Porsche Panamera S
Discussion
Well after a short stint with a Jeep Wrangler as a project car (which was great), I knew that I had to keep things sensible otherwise I’d spend a fortune on lots of upgrades. In the end I kept it modest, and it was a tidy little motor.
Fast forward to earlier this year, and two cars presented me with a different direction for a project and my head was turned. One was a 2011 Audi S4 avant and the other was a 2009 Porsche Panamera S.
I’ll be honest, I was very taken by the Audi. It was a bit more than the Porsche, but who doesn’t love an estate, and this one looked perfect. Unfortunately it all changed on the viewing and test drive. Something wasn’t right, it looked amazing in the flesh but drove poorly. Handling, steering, gearbox, engine……all gave me concerns. It was a Japanese import too which is not usually a bad thing, but in the UAE, the resale of a Japanese estate car would be extremely hard…….no one wants an estate and no one really wants an import (GCC spec cars are the one to go for as they have enhanced cooling to cope with the furnace like conditions in the summer months).
The Porsche on the other hand wasn’t all that appealing in the advert. It was white (despite having plenty of white cars, I’m not a fan generally). It wasn’t a well composed advert, wheels and other things looked a bit rough round the edges.
When I visited the car however it was miles better than expected. The wheels still had seen better days but everything else was perfect. Maintained at any cost, all paperwork in place and the owner just handed me the keys and said take it out yourself for half an hour (this is relatively common in Dubai and it’s not the first time I’ve been handed the keys as a stranger and let loose).
The drive was perfect, nice and refined, plenty of power and torque. The sound was (and still is) a bit pants unless really going for it. The star of the show for me was the interior. A lovely combo of Yachting Blue and Cream…..might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but this is right up my street!
I’ll be honest, I was always of the opinion that these have challenging looks…..and I’ll even be more honest and say, I still think that. Over the years the Panamera has grown to be much more cohesive and much like the Cayenne, it now looks decent. For me though, it wasn’t challenging enough to put me off, and the other positives made it a no brainer for me. A deal was done and the car was mine……the jeep sold on to a fellow Brit who was chuffed to bits with it.
So back to the project…..well this is where it all goes a bit lame. Unlike some epic projects on here, mine will be basic. I work some crazy hours, travel every month, and have a busy family life with a wife, 2 kids, 2 dogs, 2 cats and a big garden to deal with!!! That said, I do want to get stuck in with some things on the car.
1. Wheels - these need addressing. On my list once summer is over.
2. Steering Wheel - it has some wear and tear on the leather. I’m in two minds about replacing the center piece of replacing the entire wheel for a sports unit with proper paddles
3. If I repair existing wheels then I may just take the plunge and buy the TechArt retrofit paddle shifters. They’re about £525, but have good reviews.
4. The front and rear of mine looks a bit tame, I might look at improving the looks a little. I don’t want to go overboard but it looks a bit “boat” like!
5. The horn sounds like it’s from a moped :-p! and clearly it’s faulty. I understand it has essentially 2 horns (upper and lower). Clearly one is goosed, so it will need addressing. A good horn is essential in Dubai!
6. I need to improve the sound. Every V8 I’ve had before this has sounded epic in their own way……this just doesn’t. It has the PSE, but it’s no way cutting it!
To be frank, I could just leave it be. The car is a delight to waft around in. So comfortable, great sound system, decent pace and handling, large for the family if we use it and it’s even averaging 28mpg over the last 3000km.
And that’s basically that! I’ll do my best to update the thread as I move through the above.
Snaps and spec list below.
Spec list
Fast forward to earlier this year, and two cars presented me with a different direction for a project and my head was turned. One was a 2011 Audi S4 avant and the other was a 2009 Porsche Panamera S.
