do other drivers treat you differently?

I just got my first Porsche, a pristine 2001 996 4S. It seems when I'm driving I get different (better, nicer) treatment from other drivers. Is there anything to this, or just my runaway imagination?

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I get both sides, some are extra nice some are extra not. Almost everyone no matter how crappy their car seems to "need" to get in front of me I find.

imagination. BTW, congrats and welcome

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thank you!

I find most other drivers treat me like crap...just like everybody else. Tailgaters, lane wandering (due to texting or yacking on the phone, playing Pokemon Go), the work trucks that stop behind me 2 inches off my bumper....blah blah. I drive defensively like everyone else is trying to kill me. I find no preferential treatment cuz I drive a Porsche...actually I think mostly the opposite. So you must live in a blessed area. I once thought about getting a bumper sticker that said "I am working too, just smarter than you A$$hole!" but thought better of it. Figured somebody would probably ram into me out of spite.

EXTRA CAUTION AND AWARENESS ALWAYS.

More people merge right for me on the highway in the left lane vs. my 08 350z. Fewer people try to beat me off the line with a pending lane merge. Defensive driving is an absolute must, even more so than with my other auto (light truck). These cars are so smooth and quick you can creep up on people without them knowing it, so I try to make sure there is a safety plan (extra lane or ready and enough room to brake without someone behind). I made an almost costly mistake early on with mine and have adjusted to be more conservative and defensive. All in all there's no question I get more reactions from drivers than in my old 350z. Mostly positive with the occasional nutjob.

Smile and the whole world smiles with you. I think that's how the song goes. New Porsche = big smile. People are just picking up on your positive vibes. That's my story and I am sticking with it! Enjoy the new car...T

I get a lot of looks but no-one lets me over, everyone including guys in mini-vans try to get me to race. The only conversations I have are "how fast have you taken it, and what year is that?" People park next to me even though the rest of the parking lot is empty and I'm a mile away from the door... I get much better treatment in my classic "patina" 65' F100 truck. People let me over, take pictures of it, strike up conversations about how their grandpappy had one.. They don't care that the paint is crap, and that it smells like raw fuel... I am pretty sure people assume Porsche drivers are dicks...

Women toss their ***** out for me.....

I want to go for a ride with Sneaky Pete!

I get thumbs up - and a bunch of kids with everything pull up and egg me on to my racing roots ( even if only go a few feet ) to show Yeah it's a real deal - it's good to feel alive -also to drive what I work so hard for- we are only here for a short time!

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So true. This is the fastest car I've ever owned. I learned quickly when you floor it to overtake someone, their rear bumper gets closer to the front of your car MUCH faster than I'd expected.

Congrats on your purchase. These are fun cars. I don't notice too much from other drivers, or maybe I've gotten used to it. Which part of the world do you call home? There was no 2001 C4S in the US market, so I'm assuming you're in Europe.

The C4S is a Rockstar. You can "not" get noticed. Mostly positive feedback but there will always be the idiot that has to tangle with a "fast" car to prove they are not threatened. Then there are the crap cars that want to race you to say the "raced a Porsche". I found that barking the PSE thrills the kids and keeps the idiots back from even thinking about it. Just rise above that crap and keep it classy. After 30 years of 911 ownership, it's always been this way.

In my 997 c4s it was fine, but with my AMG GT S oh the craziest ****, no merging, tailgaters and ....parking. This ******* way away from any cars on empty street parked his dented old POS 1 &1/2 inches from my front end. I caught some other ******* doing it the other day, maybe like a foot or so. He was with his family in a minivan so I just let it go (perhaps would have asked why park like that is all) as the car behind me had just left so I could back out. On the other hand I get friendly people asking me about it a lot, which I don't mind at all. One lady asked me about it while I was parked and she walked by....and it turned out I knew her son from high school (after we chatted for a few minutes)

In the 99' C2... not really. In the 04' TT... there's definitely a difference in attitude how people drive around it. The average age where I live is 67 friggin years old, so when I park in the back of a parking lot believe me nobody else is parking back there.

Yeah, I think most other drivers assume Porsche owners are just a**holes, at least in my local, sorta rural home area. Different story in and around Nashville where folks are used to it, a 911 isn't a great big deal here. Locals known to me will give the old "ya can't hide money!" callout, but I just tell 'em I paid half of what they paid for their late model Silverado pickup. Do get some puzzled looks..

Not at all, good or bad. Nobody notices either 911 nor does anyone car. No different treatment between them and my e46 bmw

One of my first drives I got a thumbs up from a guy driving a Jaguar XK120.

I live in the muscle car epicenter of the south and that means everybody wants to race me so that they can give high fives to their friends in the passenger seats. I guess it gives them a high if they think they've "won against a Porsche" even though I didn't want to race. In comparison to my other sports cars, I get a lot more gawkers, but very few people wanting to come up and strike up a conversation. My old 1984 GMC Sierra got people coming out of the woodwork wanting to share their stories. Guess people in the south can't relate to Porsches like they do old pickup trucks, but they still respect them. I get a lot of horn honking and thumbs up, but what I just don't get is the people in the beat up miniVans and subcompacts wanting to keep up with me on the interstate highways. You can tell they're pushing their cars beyond the safety threshold and so I usually back off to keep them alive. Watching them cheer inside their car in a counterfeit victory makes me laugh and roll my eyes, but what can you do? The next one is just down the road. We all want to go home safe at night.

