996 use as a Daily Driver!!

Is it possible? A base C2, nothing elaborate. Just some giddy-up and great handling. Outside of gas cost and insurance rape, Can I reasonably expect to drive one around daily without moving to the pour house.... advice, please.

Make sure you call around for insurance, you'd be surprised by how much the rates vary....... Before I bought the 996 my DD was an 06 SC430. Allstate was charging me about $250/month. I called a number of other insurance companies and they wanted around the same amount so I just gave up looking for a cheaper rate. After I went to the 996, my price quotes went up $50/month across the board. Miami is rated as one of the most expensive places for car insurance in the nation, so I sucked it up and payed the $300/month. Then about a week ago I called Geico after seeing one of their stupid commercials. My insurance dropped by 50% to $807/6months, and that's for maxed out coverage. That's about 30% less than the cost to insure my 05 LandCruiser lol. Affordable insurance isn't impossible to find; I'm 26yo with no tickets (that show up in FL DMV's system), no accidents, and my car is speed yellow/6 speed, so there is hope! Also make sure you get direct quotes. I'm not sure how much it makes a difference, maybe someone else who is more knowledgeable about insurance can chime in here, but the quotes I got from agents that had their own offices were always higher than the quotes I got online. As for other costs, a PPI should weed out any problem vehicles that you may encounter in your search, but I would hesitate to buy a car like this if you are on a tight budget and can't afford a surprise $1k+ repair bill. Honestly though, from my research it doesn't seem like those things happen very often..... Unless it's something MAJOR that requires you to tow it into a dealer or indy, you can probably fix most of the things yourself and source the used parts on Ebay or the forum classifieds for pennies on the dollar.

Btw, watch out for the mod bug. If you get bitten, well, forget about "repair and maintenance" costs. Those are nothing compared to what you can dump into these cars on aftermarket goodies.... Ask me how I know

Definately shop around for insurance...the 996 is actually pretty cheap to insure.. Even if everything checks out...make sure you leave room for regular maintenance...there are always things minor/major that needs to be addressed...and probably stay off this site....I probably spent 5x more on mods than maintenance which were quite a few with the miles racking up..

It's been my DD going on 7 months now

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Quote: Whatever you do, don't read the threads and look at mod photos appearing on this and other pcar sites. The mod-996 virus will infect you. It will own your mind. It will make you use paypal and cc. There is no known cure, once you become infected.

Hey, i have a 1999 996 c4 with 98,000 that i drive as a daily driver. almost 90 miles a day. 45 miles to work and back.

99 c2 cab. driven daily from 40k miles to 110k miles, in about 3 years. at 108k engine went.. rebuilt and keep driving it. Insurance around $100/mo, state farm.

I split the daily driving between my 99 P-car and my 00 E55 AMG. 45K on one, and 75K on the latter. Both are meticulously maintained with a running budget of $3K. 2010 was tires, air filters, cabin filters, and oil/filter changes. 2011 should be only oil/filter changes. Nonetheless, be prepared for the unexpected, and the inevitable. 2012 will more than likely be clutch time for the P-car. Got's to pay if you want to play. Luckily, I am an older fart. And, I have both insured @ $150 per month.

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Thanks all. I'll try not to mod it. My 02 wrangler is still stock, which is unfathomable in the realm of jeeps. I keep it that way to avoid problems, almost 10 years old and the only major issue was a clutch replacement @ 140K miles. bullet proof. I'm looking for the same in a base 996, no frills. Quote: What was the cost of the rebuild? Quote: What are typical issues that arise? RMS/IMS what are these things? Would they have already happened on a 50K mile 996? stock tire replacement intervals/cost, oil change interval/cost, ...and so forth. Sorry for all the questions, i just dont want to end up crying and feeling all dirty on the side of the road from being wallet raped.

rebuild was 8.5k out of the door. typical things are.... none. the majority of the cars are just fine and do not break. If you want foolproof, get a turbo engine does not have the porosity issue that the regular c2's and c4s had. or, a gt3 it does not suffer from it either. Not sure if the 4S has same issue... anybody?