I’ll be honest, I was very taken by the Audi. It was a bit more than the Porsche, but who doesn’t love an estate, and this one looked perfect. Unfortunately it all changed on the viewing and test drive. Something wasn’t right, it looked amazing in the flesh but drove poorly. Handling, steering, gearbox, engine……all gave me concerns. It was a Japanese import too which is not usually a bad thing, but in the UAE, the resale of a Japanese estate car would be extremely hard…….no one wants an estate and no one really wants an import (GCC spec cars are the one to go for as they have enhanced cooling to cope with the furnace like conditions in the summer months).
The Porsche on the other hand wasn’t all that appealing in the advert. It was white (despite having plenty of white cars, I’m not a fan generally). It wasn’t a well composed advert, wheels and other things looked a bit rough round the edges.
When I visited the car however it was miles better than expected. The wheels still had seen better days but everything else was perfect. Maintained at any cost, all paperwork in place and the owner just handed me the keys and said take it out yourself for half an hour (this is relatively common in Dubai and it’s not the first time I’ve been handed the keys as a stranger and let loose).
The drive was perfect, nice and refined, plenty of power and torque. The sound was (and still is) a bit pants unless really going for it. The star of the show for me was the interior. A lovely combo of Yachting Blue and Cream…..might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but this is right up my street!
I’ll be honest, I was always of the opinion that these have challenging looks…..and I’ll even be more honest and say, I still think that. Over the years the Panamera has grown to be much more cohesive and much like the Cayenne, it now looks decent. For me though, it wasn’t challenging enough to put me off, and the other positives made it a no brainer for me. A deal was done and the car was mine……the jeep sold on to a fellow Brit who was chuffed to bits with it.
So back to the project…..well this is where it all goes a bit lame. Unlike some epic projects on here, mine will be basic. I work some crazy hours, travel every month, and have a busy family life with a wife, 2 kids, 2 dogs, 2 cats and a big garden to deal with!!! That said, I do want to get stuck in with some things on the car.
1. Wheels - these need addressing. On my list once summer is over.
2. Steering Wheel - it has some wear and tear on the leather. I’m in two minds about replacing the center piece of replacing the entire wheel for a sports unit with proper paddles
3. If I repair existing wheels then I may just take the plunge and buy the TechArt retrofit paddle shifters. They’re about £525, but have good reviews.
4. The front and rear of mine looks a bit tame, I might look at improving the looks a little. I don’t want to go overboard but it looks a bit “boat” like!
5. The horn sounds like it’s from a moped :-p! and clearly it’s faulty. I understand it has essentially 2 horns (upper and lower). Clearly one is goosed, so it will need addressing. A good horn is essential in Dubai!
6. I need to improve the sound. Every V8 I’ve had before this has sounded epic in their own way……this just doesn’t. It has the PSE, but it’s no way cutting it!
To be frank, I could just leave it be. The car is a delight to waft around in. So comfortable, great sound system, decent pace and handling, large for the family if we use it and it’s even averaging 28mpg over the last 3000km.
And that’s basically that! I’ll do my best to update the thread as I move through the above.
Snaps and spec list below.
Spec list
Edited by MTK1919 on Saturday 24th June 18:27
About time I updated this one so looooong post alert!
I bought this car on a bit of a whim and have grown very fond of it. I think the Panamera has developed into a half decent looking car now, but this first generation (970) wasn’t universally liked from a look’s standpoint. I think even now I am firmly on the middle of the fence. Some angles I love it, others are much less successful. Nevertheless, this isn’t the whole point. As a day-to-day kick around, I love it. Inside is supremely comfortable and it’s a nice place to be.
We are fortunate enough that this isn’t our only car and when I took the plunge on this, I knew full well it wouldn’t be plain sailing and so was ready for what the Panamera might throw at me……which it gladly obliged :-)
Since my last update I’ve spent a fair wedge keeping her maintained and fixing the inevitable problems that have come my way. In total I have spent just over 7k in circa 18 months ownership. Here is what I’ve had fun and games with.
