Porsche 911 997.1 Daily Driver
Discussion
With new regs out it was the time of year to sort out new company's cars etc, anything that's not fully electric is crippling in company car tax. An electric car doesn't suit my work, I may go in expecting a day at the office and end up travelling up to Scotland etc. Don't want the stress of charging points or range anxiety. I also don't personally belive electric cars are the way forwards but that's a whole other discussion. So me being naive and stupid opted for car allowance and to run the 911 for work.
So now we have a highway maintance 911 : ). Not sure 45p a mile is gonna cover fuel but I'll have a fun time finding out. Can always reaasses the situation in a years time. Just need to get my orange flashy lights wired up now.
adean22 said:
With new regs out it was the time of year to sort out new company's cars etc, anything that's not fully electric is crippling in company car tax. An electric car doesn't suit my work, I may go in expecting a day at the office and end up travelling up to Scotland etc. Don't want the stress of charging points or range anxiety. I also don't personally belive electric cars are the way forwards but that's a whole other discussion. So me being naive and stupid opted for car allowance and to run the 911 for work.
So now we have a highway maintance 911 : ). Not sure 45p a mile is gonna cover fuel but I'll have a fun time finding out. Can always reaasses the situation in a years time. Just need to get my orange flashy lights wired up now.
, I've really enjoyed this thread. You may be surprised at the fuel allowance - guessing 45p a mile for the first 10k miles, and then drops to 25p for each mile after (HMRC standard), it should cover fuel cost but perhaps not wear.adean22 said:
So now we have a highway maintance 911 : ). Not sure 45p a mile is gonna cover fuel but I'll have a fun time finding out. Can always reaasses the situation in a years time. Just need to get my orange flashy lights wired up now.
That's just brilliant. 
I hope it does work out!
Great thread.
I have taken the cash in lieu of a company car for over 20 years. I have also averaged 20k miles a year. I have enjoyed the cars I have owned and found them more interesting than the default 5 series.
Doing as much of the maintenance yourself is absolutely key to making the finance work.
Enjoy the 911.
I have taken the cash in lieu of a company car for over 20 years. I have also averaged 20k miles a year. I have enjoyed the cars I have owned and found them more interesting than the default 5 series.
Doing as much of the maintenance yourself is absolutely key to making the finance work.
Enjoy the 911.
adean22 said:
With new regs out it was the time of year to sort out new company's cars etc, anything that's not fully electric is crippling in company car tax. An electric car doesn't suit my work, I may go in expecting a day at the office and end up travelling up to Scotland etc. Don't want the stress of charging points or range anxiety. I also don't personally belive electric cars are the way forwards but that's a whole other discussion. So me being naive and stupid opted for car allowance and to run the 911 for work.
So now we have a highway maintance 911 : ). Not sure 45p a mile is gonna cover fuel but I'll have a fun time finding out. Can always reaasses the situation in a years time. Just need to get my orange flashy lights wired up now.
adean22 said:
With new regs out it was the time of year to sort out new company's cars etc, anything that's not fully electric is crippling in company car tax. An electric car doesn't suit my work, I may go in expecting a day at the office and end up travelling up to Scotland etc. Don't want the stress of charging points or range anxiety. I also don't personally belive electric cars are the way forwards but that's a whole other discussion. So me being naive and stupid opted for car allowance and to run the 911 for work.
So now we have a highway maintance 911 : ). Not sure 45p a mile is gonna cover fuel but I'll have a fun time finding out. Can always reaasses the situation in a years time. Just need to get my orange flashy lights wired up now.
1 year with the car
Today marks one year with the car, this post will breakdown ownership costs for running the car over a year.
First off here's a pic of the car earnings its keep
I keep track off maintenance/mod costs on an excel spreadsheet, iv tried to attach it but the quality ends up really bad each time so ill sum it up below.
Iv spent £5076.24 in total on mods and maintenance. £3801.93 of that is in maintenance and the rest is mods. This is over 10,000 miles
I am aware that its a lot of money, a hell of a lot just to maintain a car over a year. Especially when factoring in i'v done most the work myself, I dread to think how much it would be if I wasn't handy with the spanners .
