Daily driving a 996 or (997)

I�m looking a new daily driver and I can�t afford two cars! So I was thinking about daily driving a 996. But I drive a lot for work, about 30000 miles a year. The car is reliable but tire wear etc is what I�m concerned about, is this just a ridiculous idea?

If you can afford the maintenance then it's a wonderful idea. Life is too short to drive boring cars

DD'ing a car, ANY car that is 20+ years old 30K miles/year is a terrible idea. You can't afford 2 cars so you pick one that is super old and has a $25K engine with a couple major failure points and you're concerned with tire wear...hahaha, yeah, that should be about 36th on the list of things you're concerned about.

Tire wear wouldn't even be on my radar if you're driving 30,000 a year. In 3 years you'll have gone through the life expectancy of all the suspension parts, in 4 years you'll have driven more miles than most 996's ever made it to. I do agree that driving the engine is better than letting it sit, but that's still a lot of expensive oil changes. For 996 C2 money a better daily driver would just be a current Civic Si. Everything's affordable, you'll handily avoid that car's Achilles heel by driving it a lot, and it's still damn fun when the road gets twisty.

How often can you afford one car?

I have to agree with Zbomb. 30k/yr is a lot on a 'sports/performance' car. Maintenance and down time, how can you afford not to have a second car IMO. Beater Honda & a 911 better idea....

I daily drive my 01/98 Carrera 2. Bought it Dec 19 '21 at 96,000 miles and it currently sits at 134,000. It is the only car I own. Drove it across the country 8 months ago. Philly > Bluffton SC > Hermosa Beach CA. Didn't skip a beat. I've replaced a lot on it. Serp belt, AOS, AC condenser x2, coolant flush, water pump, oil pan sealant, oil changes every 3-5k, spark plugs (twice), coils (twice), MAF (twice), x4 O2 sensors, ICV (used), brakes on all four corners (twice), tires (once), AC recharge, exhaust clamps x2, etc....but other than that its just been normal stuff (knock on wood). I do all the work on it myself and buy my parts thru FCP Euro for their lifetime guarantee. The car is not that hard to work on if you have a history of working on cars. I did my AOS in about an hour and a half. You don't need to do 75% of what people tell you that you need to do in order to change it. Most people don't understand these cars are reliable. Most of the owners are just stupid, basically. Edit - if you're that worried, find an old e36 or e46 325i on a private sale and use it as a daily. Easy $3k and peace of mind. Then sell the bimmer when you realize your 996 is fine as a daily (because it is). Edit x2 - golden rules are to take it up to operating temp (and not just coolant - drive an extra 10 or so mins to get oil up to temp too), drive it correctly but hard (don't be afraid to wind it out), and change. your. oil. I personally think DT is crap and use LM synthoil prem 5w-40. I put a can of that MSo2 sh*t in it once with the lifter additive and honestly it did quiet it down a bit. Might be worth a shot if you want to try with your future 911. Whatever you end up doing, buy a 996 on a private sale directly from the owner, with a clean title, and in a manual. Judge the owner as a person. It has been one of the best cars (if not the best) I have ever owned and it has only left me stranded once (and it was my fault).

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If you had to do all of that in 38,000 miles, that is NOT a vote of confidence for daily driving this car.

I appreciate the replies, I did drive a 997 and it felt cramped for me, I’m not sure it would be something I’d like to daily. so my options have changed to either an s550 or a Panamera turbo. my thought the S550 will be special when I look at it, but is a great cruiser which I think might be better for daily driving. the Ana era is fast but not special to me, I always wanted a 911 so why buy a Panamera? It’s like an “almost.. I haven’t decided yet, but I did drive a Panamera, and they are damn fast, but twitchy.

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isn�t the reputation of Porsche as a car that lasts for a long time? I remember seeing a video with a 250000 mile Carrera and it only lost like 5 hp, and was original.

Yeah... @hkovalcik seems like the guy to listen to... his car run's great. Doesn't seem like you'll have any issues driving it 30K/year if you get one if you follow his lead. You'll never miss a day of work cause the car is down. Thank goodness we have people here as smart as him to point you in the right direction. The rest of us... dumb... super dumb.

I daily drive my GT3 and have been doing it for 17 years now and 152,000 miles. You will be dead a long time, so don't leave with regrets. Just make sure you have standby transportation when you need it.

