My 996 going into DD mode at 55k...

Hey fellas, well I put a feeler out on my '03 Eurovan Westfalia and got an offer that I can't refuse. I hate to part with her (great DD and occasional camper) but can always do something else in the future. So that means time to saddle up with ol' Silber for a few months probably, until I decide what to do next in terms of family van. (I wish VW would sell the T5 here.) The car drives great with 55k miles right now, and I feel like she'll have no problem putting on some miles. Actually it's fun to drive 'er everyday, the only problem is finding a parking place away from the giant SUVs.... She's got fresh oil, looks dry everywhere I can see, and I even enjoy driving her in a little rain. I feel a little trepidation about this, but I was thinking about my brother-in-law back in the early '80s drove his 911SC everyday. I think it was a lot more common back then before everyone had multiple cars. I still remember helping him clean his coco mats, washing the hood, and then reinstalling the bra on the front -- ah the good ol' days! Appreciate any other suggestions at this point, things to double-check, etc?

Have fun with it!

Naa, I drive 50 miles a day in mine. Haven't even washed it in a month. No problems.

Just drive it, and enjoy!

My safety blanket (an '06 Passat) is heading back to the dealer at the end of its lease in March. So I'm transitioning to using the P-car as my full DD as well. Drove through rain showers the other day for the first time in at least 10k miles (PO only drove it on nice days and was garage kept), and it was fine. Too bad I had just washed it on the weekend (still haven't done the full Zaino detailing yet). I find myself searching for longer and longer ways to drive home so I can enjoy more miles. Have fun!

I've used my 996 as a DD for the last 3.5 years. 76k miles now and no problems. You might as well enjoy a car you spent money on.

MF, go daily drive it and don't look back! i didnt originally buy mine with DD intentions... but it surely became my daily with well over 30k miles driven in the past year (i'm close to 80k on the odometer now). been really thinking about replacing Infiniti FX35 with a compact truck or just getting rid of it.

Enjoy driving it the long way home.

I have an '02 Eurovan, and while they're great vehicles, I'm much happier driving the 996 daily. I think you will be too!

what alot of people do not realize is that the 996 was designed by porsche to be a daily driver and not garage queens. the 996's and 997's will not retain their values such as the earlier 911's. i think that you will do yourself and the car a diservice if yo do not drive them regularly. compared to other european automobiles i.e ferr.., lambo...maser....ect., these car are relatively economical to maintain, so why will you not want to drive them...just my $0.02 worth.

I daily drive the **** out of my car. Besides, it's better for this engine to get driven often; hell, better for any non-insane engine.

At around 700 miles/year, mine will hit 55K miles in 73 years. I promise that when that milestone is reached, I will make it my DD.

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Ha ha, now that's funny, lol. Thanks all you guys for the encouragement. I do always exercise it at least once a week, and it's always great fun. This might also give me the motivation to do finally some other little mods. (Hope wifey doesn't read this, ha.) It's nice that the 996 is really smooth at low rpm's as I'll be spending a bit of time on the wonderful 405 freeway rush hour. I'll try not to let the motor lug too much, and I'll speak German to her every day "Gute Porsche."

Drive it like you stole it, I say! What or who are you saving it for? You paid, you are taking the deprectiation. GO FOR IT! My '99 C2 coupe is almost a DD. I certainly drove a heck of a lot more last summer when gas was $4.50, because it uses half as much premium as my JEEP Grand Cherokee Limited with HEMI uses mid-grade.

These cars run better when driven daily. My car runs better in the summer when I drive it more than the winter time. BTW, it rains, snows and sleets in Stuggart.

I don't use my 996 as a daily driver because a) my commute was only a few miles, b) I worked in the auto industry and was forced to park in an unfriendly area, and c) snow removal in Michigan is non existent (and road salt is real bad). BUT, if these issues were removed, I would love to use my 996 as a DD. I drove my 944 turbo year round in Chicago - and loved "almost" every minute!

Uhhhhh.. my car is in DD mode and it has over 123,000 miles on it.. still doesn't burn or drip ANY oil in between changes.

2 things will happen.... You will arrive to work with a smile EVERYDAY & You will really be ready to hit the road when work is done... its kind of like dessert for work ! ! Its a car, do your best to keep it safe, but if it gets a ding,rock chip or shows some wear, fix it..... my .02

I drive my car on weekends, in Autocrosses and DE's. On occasion I drive my car to work (36 miles each way). I tend to do it more in the warmer months. Over all, I think I'm pretty average on the mileage I put on (around 7K a year).