These costs could of been lower by not opting for a valved exhaust or not installing larger brakes etc.
Now lets move onto insurance and fuel etc.
So over the year the following has cost:
Road Tax : £600
Insurance : £2000 (I'm still young, glad to know when it renews next month though its only £600. I think this is rather good when it includes business aswell)
Fuel: £3810.05. Thats assuming 21mpg average and using 476.19 gallons of fuel at just under £8 a gallon.
So let's add everything together. That gives us £11,486.29.
Now, that's a lot of money don't get me wrong but that includes absolutely everything. It just shows that when running an older highly depreciated car the purchase price is probably the cheapest part of the car.
Your probably thinking was it worth it or how do I feel about that cost. In my opinion it has been 100% worth it, iv enjoyed every second in the car and you cant put a value on that. Even when I turn the key to start it every morning it has me smiling away, no matter how stressed I am or how many things have gone wrong at work or in my homelife. I can always go for a drive and have it put a smile on my face.
Iv also loved working on the car myself, everything is logical and fits together exactly how you would expect (coming from mg ownership this wasn't something I was used to)
So here's to another year with the car, hopefully it will be a cheaper year as iv got a lot of maintenance done this year - but we will have to see.
Today marks one year with the car, this post will breakdown ownership costs for running the car over a year.
First off here's a pic of the car earnings its keep
I keep track off maintenance/mod costs on an excel spreadsheet, iv tried to attach it but the quality ends up really bad each time so ill sum it up below.
Iv spent £5076.24 in total on mods and maintenance. £3801.93 of that is in maintenance and the rest is mods. This is over 10,000 miles
I am aware that its a lot of money, a hell of a lot just to maintain a car over a year. Especially when factoring in i'v done most the work myself, I dread to think how much it would be if I wasn't handy with the spanners .
These costs could of been lower by not opting for a valved exhaust or not installing larger brakes etc.
Now lets move onto insurance and fuel etc.
So over the year the following has cost:
Road Tax : £600
Insurance : £2000 (I'm still young, glad to know when it renews next month though its only £600. I think this is rather good when it includes business aswell)
Fuel: £3810.05. Thats assuming 21mpg average and using 476.19 gallons of fuel at just under £8 a gallon.
So let's add everything together. That gives us £11,486.29.
Now, that's a lot of money don't get me wrong but that includes absolutely everything. It just shows that when running an older highly depreciated car the purchase price is probably the cheapest part of the car.
Your probably thinking was it worth it or how do I feel about that cost. In my opinion it has been 100% worth it, iv enjoyed every second in the car and you cant put a value on that. Even when I turn the key to start it every morning it has me smiling away, no matter how stressed I am or how many things have gone wrong at work or in my homelife. I can always go for a drive and have it put a smile on my face.
Iv also loved working on the car myself, everything is logical and fits together exactly how you would expect (coming from mg ownership this wasn't something I was used to)
So here's to another year with the car, hopefully it will be a cheaper year as iv got a lot of maintenance done this year - but we will have to see.
Edited by adean22 on Sunday 16th October 16:49
Edited by adean22 on Sunday 16th October 16:51
adean22 said:
Thankyou for your positive, your car looks stunning but I may be biased
In regards to engine mounts Its not uncommon for them to break and leave half your engine dropped which no one wants so its worth doing them for piece of mind. The way the mounts are mounted, the engine hangs off them as oppose to sitting on them so if they do fail your engine is literally dropping down. If I was to change them again I'm not sure if I would stick with oem or semi solid mounts, the semi solid mounts have more vibration at idle and when the aircon is on the vibration gets worse, just something to bear in mind if you go for them.
If you read my next post you'll be able to see the IMS and RMS when the gearbox is out
Here's mine after running over a huge ridge in the surface of the A2 near Dover this summer. Highways England said I didn't have a valid claim!! In regards to engine mounts Its not uncommon for them to break and leave half your engine dropped which no one wants so its worth doing them for piece of mind. The way the mounts are mounted, the engine hangs off them as oppose to sitting on them so if they do fail your engine is literally dropping down. If I was to change them again I'm not sure if I would stick with oem or semi solid mounts, the semi solid mounts have more vibration at idle and when the aircon is on the vibration gets worse, just something to bear in mind if you go for them.