Note - the car is a gen 1 so built in 2009 although it is registered as an 2011. It has covered circa 157k km now. I’ve added the costs (converted to GBP) where I’ve managed to find my invoices. I thought it might be interesting for anyone else looking at buying a used Panamera!
Planned Activities
Failed Front Air Spring (car recovered) - £978
My wife decided to use the car for the school run (hers was getting a routine service) when she called me in a panic. She was driving along and felt like she’d slammed into a big pothole, which was then followed by a suspension failure message on the dashboard. Fortunately, she’d managed to pull up at a nearby supermarket car park and waited for me to come to the rescue. When I arrived, it was obvious the front left air spring had given way. It would inflate but within 20seconds it would drop again…….cue the recovery truck and an interesting battle to get it on there quickly enough before the suspension dropped! Replaced both front air springs with refurbished OEM units.
Thermostat Housing Failure - £1774
This, along with some of the coolant pipes are a weak point on this car and unfortunately you rarely know it’s happening because the water rarely makes its way down to where it would be visible. In my case I noticed it was using more coolant than I’d expect and so sent it in to be checked out. Upon inspection they found the thermostat housing had been bodged by a previous owner (see pics) and so I needed a new one which was OEM only. It didn’t turn out to be too expensive and that included some of the coolant pipes as a precaution.
Serpentine Belt & Pulley Failure (car recovered) - £476
This happened a day after my AC compressor was replaced so I question the proper fitting and tension of the belt or maybe even why the belt wasn’t replaced at the same time. I was moving to accelerate past a slow-moving car, and I heard a thud coming from the engine followed by loads of debris bouncing down the road behind me. Initially I thought I had run over something on the road but then quickly realised something had gone badly wrong. The coolant temp gauge quickly climbed, and my power steering had gone. I pulled up quickly and inspected…..it was quite obvious what had happened.
The garage didn’t accept any responsibility nor was I pointing the finger, but it did feel like it could have been avoided. The belt, some pulleys, idler was replaced, and it was back within 2 days.
Spoiler Failure circa £15 for parts
This was a nightmare but turned out to be a very rewarding fix which (many people said wasn’t possible). The cause was probably twofold.
In a nutshell, you must remove the boot (trunk) trim around the window starting from the top middle, then the side panels, then the bottom panels (where the boot latch is. There are several push-in clips and (I think) about 7 hex bolts. Remove all those, the two boot lights and the boot switch then you’ll have everything you need to reach the spoiler bolts / connector.
At this point, disconnect the spoiler connector and 8 bolts underneath. Once you’ve done that, you can close the boot and gently lift the spoiler off the car. Check for any debris from where the spoiler was seated and give it a good clean.
Working on the spoiler itself, you’ll need to remove the motor cover in the middle (this simply unclips). Unplug the electrical cable and pull the motor up which will allow you to disconnect the connecting rods which go from either side of the motor to an actuator on the right and left of the spoiler. Once the motor side of the rods are disconnected, pull off the plastic cover and inspect the rod itself. IF the mechanism is not seized, you can (by hand) turn the individual rods which connect to the actuators. If it’s looking a bit rusty and doesn’t move, then you’ve got to investigate further.
Next, you’ll see 2 panels at either side of the spoiler which house the actuators. They are tough to get off and you’ll more than likely break some clips in the process. Once you’ve got them open, you’ll see the gear mechanism which lifts and lowers the spoiler (this is what the rods attached to). In my case, one side was really badly corroded so it was soaked in WD40 and left for a day or two.
The best way for me to free it off was a combination of tapping away at the gears with a flat head screwdriver to remove some of the corrosion and then gently twist the connecting rod with a pair of pliers. After more lube and increased pressure, I managed to get it to turn 90 degrees initially before eventually it was fully rotating. It was still stiff but was improving.
Next, I choose to put it all back together and back on the car (just with 4 bolts) to see if it would engage and work…..which it did….although it was noisy and the motor was being worked quite hard…..however it was slowly getting better.
