Using the car less

[rObArtes]

Well, i've decided to use my Cayman a little less next year, due to increased mileage i'll be doing for the next 12 months (going to get a new daily drive)
I'll be putting the car in my GF's garage but would like some advise to what i should doing to make sure i keep it in tip-top condition. The garage does not have power, so a trickle charger is not on the cards.

thanks in advance everyone

[BertBert]

why? Is it too expensive to run for the daily drive? The best thing to do is drive it, not store it. Wrong idea I reckon.
Bert

[rObArtes]

no, just don't want to put a possible 15-20K miles on it thats all. will be getting a low-miles Mini Cooper S for 12 months.
i'll still use the cayman but only every couple of weeks for a quick blast

[Jim1556]

rObArtes said:

no, just don't want to put a possible 15-20K miles on it thats all. will be getting a low-miles Mini Cooper S for 12 months.

Take it out for a 30-50 mile drive once a week, it'll be fine (just don't put it away wet)...

[rObArtes]

no problems if left for 3 weeks?

[Jim1556]

That depends, Porsche batteries are known for being weak, especially if left for a time - normal cars aren't that bad. Mine gets left for a month at a time but I get a friend to drive it 40 miles once a week and it's been fine since May...

Must admit though, I don't like the idea of leaving it for 3 weeks untouched (once or twice maybe) regularly!

[Ozzie Osmond]

BertBert said:

The best thing to do is drive it, not store it.

^^^ Without doubt.

And don't forget cars depreciate sitting the garage just as quickly as they depreciate in use. Also tax, insurance etc.

Use it or sell it IMO.

[Ozzie Osmond]

Jim1556 said:

That depends, Porsche batteries are known for being weak, especially if left for a time - normal cars aren't that bad.

Personally I suspect the batteries are exactly the same. "Normal" cars are used more regularly so suffer fewer battery issues.

Any car needs to be used at least once a week IMO.

[Johnthepotter]

I frequently leave my Spyder for 4 or 5 weeks without driving it. I keep it connected to a trickle charger and have no problems. My previous car was a 996 Turbo which had the same treatment and when I sold it at 9 years old, it still had original battery. The garage has a dehumidifier running 24/7 so that keeps everything dry!

[Crimp]

Same here left all my previous and present 911 on trickle charge, albeit run so much better when used I have to say.

[BertBert]

Jim1556 said:

That depends, Porsche batteries are known for being weak

What tosh

[BertBert]

And OP, if you are worried about the miles, use the Porsche once a week.
Bert

[av185]

Ozzie Osmond said:

BertBert said:

The best thing to do is drive it, not store it.

^^^ Without doubt.

And don't forget cars depreciate sitting the garage just as quickly as they depreciate in use. Also tax, insurance etc.

Use it or sell it IMO.

Any car, especially a relatively expensive one, will depreciate quicker if used as we all know mileage is crucial for residuals......

[Jim1556]

BertBert said:

What tosh

I'll rephrase that.

Porsche batteries are known for being weak if left. Also, being a consumable, Porsche won't warranty replace a battery that's failed after 2 years, even though Halfords batteries come with a 5 year warranty.

Better?

[rObArtes]

av185 said:

Any car, especially a relatively expensive one, will depreciate quicker if used as we all know mileage is crucial for residuals......

my thoughts too. just think 20k miles in 12 months is too high.

[drmark]

BertBert said:

What tosh

Bert you are kidding. They are ste compared to Bosch etc. I am lucky enough to have had a number of 911s that I don't use very much and rarely had a Porsche battery (in modern versions) that can survive more than 3 weeks without trickle charging. Never had similar issues with other makes / batteries.
Unfortunately they are a warranty requirement. If you are not under Porschewarranty go Bosch, save £70 and end up with a battery that is fit for the 21st Century to boot. No brainer.

[rObArtes]

is it with me getting a bosch battery? as my car battery is an oem

[miroku]

On my second Cayman. Use it as a daily driver and for business. About 20k per year.
Drive it, enjoy it and forget about mileage, depreciation etc. Use it as intended not as a garage queen.
Just my take on things, life is too short!

[nsm3]

I got rid of a GT3 twelve months ago, due in part to concerns of over use/depreciation/refresh costs etc and in the last year of ownership, it only did 1700 miles.

It turns out that if I had kept it in the garage for a year, it would now be worth £20k more than I sold it for, however, even if I had stuck another 10k miles on it, the value would still have shot up just as much.

This comparison may also extend to say a 987 CR, but with lower £'s involved?

Any other type of Cayman (987/981) is going to suffer from relatively catastrophic depreciation between doing no mileage and 10k pa anyway, so my opinion is that you may as well use the thing?

[edc]

Plenty of people have a second, third etc car which gets relatively little use. My Boxsters have always been second cars to me, but obviously not by previous owners. With the first one I still managed 10k a year and my current one has done about 6k the last year 2k of which was a Euro trip. If you are using it, albeit every couple of weeks just service and maintain it like you would any other car.