If you read my next post you'll be able to see the IMS and RMS when the gearbox is out
Firstly, happy new year everyone
Iv been quiet on here recently, hasn't been much to report on the car. Nothing mechanical has broke or needed sorting.
However there was a mishap towards the end of last year - I do feel its important to also share bad experiences with the car on here.
So using the magnetic beacon on the car up on the A66 travelling at about 45mph , the wind caught underneath it and blew it off the car. This is connected to the cig lighter with a wire through the sunroof so when the light came off it simply bungeed on the wire and started repeatedly hitting the roof of the car . I didn't have a clue what this noise was at first until I looked in my wingmirror and saw the light had moved to the side of my car and started hitting that as well . Luckily this stopped when the wire snapped.
So here is the damage:
The pictures make the damage look less than it was.
So yeah, that was a great end to the year.
I managed to get a paintless dent guy to get the two big dents out the side aswell as a few little ones near it. Massive praises to Dent Detail PDR in Leyland who did this, a few places had some they couldn't get them out (they were bad and deep) nut he managed to get them out - very impressed with him. Also really happy that this avoided the side of the car needing paint
Next up was sorting the roof and the c pillar - these would require pulling and painting - what a pain.
However I got the roof and the c pillar painted and the car is back to its former glory, I'm annoyed that the roof had to be repainted but it cant be helped. I guess its a 15 year old car at the end of the day so you can expect it to have some paint done to it. I am really impressed with the paintjob as well which was a relief.
As daft as I am; I have learnt from my mistakes. I'm now getting the beacons installed in the front grilles and under the rear spoiler so there is no need to attach anything to the car.
Things like this happen and you've just got to take it on the chin and sort it - id rather fix the car when things go wrong than just have the car sat in a garage not being used. I'm really lucky the light didn't hit someone's else car when it flew off and I'm really lucky it didn't hit a person. Bit of money spent and the car is as good as new so everything is fine again. Ill try get some pictures up when I next wash the car.
Car has now hit 105k miles and will be going to Germany in May for the autobahn and Nurburgring and the outer Hebrides in summer . So here's to a year of many road trips
Iv been quiet on here recently, hasn't been much to report on the car. Nothing mechanical has broke or needed sorting.
However there was a mishap towards the end of last year - I do feel its important to also share bad experiences with the car on here.
So using the magnetic beacon on the car up on the A66 travelling at about 45mph , the wind caught underneath it and blew it off the car. This is connected to the cig lighter with a wire through the sunroof so when the light came off it simply bungeed on the wire and started repeatedly hitting the roof of the car . I didn't have a clue what this noise was at first until I looked in my wingmirror and saw the light had moved to the side of my car and started hitting that as well . Luckily this stopped when the wire snapped.
So here is the damage:
The pictures make the damage look less than it was.
So yeah, that was a great end to the year.
I managed to get a paintless dent guy to get the two big dents out the side aswell as a few little ones near it. Massive praises to Dent Detail PDR in Leyland who did this, a few places had some they couldn't get them out (they were bad and deep) nut he managed to get them out - very impressed with him. Also really happy that this avoided the side of the car needing paint
Next up was sorting the roof and the c pillar - these would require pulling and painting - what a pain.
However I got the roof and the c pillar painted and the car is back to its former glory, I'm annoyed that the roof had to be repainted but it cant be helped. I guess its a 15 year old car at the end of the day so you can expect it to have some paint done to it. I am really impressed with the paintjob as well which was a relief.
As daft as I am; I have learnt from my mistakes. I'm now getting the beacons installed in the front grilles and under the rear spoiler so there is no need to attach anything to the car.
Things like this happen and you've just got to take it on the chin and sort it - id rather fix the car when things go wrong than just have the car sat in a garage not being used. I'm really lucky the light didn't hit someone's else car when it flew off and I'm really lucky it didn't hit a person. Bit of money spent and the car is as good as new so everything is fine again. Ill try get some pictures up when I next wash the car.
