Using the car less - Page 4 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

Well, i've decided to use my Cayman a little less next year, due to increased mileage i'll be doing for the next 12 months (going to get a new daily drive) I'll be putting the car in my GF's garage but would like some advise to what i should doing to make sure i keep it in tip-top condition. The garage does not have power, so a trickle charger is not on the cards. thanks in advance everyone

why? Is it too expensive to run for the daily drive? The best thing to do is drive it, not store it. Wrong idea I reckon. Bert

no, just don't want to put a possible 15-20K miles on it thats all. will be getting a low-miles Mini Cooper S for 12 months. i'll still use the cayman but only every couple of weeks for a quick blast

rObArtes said: no, just don't want to put a possible 15-20K miles on it thats all. will be getting a low-miles Mini Cooper S for 12 months. Take it out for a 30-50 mile drive once a week, it'll be fine (just don't put it away wet)...

no problems if left for 3 weeks?

That depends, Porsche batteries are known for being weak, especially if left for a time - normal cars aren't that bad. Mine gets left for a month at a time but I get a friend to drive it 40 miles once a week and it's been fine since May... Must admit though, I don't like the idea of leaving it for 3 weeks untouched (once or twice maybe) regularly!

BertBert said: The best thing to do is drive it, not store it. ^^^ Without doubt. And don't forget cars depreciate sitting the garage just as quickly as they depreciate in use. Also tax, insurance etc. Use it or sell it IMO.

Jim1556 said: That depends, Porsche batteries are known for being weak, especially if left for a time - normal cars aren't that bad. Personally I suspect the batteries are exactly the same. "Normal" cars are used more regularly so suffer fewer battery issues. Any car needs to be used at least once a week IMO.

I frequently leave my Spyder for 4 or 5 weeks without driving it. I keep it connected to a trickle charger and have no problems. My previous car was a 996 Turbo which had the same treatment and when I sold it at 9 years old, it still had original battery. The garage has a dehumidifier running 24/7 so that keeps everything dry!

Same here left all my previous and present 911 on trickle charge, albeit run so much better when used I have to say.

Jim1556 said: That depends, Porsche batteries are known for being weak What tosh

And OP, if you are worried about the miles, use the Porsche once a week. Bert

Ozzie Osmond said: BertBert said: The best thing to do is drive it, not store it. ^^^ Without doubt. And don't forget cars depreciate sitting the garage just as quickly as they depreciate in use. Also tax, insurance etc. Use it or sell it IMO. Any car, especially a relatively expensive one, will depreciate quicker if used as we all know mileage is crucial for residuals......

BertBert said: What tosh I'll rephrase that. Porsche batteries are known for being weak if left. Also, being a consumable, Porsche won't warranty replace a battery that's failed after 2 years, even though Halfords batteries come with a 5 year warranty. Better?

av185 said: Any car, especially a relatively expensive one, will depreciate quicker if used as we all know mileage is crucial for residuals...... my thoughts too. just think 20k miles in 12 months is too high.

BertBert said: What tosh Bert you are kidding. They are s te compared to Bosch etc. I am lucky enough to have had a number of 911s that I don't use very much and rarely had a Porsche battery (in modern versions) that can survive more than 3 weeks without trickle charging. Never had similar issues with other makes / batteries. Unfortunately they are a warranty requirement. If you are not under Porschewarranty go Bosch, save £70 and end up with a battery that is fit for the 21st Century to boot. No brainer.

is it with me getting a bosch battery? as my car battery is an oem

On my second Cayman. Use it as a daily driver and for business. About 20k per year. Drive it, enjoy it and forget about mileage, depreciation etc. Use it as intended not as a garage queen. Just my take on things, life is too short!

I got rid of a GT3 twelve months ago, due in part to concerns of over use/depreciation/refresh costs etc and in the last year of ownership, it only did 1700 miles. It turns out that if I had kept it in the garage for a year, it would now be worth £20k more than I sold it for, however, even if I had stuck another 10k miles on it, the value would still have shot up just as much. This comparison may also extend to say a 987 CR, but with lower £'s involved? Any other type of Cayman (987/981) is going to suffer from relatively catastrophic depreciation between doing no mileage and 10k pa anyway, so my opinion is that you may as well use the thing?

