How many of you use your 996 as an everyday driver?

I will be selling my Stg 2 S4 soon and I am looking at a 2001 C4. I was curious to know how the car holds up to daily driving and is too small or uncomfortable to be a daily used car. Thanks guys!

My '90 C4 was used as a daily driver and so is the '02 that replaced it (although I try not to drive the car if the weather's supposed to be sloppy). Nothing like letting the day's frustrations evaporate when driving home . . .

My car has become a "track queen" (as opposed to the more typical garage queen). I used to drive it daily but now that's it's set up for the track, it takes some work to get it back in shape for the street. So during the season it mostly sees track duty but now that the season is over, I'll return it to street set up and the car will see more regular use. The 996 is very practical as a street car, esp. in C4 configuration. You just can't haul a lot of people or goods in it, so if you're taking a group of more than 2 out or need to make a run to Home Depot for mulch, you better have something else to drive. Karl

I use my '99 C4 as a daily driver - 7 days a week and love every minute of it. This will be the first year that I drive it through the winter. For that purpose, I purchased 17" rims and snow tires and a "bra" for the front of the car since winter driving can be messy.

Driving it is the high light of the day, everday!!!

I don't because I have a truck to get around the Oregon rain in the winter. I did drive my C2 cab twice in heavy rain and banged my 18" wheels pretty hard twice and scratched one in a rain filled pothole at night so I won't be doing any night driving on poor roads in the rain again. You may want to consider other wheels and tires for winter if local roads aren't ideal

Drive mine every single day!

Ditto. '99 996 Cab daily driver. Been driving it at least 5 days/week since it's birth three years ago.

Got my 2001 C4 cab in April..drive it every day and have 15000 miles on it now I just put the snows on and hard top for the winter. Upstate NY with lots of snow. I also have a Jeep but thats because I trailer my boat and snowmobiles.

Had a '99C2 cab which was driven 7 days a week by my wife and I. My wife drives to work in NYC every day and we go out to the Hamptons almost every weekend (115 mi. one way). The only time she doesn't taken the car is when the weather is really bad, i.e., ice and snow. At the end of 3 years the '99 had 55k miles and had never once given us any problem, nor did it develop any rattles. I just traded it in for an '02 cab which we also drive every day. The Porsche is a great daily driver. I would recommend getting the hardtop (which is now a delete option which will save you $1500) if you plan to drive during the winter

Use my 996 - purchased in Oct, 98, as a daily driver except in snow since I have no snow tires. Goes to/from work every day, total distance of about 60 miles. Great car - no real problems; engine was just replaced under warranty for a rear main seal leak. A great car AND Great customer service! Can't beat that!

Speaking of great customer service, I have to agree whole-heartedly. The plastic of my radio power button started to peel from the heat, and when I brought it to the attention of the dealer they gave me a new radio at no charge.

I took delivery of my 01 C4 on October 23rd, 2000 and I now have 12,500 miles on it. As mentioned by someone I say ditto on driving my C4 as being the highlight of my day. In the rain it is awsome. I drive my Durango when the wind is blowing debris or when going anywhere there are grocery carts. Every morning the first thing my daughter ask me when I'm taking her to school is "Which Car", "but Daddy we are late and the Porsche will get us there faster". The only problem, is picking up two nails in the same tire, the first one 800 miles after I got the car. I replaced that tire and now use my original 18" Turbo wheels w/PZero's as my track set and a new set on 2002 OEM 5 spoke wheels with Continental Sportcontact 2's for my street tires. My 34 mile each drive allows me to get some nice speed spirts The Porsche Club here in Sac Valley has had some nice day and weekend trips and we get to Napa in the car monthly. I have mixed feelings on putting the miles on the car, however the alternative is look at it in the garage a lot and saying I only have 16,000 miles after 3 or 4 years so I get more money on a Resale. I'd rather drive the car and enjoy it. 2001 C4 Coupe FDR The pics on this site are six days after delivery of the car, pre 2002 5 Spoke wheels, SpeedLingerie Bra, winding tinting and more. Day 6 with FDR's C4 at Toscano Villa Winery