I have been driving a Porsche as daily drivers for since 1976. my first, and ONLY engine rebuild, was the first day of my first one ('72 911S). the only other MAJOR work was a turbo replacement on a 944 turbo. The rest over 35 yrs has been maintenance and replacement of failed parts. My audis, VWs and Fords all had the same problems over the same time. I have been keeping strict records on my current one, 2002 C4S. Costs were higher in the first year as I was fixing all the small items the previous owner failed to do. Since then, other than tires, the only big item was a catalytic converter failure (i found a used one for $200) and dodged a bullet. If you find one with a careful history from a careful owner, these things can run for a long time. And the fun you get from it, is worth the inconveniences. JB

my 996 was as reliable as a toyota or mercedes for that matter. no issue except an oil leak (RMS) that was fixed under warranty. keep in mind that 911 engines will eventually go north of the 120k mi mark. don't expect it to last more than 150k miles without some major overhaul. (read $$$). so, i would not put tons of miles if you plan to keep the car for years.

I've been using mine as a DD rain/sun/snow for almost a year now. As long as you don't get a lemon, you should be fine. The potential issues are all posted here. It's luck of the draw - check the car out carefully and try to avoid any lemons.

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Quote: Hey Tarzancoe just wondering where you got your engine rebuilt. I'm in Pomona with a '99 996. I don't need the rebuild now, but I just want to know for future reference. Thanks!

I have using my 996 Targa as a DD for 3/4 of a year now. It is a wonderful greeting each morning in my garage versus the Acura RL it replaced. I have not had any mechanical issues up to 23K miles on the odometer. Its such a low mileage car I was worried she might break with daily drive. So far, so good. The biggest issue for me is not mechanical or even financial, it is keeping her in as good a shape. I do not have a ding or scratch and parking around the east bay is a pain in the butt. Too many SUV and Minivan drivers to survive w/o door ding. Kids love the car but their doors love it more. Insurance on the 911 was the same as the Acura granted the later was a 2008 and the 911 is a 2003. Oil change was nothing big. Have not done much more to the car as I think it looks great stock. Would love to lower it a bit but that, as the forum notes, is a slippery slope.

For californians try wawanesa.com Cheap for max coverage. Couldn't find it less anywhere else.

I drive my C4S every day. It's great in rain and snow (as long as it's not too deep). It has been one of the most reliable cars I've ever owned. It does have the occasional issue, just like you'd expect from any car with 95,000 miles on the clock. When it goes to the shop, it's not cheap. That's just part of Porsche ownership. Even so, it's a great daily driver and I'd highly recommend it.

I use my 2002 996 (which is speed yellow too!) for DD duty. 500 miles every week. Right now 140,000 miles. From Miami to Ft Lauderdale every day, rain, shine or hurricane season. Went with Geico for insurance for a ridiculously low rate of $119 a month for two vehicles fully insured.

i drivr p car as daily driver!!!! mine is 996 c2 carrera with lots of mods

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Quote: JEEP Just Empty Every Pocket.... I have a 98 Wrangler that I'm modding since I picked up my '03 C4S as my daily driver. Love driving this car. However, the VF Supercharger kit may trump my Wrangler mods. No problems with my pcar. Bought a scissor lift and do all the maintenance myself. Easy to work on the pcars.

Daily driver for over 2 years now.

What do you C2 guys think about the snow? I know the rear engine and snow tires is more than adequate to plow through the winter, just seeing if the C4 is a better option for a daily platform

Daily driver for 18 months now out here in Colorado... I have my fair share of tickets/ accidents... I'm 24 and pay 150 a month insurance. Worth every penny!!!

@rn3037... A little snow doesn't do much more to this car than any other rwd car... But if and when you do slip the tail out, it snaps back like no other car... I would go turbo if you want all wheel, otherwise I think the c2 kills it!

@Jeff - Yea I bet the P will be more forgiving due to the engine over the axle. Good luck with yours that's awesome to drive it everyday! And I know it's not really necessary to get the AWD just in case it snows a couple days out of the year. I don't walk around with an umbrella in case it rains.

No snow with the C2. Forget it. I have one. I live in a place with snow in winter. C4. Or, turbo of course.

'99 C2 daily driver; including snow.

ours is a daily driver also, you only go around once.

We daily'd ours for a couple years. Isn't that what they're made for? I wouldn't worry too much about insurance - 996 C2's are going for around $15-25k now. I can't imagine the premiums are too high anymore.