I drive mine to work a lot more than I used to. Especially as the values fell, I asked myself, "If you bought a new Audi A4 or a (...name a U.S. vehicle in the $40k range...), would you drive them?" Just a car. In fact, based on its heritage, it should be a dependable, well handling, safe, enjoyable car to drive. Not disposable like my '02 Ford Ranger, but still fine. I do drive the Ranger when I think it may be in an area where it's more likely to get damaged. I put a cotton cover on it when it just sits out in the sun all day while I'm in the office (I'm a lot less worried about rain). In the Seattle area, I just work from home if it's snowing. So, when you think of the cars you could be driving for what your 996 is worth, seems like a good time to use it. It's not as if there were only 150 of them made & parts are rare.

I've got SoCal weather and a short (8 miles each way) commute so it's pretty easy. Mine's a 2000 which I got in 2004 with 25k miles. It's got 55k now and runs great! You'll love it that much more!

Congratulations Dave! You will now join me as an owner of a daily driver 996 (rather than occasional driver). (Guys, Dave lives five houses down the street from me and knows that I practically live in my 996).

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+1 A few years back, my wife, kids, and I were visiting family in Germany, and we went sledding in the Black Forest. The 1 km long road into the parking lot was snow and ice covered, and everybody was getting stuck just before the parking lot. There was a communal spirit about helping push each other through the bad spot. As we were headed to the sledding hill, a 2004 C4S pulled up and parked after traversing the nasty spot with no problem. It had a roof rack with a two-man toboggan on top. As the driver and his young daughter exited the car, I went over and congratulated him on his driving skill. It turns out he was a Porsche AG employee from Stuttgart and said, in perfect English, "It's my daily driver. It's the most practical car I've ever owned."

Dave, The eventual 996 I buy will be a DD. I have my old Scout for the really bad days. One of my co-workers has a 99 C4 and is about to hit 100K. He bought it with about 30K a few years ago. He drives it everywhere and commutes with it. Which helped me decide that I could DD a Porsche. Everything I seem to read indicates starting with the 996 you have a real DD friendly Porsche. So instead of dreading going to work you can get excited about getting behind the wheel, then all day you can look forward to your drive home. Jay

I am driving my C4S through one of the worst Cdn winters that I can remember. It is without a doubt the best winter car I've ever owned. I drive it every day and the more I drive it, the better it seems to run. I got it in July and am the 2nd owner. Mileage is about 28k and I've put 9k of it on since July. Doesn't use any oil and has been completely trouble free. I got a good deal on it and intend to replace it some day with another used C4S as a DD. Not for many years to come though.

Mine is a DD in the summer (I live in NY and the weather is about freezing now with a snow mix for tomorrow!). But the car was a relative garage queen before. Last summer it worked great. No problems. My 99 has only 27K now. The only thing I would check out are the coils to make sure there are no cracks.

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Hey Scott.... So I'm driving my boy to school this morning at about 830am, and it starts to HAIL -- like hail of the large *****-of-ice variety! It was a lot of hail, getting heavier, and louder, and slamming the car.... I was like Holy Hailstorm, Batman -- my car's going to be covered in pock marks! Of course other cars were sliding on the ice, almost crashing into me. It finally let up and after driving for 5 minutes I pulled over to survey the damage. Luckily, no damage, the hail was small enough no damage. That was close, wow.

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Hey Jay, that sounds great. I remember some of the excellent mods you were doing on the B5, so I'm sure you'll enjoy enhancing your 996 even more!

Yeah I'm looking forward to it, you should see my UrS4, and you can see the other cars I've gone through...sigh. http://www.rmcb5.com/forums/member-r...nd-%2792-urs4/ Sorry to hear about the hail storm, glad the car made it without any damage. Back to searching and researching!

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Wow, that's stunning, 17 years old and 23lbs of boost, nice. You'll fit right in here.

Are the roofs on the 996 coupes aluminum..it dents VERY easily...I'd watch those hail reports?

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All I can tell you is I was "pooping masonry" for about 5 minutes as I sat inside the car. I don't believe the roof is aluminum, but the front hood is pretty thin, which is why folks buy those trunk liners. The hail was really pea-size, so I guess small enough not to hurt anything.