996 911 as a daily driver?
Discussion
Hi folks, me again.
Further to a recent what car thread of mine, things appear to be moving in the right direction, moneywise, so I need to dig deeper now.
I want to get some stuff straight regarding the cars I'm looking at.
For those that didn't read the last thread, my new daily will replace a 2003 Impreza WRX Wagon. I have really enjoyed my Scoobies, especially the Hawkeye STi I had, and so I have considered a hatch shape WRX STi, and also an E46 M3 as my next car.
But I digress.
Amongst the other stuff, including a more sensible option in the MK6 Golf R, can anyone tell me about their experiences of using a 996 911 as a daily? I have an MR2 Roadster for weekend/track use that I am building. I am worried that the 996 would cross over with that too much, and I would be doing 15k a year in it.
I'd fancy a C4S really, with a budget around £15k. I'm handy with the spanners and can do a lot of the maintenance myself, but I'm realistically looking at cars with 80k on them and putting a lot more on after that.
What do owners/former owners think about that? Is it a good/bad idea? It's hard to justify anything else when a Porsche can be bought.... but part of me says if it's a weekend car, great. If it's a daily, don't do it.
Further to a recent what car thread of mine, things appear to be moving in the right direction, moneywise, so I need to dig deeper now.
I want to get some stuff straight regarding the cars I'm looking at.
For those that didn't read the last thread, my new daily will replace a 2003 Impreza WRX Wagon. I have really enjoyed my Scoobies, especially the Hawkeye STi I had, and so I have considered a hatch shape WRX STi, and also an E46 M3 as my next car.
But I digress.
Amongst the other stuff, including a more sensible option in the MK6 Golf R, can anyone tell me about their experiences of using a 996 911 as a daily? I have an MR2 Roadster for weekend/track use that I am building. I am worried that the 996 would cross over with that too much, and I would be doing 15k a year in it.
I'd fancy a C4S really, with a budget around £15k. I'm handy with the spanners and can do a lot of the maintenance myself, but I'm realistically looking at cars with 80k on them and putting a lot more on after that.
What do owners/former owners think about that? Is it a good/bad idea? It's hard to justify anything else when a Porsche can be bought.... but part of me says if it's a weekend car, great. If it's a daily, don't do it.
TroubledSoul said:
Hi folks, me again.
Further to a recent what car thread of mine, things appear to be moving in the right direction, moneywise, so I need to dig deeper now.
I want to get some stuff straight regarding the cars I'm looking at.
For those that didn't read the last thread, my new daily will replace a 2003 Impreza WRX Wagon. I have really enjoyed my Scoobies, especially the Hawkeye STi I had, and so I have considered a hatch shape WRX STi, and also an E46 M3 as my next car.
But I digress.
Amongst the other stuff, including a more sensible option in the MK6 Golf R, can anyone tell me about their experiences of using a 996 911 as a daily? I have an MR2 Roadster for weekend/track use that I am building. I am worried that the 996 would cross over with that too much, and I would be doing 15k a year in it.
I'd fancy a C4S really, with a budget around £15k. I'm handy with the spanners and can do a lot of the maintenance myself, but I'm realistically looking at cars with 80k on them and putting a lot more on after that.
What do owners/former owners think about that? Is it a good/bad idea? It's hard to justify anything else when a Porsche can be bought.... but part of me says if it's a weekend car, great. If it's a daily, don't do it.
I would say that it is fine as a daily, but make sure that you allow enough budget for maintenance. When I had a 964 it needed £2k annual budget for maintenance. Some years it would need nothing but servicing, other years nearly £4k was needed. Further to a recent what car thread of mine, things appear to be moving in the right direction, moneywise, so I need to dig deeper now.
I want to get some stuff straight regarding the cars I'm looking at.
For those that didn't read the last thread, my new daily will replace a 2003 Impreza WRX Wagon. I have really enjoyed my Scoobies, especially the Hawkeye STi I had, and so I have considered a hatch shape WRX STi, and also an E46 M3 as my next car.
But I digress.
Amongst the other stuff, including a more sensible option in the MK6 Golf R, can anyone tell me about their experiences of using a 996 911 as a daily? I have an MR2 Roadster for weekend/track use that I am building. I am worried that the 996 would cross over with that too much, and I would be doing 15k a year in it.
I'd fancy a C4S really, with a budget around £15k. I'm handy with the spanners and can do a lot of the maintenance myself, but I'm realistically looking at cars with 80k on them and putting a lot more on after that.
What do owners/former owners think about that? Is it a good/bad idea? It's hard to justify anything else when a Porsche can be bought.... but part of me says if it's a weekend car, great. If it's a daily, don't do it.
Regular use is much better for the car than occasional use. They thrive on being used.
Mine was fine as a daily driver, infact as mentioned above it is more likely to cause problems when its not being used as often as it should be, the battery was never happy after a week or so and its a bit of a pain to get into to get it going again.