Plenty of people have a second, third etc car which gets relatively little use. My Boxsters have always been second cars to me, but obviously not by previous owners. With the first one I still managed 10k a year and my current one has done about 6k the last year 2k of which was a Euro trip. If you are using it, albeit every couple of weeks just service and maintain it like you would any other car.

BertBert said: What tosh quite true in fact.... I do think they have changed them now though, but the Moll ones are s t.

nsm3 said: I got rid of a GT3 twelve months ago, due in part to concerns of over use/depreciation/refresh costs etc and in the last year of ownership, it only did 1700 miles. It turns out that if I had kept it in the garage for a year, it would now be worth £20k more than I sold it for, however, even if I had stuck another 10k miles on it, the value would still have shot up just as much. This comparison may also extend to say a 987 CR, but with lower £'s involved? Any other type of Cayman (987/981) is going to suffer from relatively catastrophic depreciation between doing no mileage and 10k pa anyway, so my opinion is that you may as well use the thing? this, it will cost you more to buy and use the and then sell the mini than putting another 10k on you Cayman so just use the Cayman !

Two things: Why buy a Porsche if you're not going to enjoy it as much as possible and be paranoid about mileage? That defeats the point of buying and owning one. If you can't afford the depreciation you can't afford a Porsche, simple as that. Why conserve the miles on YOUR car just for the benefit of the eventual new owner? Don't give a toss about the new owner, enjoy your car now, today, to the max and live life a little

Two things: Why buy a Porsche if you're not going to enjoy it as much as possible and be paranoid about mileage? That defeats the point of buying and owning one. If you can't afford the depreciation you can't afford a Porsche, simple as that. Why conserve the miles on YOUR car just for the benefit of the eventual new owner? Don't give a toss about the new owner, enjoy your car now, today, to the max and live life a little

BertBert said: And OP, if you are worried about the miles, use the Porsche once a week. Bert If you're worried about the miles, park it nose first in the garage and then every weekend, if you don't drive it, open the door and run it for half an hour with everything electrical (radio, A/C etc) turned off. You keep the battery charged and the fluids moving but won't accumulate any mileage.

koorby said: Two things: Why buy a Porsche if you're not going to enjoy it as much as possible and be paranoid about mileage? That defeats the point of buying and owning one. If you can't afford the depreciation you can't afford a Porsche, simple as that. Why conserve the miles on YOUR car just for the benefit of the eventual new owner? Don't give a toss about the new owner, enjoy your car now, today, to the max and live life a little exactly. The keeping the factory plastic covers on the 3 piece suite syndrome...

so.. everyone replying use their porker every day?

At least 6 days a week.

koorby said: Two things: Why buy a Porsche if you're not going to enjoy it as much as possible and be paranoid about mileage? That defeats the point of buying and owning one. If you can't afford the depreciation you can't afford a Porsche, simple as that. Why conserve the miles on YOUR car just for the benefit of the eventual new owner? Don't give a toss about the new owner, enjoy your car now, today, to the max and live life a little Fair point, but only to a degree....... We can all think of certain journeys and type of roads and weather conditions where quite frankly any Porsche no matter how 'driver focused' would be completely wasted. Whats the point of say going to the supermarket/sitting in city traffic/stop start on an over congested carpark/M25 etc etc in anything tasty......might as well take a 'shed' or 'snotter' for this of motoring and leave your P and J all snuggly in the garage, knowing your mileage is kept down, your residual up and look forward with greater anticipation to that next A or B road blast when the right opportunity presents itself...........

