First P Car - Please recommend a daily driver

[vtsyrlin]

Hi All, 

Long time reader, first time poster.

Current drive is 3 year old BMW M135i. Fast little car only compromised slightly by soft handling. Few weeks back, I was given a short test drive in 996 Turbo. Since then I've had sleepless nights thinking of how exciting that drive was:)

Now, time to put thoughts into action. My current least is about to end, so perfect opportunity to move to a P-car. The maximum loan I could handle is approximately 120k. The car needs to be a daily driver (approximately 2 hours per day) and quite often in traffic. Spirited drives over the weekend, in country Victoria. 

So far 997.2 might be within price bracket. However, I am really looking for suggestions and recommendations. Would 996 turbo be a good daily driver? How about the last of air-cooled 993?

Any suggestions would be appreciated, but keep in mind the daily use.

 

Cheers

Vladt

[Cars And Coffee Byron Bay]

I'd say 993 tip. good for suburban commute,  air-conditioning works and classic shape.

[turboT]

I'd say 993 tip. good for suburban commute,  air-conditioning works and classic shape.

still for sale? ?

 

 

Hi All, 

Long time reader, first time poster.

Current drive is 3 year old BMW M135i. Fast little car only compromised slightly by soft handling. Few weeks back, I was given a short test drive in 996 Turbo. Since then I've had sleepless nights thinking of how exciting that drive was:)

Now, time to put thoughts into action. My current least is about to end, so perfect opportunity to move to a P-car. The maximum loan I could handle is approximately 120k. The car needs to be a daily driver (approximately 2 hours per day) and quite often in traffic. Spirited drives over the weekend, in country Victoria. 

So far 997.2 might be within price bracket. However, I am really looking for suggestions and recommendations. Would 996 turbo be a good daily driver? How about the last of air-cooled 993?

Any suggestions would be appreciated, but keep in mind the daily use.

 

Cheers

Vladt

996tt would be a perfect choice for your budget. You would also experience zero depreciation and possibly a future price rise for a good example. 

[Rod C]

Later model Cayman perhaps considering being a dailey.

[michel]

Good 993 is a good porsche and a tip is a good for city daily driving 

@vtsyrin your question though will by design garner (maybe) a wide spread of responses..

You might want to mood board your question a bit more 

some things I'd consider.

what postcode do you live in,

do you have a full head of hair, 

do you know who Steve McQueen is 

what's a Singer

is a sportomatic a blender or a shift experience 

both cars you mention would could do daily duties - ultimately  its all around your aesthetic and drive preferences and I'm in no way dismissing purchase and ongoing maintenance costs 

 

good luck with the buying experience, can be as rewarding as the actual driving 

 

 

[DJM]

I reckon the later model, the better for a DD, less chance of ending up on the side of the road waiting for racv, AC that works

Cayman S and change

[tazzieman]

godd luck eith the buying experience, c

He's our resident Viking , Vladt!  

[Mike D'Silva]

I reckon any Toyota Camry is the go.. did you know we are offering 0% finance across the range?

[Al]

Genuine speedster

[symsy]

I reckon the later model, the better for a DD, less chance of ending up on the side of the road waiting for racv, AC that works

Cayman S and change

Agreed , All those in favor say I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

Bang for buck and more

[JohnA]

my boxster S black edition plus lots of change. Cayman S power but with the option of roof down

 

Sorry couldnt resist to give myself a plug, but yea, i would go a later model if its going to be a daily, and the PDK boxes are brilliant

[Cars And Coffee Byron Bay]

Seriously,  try to sample one of each.  perhaps it will be easy, and one of them will grab you by your man plums and won't let you go. that's how I bought my 993 tip. I was sold after my first ever drive of.one. It is such an all rounder. smells and looks old. goes as good as new (up to legal limits) 

In the porsche world, emotion leads. so buy the car you love the best. 

[vtsyrlin]

 Your responses guys. Too funny.

Located in Melbourne SE suburbs. (McKinnon)

I  am in early 40's, full head of hair and a motor enthusiast. Used to race bikes around Phillip Island in late 90's. Then grown up stuff took precedence. Always love fast cars that can handle around the corners. (my current M135i would give some of your P-cars run for your money in the straight lane 

On a serious note, the forum in general has a high vote count for the last of air-cooled 993. However, this implies potentially buying almost 20 year-old car. Being pragmatic person, I suspect cars of that age will require fair bit of maintenance. 

I know that 996tt didn't suffer from IMS issues but how practical would 996 turbo be as a daily? Again would have to buy a car with possibly 100k on the clock?  I can't seem to find a 996T advertised for under 140k?!

Looking at 997.2 are there any endemic problems to be concern with?

Last but not least, what is the best approach to finding a good used example? Carsales.com.au? dealers? private?

As a general rule of thumb, how negotiable are the dealers? Obviously 997 isn't a rare or desirable model, so would 10-15% off be out of the question?

All info helps guys, so please, don't be shy!