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I thought Porsches were meant to be used like this? it looks like he got a neglected example

I'm genuinely curious to know how the AOS was changed in an hour and a half with only doing 25% of what others do?

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Why?

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How to win friends and influence ....

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My experience is biased, but I think still relevant on this subject. I did exactly what you are discussing First911soon, and did everything you shouldn�t do when buying a 996. I bought the lowest priced high mileage (105K) C4S with a clean title in the country at the time without a PPI or even a test drive. Flew in and drove 600 miles home. I don�t recommend repeating my decisions, but I got lucky and found a good car that only needed a front strut mount and oil pressure sender. It came with a complete service history from new. But my intention for the car was always long term ownership. If you don�t have the time or ability to turn wrenches yourself, the cost of ownership will be steep. I�m the only person to work on my car other than a few alignments. The car was my DD for 4 years and 110K miles, and never left me stranded during that time. I don�t keep track of what I have spent on maintenance, but I would guess that in the past 8 years and 135K+ miles it�s probably cost me 12K in parts, 30 oil changes, and 3 trans/diff oil changes, plus all the other routine maintenance. Now at 240K+ miles it�s still running FANTASTIC on the original: motor, IMS bearing, transmission, and front differential. The Panamera Turbo is also a good car in my experience, but its part costs are even higher and it�s a bit more of a PITA to work on depending on the repairs. It�s been my DD now for the past 4 years and 105K miles, 200K+ total on car and it�s also never left me stranded either. Totally different experience than the 996, but not having to drive the 996 everyday made me appreciate/enjoy driving way more when I do now. Both cars you�re considering can be extremely dependable if maintained and driven �appropriately�.

The real question is "why would you not want to daily drive a 996 or 997?". I've been daily driving my 996 since 2019 and now switch back and forth daily driving either the 996 or my 997. I have winter tires for the 996 when it becomes necessary and have never needed a battery tender as both get regularly exercised throughout the year. I keep up with all required maintenance and drive them as they were meant to be driven.

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The answer is - because you plan to put 30K miles/year and can�t afford to have a backup vehicle. Pretty simple.

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Concur with these two statements...

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OP - zbomb, in his own unique and touchy-feely way, is right. 20 year old sports cars are not what I’d want to depend on if my job is on the line and I need to drive a crap ton of miles. 911’s eat rear tires, nature of the beast. Performance sports cars are a damn sight more expensive to maintain, be it an M series, AMG, Porsche, Jag, etc. Reality check. I’d love to meet anyone who can do a complete AOS job in 1.5 hours, even with the motor on a stand. Then I’d want to know why this dependable car’s engine was out on a stand in the first place. Or when the AOS became a problem. Or how much did that all cost. Or how long was the car out of service. My experience with Panamera Turbo is they aren’t twitchy and can really get it. Panas handle amazingly well for a saloon because Porsches are designed that way. They sound superb with sport exhaust! Mercs cruise, Porsches bruise. And if you are set on getting a status car that can bang out the miles and perform on a track, a Pana T would be cool. And what price range are you shopping?

Maybe unnecessarily paranoid, not stupid. My car wasn�t neglected, it just needed to be driven. Most of those issues Zdumb took a screenshot of worked themselves out. For AOS (I plan on doing a write up for this): - leave exp tank, alternator, manifold and engine mounts alone. - remove just top hose from exp tank (the one going to bleeder valve). - remove everything from air intake to frontmost plenum. - feed your right arm around back of manifold while looking just above alternator (unclip solenoid above alternator to get view under manifold). - feed your left arm above manifold to back left of AOS. - don�t bother with undoing clamps, just break the coolant tabs off. They always break in the same spot and will leave you enough to pull out of the hose with pliers. That�s pretty much it, you should be able to figure the rest out. You can feed the AOS out from behind the manifold. There is enough room there. my exp with dt40 is that my car didn�t like it. Felt a touch more sluggish and the engine made more noise on cold starts. Other than that I have no more input to give. I�ve asked a lot of questions since first buying the car and have learned a lot, hence my post history. Initially I bought into the 996 paranoia but now realize it�s literally all bull****. Your IMSB will last well beyond 200k miles. Your AOS will need to be changed, but it can be done in way less time than your BS mechanic is telling you it will take. anyways. I swear you guys are standing there with your pants down getting off on telling people these aren�t reliable cars and that they shouldn�t be daily driven. I honestly don�t understand it.

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I don�t believe anyone considers 30,000 miles a year �daily driver� duty.

