Alright guys,
I am in my late thirties financially stable, have a great steady job and I am looking to buy my first Porsche. I am looking at a 2006-2007 997 Carrera. I would like a S but I feel a Carrera would be just fine for my begining Porsche experience. I have never been big on owning two cars and I want to make my 997 my primary daily ride. I don't want the Porsche to be my weekend special event, what ever car, I want to fully enjoy the car on a daily basis. My concern is if I am going to dish out 55K and drive this every day as the miles pile up will I end up piling up a mechanical bill that I will regret later? I already have a reference for a independent mechanic, so I am not overly concerned. Obviously I do have some concern or else I would not be seeking your advice.
Another question. What is your opinion on these luxury vehicle specialality shops? exTruSpeed Motors, Autohaus West, etc) I am having a hard time finding a Porsche through a dealer with the specifics that I am looking for, but I seem to find some at these alternate shops. I plan on getting a PPI of course but I am curious about your thoughts?
Thanks for the advice...JT

 

These cars are meant to be driven, no problem as a daily driver. Maintenance isn't too expensive, and if you have some mechanical skills can be DIY.

Don't think that the S is too much far, it is more then just a bigger engine.

 

Using the car as a daily driver isn't going to hurt you too bad from a wear perspective. These cars are built to crank out the miles. You will take a bit of a hit on resale if you pile on miles, but that is just life, you pay to play. I used a 911 for a dd for about 10 years...it basically works exept for big trips to home depot or costco. You basically need to plan around these with some help from friends and family.

 

1) It is fine to use a Porsche as a daily driver . I did it will all of mine except the last three . Rear tires are your largest expense (8-10K miles) but service will never cost as much as having a second car . Owning a second car is purely for extra space, personal safety (parking or driving in higher crime areas) or neurotic reasons like wanting to keep the Porsche pristine .

2) It's hit or miss with an independent dealerships . If not a new car then I prefer a well maintained CPO OR a private owner who took care of his car and is mature .

 

I use mine as a DD. I put a lot of miles on my cars so that is why I got the CPO. It is fun to drive the car on daily basis. If you can, try to go for an S.

 

I've had my car for less than 2 yrs and have put on about 15000 miles so far -including winter time (non-snow) miles. These aren't DD numbers for me, but aren't too far off for some people, and the car has been flawless mechanically. Any car that you drive every day, however, is likely to lose some of its special-ness. I'd gone for about a week without driving it and took it out for a late night, top-down spin last night, and I was blown away all over again at how beautiful yet how competent the car is. And it made me glad it's not a car I have to drive every day.

 

These cars can be whatever you want them to be...that's what makes them so great. Even though mine is not a daily driver, I find that I want to drive it more and more as one. Once the kids are grown and I don't have to haul kids and their friends from Soccer, can easily see it become a daily driver. The main problem for me is space. Oh and one other thing....since mine is lowered, there are places I can't take it...

 

I drive mine daily. 13k in the last year. Prior to that, I had a 1990 C4 Cab that I drove daily. Just over 100k miles in just under 11 years of ownership. Many track miles on that one, during the first few years that I had it.
These are reliable cars, and they can be tons of fun driven daily.
Good luck!

 

I've been driving my 06 S on a daily 150 mile commute for the last week or so. I love it. I will say this though, depending on where you live, stop and go traffic in a manual sucks. I love having the manual but if I were commuting like this on a regular basis I would probably go for a PDK. Luckily this is a temporary commute that happens a few times a year for me.
Something to consider based on where you live.

I've been working for a large tech company as a contractor the last week or so and it's nice to get out of there at 3AM, flip on the V1 (saved my but three times on this job on HWY 280) and drive home with a smile on my face.

 

Sex everyday?

 

probably the best daily use sports car and with style!!

 

I have two 911's, a supercharged 997S and an '87 3.2 and they are both DD's. I pretty much flip a coin, they're both awesome. Change the oil and filter (DIY) and these cars will run forever. Wouldn't consider driving anything else.
CATTMAN

 

I wish it was my daily driver. In my line of work you can't show any form of success or your business will suffer. There are a lot of people that can't stand that you drive a Porsche and they will let you know in some manner.
That's why I got a pick up as a DD (Toyota tundra) which btw was almost as expensive as my Porsche, and it's a great truck

I use my pcar as much as possible, unless it rains......lol

 

Not a maintenence issue, you'll find they aren't necessarily more expensive to maintain than newer BMW's. BUT, the resale will plummet like a rock. Once it has high mileage, very few people will want it. There are tons of garage queens out there and yours won't be one of them. If it doesn't matter and you don't give a hoot, go for it. Just be informed.

 

A great daily driver!
It can drive with the ease of a honda accord when you want to, yet has all of the tactile quality that makes the Porsche brand so rewarding. yes, tires are costly, but I am at 15K miles and still are on the original rears. (including 20 autocrosses).
Mechanically, the car has been the most reliable that I have owned.
There are 3 drawbacks with the 911 as a DD
1) people often treat you like crap out on the road. You get no courtesy.
2) you can't park it just anywhere. If you park a mile out in the lot, some jerk in a pickup will park an inch from your door.
3) the 911 is not completely thought out from an engineering perspective as a DD. Example: the rear tires kick stones right up onto the bodywork. My car has almost no paint there. Never had a car like that... The C4S has a valance panel there. There is none on the C2. Another example is the windshield that is made of the least chip resistant glass on the planet. By 10 miles on the odo, I had 2 tiny chips right in my line of sight. Now it looks like it was sandblasted. The solution is to source a non-oem replacement when the time comes!

I could list about 100 positives as to why this car makes my commute fun!
Would an M3 be a better DD?.....probably, but the strangest thing happened to me with this 911.....I like it better as the miles pile up. That did not happen with my M3. I think I will like my 911 even more with 60K miles!!!