Is a Porsche right for me?
Discussion
I was just going to go out and buy an M saloon (E92/E60) but I’m getting grief off my friends because I don’t need the space and they say I’m missing out on not owning a 2 seater (I’ve only owned fast saloons and a hot hatch).
Maybe they have a point?
Admittedly I’ve always liked Porsches and I do not doubt their performance capabilities by any means but as a daily driver I’m not convinced they would be ideal for me?
Each year I normally do about 15k motorway miles, a couple of ring trips, 2 or 3 track days and about 5000 social miles. With the exception of the work commute I like to drive very quickly, so power, handling and performance are absolute top of my cars requirements however I still want to do 200 mile journeys and get out at the other end feeling refreshed.
My budget is £25k cash however I’m loosely warming to the idea of loaning £15k which puts me in OPC 997 gen 2 territory…I’ve never borrowed money though, so I duno.
Realistically I think a gen 2 Cayman S is favourite (from an affordability point of view), but how would they cope with all the motorway miles? You can’t beat a big saloon car sat in lane 3 making progress with the cruise control on, or can you?
I appreciated this part of the forum may be a bit biased but please give it to me blunt, will a Cayman cut the mustard or should I stick with what I know and get the V10?
Oh, I have yet to see a single gen 2 Cayman S with the optional limited slip differential...rare as hens teeth I take it?
Maybe they have a point?
Admittedly I’ve always liked Porsches and I do not doubt their performance capabilities by any means but as a daily driver I’m not convinced they would be ideal for me?
Each year I normally do about 15k motorway miles, a couple of ring trips, 2 or 3 track days and about 5000 social miles. With the exception of the work commute I like to drive very quickly, so power, handling and performance are absolute top of my cars requirements however I still want to do 200 mile journeys and get out at the other end feeling refreshed.
My budget is £25k cash however I’m loosely warming to the idea of loaning £15k which puts me in OPC 997 gen 2 territory…I’ve never borrowed money though, so I duno.
Realistically I think a gen 2 Cayman S is favourite (from an affordability point of view), but how would they cope with all the motorway miles? You can’t beat a big saloon car sat in lane 3 making progress with the cruise control on, or can you?
I appreciated this part of the forum may be a bit biased but please give it to me blunt, will a Cayman cut the mustard or should I stick with what I know and get the V10?
Oh, I have yet to see a single gen 2 Cayman S with the optional limited slip differential...rare as hens teeth I take it?
996 has no appeal sorry.
Gen 1 997 S with 2 year OPC for low 30’s is one option but I’m not sure I’d want to keep the car outside of the warranty period given all the horror stories!
Gen 2 / Gen 1 Turbo is very tempting (I’ve done the man maths) but with loan repayments and a £500 a month fuel bill I think either would soon become a weekend car, meaning I'd spend most of my time in a cheap run-around.
On paper the Cayman S is stacking up to be the most attractive and is positively cheap to run compared to the other scenarios. I don’t doubt its ability to cover ground or entertain, I’m just sceptical of its comfort!
Gen 1 997 S with 2 year OPC for low 30’s is one option but I’m not sure I’d want to keep the car outside of the warranty period given all the horror stories!
Gen 2 / Gen 1 Turbo is very tempting (I’ve done the man maths) but with loan repayments and a £500 a month fuel bill I think either would soon become a weekend car, meaning I'd spend most of my time in a cheap run-around.
On paper the Cayman S is stacking up to be the most attractive and is positively cheap to run compared to the other scenarios. I don’t doubt its ability to cover ground or entertain, I’m just sceptical of its comfort!
You should get the car you really like. Is it a Cayman? Or 911? Or BMW M?
To me your requirements are a perfect fit for a Porsche. A 911 Turbo does the full power thing well (personally I would lean to a 2 or 4 S).
Just completed a 1k mile trip in mine (2 days) and it was very comfortable, if not as silent as our E90 BMW (325i).
On those miles you should really go for an OPC warranted car though!
If it were me, I would not contemplate 20k per anum in a Porsche. They can do it, but I would suggest the noise levels will become wearing over time, as will fuel consumption and tyre wear, particularly if you are spending alot of time on a motorway. Others seem to find it no problem but I think the regular nature of usage would dull the experience. Sadly that's why I currently have a 530d which is perfect for the use described.
Peter
Peter
Personally wouldn't want to drive 20,000 miles a year in a porsche. The motorway trips wont be so comfortable and as you are driving the car so much the special occasions will not be so special anymore plus the bills will be expensive. I have learnt the hard way doing 15,000+ miles a year on motorways at sub 20mpg and then thinking at the weekend that I don't have that special feeling for the car ( did this for two consecutive cars). Since found it no more expensive to run a comfortable diesel daily hack and a weekend fun car and then you get the best of all worlds. Appreciate not everyone has the space to do this though.
Edited by XGT on Thursday 26th December 08:24
Beknown said:
Oh, I have yet to see a single gen 2 Cayman S with the optional limited slip differential...rare as hens teeth I take it?