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Totally relate. I drive a new Power Wagon as my daily driver and everyone is friendly and wants to ask about it in the parking lots. People tend to be standoffish with the 911 but always look and point. When I see someone taking a hard look in the parking lots at it, I strike up a friendly conversation and it puts them at ease to come over and check it out.

Oh, I forgot to mention driving the AMG about 80km/hour on the highway, traffic stopped other direction due to rush hour, (at this point I've had the car for 7 days).... somebody threw a hard boiled egg at my car like roger Clemens. It scared the **** out of me, it hit the upper portion of the front left quarter panel just to the left of the hood and travelled up to my windshield. I thought I hit a bird it was so violent My drivers window was mostly down, it would have probably caused me to die in a crash if it had been aimed a bit higher, would've hit my face. I took the car directly to a very good detailer and I was shocked that it hit so hard it damaged the expel.

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That is criminal. I had a stupid kid throw a rock at my 911 in the early 90's. It dented the front fender. Never could get the guard red paint to match perfectly after 6 different times at our areas best body shop. I was sick because it was my first 911 and was my pride and joy.

More thumbs up than anything else, however, still have the idiots that pull up to my bumper at stop lights.

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It balances out. Most don't care or know or pay attention. But a few do. Some love the car and some hate it or hate what they think it stands for. "Proves Only Rich Suckers Can Have Everything." I work hard, sometimes long hours, and save just as hard and can afford nice Porsches. But I don't have TV thus no big monthly cable TV or satellite TV bills or big smart phone bills or other expensive habits or hobbies. I get thumbs up and the occasional rude comment. "Nice Volkswagon." is one. I like to tell them its my 3rd one... As for special treatment: Frankly, I don't like it when I am at say a 3 or 4 way stop and another driver wants to let me go out of turn. I prefer to take my turn, am prepared to take my turn, want to take my turn. It is the break in the traffic flow, the rhythm that I worry will cause another driver to pull and hit my car or get in my way.

I suppose the reactions are different depending on where you live. In the Milwaukee area it's about 90% bad and 10% good. Semis, trucks, pissed off men driving minivans all trying to run you off the road or take any opportunity to kill you. It is so out of hand I won't drive the kids around outside of my town. My wife calls it the road rage magnet. And yeah, it pisses me off. I work my *** off for my toys. I could care less what others think, but for some reason they think I'm a dick and deserve to die. (Full disclosure, that might be true, but not when I drive my baby around.). I challenge anyone on this forum to place a big Trump bumper sticker in their 911. Share the results please. Or maybe place it on the rubber curtain under the spoiler allowing you to open it up at the right time.

I've had my 996 cabriolet for 2 years, and what really stands out to me is that, when on the highway on longer trips, people seem to want to race. That never happens in my other car.

I've had other drivers literally shout at me for not driving aggressively enough (I'm more defensive with this than I was with my E46 or the Mini). I don't understand, I drive a Porsche in the Bay Area and people are yelling at me for not being /enough/ of an *******? The weird one is when acquaintances or coworkers who I'm not super close with find out what car I drive and are like "wtf dude you have a Porsche?" (typically following small talk questions about hobbies or what I spent last weekend doing). I hate that reaction, so I've started going out of my way to not mention what I drive. Car guys and people that know me are different, since I've been talking about getting a car like this since I was 5.

Definitely. Sold my Boxster a couple of Months ago and bought a 2002 C4 cab, and suddenly everyone in a 1995 or later Lexus/Honda Etc... wants to race. I usually deliberately slow down (I'll drive fast on my own terms thanks). On the plus side, lots of side-eye admiration as well; only the kids will point and stare.

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No. Yes.

Just don't call in sick to work and drive around town. People will notice your car.

In my community, I am car shamed daily for driving a 911. Mostly by all the Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren owners...

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The proper comeback then is to the Ferrari driver: "Nice Fiat.". To the Lamborghini driver: "Nice tractor." And to the McLaren driver: "Adopt me!"

The weird thing for me is I get excited when I see other Porsche drivers and I'm not driving mine. Even the basic ones without all the bells and whistles. The other drivers probably think I'm a wanna-be fanatic drooling out the window. I mean it's to a point where I get so excited then pause for a moment, and have to remind myself that I have one of those sitting in the garage. LOL

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Funny! There are a few 918's rolling around here. I might hold out for a nicer family!

I think the vast majority of people don't know the differences between the various 911s. I get people asking if my 99 C2 is new sometimes. Beyond that most people seem to stare at it no matter what because hey, it's a 911.

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I found this to be true anywhere I go in various 911's. The general public has no idea or even cares that much between which 911 is what. Its a 911.

Congrats on the new ride. I have gotten used to the F150s and Mustangs that all want to "race," and the ricers that blow by at 200 db.