Car has now hit 105k miles and will be going to Germany in May for the autobahn and Nurburgring and the outer Hebrides in summer . So here's to a year of many road trips
Edited by adean22 on Tuesday 3rd January 16:32
Not much to update really, the 911 has been earning its keep and has now got to just under 107k miles
It was service time for the 997 this weekend. Its been 7k miles since it was last serviced and I don't like it going over 7k miles between
Same as last time I used Millers NT+ 10W50 oil - it gets high praises in the porsche world so ill stick with it.
It also marks 8 weeks till I take the car to Germany for the autobahns and Nürburgring so I wanted to have a good check of everything and ensure the car is in good shape. This is where having access to a ramp is extremely useful.
Armed with all my supply's I set about servicing it
It still amazes me the amount of oil that comes out - it takes about 8.25 litres.
I also plugged in a code reader to read any codes that has been stored - iv had no engine lights etc so I didn't expect anything to be stored . It did come it with a few codes but these were related to not having the factory PCM (radio+multimedia) installed so there was nothing to worry about.
Whilst the car was on the ramp and due to the long trip planned in May I thought it was wise to change all the brake fluid - I only did it about 7k miles ago but the machine at work only takes a few mins to do each caliper anyway- its a very handy piece of kit.
You just attach it to the reservoir cap and then when you open up the bleed nipples on the calipers it pushes through the brake fluid.
The OBD2 machine came in handy for activating the ABS pump so that even the fluid within the ABS pump would be changed . Was really simple, just click start and it pumps the ABS pump.
The fluid that comes out at the nipples is caught by a bottle so its al kept simple and clean
After bleeding the brakes I checked oil level and id got it bang on perfect, I still wish it had a real dipstick instead of the silly digital one.
Car is now ready to go for the next 7k miles - next update will probably be pictures of a euro road trip in May
It was service time for the 997 this weekend. Its been 7k miles since it was last serviced and I don't like it going over 7k miles between
Same as last time I used Millers NT+ 10W50 oil - it gets high praises in the porsche world so ill stick with it.
It also marks 8 weeks till I take the car to Germany for the autobahns and Nürburgring so I wanted to have a good check of everything and ensure the car is in good shape. This is where having access to a ramp is extremely useful.
Armed with all my supply's I set about servicing it
It still amazes me the amount of oil that comes out - it takes about 8.25 litres.
I also plugged in a code reader to read any codes that has been stored - iv had no engine lights etc so I didn't expect anything to be stored . It did come it with a few codes but these were related to not having the factory PCM (radio+multimedia) installed so there was nothing to worry about.
Whilst the car was on the ramp and due to the long trip planned in May I thought it was wise to change all the brake fluid - I only did it about 7k miles ago but the machine at work only takes a few mins to do each caliper anyway- its a very handy piece of kit.
You just attach it to the reservoir cap and then when you open up the bleed nipples on the calipers it pushes through the brake fluid.
The OBD2 machine came in handy for activating the ABS pump so that even the fluid within the ABS pump would be changed . Was really simple, just click start and it pumps the ABS pump.
The fluid that comes out at the nipples is caught by a bottle so its al kept simple and clean
After bleeding the brakes I checked oil level and id got it bang on perfect, I still wish it had a real dipstick instead of the silly digital one.
Car is now ready to go for the next 7k miles - next update will probably be pictures of a euro road trip in May
Edited by adean22 on Monday 6th March 18:25
Shermanator said:
I spotted you!
I was travelling down south for work on Thursday with a couple of colleagues and I saw a Porsche 911 Highway Maintenance on the on slip. You promptly gunned it and were off in the distance. It sounded great! And the chevrons on the back were a great laugh.
Glad to hear I was spotted - I did think it was only a matter of time. Cant imagine there's many 911s with chevrons I was travelling down south for work on Thursday with a couple of colleagues and I saw a Porsche 911 Highway Maintenance on the on slip. You promptly gunned it and were off in the distance. It sounded great! And the chevrons on the back were a great laugh.