[Cars And Coffee Byron Bay]

10% discount is a good starting place. you should be able to get a good 993 tip for $100k. mine is listed at $110k with full engine rebuild. With the older ones, don't worry too much about kilometres.  Buy the best one you find. sometimes low km cars have their own issues from lack of use.

 

Can't help with cars with those things called radiators.  Apparently they work quite well.

[michel]

Think you better have a chat with @smit2100

[Stew F]

With a 993, or earlier, you don't have to waste money on that green stuff that goes in that thingo with the fins.  Oh yeah,  a radiator.

Seriously, if I was going to get a Porsche for a daily driver it would probably be a Cayman or a carrera. 

[hugh]

Not my area of expertise but I would have thought leasing a 996 would be a struggle due to age of the vehicle? 

Also, older Porsches don't necessarily cost more to maintain than newer ones. You need to be looking at cars though that have been well maintained. 

Im a +1 for a newer Cayman, hard to beat as an all rounder. 

[vtsyrlin]

Hugh - you are right. Definitely can't lease car that old using the regular hire purchase process. But easily doable via regular business loan.

Cars and Coffee BB - Just saw your car on carsales. Are you getting out of Porsche ownership all together?  What precipitated the engine rebuild?

Gents - what makes Cayman more suitable for DD?

In terms of daily comforts, I assume that 997 would be more inline with the modern mod cons?

 

[michel]

You got kids or 3 labradoodles ... 

[Cars And Coffee Byron Bay]

 

Cars and Coffee BB - Just saw your car on carsales. Are you getting out of Porsche ownership all together?  What precipitated the engine rebuild

not getting out of Porsche ownership. just had one too many according to my wife. This 993 needed an engine rebuild as the previous owner's had done some weird things to it.  the compression in two cylinders were down and it leaked more oil than an Italian restaurant.  Full rebuild came in at $22,000.

 

[SimonN]

Don't dismiss older Porsches as daily drives. Both the 964 and 993 can make very good and reliable daily use cars. They are modern enough not to have the old car reliability issues yet they still give that retro feel and the glorious noise of the air cooled engine. And the aircon is good enough 

Be careful. It's easy to get seduced by the TT and think all Porsches will be the same. Drive whatever you are thinking of and see whether it gives you the same excitement. I personally think that the 996TT is a bit of a bargain at the moment, if you like that sort of car (I am a N/A guys these days having played high powered turbos).

Remember the golden rule of getting a PPI from a top specialist, which you can find through recommendation on this forum! good luck with your search. 

[Peter M]

Back to reality for a moment.

Do you have safe secure undercover parking at your place of work?

If you don't, I wouldn't put yourself through the heartbreak and like it or not a Camry is the answer as your daily driver.  Sorry to sound like your Dad.

 

If you do, carry on!

 

 

However, with the mileages you are planning to add, don't expect the car will appreciate. It will also get knocked around. It may hold value but you're also going to spend a bit on upkeep no matter what P car you buy.  Also borrowing big sums for a car that will likely be more liability than an asset also has whiskers on it.  Only borrow for appreciating asset purchases.  Sorry to sound like your accountant.

 

However I think the best solution is having two cars.  An inexpensive daily - Camry, Cerato, Rio or i30 and a P car weekender.

 

If you are only doing this to impress your mates and pick up women, ignore all of the above as logic doesn't apply.   

[SimonN]

Sorry, peter, you are sounding more like my grandfather than my dad! cars are meant to be used. So what if you are parking your Porsche outside? If you look after it, keep it clean and use a good quality polish, there isn't an issue and a Porsche is no more likely to get damaged than any othe premium brand, including his BMW. As for teh added mileage, it depends on what he buys. If it is a modern Porsche, then just like any other quality car, mileage hurts. On an older Porsche, so long as you buy right, it won't be so much of an issue, but buy something that already has slightly high mileage and yes, it could push it over the edge.

My attitude is that  Porsche is for driving and you can use them as a daily. FFS! I used an RS as a daily drive for 2 years. So in the words of Magnus "GET OUT AND DRIVE!!!"

[Mike D'Silva]

I 'd be going the 997.2... hands down. Something with a decent service history with lots of oil changes.

Bags of power and torque. 

Sensational looks.

Nicely updated interior over a daggy old 996.

aircon that works.

A sound system that is petty good in standard fare.

Superior braking and safety features over any older 911.

I'm contemplating ditching my 964 for one.

 

 

 

[Peter M]

Please don't buy a 997.2 as the market is very small and I don't want you to push the price up for Mike and I!

 

For $120k and a young bloke like you Vladt, I reckon:

$20k Korean daily driver

$60k Cayman

$40k on either: travel, education, hookers, racehorses, coke, Ducati's, velvet jumpsuits or combination thereof.

 

 

Don't belief Simon, he wouldn't DD a RS nowadays.  And that's my point, buy something you can afford to use, not something you can't afford to use.  And you have to make that decision in context of what else is going on in your life.  Consequently only you can decide that.  For the rest of us, you've given us a few minutes distraction from mowing the lawn.