The lack of an opening hatch on the back is also a pain if you play golf, a targa would solve that though.
The lack of an opening hatch on the back is also a pain if you play golf, a targa would solve that though.
I ran a C2 996 as a DD for almost 2 years. Did about 30k miles in that time. Needed servicing, fuel and tyres. No big bills. Ran a C4S 996 alongside it, did fewer miles, spent about £5k on clutch, flywheel, condensers, carden shaft rubber and a few other bits.
There are tougher engines, but neither of mine went wrong. Have a look at Hartech's website. IMS failure not so common on higher miles cars, but other failures are possible.
There are 120-150k milers out there, so it's possible.
There are tougher engines, but neither of mine went wrong. Have a look at Hartech's website. IMS failure not so common on higher miles cars, but other failures are possible.
There are 120-150k milers out there, so it's possible.
Escy said:
Aren't you doing it the wrong way around? MR2 for daily duties and the Porsche for the weekend makes much more sense.
Possibly, but the MR2 is intended to be a summer only/track car. If it gets more extreme and ends up on coilovers etc. it might not be very nice to drive every day. I also may not want to track it anymore if it's my daily driver as it would be a bit boring. Does that make sense?I would expect the 911 to be the car I'd be far more comfortable in on a daily basis.
I understand where you are coming from but I see it from the other way. If you go from the much faster Porsche into the MR2 on the weekends, i'd personally be a bit underwhelmed. I guess it depends on what your MR2 is like spec wise.
I have a MR2 running a 2zz. It's otherwise standard. It makes for an excellent daily. Fast, comfortable enough (although far from luxurious), cheap to run, parts are plentiful, it handles great. I can't help think that if I was to modify it more with things like coilovers it'd go from a useable car to limited and the performance increase would be marginal at best.
I'm in a similar position, probably looking to spend 10k on a fun car for daily duties (will sell the MR2). I'm thinking of a Maserati 3200. I did briefly look at the Porsche 996's but there is something that puts me off. They just seem a bit bland?! I've not been in one so I may be wrong.
I have a MR2 running a 2zz. It's otherwise standard. It makes for an excellent daily. Fast, comfortable enough (although far from luxurious), cheap to run, parts are plentiful, it handles great. I can't help think that if I was to modify it more with things like coilovers it'd go from a useable car to limited and the performance increase would be marginal at best.
I'm in a similar position, probably looking to spend 10k on a fun car for daily duties (will sell the MR2). I'm thinking of a Maserati 3200. I did briefly look at the Porsche 996's but there is something that puts me off. They just seem a bit bland?! I've not been in one so I may be wrong.
Escy said:
I understand where you are coming from but I see it from the other way. If you go from the much faster Porsche into the MR2 on the weekends, i'd personally be a bit underwhelmed. I guess it depends on what your MR2 is like spec wise.
I have a MR2 running a 2zz. It's otherwise standard. It makes for an excellent daily. Fast, comfortable enough (although far from luxurious), cheap to run, parts are plentiful, it handles great. I can't help think that if I was to modify it more with things like coilovers it'd go from a useable car to limited and the performance increase would be marginal at best.
I'm in a similar position, probably looking to spend 10k on a fun car for daily duties (will sell the MR2). I'm thinking of a Maserati 3200. I did briefly look at the Porsche 996's but there is something that puts me off. They just seem a bit bland?! I've not been in one so I may be wrong.
I'm on ROC myself so think I know of your car I have a MR2 running a 2zz. It's otherwise standard. It makes for an excellent daily. Fast, comfortable enough (although far from luxurious), cheap to run, parts are plentiful, it handles great. I can't help think that if I was to modify it more with things like coilovers it'd go from a useable car to limited and the performance increase would be marginal at best.
I'm in a similar position, probably looking to spend 10k on a fun car for daily duties (will sell the MR2). I'm thinking of a Maserati 3200. I did briefly look at the Porsche 996's but there is something that puts me off. They just seem a bit bland?! I've not been in one so I may be wrong.
I'll either do a turbo or 2zz conversion next year but I guess it all depends on what happens with this decision. Either way, the Porsche and the 2 would likely be similar in speed but the roadster really should have the handling advantage, being mid engined and lighter. That should translate to a great track car.
I guess daily driver/track car could be an option still. Depends what happens I guess. I will say though, the C4Ss seem to have dried up at around the £15k mark currently.
You people have got me thinking about running my poor little MR2 as a daily now..... I'd have to either hurry up and get the 2ZZ conversion done or at least get a 6 Speed box for it if I did that.
Gonna have a look at Hartech's site today and see what's what. I expect anything they have to be more expensive than most places though. I don't know if that's right or wrong?
Gonna have a look at Hartech's site today and see what's what. I expect anything they have to be more expensive than most places though. I don't know if that's right or wrong?
Well I have had 3 x 996 as DD.
2 x Carerra 2 (1 manual and 1 tip) and a 996 Turbo.