I then removed it again, applied some more lube, gave it a good clean up and added some lithium grease. At this point I could turn the connecting rod by hand and was confident it was moving in the right direction.
I fitted it once again (again with 4 bolts and without putting the interior back together) and ran the car for a day with it operating as normal. The noise had gone, and it was running smoothly again.
To finish up, I removed one more time, re-greased, re-sealed the covers with a high temp silicon sealant and put it all back together again. A few days in, all is happy!
As to what's next to waste some money on! Well, I am sure the Panamera will naturally throw some things my way but if it doesn't then it needs treating to a new set of headlights because mine have seen the worst of the desert heat and whilst I could refresh them, there are (don't shoot me) some very decent looking alternatives on AliExpress. They are of a later generation OEM look so could work quite well. Aside from that, the steering wheel needs a tidy up and I might use that opportunity to fit a Porsche sports steering wheel or get some proper paddles fitted (mine has the horrific buttons).
To wrap up this post, I thought I would share some cool cars I've seen on the roads the last month or so (including the Panamera!)
I bought this car on a bit of a whim and have grown very fond of it. I think the Panamera has developed into a half decent looking car now, but this first generation (970) wasn’t universally liked from a look’s standpoint. I think even now I am firmly on the middle of the fence. Some angles I love it, others are much less successful. Nevertheless, this isn’t the whole point. As a day-to-day kick around, I love it. Inside is supremely comfortable and it’s a nice place to be.
We are fortunate enough that this isn’t our only car and when I took the plunge on this, I knew full well it wouldn’t be plain sailing and so was ready for what the Panamera might throw at me……which it gladly obliged :-)
Since my last update I’ve spent a fair wedge keeping her maintained and fixing the inevitable problems that have come my way. In total I have spent just over 7k in circa 18 months ownership. Here is what I’ve had fun and games with.
Note - the car is a gen 1 so built in 2009 although it is registered as an 2011. It has covered circa 157k km now. I’ve added the costs (converted to GBP) where I’ve managed to find my invoices. I thought it might be interesting for anyone else looking at buying a used Panamera!
Planned Activities
- General Services (following manufacturer recommendations)
- PDK Oil Change - £230
- New Tyres (x 4 PS4s) - £1154
- 4 Wheel Alignment - £120
- Wheels Refurbished - £311
- AC Compressor - £829
- Apple CarPlay Upgrade - £352 (part only, I installed at home)
- Lower Arms / Stabiliser Bushes (done at the same time as the thermostat housing - combined cost below).
- Rear Air Spring Replacement - £777
Failed Front Air Spring (car recovered) - £978
My wife decided to use the car for the school run (hers was getting a routine service) when she called me in a panic. She was driving along and felt like she’d slammed into a big pothole, which was then followed by a suspension failure message on the dashboard. Fortunately, she’d managed to pull up at a nearby supermarket car park and waited for me to come to the rescue. When I arrived, it was obvious the front left air spring had given way. It would inflate but within 20seconds it would drop again…….cue the recovery truck and an interesting battle to get it on there quickly enough before the suspension dropped! Replaced both front air springs with refurbished OEM units.
Thermostat Housing Failure - £1774
This, along with some of the coolant pipes are a weak point on this car and unfortunately you rarely know it’s happening because the water rarely makes its way down to where it would be visible. In my case I noticed it was using more coolant than I’d expect and so sent it in to be checked out. Upon inspection they found the thermostat housing had been bodged by a previous owner (see pics) and so I needed a new one which was OEM only. It didn’t turn out to be too expensive and that included some of the coolant pipes as a precaution.
Serpentine Belt & Pulley Failure (car recovered) - £476
This happened a day after my AC compressor was replaced so I question the proper fitting and tension of the belt or maybe even why the belt wasn’t replaced at the same time. I was moving to accelerate past a slow-moving car, and I heard a thud coming from the engine followed by loads of debris bouncing down the road behind me. Initially I thought I had run over something on the road but then quickly realised something had gone badly wrong. The coolant temp gauge quickly climbed, and my power steering had gone. I pulled up quickly and inspected…..it was quite obvious what had happened.