I have it on mine and it regularly pounds the motorways. Fairly practical with the two boots and on 18 inch wheels with PASM is quieter and smoother than a lot of sporty saloon carsXGT said:
Personally wouldn't want to drive 20,000 miles a year in a porsche. The motorway trips wont be so comfortable and as you are driving the car so much the special occasions will not be so special anymore plus the bills will be expensive. I have learnt the hard way doing 15,000+ miles a year on motorways at sub 20mpg and then thinking at the weekend that I don't have that special feeling for the car ( did this for two consecutive cars). Since found it no more expensive to run a comfortable diesel daily hack and a weekend fun car and then you get the best of all worlds. Appreciate not everyone has the space to do this though.
Couldn't have put it better... you lose all sense of occasion when it's your daily hack as well. Hence, about 3 years ago I went down the 2 car route and have the BMW M Diesel for the daily grind and the 911 for those still special occasions. Perfect for me...Edited by XGT on Thursday 26th December 08:24
I used my 997.2 C2S everyday for 2 years and covered 45k in that time, did loads of motorway miles and never had an issue.
The ride is firm but never jarring you get used to the tyre noise (it's not that bad) economy is more than acceptable and tyre wear the same.
It's not an expensive car to service either, but you will collect stone chips on the motorway lots of them plus the screen is vulnerable I replaced 3.
After 2 years I started just using it at weekends did 5k over the last 12 months I had it, but it didn't like being stood all week, disks rusted, up things started going wrong etc....it put me off from having a weekend toy TBH so these days I just stick to having a daily car that does both jobs.
The ride is firm but never jarring you get used to the tyre noise (it's not that bad) economy is more than acceptable and tyre wear the same.
It's not an expensive car to service either, but you will collect stone chips on the motorway lots of them plus the screen is vulnerable I replaced 3.
After 2 years I started just using it at weekends did 5k over the last 12 months I had it, but it didn't like being stood all week, disks rusted, up things started going wrong etc....it put me off from having a weekend toy TBH so these days I just stick to having a daily car that does both jobs.
Thanks for all the feedback.
So Porsches are a noisy place to be? I’d never have guessed that although I have since read a few reviews that mention even the newer 981 being quite noisy. Hmm.
As for using a Porsche as a second car, I'm struggling to justify spending all that money only to do 5000 miles a year in it, plus it would mean driving something slow and cheap as a daily which really has no appeal to me…I want 200+ bhp even in a daily and it must have a fruity petrol engine.
Unless I’m mistaken a Cayman S gen 2 would probably be one of my most economical cars to own…average tax, almost 30mpg…20k service intervals…reasonable tyres…cheapest to insure.
A test drive seems like an easy thing to suggest at this point, but really it takes days if not weeks to establish this kind of thing. I think I need to sleep on it a bit longer.
So Porsches are a noisy place to be? I’d never have guessed that although I have since read a few reviews that mention even the newer 981 being quite noisy. Hmm.
As for using a Porsche as a second car, I'm struggling to justify spending all that money only to do 5000 miles a year in it, plus it would mean driving something slow and cheap as a daily which really has no appeal to me…I want 200+ bhp even in a daily and it must have a fruity petrol engine.
Unless I’m mistaken a Cayman S gen 2 would probably be one of my most economical cars to own…average tax, almost 30mpg…20k service intervals…reasonable tyres…cheapest to insure.
A test drive seems like an easy thing to suggest at this point, but really it takes days if not weeks to establish this kind of thing. I think I need to sleep on it a bit longer.
Beknown said:
Thanks for all the feedback.
So Porsches are a noisy place to be? I’d never have guessed that although I have since read a few reviews that mention even the newer 981 being quite noisy. Hmm.
As for using a Porsche as a second car, I'm struggling to justify spending all that money only to do 5000 miles a year in it, plus it would mean driving something slow and cheap as a daily which really has no appeal to me…I want 200+ bhp even in a daily and it must have a fruity petrol engine.
Unless I’m mistaken a Cayman S gen 2 would probably be one of my most economical cars to own…average tax, almost 30mpg…20k service intervals…reasonable tyres…cheapest to insure.
A test drive seems like an easy thing to suggest at this point, but really it takes days if not weeks to establish this kind of thing. I think I need to sleep on it a bit longer.
In all honesty, you sound like you have already made your mind up, so good luck.So Porsches are a noisy place to be? I’d never have guessed that although I have since read a few reviews that mention even the newer 981 being quite noisy. Hmm.
As for using a Porsche as a second car, I'm struggling to justify spending all that money only to do 5000 miles a year in it, plus it would mean driving something slow and cheap as a daily which really has no appeal to me…I want 200+ bhp even in a daily and it must have a fruity petrol engine.
Unless I’m mistaken a Cayman S gen 2 would probably be one of my most economical cars to own…average tax, almost 30mpg…20k service intervals…reasonable tyres…cheapest to insure.
A test drive seems like an easy thing to suggest at this point, but really it takes days if not weeks to establish this kind of thing. I think I need to sleep on it a bit longer.
BTW, you're third para..... I think you'll possibly find that you are mistaken...
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