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What to check: Porsche Panamera

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Ranked across all years of the Porsche Panamera, from its own MOT record and from what owners report. Tick it off at the car.

From this model's MOT record

The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.

Brake pipes underneathFollow the metal brake lines with a torch where they run along the sills and over the rear axle. White crust or flaking metal means they are corroding, and the online MOT history usually shows the same advisory creeping up for years before the fail.Recorded on 1.0% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 1.9%

Warning lights on ignitionTurn the ignition on without starting the engine and watch the dash. Every warning light should appear, then go out once it is running. Be more suspicious of a light that never comes on at all than of one that stays on; warning bulbs have been known to vanish before a sale.Recorded on 1.0% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 0.5%

WheelsLook at each rim for kerb damage and check no wheel nuts are missing. A steering wheel that shimmies between 50 and 60 on the test drive often turns out to be a buckled or badly balanced wheel.Recorded on 0.7% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 0.2%

Bushes and ball jointsDrive slowly over broken tarmac with the windows down and listen for clonks from either end. Back at the car, have someone rock the steering wheel while you rest a hand on each front wheel; play you can feel through the tyre is a worn joint.Recorded on 0.6% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 5.9%

LeaksLook at the ground where the car usually stands, then glance under the engine after your test drive. Fresh drips of oil or coolant are the cheapest warning you will ever get about a car.Recorded on 0.5% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 2.0%

Coil springsLook through the wheel spokes at the bottom coil of each spring; when springs snap it is usually there, and the break is visible. Step back and check the car sits level too. A dropped corner is often a broken spring.Recorded on 0.4% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 1.4%

Worth doing on any used car

These judge the seller's upkeep rather than the model.

Tyres, all fourCheck the tread across the full width of each tyre, inner edge included, and look for cracking and mismatched brands. A set of decent tyres is £500 or more on most cars, which makes this the easiest money to take off a price. If the pressure warning light is on, budget for sensors too.Recorded on 21.6% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 20.1%

Pads and discsLook through the wheel spokes at the brake disc. A pronounced lip on its outer edge, or a rusty and scored face, means discs and pads are due all round, a few hundred pounds on most cars. A haggling point rather than a reason to walk away.Recorded on 6.1% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 8.7%

Windscreen and wipersScan the glass in daylight for chips, especially in the driver's line of sight where even a small one can fail the MOT. Run the washers and check the wipers clear without smearing.Recorded on 2.5% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 2.0%

Because of what owners report

Drawn from the owner reports rather than the MOT data. These are the model-specific ones.

If the car has adaptive air suspension, watch all four corners after it's sat overnight.A corner sitting noticeably lower, or a compressor that runs non-stop on start-up, means a leaking air spring.

Pull away gently from a dead stop, both cold and once warmed up.Any judder or hesitation on an early (2010-2013) PDK car points at clutch pack or mechatronic wear.

Check the coolant level against the service history and look for a sweet smell or white crust low on the engine.That's the sign of a cracked coolant pipe buried in the vee, cheap part, expensive labour.

Ask the dealer or run the VIN through Porsche's recall checker.Confirms whether the 2018 steering-assist software fix and brake line corrosion recall were actually carried out.

Ask when the wheels were last off, and if they come off during the sale, check the hub face for corrosion.A seized or heavily corroded wheel is the real-world version of this model's measured wheels fault.

Look closely at each alloy for kerbing and hairline cracks, especially on the inner rim.Big, low-profile wheels on this model mark and crack more easily, and a cracked alloy is an MOT fail.

Read the full MOT advisory history line by line, not just pass or fail.Repeated wheel or tyre advisories are the clearest paper trail for the corrosion pattern above.

Full Porsche Panamera reliability report