Porsche as daily/seasonal driver??

[CincyCooperS]

I have always enjoyed the many differant body styles of the various Porsche coupes (911 sc for example) and was curious if these are reasonable cars to use as daily drivers?  I know some have 4 wheels drive but even with all wheel would even winter tires help get enough grip to make it worth it? And what about nvh, comfort for road trips of a few hundred miles?

any personal experience? At this point this a pipe dream but was just curious since some of the mid 80s era cars approach affordable for my budget but I could only maintain one car given tight garage and street space.

thoughts?

[flash_e_gt]

Our good friend Jim with two kids uses a 996 AWD as a daily driver (with AWD tires) without too much problem.
I personally think it is a stupid daily driver...but that is just my opinion.  I like something practical as my daily and something silly rediculous as a weekend driver.

[MYD WGN]

If you can afford it go for it.I don't think it's stupid.I think what is a waste and stupid is people who buy cars like this and don't drive them.They are well built run the hell out of it.

[Myallroad]

I remember seeing a demo of the 911 4s outdoing a ford explorer on a offroad test. Hell even in Germany, they do snow and ice drives with the rwd ones. get a awd 911, and two sets of tires. You will love it. Can you imagine a 911 C4S with Blizzaks?  Fun as hell

[CincyCooperS]

thanks guys,..i know it's not most practical given certain peoples lifestyles w kids etc.

we have no kids and a nice big new passat sedan that the wife drives if extra space is needed, Current ride is a modded and lowered mini which aside from extra space under the hatch is cramped, too loud for road trips  and rides rough but is fun as hell to drive the piss out of and actually seems like being driven hard daily.

my question on practicality is more towards safety in poor slash cold weather and overall cost of upkeep. Clearly a posche isn the cheapest option for upkeep but if you can swing it then what the hell haha, I don't know cost for things like brake parts and oil changes so that's what I'm looking for.

any experience out there for rear wheel drive versus awd on winer tires, this is the main question...thanks for input.

[Myallroad]

Just get a TTS if you want something sporty, fun, AWD, and less costly than a porsche. Lot easier to maintain and built for the snow!

[flash_e_gt]

If you can afford a Porsche I'm guessing you can keep it in quality AWD tires...I don't see any reasaon why it would be any harder to drive than any AWD german car. (ie. Audi A4) and you'll look cool.

[Exigent]

I have an 03 996tt and a friend has an 06 Cayman S. Neither car is a daily driver but I can give you an idea of maintenance costs :

Oil/Filter change = $ 125 (DIY), takes about 45 mins, never had dealer do it
Brake Pads = $ 250 per axle (DIY), takes about 1 hour
Air Filter = $ 45
50,000 mile service at dealer = $ 1500

Check 6speedonline.com as a source of general info. You could also call Dave Profitt at Porsche of the Village, he's the service manager and can answer any questions related to cost.

[Bruce]

While not a 996, I've got an '06 987 (Boxster) that is my daily driver, except in snow.  That's only because it has summer tires on it.  I'll get around to snow tires before next winter.  It works great for me.  I can't see having a great car and then only driving it when the weather is nice.

I'm not that handy, so I take it to the dealer for service.  My 20,000 mile service, which is mostly a glorified oil change, at Porsche of the Village was just over $400.  Half of that cost was the almost 10 quarts of Mobil 1 0W30.

[MAC]

I don't think I would use my 911 as a daily driver but I could.  I think most sports cars are best as a second car.  It rides quite well for such a short wheel based car, the suspension is compliant and not harsh.  When I test drove my car with my wife it's soft ride surprised her.  IMO it's not the best cruising car because of noise the level, but I find it tolerable to go to, say, MidOhio.  Traction wise they are very good because of the engine weight over the driven wheels.  The braking performance is fantastic because the weight in the back allow the rear wheels to do a lot more braking than the typical car.

Maintenance wise they are quite good, not too expensive parts wise, and the fact that it doesn't have a cooling system eliminates many potential problems areas.  The important thing to remember is that they require valve adjustments every 15K miles and that along with a major tuneup can run a grand or more to have it done. I've read that these 3.2L cars can go 200-300K miles on the original engine, my 88 Targa has 166K on it's original engine and clutch.  I think 78 and newer cars have galvanized chassis but don't let that make you think they don't rust, I've seen some serious rust on some of them.

Yo can test drive mine if you'd like.



   

[flash_e_gt]

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/03/28/adspotting-porsches-for-everyday-people/