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Ha! 200 db Ricers! I know what you mean. I'm so tempted to buy a radar gun and turn it on when they fly by with those horrible sounding exhaust systems. There is just something wrong about the sound of a modified exhaust on a 4-cylinder Honda Civic. Bout like the sound of a room full of cats fighting over one can of tuna.

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Have you ever done business with this place? http://grantseuropeancarcare.com/

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You live in a different world than I do. Never once had an F150 or Mustang challenge me to a race.

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Funny thing you should mention this shop. It's just 20 minutes north of my house and my BMW gear head friend told me Charlie Grant was known locally to be an expert on Porsches, but I wonder if he just fools with the older air cooled models or if he has extensive knowledge/experience with the 996 and later. Do you know?

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Yes, he changed out my IMS, RMS and AOS on my 04 996. I live in Greenville SC and he's worth the drive for me. Also is at most of our PCA meetings. Great guy, he knows what he's doing. Go see him sometimes, You'll be pleased.

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Thanks Dennis! What IMS bearing did he use... LN or OEM??? I appreciate your advice.

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LN

Jokes on them they are 25k cars.

I live in a land of super cars. Most 16 year old kids are driving $500,000 plus cars. My C4S never gets noticed. Only once when I was on the east side of the city a couple of young guys were crossing the cross walk and were giving me the thumbs up. Porsche's are a dime a dozen here. I may as well be driving a civic...

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DeMann, you have my curiosity, where is this "land of supercars"???

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Says Vancouver under his name.

Vancouver , Canada. We are completely overrun with rich Chinese Mainlanders. Here in Vancouver when you first get your drivers license you have to have an "N" sticker on your car for the first year you have your drivers license. I've lost count of how many Lambos, Ferrari's McLaren's etc that have an N sticker on them. Usually teenagers or UBC kids. Sickening to be honest. As for Porsche's, I see about as many of them as I do a basic BMW or even high end Toyota. It's ridiculous I read an article that Vancouver has more super cars per capita than any other place in the world.

Sure, you can. Just park in/drive through a parking lot frequented by lots of people who drive Crown Victorias, Buick LeSabres or exceptionally tall Dodge Rams. Amazing how many of them will back into your path/turn in front of you. I had three near misses within 90 seconds last week: A new record. One I hope never to exceed. All while traveling at 5mph, or less.

N, for 'nitwit' ? I'd like to see a similar system in any town frequented by retirees, with a cautionary 'F'. For ' Fossil driver'.

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New/nitwit Yup, pretty much!

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Wow, that's crazy, but not surprising giving the fact that most of the worlds wealth is being dumped on their country.

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and...they comback on us: "Nice Beetle"

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Bit of an overt simplication...Vancouver has always had lots of high end cars. For example, I see the odd SLS and AMG GT S rolling around here and none have an "N" (new driver program sticker affixed). And sometimes we tend to chat at stoplights, etc.... And they've been Caucasian! "As for Porsche's, I see about as many of them as I do a basic BMW or even high end Toyota. It's ridiculous' Oh the horror lol. I see them all day long, BFD, best to focus on making your goals happen yourself and not give 2 ****s about what other people have That's always been my approach to being successful. Why would you care if you see a lot of Porsches?

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Ouch Mr Grumpy Pants...

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I live down the road from "CUDA" and I find trucks in general are more aggressive around my 911. More than once has a mustang raced-revved loudly by me. In a mini-cooper(I had two) everybody from teenage tammy to grandma would pull right out in front of me. No one pulls out in front of the Harley. Most people like the Silverado much better than the 911. The first two vehicles that pulled up besides the 911 and wanted to race was a UPS big brown truck and 2nd, was a smart car on I-5. go figure...

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X2 I would suspect that person isnt a active PCA member because most are greatly interested in the Porsche brand and are thrilled to meet others that share in the Porsche sickness.

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I don't really care. I was just responding to the thread about "do other drivers treat you differently" and explaining why in Vancouver Porsche's go unnoticed and the reason why they go unnoticed.

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From NYT: This has become the norm in several areas of the US too but just not in great numbers as some others. With some of the instant or overnight wealth of some Chinese, they really don't hold back and tend to splurge like they are going to die tomorrow or something. Parents literally send over thousands of dollars so their kids can feel good about going to American colleges over here. The other day I seen a Middle East "Kid" driving a souped up Panamera doing 120mph. He had "diplomatic" plates too. Most of these kids are spoiled and don't really know what reality is. Take this guy for example: He said the reason why he bought the Ferrari California model is because he lives in California and thought it sounded "romantic". LOL OMFG Skip to 39seconds: Chinese Kids Driving Supercars: Inside the Secret Southern California Meet-up - YouTube

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True enough, I didn't mean to step on your toes :-) (And yes there are many many 911s here in Vancouver, although I've only seen one 991 gt3 rs (a couple times, once at the salmon house on the hill) On my daily drive I see a white 991 gt3 parked beside a grey 997 gt3 in a carport, both get driven often which is cool. Driving over lions gate bridge, its easy to count 4 or 5 911s on a 10 minute trip Have a nice day :-)