991.1 Daily Driver

[TNH]

Afternoon all,

I am looking to scratch the 911 itch and rather than going down the 992 route (on finance) I've decided to look at a 991.1. I've been doing the usual research, looking at the various online buying guides and forums for common issues, general reliability etc. These seem to list lots of issues but the general consensus always comes back to them being generally reliable so would be good to get the PH view on this as I know there is a big community here. I'm not too concerned about maintenance costs (this will be my 5th Porsche so used to the OPC tax) but more concerned about regular big bills and the time / inconvenience of the car being off the road.

The car will be used as my daily, which is generally a 70 mile round commute 2 or 3 days a week and general pottering about outside of this. We have a Volvo for regular family duties but I will be taking my 2 year old son out in it every now and again now my wife has agreed he can switch to a front facing car seat.

I'm looking for something around the £45k mark so will probably end up with a 2015 base carrera that has 40-50k miles.

Any experiences / thoughts would be appreciated.

[stuckmojo]

TNH said:

Afternoon all,

I am looking to scratch the 911 itch and rather than going down the 992 route (on finance) I've decided to look at a 991.1. I've been doing the usual research, looking at the various online buying guides and forums for common issues, general reliability etc. These seem to list lots of issues but the general consensus always comes back to them being generally reliable so would be good to get the PH view on this as I know there is a big community here. I'm not too concerned about maintenance costs (this will be my 5th Porsche so used to the OPC tax) but more concerned about regular big bills and the time / inconvenience of the car being off the road.

The car will be used as my daily, which is generally a 70 mile round commute 2 or 3 days a week and general pottering about outside of this. We have a Volvo for regular family duties but I will be taking my 2 year old son out in it every now and again now my wife has agreed he can switch to a front facing car seat.

I'm looking for something around the £45k mark so will probably end up with a 2015 base carrera that has 40-50k miles.

Any experiences / thoughts would be appreciated.

I've been running a 991.1 Carrera as a daily for a year now. Mine is a 2012 car with now 91k miles. Daily commute is 60 miles in total.

The car is great, and I run it with an OPC warranty, which so far has covered:
- New high pressure fuel pump (probably a £2k job)
- New PDK gearbox (distance sensor failed, nearly £20k job at OPC)

As for comfort and daliy use, the car is built for it. Very comfortable and it transforms if you push it. NA engine with sport exhaust sounds amazing.

I will replace it when I can no longer keep it on OPC warranty with a similar a bit newer.

[jonny996]

I’m also looking for this but I’d be questioning your expectations.

“I'm looking for something around the £45k mark so will probably end up with a 2015 base carrera that has 40-50k miles.”

I’ve seen maybe one car that fits that criteria.

[TNH]

Thanks. The PDK issue does seem to be the one concerning issue but good to know that it was covered under the warranty!


In terms of expectations I've been keeping an eye on the market and there are a few that appear with that criteria. I haven't been to see any of them so they could be in poor condition or hiding other issues.

[NDA]

I have a 991.1 C4S - whilst I don't daily it, you certainly could. I've not long been back from nearly a month in Provence where I used it every day (obviously) and it was perfect.

[hardlylikely]

I've been dailying an Agate 2012 C2S with PDK since 2017 and do a commute of 50 miles per day round trip. Now on 120k and running as good as when i first got it. I get it serviced at my local OPC and run a warranty,( on the last year of that) and in my time the car has had new discs and pads once, a new sports exhaust under warranty, and a new low pressure fuel pump under warranty, and that's it other than tyres, servicing and fuel. My fuel long term average is 27.4 but will do 34 on a run and 20 under load. I normally fill up at Tesco with 95 RON. I run Pirelli Sport 4S which last me about 15k with even wear.

It is booked in for the 12 year big service and with PCGB discount is was quoted at £2050 including PDK gearbox oil change, spark plugs and engine oil, biggest bill I've ever had by a mile. I have noticed it is not quite as smooth on the bumpy roads, something is showing its age, maybe the front struts, def something in the suspension/ steering area. I'm hoping the may fix under warranty, fingers crossed.

I use the sports chrono regularly as it gives the car a much sportier edge, albeit with a slightly embarrassing burble on overrun. Always turn the stiffer suspension off. The Bose radio is crap, and the speakers need replacing. I have another 911 which has car play and i do miss it in this car so i have a mag phone holder on the fan outlet and run Waze and Spotify through that. It hasn't got a sunroof so no rattles or servicing costs either.