Guessing it was somewhere between Newcastle and Preston?
I love the fact that I can drive around the country with it like that and hopefully it makes people smile - if it can brighten up someone's day then it makes putting a daft amount of miles and wear and tear on the car worth it.
Bit of an impromptu trip but just booked to go across to the Isle Of Man at the end of this month - Iv just about got over the cost of the ferry - Nearly £300!!!!
I can only imagine its dearer when the TT is on as well - scandalous
Will be visiting a friend who lives there but also going to explore the island and see what the roads are like. A quick google search shows the following roads:
I'm hoping the roads make the ferry cost worth it - only one way to find out!
I can only imagine its dearer when the TT is on as well - scandalous
Will be visiting a friend who lives there but also going to explore the island and see what the roads are like. A quick google search shows the following roads:
I'm hoping the roads make the ferry cost worth it - only one way to find out!
Iv just watched that episode since you mentioned it - its interesting how despite the power disadvantage the 911 was a fair but quicker
Also interesting as the M5 and Aston were in my top pick of choices instead of the 911 - all around similar money. 911 was the choice as I felt it was the best compromise between running costs and performance. M5 was a choice purely for the reason of V10 - don't really need another reason do I. But running and maintaining that engine would of bankrupted me. Aston was a choice due to the looks and sound, but yet again running and maintaining it would of wiped me out.
I do still have the itch for owning a V10 & a V8 though - we will have to see. I'm hoping when all the emission zones come in and big engine cars become worthless I can just buy up a V8 and V10
Also interesting as the M5 and Aston were in my top pick of choices instead of the 911 - all around similar money. 911 was the choice as I felt it was the best compromise between running costs and performance. M5 was a choice purely for the reason of V10 - don't really need another reason do I. But running and maintaining that engine would of bankrupted me. Aston was a choice due to the looks and sound, but yet again running and maintaining it would of wiped me out.
I do still have the itch for owning a V10 & a V8 though - we will have to see. I'm hoping when all the emission zones come in and big engine cars become worthless I can just buy up a V8 and V10
adean22 said:
Iv just watched that episode since you mentioned it - its interesting how despite the power disadvantage the 911 was a fair but quicker
Also interesting as the M5 and Aston were in my top pick of choices instead of the 911 - all around similar money. 911 was the choice as I felt it was the best compromise between running costs and performance. M5 was a choice purely for the reason of V10 - don't really need another reason do I. But running and maintaining that engine would of bankrupted me. Aston was a choice due to the looks and sound, but yet again running and maintaining it would of wiped me out.
I do still have the itch for owning a V10 & a V8 though - we will have to see. I'm hoping when all the emission zones come in and big engine cars become worthless I can just buy up a V8 and V10
If I could commend the Jaguar XF-R to you?Also interesting as the M5 and Aston were in my top pick of choices instead of the 911 - all around similar money. 911 was the choice as I felt it was the best compromise between running costs and performance. M5 was a choice purely for the reason of V10 - don't really need another reason do I. But running and maintaining that engine would of bankrupted me. Aston was a choice due to the looks and sound, but yet again running and maintaining it would of wiped me out.
I do still have the itch for owning a V10 & a V8 though - we will have to see. I'm hoping when all the emission zones come in and big engine cars become worthless I can just buy up a V8 and V10
I loved mine, regret selling it, and want another.
Zumbruk said:
If I could commend the Jaguar XF-R to you?
I loved mine, regret selling it, and want another.
I do keep looking at these. My dads got an xf sportbrake (diesel though) . Its a great car - when it works. There's been many problems. Its had a new engine , new electrical fuse boxes , many alternators . Its been riddled with problems, no one can work out why the washer jets dont work, way too many electrical on an ageing car. And only jag specialists can work on any of the electricals due to needing the correct computers etc . As tempting and good value as they are I don't think I could face having one . I loved mine, regret selling it, and want another.
In its defense though when it works its so smooth and great at munching the miles. Previous owner of my 911 had an XF too and spoke fondly of them
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