All the 3 very relaible, no actual breakdowns, servicing was expensive but all 3 were on Sports & Classics Maintenance plan....a brilliant scheme.
2 Carerras were well over 100k miles when I sold them, and running as well as ever, if not better.
Very comfortable, not bad on fuel and all 3 drove beautifully.
I would have another in a heartbeat-perfect daily drivers, even very good in winter, loads of traction.
2 x Carerra 2 (1 manual and 1 tip) and a 996 Turbo.
All the 3 very relaible, no actual breakdowns, servicing was expensive but all 3 were on Sports & Classics Maintenance plan....a brilliant scheme.
2 Carerras were well over 100k miles when I sold them, and running as well as ever, if not better.
Very comfortable, not bad on fuel and all 3 drove beautifully.
I would have another in a heartbeat-perfect daily drivers, even very good in winter, loads of traction.
TroubledSoul said:
You people have got me thinking about running my poor little MR2 as a daily now..... I'd have to either hurry up and get the 2ZZ conversion done or at least get a 6 Speed box for it if I did that.
Gonna have a look at Hartech's site today and see what's what. I expect anything they have to be more expensive than most places though. I don't know if that's right or wrong?
I drove my MR2 everyday, and it was great! It's cheap to run so a bit of a waste to save it for weekends IMO.Gonna have a look at Hartech's site today and see what's what. I expect anything they have to be more expensive than most places though. I don't know if that's right or wrong?
Steviesam said:
Well I have had 3 x 996 as DD.
2 x Carerra 2 (1 manual and 1 tip) and a 996 Turbo.
All the 3 very relaible, no actual breakdowns, servicing was expensive but all 3 were on Sports & Classics Maintenance plan....a brilliant scheme.
2 Carerras were well over 100k miles when I sold them, and running as well as ever, if not better.
Very comfortable, not bad on fuel and all 3 drove beautifully.
I would have another in a heartbeat-perfect daily drivers, even very good in winter, loads of traction.
That's what I want to hear 2 x Carerra 2 (1 manual and 1 tip) and a 996 Turbo.
All the 3 very relaible, no actual breakdowns, servicing was expensive but all 3 were on Sports & Classics Maintenance plan....a brilliant scheme.
2 Carerras were well over 100k miles when I sold them, and running as well as ever, if not better.
Very comfortable, not bad on fuel and all 3 drove beautifully.
I would have another in a heartbeat-perfect daily drivers, even very good in winter, loads of traction.
Was that a Hartech maintenance plan? I remember reading about them doing something like that in the past.
TroubledSoul said:
Steviesam said:
Well I have had 3 x 996 as DD.
2 x Carerra 2 (1 manual and 1 tip) and a 996 Turbo.
All the 3 very relaible, no actual breakdowns, servicing was expensive but all 3 were on Sports & Classics Maintenance plan....a brilliant scheme.
2 Carerras were well over 100k miles when I sold them, and running as well as ever, if not better.
Very comfortable, not bad on fuel and all 3 drove beautifully.
I would have another in a heartbeat-perfect daily drivers, even very good in winter, loads of traction.
That's what I want to hear 2 x Carerra 2 (1 manual and 1 tip) and a 996 Turbo.
All the 3 very relaible, no actual breakdowns, servicing was expensive but all 3 were on Sports & Classics Maintenance plan....a brilliant scheme.
2 Carerras were well over 100k miles when I sold them, and running as well as ever, if not better.
Very comfortable, not bad on fuel and all 3 drove beautifully.
I would have another in a heartbeat-perfect daily drivers, even very good in winter, loads of traction.
Was that a Hartech maintenance plan? I remember reading about them doing something like that in the past.
Paid a monthly amount, and that covered the services and MOT, and all labour should something go wrong. You would pay for the parts, but its the labour that kills you with these things. Its a great scheme, and allows you budget for the running of the car (I am not a rich person, so it made the car a viable option).
Went from 50k to 100k in 2 years in mine, which was my DD and my track car. I personally found GT3 seats and M030 suspension to be very comfortable on the road, but my wife didn't agree! No major issues, but a lot of servicing and a lot of tyres with that mileage. I only sold it because I got a good deal for trading to a Cayman.
I've had my 2004 C4S cab (tip) for over two years now and it is my main car (we have Mrs Bs Saab 9-5 estate as the load lugger). I use it daily, but being mostly retired, only do around 5-6K per year. I have it serviced and checked religiously at a specialist and it has been more or less trouble free. When I bought it, I took the path of buying the best C4S of the spec I wanted that I could find, and had it independently inspected. I could have gone for a newer Porsche, but kept a significant float back to keep against "the worst" happening.
The best thing I can say about it is - it makes me feel happy every time I get in it (even though the Porsche aficionados say I don't have a proper 911 as it is an auto cab with 4wd )
The best thing I can say about it is - it makes me feel happy every time I get in it (even though the Porsche aficionados say I don't have a proper 911 as it is an auto cab with 4wd
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