I spent £4k on a front end respray and interior spruce up and now plan to clock up another 100k in it, cheap motoring how ever you look at it :-)
Good luck with your purchase, hope you enjoy as much as i have.

[FrancisA]

hardlylikely said:

I've been dailying an Agate 2012 C2S with PDK since 2017 and do a commute of 50 miles per day round trip. Now on 120k and running as good as when i first got it. I get it serviced at my local OPC and run a warranty,( on the last year of that) and in my time the car has had new discs and pads once, a new sports exhaust under warranty, and a new low pressure fuel pump under warranty, and that's it other than tyres, servicing and fuel. My fuel long term average is 27.4 but will do 34 on a run and 20 under load. I normally fill up at Tesco with 95 RON. I run Pirelli Sport 4S which last me about 15k with even wear.

It is booked in for the 12 year big service and with PCGB discount is was quoted at £2050 including PDK gearbox oil change, spark plugs and engine oil, biggest bill I've ever had by a mile. I have noticed it is not quite as smooth on the bumpy roads, something is showing its age, maybe the front struts, def something in the suspension/ steering area. I'm hoping the may fix under warranty, fingers crossed.

I use the sports chrono regularly as it gives the car a much sportier edge, albeit with a slightly embarrassing burble on overrun. Always turn the stiffer suspension off. The Bose radio is crap, and the speakers need replacing. I have another 911 which has car play and i do miss it in this car so i have a mag phone holder on the fan outlet and run Waze and Spotify through that. It hasn't got a sunroof so no rattles or servicing costs either.

I spent £4k on a front end respray and interior spruce up and now plan to clock up another 100k in it, cheap motoring how ever you look at it :-)
Good luck with your purchase, hope you enjoy as much as i have.

Hi Hardy
You have just made me feel that I am no longer the only child in the family. As I write this my car is with OPC East London having the 12 year service.....£2400. That is everything except changing the PDCC which is not due till 2027.

It is my first Porsche and I went with the OPC due to wanting to keep the warranty going. My car is the same as yours, albeit with only 16K on the clock, so I am entering the last year for the warranty. Annoyingly because the car was a May 2012 build I can only renew for another year from October this year. I cannot extend for the remaining 8 months from October 2026 to May 2027 because "the system won't let you".

I have been reassured by more than a few that the 991.1 is the most reliable car Porsche made and I am heartened to hear someone has done 120K and plans another 100K. As an FYI you can get Mr12Volt fitted which will give you apple car play. The reviews are good and it has the advantage of using WIFI to connect rather than bluetooth.

[TNH]

hardlylikely said:

I've been dailying an Agate 2012 C2S with PDK since 2017 and do a commute of 50 miles per day round trip. Now on 120k and running as good as when i first got it. I get it serviced at my local OPC and run a warranty,( on the last year of that) and in my time the car has had new discs and pads once, a new sports exhaust under warranty, and a new low pressure fuel pump under warranty, and that's it other than tyres, servicing and fuel. My fuel long term average is 27.4 but will do 34 on a run and 20 under load. I normally fill up at Tesco with 95 RON. I run Pirelli Sport 4S which last me about 15k with even wear.

It is booked in for the 12 year big service and with PCGB discount is was quoted at £2050 including PDK gearbox oil change, spark plugs and engine oil, biggest bill I've ever had by a mile. I have noticed it is not quite as smooth on the bumpy roads, something is showing its age, maybe the front struts, def something in the suspension/ steering area. I'm hoping the may fix under warranty, fingers crossed.

I use the sports chrono regularly as it gives the car a much sportier edge, albeit with a slightly embarrassing burble on overrun. Always turn the stiffer suspension off. The Bose radio is crap, and the speakers need replacing. I have another 911 which has car play and i do miss it in this car so i have a mag phone holder on the fan outlet and run Waze and Spotify through that. It hasn't got a sunroof so no rattles or servicing costs either.

I spent £4k on a front end respray and interior spruce up and now plan to clock up another 100k in it, cheap motoring how ever you look at it :-)
Good luck with your purchase, hope you enjoy as much as i have.

Fantastic to hear, thank you.

Service cost isn't too scary... the last one on my Panamera was £2,500...

[NDA]

TNH said:

Service cost isn't too scary...

It's also once every two years. So half price.