How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My Taycan

[DerekS]

It's no secret this car has big issues. Monstrous depreciation. Insane repair costs. Vulnerable battery pan.

But if you're discouraged with your Taycan as I was - drive another (non-Tesla) EV and you'll quickly learn to appreciate it again!

For me it's a Polestar rental from Hertz, traveling for the holiday. Ironically Susan is also in one right now, as her Model 3 was vandalized and is being repaired.

We both hate our temporary Polestars!

The off-the-line performance is abysmal - really just notably bad for an EV.
The range is roughly the same as the Taycan.
The fast charging is nowhere near as good as the Taycan.
The radio sounds like it's playing through wet toilet paper.
The turn signals make a weirdly irritating tapping sound.

We don't know how good we have it in our Taycans.

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[Timeto]

Having just entered the world of Taycans and not had a great start, and reading forum threads that are dominated by problems, it's good to have the car put in a positive light.

Personally, I have found the car to be the best drive I've had by a long way and it puts a smile on my face almost as much as my old 911!

 

[FlyingPoint]

It's no secret this car has big issues. Monstrous depreciation. Insane repair costs. Vulnerable battery pan.

For me it's a Polestar rental from Hertz, traveling for the holiday. Ironically Susan is also in one right now, as her Model 3 was vandalized and is being repaired.

To your first point, these issues can all be mitigated by leasing and driving within the mileage allotment of the contract. Which is easy to do since the car is in shop so often and we drive loaners.
In almost fours years of driving (2 Taycan's from new), the only money I have spent is on tires, windshield deductibles and 2 year mx.

To your second point, sorry to hear about the T3 being vandalized. I see sunny Cali is treating you like everyone else! (Sorry, could not resist)

 

[DerekS]

To your second point, sorry to hear about the T3 being vandalized.

Thanks...it was very upsetting as we just got the car in April of this year.
The "good" news, if there is any, is we identified the perp and have given his identity to the Los Gatos police. I truly wish Taycans had the Sentry Mode that Teslas do, as this is not the first time it has come in handy for us.

 

[DerekS]

Having just entered the world of Taycans and not had a great start, and reading forum threads that are dominated by problems, it's good to have the car put in a positive light.

Personally, I have found the car to be the best drive I've had by a long way and it puts a smile on my face almost as much as my old 911!

I am glad you're enjoying it and hopefully you will continue to do so. My first Taycan (2021 base) was trouble-free and the least expensive Porsche to own that I've had. I put over 28K miles on it and traded up to a faster model.

 

[Longy_UK]

I came from an Audi RS6.

It cost £115k and lost £45k in two years. It also went into the garage three or four times for faults.; including the MMI losing GPS and therefore not having nav or carplay for three months. I was lucky that the DRC didn't fail as that had a huge repair cost (£20kish) and the alternator didn't fail leaving me stranded (they often do - its a errr common fault).

What im getting at is the Taycan is like any other expensive performance car. Run the car with a warranty and chill out...

Here's how to run a Taycan and stop 'worrying'.

1. Lease or PCP it. Depreciation is no longer a thing... You know what you'll pay.
2. Run it under warranty and if you get to three years change car or extend the warranty.
3. Understand that your driving a performance car so expect expensive tyres and servicing etc...

So far my GTS ST (List price £140k) has been far more reliable than my ICE RS6 (with a list of £115k) with comparable tyre costs. etc.. And finally the MMI on my RS6 (the one you still get now new) was nowhere near as good as the Taycan system....

 

[Tooney]

@DerekS Your posts are always interesting and informative but you've had more than your fair share of car problems. Good luck.

 

[DerekS]

@DerekS Your posts are always interesting and informative but you've had more than your fair share of car problems. Good luck.

Yeah it's been bumpy...but things are trending up.

- I finally got my brake recall, and half of the charger recall (confiscating my NEMA 14-50, lol)
- No signs of the battery recall issue yet
- Two trim pieces were damaged in the roof repair, and I was able to order both from Suncoast and had them installed at a much cheaper price than I expected.

My last TODO on this car is to redo the PPF on the left fender, as something nicked and tore it. I believe I've found a good local vendor that uses the same product as my Dallas one did, so once that is dealt with the car is back to "perfect" for all intents and purposes.

I'm still wanting to get something smaller and 2-door. The pending Boxster EV holds great interest for me as a more suitable car for me long term.

Here's how to run a Taycan and stop 'worrying'.

1. Lease or PCP it. Depreciation is no longer a thing... You know what you'll pay.
2. Run it under warranty and if you get to three years change car or extend the warranty.
3. Understand that your driving a performance car so expect expensive tyres and servicing etc

Oh for sure. This is not my first Porsche rodeo. I was actually delighted by how cheap the cost-to-run was on Taycan #1, vs previous Porsches.

