996 as a highway cruising company car?

Hey y'all... I'm normally over in the 944/951/968 forums, but I am giving some consideration to picking up a 996/997 or Cayman for my company car and am looking for advice/suggestions. I drive cross country on a very regular basis and figure if I am going to do it, I might as well drive something I like. I have a bad back/neck from a car accident back in 2001 and find that the seats in most car/trucks hurt me, whereas the seats in my Porsches support me well (hence the idea...). I'm already burning up a Chev Impala once every two years, so I figure a lower mileage 996 isn't going to cost me more than a new Impala, relatively speaking. I would expect I would see 35 to 40k per year. I am hoping to get 20k per set of tires, and am hoping I can see 25mpg or better on the highway. I am thinking a 2003 or newer base 911 would be the ticket due to lighter weight, altho the C4S might be nice for the all wheel drive (the car will be driven in all kinds of weather, altho I will also have my 4x4 Colorado for bad weather travel). I have scared myself silly reading about all the IMS failures, but am fairly convinced that its more internet scare than imminent failure for all 996s, especially at this point in the life cycle of these cars. Any other "gotchas" I should be worried about (RMS doesn't phase me, if it leaks I will replace it, no biggie). Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions? Regards,

It's a great idea - I think you'll love it. If it snows out your way, you'll need some sound advice re snow tires. Also, take a DE or 2 to get familiar with how these incredible machines move - wouldn't want the rear engine to break loose on you going around a turn. Candidly, I think the early 996s should be in your consideration set too. It isn't at all as risky as a 944 or 951 from their early years. And, those weren't that risky, if you knew what you were getting into. You know the drill - it's an older performance car. It may cost you, and there may be some risk. But, I'd do it. Good luck. Bob

Better budget for speeding tickets

C4S with snow tires for the winter Well... ok, maybe just a C4. Kinda hard to justify the bigger engine on for a company car, huh?

I don't think you'll get 20K out of the tires.

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I'm lucky if I get 9K out of a set of rears.

Of course ya'll only get 9k out of your tires, you use soft tires and drive the crap out of 'em. Get a 50,000 mile all-season, and it'll last longer

Winter tires are more important than whether it is a C2 or a C4., although i love my C4. The summer/high performance tires just don't work in cold weather (below freezing) and in ice and snow, The rubber compound gets hard as a rock. 25K on a set of tires is expecting alot, especially on the rears, although with primarily highway miles you may get more. 25 MPG is about the most I have ever gotten on my 2000 C4, and that is cruising on the highway, but I can get that even cruising at 80+. Around down low teens at best. I think the newer cars get a little better mileage. You will love it as a highway cruiser, although it is not a luxury car/ride, and has some noise.

These cars do not like to cruise under 80 MPH.

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Okay, I'll concede that point if you can find me a set of all season tires with the appropriate speed rating that has been approved by Porsche. <crickets chirping> I didn't think so. ...and no, I don't "drive the crap out of them". I do 4500 miles of regular street driving per year. I'd hardly call that driving the crap out of them.

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the most I've gotten is 15k miles but the tire lost sudden pressure due to massive cording so it is safe to say that 11k miles is a good barometer for these tires

Like the others have said, I don't believe you will be able to achieve 20k/yr on tires. I'd say an average of 11k...15k at the most. As for mileage, 25mpg is very possible, infact, you might be able to achieve better numbers on long cruises. I get about 22-24 on mixed driving, and it's a Tip. Long distance comfort won't be a problem at all, the only thing I can think of is that the seating and interior is so snug that you might find yourself yearning for some stretching room after several hours. But of course, if you want sports you can't compare with luxury cruising, like say in a BMW 5 or 7series.

Don't get the Porsche for both business trips and pleasure.......find a used Toyota Camry or Honda Accord for the business travel....and get a Porsche you can afford for the pleasure....think about it? doesn't everyman need 2 women in his life? one for taking care of routine, domestic responsibilities and then that blonde cheerleader type with big *****......well...you get the picture?

^^^ Yeah, but you are lowering your standards! He wants blondes with big ***** and rears, both at home AND at work! I say GO for it! Double Pleasure, Double Happiness!

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+1 You don't need to get as an agressive alignment which will save tire wear. In addition get Sumitomos HRZ III which will only cost you $600 per set. They are super quiet.

Thanks for the advice! Sounds like I need to lower my expectations on tires but thats easy enough to live with. No one is saying anything that is deterring me so far. I just took a trip KC-Vegas-KC in my 951 two weeks ago, and then drove KC-Portmouth NH-KC in my '84 944 last week and was perfectly comfortable in both (both have sport seats). The only real complaint I have in either was road noise, and quite frankly, while both cars are dead reliable and a blast to drive, the prospect of 20+ year old electrical components failing is a very real concern and one that I don't want to have to bother with while working. For the record, I also have an '84 944 and my wifes '82 928 in addition to the cars listed in my sig, so I am no stranger to the marquee. As for the "get a Camry" comment... meh. I already have a 2008 Colorado Z-71 and a 2008 Impala LTZ if I wanted to go that route. I haven't taken a long trip in anything thats been more comfortable than my 944/951/968 (all three get driven to either coast on a regular basis), but figured for work, why not get a newer Porsche and run the wheels off it? For fun, I doubt I will find anything that inspires me more than my 951 (light car with 350rwhp and suspension mods), unless I went to a 996TT and thats not in the budget for a company car.

