over before I was born).
Have to joke that it would always be BMW, ha ha…but really it could be any, it’s like gambling! Great and clever idea for a show, I would watch
I’m willing to be a contestant (or participant? since the cars are kind of the contestants).
You have to be the bachelor.
As long as I get to gently place a rose onto each vehicle that moves on to the next episode, I’m in.
Dang it. I thought of the show tagline “Which will break first, their heart or their bank account. Find out next week on Show Name.”
Plus tune next week to find out which diabolical contestant put sugar in another’s gas tank!
We know it was the BMW. Probably putting the sugar into the tank of the Mercedes that was probably going to be eliminated anyway.
I know reality TV is full of manufactured drama, but let’s try to make these contestants at least behave a little better than the real estate agent reality shows.
Anyone who wants one and can afford it has one. Anyone who wants one and can’t afford it would be a fool to buy it.
So, the only market is poor, foolish people.
tl;dr There’s nothing more expensive than a cheap German luxury car.
I think you can expand that to “cheap non-Japanese” or at least “cheap European” (my cheap Volvo is anything but)
Yeah definitely not just cheap non Japanese cars, I’ve had great luck with my cheap American cars. Some German and otherwise European cars aren’t totally money pits.
I own three cheap German luxury cars. This allows me to work on one while the other two hold a competition to see which one gets goes on jackstands next.
These older Porsche’s are so tempting but so scary at the same time