Mine gets used during the week for commuting, but not normally at the weekends.

av185 said: Fair point, but only to a degree....... We can all think of certain journeys and type of roads and weather conditions where quite frankly any Porsche no matter how 'driver focused' would be completely wasted. Whats the point of say going to the supermarket/sitting in city traffic/stop start on an over congested carpark/M25 etc etc in anything tasty......might as well take a 'shed' or 'snotter' for this of motoring and leave your P and J all snuggly in the garage, knowing your mileage is kept down, your residual up and look forward with greater anticipation to that next A or B road blast when the right opportunity presents itself........... I can see your point but surely these cars put a smile on your face, therefore make the mundane trips to the shops and communting to work more bearable.

mrdemon said: this, it will cost you more to buy and use the and then sell the mini than putting another 10k on you Cayman so just use the Cayman ! Mrdemon has nailed it here. You'll surely lose at least as much running a Mini (depreciation + tax + insurance minus slightly less money on fuel) for a year as you'd lose in extra depreciation, putting the miles on your Porsche. I'm fortunate, in that I need to use my Cooper S 2-3 days a week, for school runs etc. So my Cayman is left for no more that a couple of days at a time. If I didn't need the back seats occasionally, I'd use the Cayman for everything. It's even excellent for kids football on a saturday morning - you can fit a lot of footballs in that front boot ! (Equally, you could argue that I should chop both in for a 911....)

av185 said: Fair point, but only to a degree....... We can all think of certain journeys and type of roads and weather conditions where quite frankly any Porsche no matter how 'driver focused' would be completely wasted. Whats the point of say going to the supermarket/sitting in city traffic/stop start on an over congested carpark/M25 etc etc in anything tasty......might as well take a 'shed' or 'snotter' for this of motoring and leave your P and J all snuggly in the garage, knowing your mileage is kept down, your residual up and look forward with greater anticipation to that next A or B road blast when the right opportunity presents itself........... Nope you miss the point of owning and enjoying a Porsche entirely. Fact: the UK is a wet, damp, grey place a lot of the year, yet it buys the highest number of convertibles per capita than any other western nation. Yesterday it was a damp, grey day, the forecast showed heavy clouds and the roads were slick. Still, I put 120 miles of blissful motoring on the clock, revelling in the GTS's handling, noise, poise and the sheer joy of driving it. Even when it began to drizzle the roof stayed firmly down, the cabin completely remaining dry. The South Downs are a veritable treasure chest of A and B roads and postcard picture villages. Eventually I stumbled across a cosy pub and pulled up to the admiring stares of the locals and shared a pint and some banter with them. A perfect three hours in the Boxster, and something I'll do several times a week regardless of the weather. You see, I bought a Porsche because of *what* the car is, the pleasure it gives me and the appreciation of the engineering that went into. I bought it to enjoy every single minute of sitting in the driver's seat, and the bliss of driving it. Putting it a garage or SORNing it is, to pur it bluntly, bloody stupid. Enjoy the car or get rid.

Nah.....you are missing the point entirely.....who said anything about sorning..... Yes....use and enjoy the car......but only in the optimum conditions. The other salient point to consider is that if something tasty is used as a daily, this somewhat dilutes the whole experience by familiarity.......this is when an interesting other vehicle comes into its own. And next time you take your prize machine out for a blast, the experience is so much greater as a consequence...win win....

Depending on your garage's security/windows etc there are solar powered trickle chargers out there, or certainly were, so no need for power supply. Ex-TVR owner, WE know about electrical problems.

rObArtes said: so.. everyone replying use their porker every day? As already mentioned. Mines a second car used maybe twice a week at most note like once a week or fortnight now.

rObArtes said: so.. everyone replying use their porker every day? When I commuted by car and had a 6RS, I used it for the commute but just not every day. I did on average 3 days per week. Kept the mileage managed and I enjoyed the car. It's perhaps just a personal thing, but I can't stand having fun cars stuck in the garage that don't get used. In fact I sold the 6RS when my job changed and I didn't have a drive every day Bert

I'm self employed and work from home, so no commute miles for me.

anonymous said: [redacted] Each to their own, of course........but I think theres probably a 'happy medium' here.... Agree about the dynamics....just like seeing different aspects the more times you see a top film, with certain cars the depth of talent never fails to increase.