I thought about it and ended up getting a 09 Audi A4 and really like it Plus I get to keep my toy more aggressive than something that I'd like to drive for 5 hours on a highway. If it's a company car I would recommend being careful in what you present to customers/clients. In this day it's always good to look sensible in what you have. Not everyone understands cost of ownership of a Porsche and they might take it the wrong way.

911 over cayman, the little extra room will really pay off if you are planning to drive it that much. Then just install a jammer/detector since the more miles you drive the higher the chance of meeting the local sheriff becomes. lastly, the 911 is amazing in snow, I would rather drive mine than the SUV and I have a C2. C4 must be better !

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That's it, your Porsche license will have to be revoked now, terribly sorry. Also, if you don't ever drive 170mph, do you really need 170mph tires?

Go for it. Getting a 996 daily driver was one of the best things I ever did!

Yes, it would be a great daily driver.

daily is great... just keep the suspension stock... and get good tires... tires are the key to comfort...

Driven a 99 C2 in Canada for 3 years year round. Get a set of winters if you need to, summers don't cut it at all below freezing. Only conditions that beat me are when the snow is deeper than the ground clearance. C4 does steer better in snow, C2 front can float in very low traction as there is no weight transfer to load the front wheels. C4 has all that extra weight right there. Haven't tried a bag of sand in the front though

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+1

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Good point about prospect/customer's perception of what you drive....people like to buy from people they can identify with...sales 101....

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Thanks, and one more point.....Never get a nicer car than your boss...... Continual Employment 201....."Don't be noticed, and other ways to survive this economy."

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yes and no. No, you don't need them for the speed, but the softer compound and enhanced grip are always good to have when throwing the car around corners at speed. You can never have too much grip. On my last set of tires I downgraded from Y rated tires to W rated tires in the hope of getting more treadwear (340 vs 220) and in the end it made no difference to the life of the tires, so it's better to go with the higher speed rating even if the only thing you get is traction.

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Absolutely. My father owned his own business for 30 years and got nothing but grief over the cars he drove. He made a point of never taking his nice cars out on business, but got grief from the people who knew him who would make snide comments about him making too much money. He retired and sold his business last year to a guy that owns a 997S - the first thing my father told him when he showed up to the store driving the car was to never, even take it out on customer calls if he wanted to have loyal customers. Not enough can be said about empathy in sales. Drive an expensive car and at the very least it generates envy and at worst it generates anger. People never understand that those that own businesses deserve to reap the benefits of the hard work, risk and sacrifices that they make. I'm sure if the shoe were on the other foot they would hate to be picked on for their financial choices.

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Having made three coast to coast trips in a 996, a '99 first and then our '01 C4 twice I would not recommend it. I would suggest instead a Lexus LS4X0. Now, were my distance driving on the Autobahn..... Not that the 996 was uncomfortable just that's it REALLY hard to drive it slow enough to avoid..... Even our '01 F/awd RX300 runs on nice and quiet and comfortably riding summer use only tires all year 'round but a set of tire chains at the "ready", two sets during the winter months. Winter specialty tires do not offer much of an advantage on ice or parked snow.

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I'll be lucky to get 9K out of my car, period. What else would you expect me to post on a 996 DD thread??

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Now you can only dream about driving 9K in your C4S.

Drove an 02 C4S all winter in Canada. Can't beat the traction with snows as long as snow not too deep. Ave mileage is 25 pg. Not sure on tire wear yet. I've put 14k miles on summers and winters combined and both sets have lots of life left. Stock suspension on this car is pretty stiff. On bad roads it's quite jarring. You might want to consider this if you are going to do lots of miles. I'll put 18k miles on per year but I have another P car to break things up a bit. I love driving it every day and subject to my suspension caveat think you should do it.

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Phil, I think you car is worth more than $9K. In fact, I'll give you $11K for it right now! Oh, wait.... you were talking about mileage....... 9K miles on your car???? No way.... unless you intend to live to be 98 years old.

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Phil, I think you car is worth more than $9K. In fact, I'll give you $11K for it right now! Oh, wait.... you were talking about mileage....... 9K miles on your car???? No way.... unless you intend to live to be 98 years old.

Unless you're running guns or drugs you should fly to all these destinations and buy the 996 to enjoy during the countless hours of free time you'll have since you won't be driving 8 hrs/day. Why would you do that on purpose? BTW, I got about 19K miles out of my Conti rears and the fronts are only half done. I drive mine fairly aggressively.

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So instead of driving a Porsche all over the country, he should fly all over the country and with all of the time he saves he can...drive his Porsche? I say get the car and drive the wheels off it.

Driving because you have to is far less pleasant than driving because you want to. But, if the OP has to drive these ridiculous distances I have to agree with the Lexus idea. Bulletproof reliability and quiet comfort have got to be big considerations here. Then there's the luggage issue. The 996 trunk is functional for a long weekend, not a week on the road.