I leased a Porsche...once. A 2008 Boxster S. I loved the car so much I drove it all over the place, went wayyyyyy over the mileage limit and also had lots of wear/tear items that would have been chargable on turn-in. I ended up selling it at Carmax and came out ok, but that was my first and last lease.

 

[kmcdonal]

I just love driving the car. It puts a smile on my face almost every time I get in it.

That may be easier for me to say because I have had good luck with my Taycans. I have only had one minor mechanical issue across two Taycans. My issue seemed to be a weird, early issue with the Porsche mobile chargers. (I got my 2020 Taycan when there were very few in the US.)

As for depreciation, I had good timing and made money when I sold my 2020. (I sold it at the very peak of used EV prices.) I will get hammered on my 2025, but I plan to drive it at least until my extended warranty runs out.

 

[Sace]

Well, my wife drives a Model 3 and I take a drive in that when I wan't to get a reminder on how great I think the Taycan drives. Don't get me wrong, the 3 is fine for her needs - But it's nowhere near the Taycan.

I will say though that I've done 50kkm and have only had the car in twice, once for a service and once for brake recall.

 

[Reg]

It's no secret this car has big issues. Monstrous depreciation. Insane repair costs. Vulnerable battery pan.

But if you're discouraged with your Taycan as I was - drive another (non-Tesla) EV and you'll quickly learn to appreciate it again!

For me it's a Polestar rental from Hertz, traveling for the holiday. Ironically Susan is also in one right now, as her Model 3 was vandalized and is being repaired.

We both hate our temporary Polestars!

The off-the-line performance is abysmal - really just notably bad for an EV.
The range is roughly the same as the Taycan.
The fast charging is nowhere near as good as the Taycan.
The radio sounds like it's playing through wet toilet paper.
The turn signals make a weirdly irritating tapping sound.

We don't know how good we have it in our Taycans.

Here, here! I've had my Taycan for over 4 years. I still get a real thrill everytime I get in the car, but I get how others could be down when they have issues and one natural reaction is "gee, I hope that doesn't also happen to me", but that doesn't take away from my enjoyment of the car.

Happy driving everyone! And Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[Flying ace]

Not sure I agree. There are many great vehicular sounds that can result from a toilet paper roll okay?

 

[Scandinavian]

It's no secret this car has big issues. Monstrous depreciation. Insane repair costs. Vulnerable battery pan.

But if you're discouraged with your Taycan as I was - drive another (non-Tesla) EV and you'll quickly learn to appreciate it again!

Yes the ownership of the first Taycans from Porsche has certainly been a very terrible experience. I have not dared to add up how many weeks my car has been at the dealership for all the various faults, issues and recalls, but over the the 4.5 years, it has been spent a long time at workshops in 3 countries. Porsche have to be fair always rectified the problems and with the Porsche Assistance we have been repatriated, both of us as well as the car after repair in another country.

I fully agree that there are very few cars that give the same driving experience as the Porsche. Be it with the air suspension or the very defined steering and road presence.

However as an overall experience I certainly feel that that BMW matches and in some aspects surpass the Taycan with both their i4M50 as well as the i5M60. I was offered a few week ends to borrow these cars, in an attempt to get me to upgrade my wife’s car. Driving is not quite the same, charging is a bit slower at HPC, Software is miles better, OTA works extremely well and give new functionality. And the car and website can provide very useful statistic and health reports. No need any longer for using spreadsheets, or apps that may be working at some times and not other times. And no need to add info into any other apps. BMW has long experience from their i3 I guess and it shows. In Software and app functionality it is light years ahead of Porsche.

When it comes to depreciation it may well be that BMW are hit with similar levels, although I do not believe this to be the case.

So if you compare it to a Polestar I can understand your disappointment, try a BMW i4 next time, and you will be positively surprised.

 

[f1eng]

My Taycan experience is excellent, I can't think of another car I would prefer.

Most of the dissatisfaction most people have is aspects of the car I don't use. The only bit of the "tech" I use is the tyre pressure monitoring, which saves me time over other cars I have owned.

The rest I couldn't care less even if it wasn't there at all.
I like the fast charging and what a superb drive it is.

It is far too wide but most cars are stupidly big nowadays.

Love it every time I drive it, I do keep an eye out to see if anything I might prefer is launched, so far nothing that would suit me has come out other than the facelift and that doesn't have enough benefit for the cost to change (for my use).

 

[Caraholic]

Yes it’s an amazing machine and I realize that each time I get to drive it. Especially when I go in some mountain runs with my toddler to get him to sleep then can have a nice comfortable cruise on the way back. It’s a very Jekyll and Hyde car as almost all Porsches are. However this one does it the best. Yes it may spend months in the shop. However when it works it can’t be beat.

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