What is better to use a car everyday for less than a 5 mile journey where the engine never gets properly warm or to use say once a month having a 40 mile blast?

Not used mine for 2 months working away and other commitments keep battery fully charged in heated garage shall look forward to using it after xmas fingers crossed.Dont see the point in firing it up till i use it

What's all this worry with batteries this is my 3rd porsche and sometimes have left over a month unused no trickle charge and always start first time! My first porsche the battery lasted 5 years!the trick is when you do use it go for a long drive of 20 miles plus much better than firing up and leaving to run or taking for more frequent short drives. If your work is over 10 miles away with secure parking I can understand using everyday but when some of us have to use other transport because the porsche is impractical and our weekends are busy then the porsche has to stay in the garage instead of using for short trips in heavy traffic I use the shopping trolley and the porsche for those longer journeys! I put my car on sorn end of November as I knew I would not use until the new year maybe even spring but if I do get a chance all I have to do is ring dvla!Yes I would like to use more but I will not fire up just to drive a few miles in traffic. We all use our cars differently so there is no right or wrong way with porsche ownership!but I do envy those who get to use there's everyday on long drives and if that was the case for me I would not worry about mileage especially on a car like the op has!

koorby said: av185 said: Fair point, but only to a degree....... We can all think of certain journeys and type of roads and weather conditions where quite frankly any Porsche no matter how 'driver focused' would be completely wasted. Whats the point of say going to the supermarket/sitting in city traffic/stop start on an over congested carpark/M25 etc etc in anything tasty......might as well take a 'shed' or 'snotter' for this of motoring and leave your P and J all snuggly in the garage, knowing your mileage is kept down, your residual up and look forward with greater anticipation to that next A or B road blast when the right opportunity presents itself........... Nope you miss the point of owning and enjoying a Porsche entirely. Fact: the UK is a wet, damp, grey place a lot of the year, yet it buys the highest number of convertibles per capita than any other western nation. Yesterday it was a damp, grey day, the forecast showed heavy clouds and the roads were slick. Still, I put 120 miles of blissful motoring on the clock, revelling in the GTS's handling, noise, poise and the sheer joy of driving it. Even when it began to drizzle the roof stayed firmly down, the cabin completely remaining dry. ... Rather than present a counterpoint you have in fact validated the previous poster's point. If I'm taking a 120 mile trip across the South Downs, I'll take a Porsche. When I'm sitting in traffic jams on the M25 late for my client meeting, thinking about the high-pressure presentation that I'm about to give, I couldn't be further rom a state of bliss in my driver's seat and I'd might as well be as sitting in a diesel saloon. When I'm popping to the supermarket or to the tip, the joys of appreciating German engineering are equally far from my mind and in fact a cheap snotter that I care little about is far more appropriate in order to minimise the pain when I discover a new dent after returning to the car park. Frankly it's about having the right tool for the purpose, and ignorance of that fact is, to put it bluntly, bloody stupid.

rObArtes said: so.. everyone replying use their porker every day? Hello Mate, I did the 'two car thing' myself 10 or so years ago with a BMW 330 Ci Msport for work and a Lotus Elise for wkends. It didn't work for me....got annoyed with two lots of servicing, insurance etc.....Lotus spent most of the time in my Garage on trickle charger..... Hence why I moved to Porsche...one car that did it all. 987 Boxster 3 years and 90K, 981 Cayman Gen 2 3 years and 90K and now my 981 Cayman which currently has just over 40K. I am always in my fav car all the time...and when I've had a bad meeting, it cheers me up on the way home!!

anonymous said: [redacted] The problem with most of the opinions on this thread is that they are generalisations that ignore the wide variance in individual situations. If we're talking about a garage queen that covers 100 miles between MoTs, then that's a shame. If your daily commute consists of empty country roads, it makes complete sense to drive your Porsche every day. If your daily commute consists mostly of traffic jams or clogged urban roads, then that's a waste of a nice car. If you are in the position to own more than one car, then matching your choice of chariot to the driving occasion will certainly make your special car feel even more special.

av185 said: Nah.....you are missing the point entirely.....who said anything about sorning..... Yes....use and enjoy the car......but only in the optimum conditions. The other salient point to consider is that if something tasty is used as a daily, this somewhat dilutes the whole experience by familiarity.......this is when an interesting other vehicle comes into its own. And next time you take your prize machine out for a blast, the experience is so much greater as a consequence...win win.... I completely agree with this. Here in Sweden it's pretty much accepted practice to put the car away over the winter, as two foot of snow and loads (loads) of salt over the winter is unlikely to make you a happy Porsche owner. In fact, OPC's here have started offering winter storage as an in-house service. When the car's out, I drive it as often as I can, when it's parked up, I fuss over it and indulge my more pedantic sides. And invariably, when I take it out in spring, every drive until the winter is special, not least by virtue of absence having made the experience more concentrated.

anonymous said: [redacted] I found this a lot with the 6RS. Driving it regularly I was utterly addicted even in traffic-ey conditions. I was so attuned to it that every control input, every turn of the wheel was fantastic. Slow, fast, open road, traffic, clear motorway, clogged motorway, just wonderful. When I stopped using it regularly and got in for a drive we felt more like strangers than lovers. Bert

Have a Ferrari as a daily driver , and keep the Porsche as an investment ( non driver ) ..

plenty said: The problem with most of the opinions on this thread is that they are generalisations that ignore the wide variance in individual situations. If we're talking about a garage queen that covers 100 miles between MoTs, then that's a shame. If your daily commute consists of empty country roads, it makes complete sense to drive your Porsche every day. If your daily commute consists mostly of traffic jams or clogged urban roads, then that's a waste of a nice car. If you are in the position to own more than one car, then matching your choice of chariot to the driving occasion will certainly make your special car feel even more special. Couldn't agree more - it's a problem with the forum in general. Some of us are married, have kids, dogs, have jobs that require us to have a 4 seater, do school or shopping runs, pick up stuff from ikea, build stuff, take rubble to the tip etc That doesn't mean we don't like our driving our Porsches any less when we have the chance - just that the times when we can sensibly (or even not so sensibly) do so is restricted. Edited by bcr5784 on Sunday 21st December 08:37

plenty said: The problem with most of the opinions on this thread is that they are generalisations that ignore the wide variance in individual situations. If we're talking about a garage queen that covers 100 miles between MoTs, then that's a shame. If your daily commute consists of empty country roads, it makes complete sense to drive your Porsche every day. If your daily commute consists mostly of traffic jams or clogged urban roads, then that's a waste of a nice car. If you are in the position to own more than one car, then matching your choice of chariot to the driving occasion will certainly make your special car feel even more special. Couldn't agree more - it's a problem with the forum in general. Some of us are married, have kids, dogs, have jobs that require us to have a 4 seater, do school or shopping runs, pick up stuff from ikea, build stuff, take rubble to the tip etc That doesn't mean we don't like our driving our Porsches any less when we have the chance - just that the times when we can sensibly (or even not so sensibly) do so is restricted. Edited by bcr5784 on Sunday 21st December 10:16

plenty said: The problem with most of the opinions on this thread is that they are generalisations that ignore the wide variance in individual situations. If we're talking about a garage queen that covers 100 miles between MoTs, then that's a shame. If your daily commute consists of empty country roads, it makes complete sense to drive your Porsche every day. If your daily commute consists mostly of traffic jams or clogged urban roads, then that's a waste of a nice car. If you are in the position to own more than one car, then matching your choice of chariot to the driving occasion will certainly make your special car feel even more special. That sums it up nicely. Today it is drizzly and yeuch out and I have a short run through busy roads so the Freelander 2 does the job; the BGTS sits snug in the garage. Tomorrow it is meant to be better weather and I will have time to hoon around so out comes the Porsche. A few weeks ago I had a long trip and sadly needed the extra seats so the Porsche stayed at home. I appreciate not everyone has the luxury of choice but where we do, horses for courses is the way to go!