The garage didn’t accept any responsibility nor was I pointing the finger, but it did feel like it could have been avoided. The belt, some pulleys, idler was replaced, and it was back within 2 days.
Spoiler Failure circa £15 for parts
This was a nightmare but turned out to be a very rewarding fix which (many people said wasn’t possible). The cause was probably twofold.
- I would make a habit of leaving the spoiler in the extended position, meaning it would never move. When you leave it (essentially in automatic) it will raise at 95 km/h and lower again when you slow down. This process of continuous use is clearly better for it than leaving it in its “cool look” position!
- There was a lot of recent rain in Dubai (which I know the world was aware of) and add to that, it appeared that the drain holes were not as clear as they could be. I would hazard a guess that the pooling water around the gear system of the spoiler caused it to corrode.
In a nutshell, you must remove the boot (trunk) trim around the window starting from the top middle, then the side panels, then the bottom panels (where the boot latch is. There are several push-in clips and (I think) about 7 hex bolts. Remove all those, the two boot lights and the boot switch then you’ll have everything you need to reach the spoiler bolts / connector.
At this point, disconnect the spoiler connector and 8 bolts underneath. Once you’ve done that, you can close the boot and gently lift the spoiler off the car. Check for any debris from where the spoiler was seated and give it a good clean.
Working on the spoiler itself, you’ll need to remove the motor cover in the middle (this simply unclips). Unplug the electrical cable and pull the motor up which will allow you to disconnect the connecting rods which go from either side of the motor to an actuator on the right and left of the spoiler. Once the motor side of the rods are disconnected, pull off the plastic cover and inspect the rod itself. IF the mechanism is not seized, you can (by hand) turn the individual rods which connect to the actuators. If it’s looking a bit rusty and doesn’t move, then you’ve got to investigate further.
Next, you’ll see 2 panels at either side of the spoiler which house the actuators. They are tough to get off and you’ll more than likely break some clips in the process. Once you’ve got them open, you’ll see the gear mechanism which lifts and lowers the spoiler (this is what the rods attached to). In my case, one side was really badly corroded so it was soaked in WD40 and left for a day or two.
The best way for me to free it off was a combination of tapping away at the gears with a flat head screwdriver to remove some of the corrosion and then gently twist the connecting rod with a pair of pliers. After more lube and increased pressure, I managed to get it to turn 90 degrees initially before eventually it was fully rotating. It was still stiff but was improving.
Next, I choose to put it all back together and back on the car (just with 4 bolts) to see if it would engage and work…..which it did….although it was noisy and the motor was being worked quite hard…..however it was slowly getting better.
I then removed it again, applied some more lube, gave it a good clean up and added some lithium grease. At this point I could turn the connecting rod by hand and was confident it was moving in the right direction.
I fitted it once again (again with 4 bolts and without putting the interior back together) and ran the car for a day with it operating as normal. The noise had gone, and it was running smoothly again.
To finish up, I removed one more time, re-greased, re-sealed the covers with a high temp silicon sealant and put it all back together again. A few days in, all is happy!
As to what's next to waste some money on! Well, I am sure the Panamera will naturally throw some things my way but if it doesn't then it needs treating to a new set of headlights because mine have seen the worst of the desert heat and whilst I could refresh them, there are (don't shoot me) some very decent looking alternatives on AliExpress. They are of a later generation OEM look so could work quite well. Aside from that, the steering wheel needs a tidy up and I might use that opportunity to fit a Porsche sports steering wheel or get some proper paddles fitted (mine has the horrific buttons).
To wrap up this post, I thought I would share some cool cars I've seen on the roads the last month or so (including the Panamera!)
Edited by MTK1919 on Saturday 7th September 18:12
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff