911 as a daily driver

[Tom]

Doing my Due diligence on my first Porsche, hopefully you guys can steer me in the right direction. The cars going to be a daily driver preferably an older 911.

My situation is my office is 1km from home, i need a car as i'm in and out of the office anywhere between 1 & 3 times a day. Averaging around 200km a week.

I want a nice cruiser and don't want to buy a Porsche just for it to sit in the garage.

What i'm looking for is a 911 between 1985 & 1994, must be a couple & manual.

Am i mad for even considering this? 

 

 

 

[KGB]

I did it for 2 years in a 964, but around 25km/day total.  Great fun, took about 21 months for the novelty to wear off (new record!.)  1km is a tad short though...

[hugh]

In short no. Just be mindful that its a 20+ yo car so it pays to buy one that has been well maintained (service record etc.) via a reputable mech. Short trips, stop starts are not ideal for any car and agree with @KGB that 1km is a pretty short stint for a daily basis. 

A 964 would be a good option, my 2 cents. 

[Raven]

yep another vote for 964 .......

[Skidmarks]

Go the 85 Carrera. No air.  No roof.  Be a man 

[KGB]

In short no. Just be mindful that its a 20+ yo car so it pays to buy one that has been well maintained (service record etc.) via a reputable mech. 

My trusted mechanic and panel shop are both 1km from my office and this was integral to my 'project', thankfully.  Initial niggle sorting was relatively pain free.

[Stepo]

I did it for around four years and will never regret it, always a joy to start and then finish  work.  30 k's a day, sometimes a little longer if I just felt like driving past home for the fun of it.

An 85 manual coupe, car never let me down, solid car that was always maintained as it should be.  If you try saving a few dollars on the purchase or service expect pain.

85 will have A/C but forget it, pack a pair of shorts, thongs and tee above 30 deg, take the long road home that is moving rather than stop start shorter distance.  These cars sit low so be prepared for clowns to try pulling into your lane when you're there, the air horn is your friend.  Be prepared to walk long distances from your car to the shop, never park close to the door where the di*khea!s will test out how close they can get to you or how good their car looks next to yours.....even then....you'll be surprised how the sh!tbo#es are attracted to your pride an joy.

I expect the 3.2 will feel a little more raw than the 964, good luck with your search .

[Jason E]

I daily my 944S2 (52ks per day) - functioning A/C, great engine for traffic, nowhere near as beautiful as a 911 but then again I am nowhere near as beautiful as Christie Brinkley so we are a match made in heaven...........just sayin'..................

[TP-993]

My daily driver is a 993S in manual. I have had for the last 12 years, driving to city, airport, school. Also has taken kids car seats in the back. So very versatile (boot size not great).

Mine has a great service record and always looked after. No issues and has hardly cost anything re maintenance over the last 12 years. 

I would agree that a 1km trip probably not advisable regularly (for any car though) and would totally recommend on buying the right car with the right history. 

[Tit]

1km? Walk!

I reckon a 993 would be a good daily if it must be air cooled. 

[Peter M]

Am i mad for even considering this? 

Yes.

Notice the ones who used to do it don't anymore.

Driving a car you care for in one kilometre hops a couple times a day isn't good.

Since any good coupes in this age range are a circa $100k proposition surely you can afford to own a modest daily driver as well? 

I suggest this will save you a lot of grief.

 

But it will be your car so do what you think best.  Good luck! 

 

 

[Scott930]

The 1k home <-> office isn't ideal, but the 200k/week should be fine..park at home, walk to work then walk home to get the car for the longer trips?

I have dd an '86 930 for years.. and love it. Sure, I get warm on hot days in summer when the A/C only cools things a tiny bit at best, but then I try to do as @Stepo said and windows down, sunroof open and keep moving and enjoy being aircooled myself. In winter things are good as the heater works a treat.

ps don't believe @TP-993 he doesn't dd the 993 every day....sometimes he uses a 996 GT3!

[Avon]

1km?  Pushbike! (unless its hazardous)

[LeeM]

1km.....plus the 200km running around ?

Sorted SC I reckon ?

[Peter John]

I would think you're not mad! Whatever brings you pleasure and when it doesn't anymore partially retire it to the weekend.

I daily drove my first car that I bought back some 10 years later (not a porsche) and and I was grinning ear to ear every drive. The issue was the start up warm up if I was running late, as mentioned above- parking in safe spots, and it was never fun looking at a dirty car- like when you wash it Sunday and it rains Monday! 

The ranger daily starts up and out the gate quick, warms me quick in winter, cools me quick in summer, kids trash it a little and I carry lots of messy and often heavy stuff often. But sure does not give the daily pleasure like my first car did nor a porsche!

Do it!

 

[symsy]

993/964 

[Raven]

Another option that will most likely get me grief from my fellow PFA members ...................is a new hot hatch if you change your mind on a P car  eg Golf GTI or Golf R ......Type R civic or even a Focus Rs all of those late model pocket rockets are great fun and practical cars  with all the modern cons if that sort of thing appeals to you ....

 

[Rob]

To look at another side of things - if your short trips are to clients, consider the effect of showing up in a PORSCHE on their perception of you and what it might do to your business.  Others have changed their client visit vehicle after experiencing quite vigorous negative feedback from their clients.  If you don't have clients, just ignore the preceding...

[9r]

Personally I would not consider driving any car let alone one I really cared about 1 km. Pretty much all ware and tear comes from cold starts when everything is not up to temp and you could have this multiple times through the day so that is tough on a car and then your wallet as your maintenance bill will ultimately be higher.

Buy something to do the work run and have the classic air cooled Porsche for the weekend or the day you know you have to go to a client 30 k away straight from home.

[Raven]

To look at another side of things - if your short trips are to clients, consider the effect of showing up in a PORSCHE on their perception of you and what it might do to your business.  Others have changed their client visit vehicle after experiencing quite vigorous negative feedback from their clients.  If you don't have clients, just ignore the preceding...

I can completely understand were you are coming from a close business associate of mine and a 991 C2  owner had a similar experience of grief from clients when turning up to meetings in his P car ,,it really was disappointing to see some peoples negative attitude toward his choice of car ,,, these days he leaves the 991 at home and drives and Audi S6 to meetings ,,most of the retards we have to deal with just see it as another Audi sedan and are none the wiser as to it price and performance  ,,it was amazing to see how spiteful and petty some people can be when they see someone enjoying their hard work and success in life and choosing to drive something that made them happy ...

[Tom]

Wow! Thanks for everyone's input, I've been learning toward either a 964 or 993.

I'll probably cop some flack on here but I work as a Sales agent, meeting with clients throughout the day I think having an older Porsche will obviously resonate better then having a new one. I won't be going out of my way to show it off, I always try and park well away from the clients houses anyway so very rarely would my car be seen. 

I guess i'll see how long I last before it either gets to expensive or to uncomfortable to be driven daily. 

[DJM]

1km? Walk!

do both, buy an old Porsche and DD it then walk when the bloody thing won't start.....and Uber to your appointments.

but seriously I had a 964 and I could see how that could be daily drive.  I chose not to, not because it couldn't, more to do with the "business owner drives a Porsche" perception by clients, tradies etc. ignoring that it was a $50k car at the time, less than the blinged up SS Utes common on site.

[LeeM]

Wow! Thanks for everyone's input, I've been learning toward either a 964 or 993.

I'll probably cop some flack on here but I work as a Sales agent, meeting with clients throughout the day I think having an older Porsche will obviously resonate better then having a new one. I won't be going out of my way to show it off, I always try and park well away from the clients houses anyway so very rarely would my car be seen. 

I guess i'll see how long I last before it either gets to expensive or to uncomfortable to be driven daily. 

Buy an old Toyota Corolla as a daily run around to clients, and leave the Porsche at work. That way you'll look like you're crap at your job and the clients think they're getting your wares cheap 

[Mike D'Silva]

Buy an old Toyota Corolla as a daily run around to clients, and leave the Porsche at work. That way you'll look like you're crap at your job and the clients think they're getting your wares cheap 

Why buy an old one.. buy a new one..

And buy it from me!

Or buy my 964.

[KGB]

Another option that will most likely get me grief from my fellow PFA members ...................is a new hot hatch if you change your mind on a P car  eg Golf GTI or Golf R ......Type R civic or even a Focus Rs all of those late model pocket rockets are great fun and practical cars  with all the modern cons if that sort of thing appeals to you ....

Not a silly idea.