OP has a garage, but no power. The only course of action is not to leave the car dormant for too long.

Magic919 said: OP has a garage, but no power. The only course of action is not to leave the car dormant for too long. Yup! Or solar panel on roof of garage with a wee cable running into the garagem but agree that only charges the battery, the other juices in the car need to flow regularly...

cibble10 said: Magic919 said: OP has a garage, but no power. The only course of action is not to leave the car dormant for too long. Yup! Or solar panel on roof of garage with a wee cable running into the garage but agree that only charges the battery, the other juices in the car need to flow regularly... Or buys a second battery, which is trickle charged in the house, and then swapped out every fortnight.

Yeah, or shut up and drive.

Magic919 said: Yeah, or shut up and drive. Rhianna?

Who?

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Sorry cant agree with all comments but i can see where some of you are coming from. When i bought my cayman it was a second car for sunny days at weekends or dry days at least, i am lucky enough to live on the edge of the new forest so we have some nice coastal roads to explore through into dorset. Beleive me i have tried once or twice but i just dont get a buzz from driving the porche in rain, snow, and freezing cold winter periods in general, so i choose to leave it under cover in my heated garage with the better weather to look forward to 2015

Magic919 said: Yeah, or shut up and drive. lol

Sottozeros through the winter for me. Wife has X5 for family work, but I buy sport cars to use them.

Well i've taken the plunge and bought a low miles Mini Cooper S (had 2 previously). I'll be using the Cayman most weekends, so hoping I'll not get a flat battery to sort out. Was also thinking of leaving the hand brake off to stop any binding. Buying the Mini makes me appreciate how good the Cayman is, so i won't be leaving to long for a good drive out. cheers everyone for the replies Edited by rObArtes on Tuesday 23 December 21:53

Are we talking classic mini here if so good choice

freddy the frog said: Are we talking classic mini here if so good choice Tried one once, had to origami myself into it!

Late to the party but.... A previous poster mentioned different chariots as tools for different jobs - I totally agree. I daily drove a 355 Spider a few years back and while the car performed surprisingly well, it does take the shine off ownership. Driving a Ferrari once a week or so feels more special than getting in it every day - familiarity breeds, if not contempt, at least lack of appreciation. It doesn't have to be a mental hoon, just something fun....I used to do tinned goods runs to Asda in it and they were special as it was random and unusual. I'm finding the same with my GT3, I bought it for track work and special hoon days and it's magnificent. Could I use it every day? Sure, it has climate control, cruise control etc and although it feels special on every drive, I want it to stay special so I use when I really want to, not just because I need 4 wheeled transport. Ditto my 550. Luckily I'm fortunate enough to have a fleet that I can cycle through, so nothing gets boring.

Mario149 said: Late to the party but.... A previous poster mentioned different chariots as tools for different jobs - I totally agree. I daily drove a 355 Spider a few years back and while the car performed surprisingly well, it does take the shine off ownership. Driving a Ferrari once a week or so feels more special than getting in it every day - familiarity breeds, if not contempt, at least lack of appreciation. It doesn't have to be a mental hoon, just something fun....I used to do tinned goods runs to Asda in it and they were special as it was random and unusual. I'm finding the same with my GT3, I bought it for track work and special hoon days and it's magnificent. Could I use it every day? Sure, it has climate control, cruise control etc and although it feels special on every drive, I want it to stay special so I use when I really want to, not just because I need 4 wheeled transport. Ditto my 550. Luckily I'm fortunate enough to have a fleet that I can cycle through, so nothing gets boring. Can't disagree with any of that!!

cibble10 said: freddy the frog said: Are we talking classic mini here if so good choice Tried one once, had to origami myself into it! For you, Sir, may I suggest the Lotus Exige V6?!