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Quote: USAA puts our '99 at about $75/ month for full coverage, can't complain about that.

I have been driving my 2002 Carreras 4 convertible as a daily driver year round for 7 years with no problems whatsoever. I now have 111k on the odometer. Even drive it when it's snowing etc ( all wheel drive with PSM is fabulous ). It has been cheaper than my BMW to maintain. Insurance here in TN with State farm runs me just over $720 a year. I decided its far cheaper than owning two cars and these cars are now only worth somewhere in the twenties. It's been great, and look forward to driving every day. It's a manual, but that's my own preference . Starting to make little changes: red brake calipers, LED rear lights etc. Love my car ;-)

Volkers - Sounds like you sold me on the C4, I was always eying the cab too so that could be a nice combo.

I will let you guess my thoughts on the topic of daily driving. I live in FL, and got a C4S solely for the wide body, as that big booty is just amazingly sexy. The only down side is tires. If you go with OEM replacements you are looking at about $1500 just for the rubber plus install/alignment etc. The rears are a little over $1000 and are typically good for about 10k miles, fronts 18-20k miles. The down side is if you get a flat and your tires have any kind of wear you need to replace them in pairs or possibly even all 4. Oil changes are ridiculous if you take it to the dealer, but if you have changed the oil on ANYTHING you can do it just as easily on the 996. I picked up the L/N engineering spin on replacement filter and swapped out the OEM cannister for ease of use and slightly better filtration. Other normal maintenance is slightly higher than any other vehicle but I have not had anything astronomical in 50k miles.

I agree with dailydriver,replacing the tires is not cheap on these cars and they don't last long. I drove mine as a daily driver for 2 years before finding a cheap 2002 dodge durango that i drive daily now.

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Quote: Just get all-season tires or something... You can make it less expensive. It is all about compromise.

maintenance costs are a part of owning the car, clearly this wont be as good a daily driver in terms of cost vs. a civic, but it will likely be a much more enjoyable experience. you can get hankooks for relatively cheap and get serviced at an independent, which will reduce costs by A LOT. of course, do some research on independent shops prior to buying a car. i already have places to service my future Ferrari.

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Quote: don't do that

Hankook V12's from Discount Tire Direct 90% of the performance of the Michelin's for 1/2 the price. The rears last me about 15 months or so and the fonts about double that. On my 2nd set and make great DD tires and especially rain tires, important in SFL for a DD.

I would never put on all season / lower performance tires on the car to save money... I have heard really good things about the Hankooks, and almost went that route on my last tire change, but decided to stick with the Michelin one more time. The Michelin PSS (Pilot Super Sport) have also gotten really good reviews and are much cheaper than the PS2, but are not available yet for the rears on a C4s. Either way, you just have to know that tires are going to cost more than a "normal" car, and that you will be replacing them more frequently (SO GET YOUR MONEY'S WORTH!)

I think I can use the 996 as my DD...it gets better mileage than my M5!

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Quote: Why not? I switched to all-seasons, and my lap times increased by about 2-3 secs per lap. Are you guys racing to work or something, and the few tenths per corner mean that much to you? I thought I read somewhere (just a few posts ago), that one problem with daily driving the 911 is the cost of tires. So fix it. Less of a problem. I don't see what you mean...

Yearly cost of tires on a 996 = no matter how much still cheaper than stress reduction therapy. So I DD as often as I can and change tires as many times as I need solve two problems for the price of one I also could care less what gas milage I get.

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Quote: Good. I don't understand why people would willing pay $170k for an optioned out C4S, then complain that their mileage sucks and they have to pay an additional $.03 per mile more than their Prius.

ABSOLUTELY possible! I have a 2003 C4S and it's my only car, drive it through rain, sleet, and snow (I live in Switzerland). Tires aren't THAT bad price wise; here in switzerland things are very expensive and a set of the Porsche reccomended Michelin's are about 1200 francs (which is currently about 1270 USD). If I had it to do over again I would do it a thousand times over However, if you live in the snow, go All Wheel Drive and get the 4 or 4S, the all wheel drive is pretty unstoppable. From stop I go up a 20%+ incline COBBLE Stone roads, with a foot of fresh snow, and she climbs like a Nepalese Sherpa! Got for it and enjoy!