Ditto ... I tend to use mine on a daily basis in rainy OR/WA and it's fine. The hardtop really does make a big difference in the wet/cold and I'd definitely get one next time. (BTW: Unless you go to eBay a hard top costs a LOT more than $1500 if you change your mind later. Got mine, in the correct color and mint codition, for $700 About $4k otherwise I hear.) I have a 996 cab 2 which actually is fabulous in the rain, even with NW tramlines in the freeway. I thought about getting a C4 before I got this but now I'm not missing it... very impressed with the bad weather handling. As regards the durability of the car, well Porsche should be shamed over the quality of some of the interior, specifically the central storage bin cover which breaks REALLY easily. Otherwise the car is solid.

Funny you say that, out of my stable of cars ('99 Saab 9-5, '01 Audi A4, '88 928S4) my Porsche 928 was the only car I was able to load my wife's new Nordic Track elliptical into. Granted, it looked goofy going down the highway the trunk bungeed down with that big ole tail high in the sky, but hey, it got the machine home!. As my wife would say "only you" ...

I will be getting my first Porsche (02 996 C2) in March. I will be driving it everyday. I will probably not drive it when it snows, but in Seattle it doesn't snow much. I am glad to see other people drive their cars on a regular basis and not just leave them in the garage.

I also have a 2000 6-speed S4 with a GAIC chip. My wife has the 2000 6-speed C2. Both cars are used as every day drivers with no problems at all. Since we work at the same company, we do tend to commute in the S4 since I modified the sound system. Driving in the 911 during rush hour is a drag because that car needs to go fast plus it takes some effort (not much) to maintain RPMs above 3000. The 911 engine begins to hum under load if RPMs go below 3000. The S4 is more drivable. We tend to take the 911 out on weekends, especially if there are twisties. The S4 is taken for more long distance rides. Hope this helps.

Can't keep the smile off my face.... You'll wonder why you did not do it sooner! Good luck

I don't care much for garage queens, my 911 was a daily driver for 7 years, then sat for 4 years as a garage queen and is my weekend car now ('92 isuzu Trooper daily driver, soon to be 300ZX twinturbo). My friend's dad has a 2001 C2 coupe and it's his daily driver (traded his 2000 Lexus GS400 in for it), it's got Tech EFX exhaust and a few other mods i think. Either way, he says the 911s a blast, and if he ever needs to shoot down to Newport Beach for business he says it's an absolute joy and rapid/reliable transit.

even to Home Depot. get the cabriolet if you want to haul larger stuff (put the top down) had a commuter car (BMW Dinan 3) and found I was driving the Porsche everyday and the BMW Fridays to charge up the battery....sold that you only life once.....who cares about keeping the car in perfect condition for the next owner.....

Living in the San francisco its a beast to be driving ne car with a manual(rough on the clutch) but to no avail every morning when i wake up I take my 996 out to drive everyday. Also with how my garage is set up my three cars dont set up side by side but in line and my 996 being the farthest back(reason why my wife wants to get out first and the middle car(suv) cant fit in the back). Nothing drives like a Porsche. A ferrari maybe nice but cannot stand people staring at me. Hope that helps ya. Take care

It's my only car and it serves me well. I drive it everyday! You'd be amazed at how much stuff you can get into it!

You're kidding right? I drive mine pretty much daily (alternate with my X5), but I would definitely NOT consider it 'spacious' !! I have an upgraded hifi in mine, but even before I did that the space up front was pretty minimal in the 996. The back seats do hold something, although they are a bear to put anything in and out of. The one thing that they are singularly unable to do is hold people. Despite all of the above, it will hold a PC bag and at a push a carryon bag so that's enough for me. Graham