BF Exclusive: 2005 Porsche Cayenne S

• Seller: Jacquline S wift (Contact)
• Location: Sacramento, California
• Mileage: 190,218 Shown
• Chassis #: WP1AB29PX5LA65954
• Title Status: Clean
• Engine: 4.5-Liter V8
• Transmission: Automatic

I know this isn’t the kind of vehicle we typically feature, but as someone who was a teenager when the Porsche Cayenne debuted, this is one of those vehicles I have a soft spot for. Like most teenagers, I had my list of dream cars, and the Cayenne S was on my list of dream winter drivers. Obviously, I couldn’t have afforded one then, but I could probably swing this 2005 Porsche Cayenne S being offered right here on Barn Finds for $2,000! It’s a lot of performance SUV for the money.

The seller admits it needs some work, hence the low asking price, but it runs as is. It’s covered 190k miles, but looks to be in good cosmetic condition. The seller states that it needs new valve seals, but I assume they mean valve stem seals. These engines are known to be prone to bore scoring, so I’d recommend checking for scoring before ordering any parts. If it is just the stem seals, you can do them with the engine in. At this mileage, it wouldn’t hurt to pull the engine and replace all the seals and coolant lines, though. Now that they are over 20 years old, these are well documented by the many enthusiasts who do their own repairs.

The base Cayenne was powered by a VW VR6, which was a decent engine, but the S option added Porsche’s 4.5-liter V8. It was rated at 335 horsepower and 310 foot-pounds of torque, which could launch this SUV to 60 mph in under 7 seconds. As stated, this one runs, but needs some work. There’s no word on service records or whether the coolant pipes have been upgraded. To have made it to this kind of mileage, it’s probably safe to assume it was maintained.

The interior is the real surprise here. Cars from this era don’t always seem to age well, but this one looks to be in decent shape, especially for the mileage. The only real noticeable wear I see is on the steering wheel buttons. There might be more flaws that we aren’t seeing in the photos, but I see lots of good trim parts.

There are a lot of unknowns here, but if it turns out the engine just needs the valve stem seals done, it could be a good buy. Given how popular it is to build these into off-roaders these days, I could see someone picking it up to customize. It could also be a great parts donor if you have one that needs replacement trim or any of the other hard-to-find (expensive) bits. These are actually really good rigs when properly maintained. They are quick, comfortable, and surprisingly capable off-road. No wonder I wanted one when I was 16! If this one was closer, I’d already be headed over to take a look.