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Interesting AOS procedure ... thanks. Mine has 213,500 miles on the original engine, so in my case it is possible if you take care of them.

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Your maths are ungood. 134,000 - 94,000 = 40,000.

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I'm sorry, I love my 996 but if I had all this going on I think I would have moved on to a Honda.

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the s class is definitely the status carjust because it�s gonna look better and 99% of the time I�ll be cruising. It�s like I need the s and a 911. Haha. I�ve looked at high 30s for the older 1st gen Panameras and 2016 s550. Both are around 70000 miles and clean CARFAX. Only from dealers. Lemon laws and what not.

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There, you answered your own question as dimensionally the interior space is identical between a 996 and a 997...

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Look at W212 E Class. Good looks, very solid, reliable. Eat miles for breakfast. We have an S212 (wagon) and it's tremendous. E350 has plenty of oomph but in the sedan you can go bigger without getting AMG silly.

Wow at the negativity... I've daily driven mine since I got it over 15 years ago and have put 90K miles on it, was averaging about 6-7k miles a year for the first 10 years but since retired from heart attack/surgery have not averaged much or really not daily driving every day, but last time I figured I was at "14.7 cents Smiles per Mile cost " ( including purchase price + repairs- not including maintenance or upgrades unless prompted by repair)..That was at 11 years of ownership and 75k miles, ( was a thread started about that subject in 2019) so that was about 4 years ago.. Never left me stranded, it only got towed once when I was pulled over for seat belt violation and was arrested for not paying a parking ticket ( I had forgot to pay the parking ticket..lol) The rear tires will last about 12k miles if your lucky, that will be the biggest expense. The brakes will last damn near forever doing 30k a year...I've seen 996's with 60k miles that still had plenty of brake pad left on the original set.. But 30k miles a year is kinda rediculous, that would be as many miles in 3 years as I put on in 15 years..... I think I would want to keep a p-car longer than that, that's 90k in 3 years, 180k in 6 years, over 200k in 7 years....in my mind that is a scenario for a "throw away car"...( unless you got deep deep pockets) OH and BTW , Kris Murphy can install a UAOS kit on a 996.1 in about a hour and a half, and he is not a professional mechanic..just a good wrench..I used to be able to do that..

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seems like this car can be a DD- but within reason. 30k per year is very high for a DD, that is really a long commute car.

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That's what I have done for the last 15 years, It has been my sole transportation on and off the track. I have owned over 50 cars in my 67 years , the 996 is not the fastest, or most dependable,or the cheapest, or the most expensive, but it certainly is the best of the 50..

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Thanks. I wouldn't change yours until it starts showing symptoms, or until your idle randomly goes to ~1.5k at stoplights and you hear a loud hiss. That, or you'll get some oil drip from the front of bank 1 - a sign that the bellows tube has a tear in it like mine did. Those are early signs of AOS failure in my experience. The smoke and oil cap difficulty comes once it has completely failed and there is oil in the intake runners. This is when you'll have to tow it. As soon as you see smoke (trust me, you'll know), call the tow truck. Anyways yeah so you want to install the coolant hoses on the new AOS before bolting it back to the block. I used regular hose clamps (get the small ones). Some other odds and ends: -Before you unbolt the original AOS, get the lower vac hose off. This part is sort of a PITA so just be patient. In my experience it won't really click off, you'll just sort of go at it enough to where eventually you'll be able to slide or pull it off. It's a mix between pinching & pulling, and just pulling. You'll get it. You'll want to undo the 10mm bracket as well to get the camshaft sensor/variocam connector out of the way for more room. -Just to reiterate breaking coolant ports - you literally just snap them off. Just twist and push with the hose (you'll know when you have a good grip) and they'll break right off. Once out, get the clamps off with a flathead / twist and then pull the plastic ports out with a pair of pliers. edit - oh and you'll want to buy the bellows clamp with the blue finger safety on it. Install the top part of the tube to the new AOS prior to re-installation (fully install it - like pull the safety and let the clamp snap into place) but leave the lower clamp on with the safety still attached. edit x2- also you want to wipe down the lower bellows tube port prior to install (the one that is a part of the engine). Sometimes the residual oil will cause the bellows tube to seat a little higher than it should seat, so cleaning it off will ensure a solid marriage. Cheers/goodluck

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That's really the crux of the problem, not the daily driving question. Putting 200k on a likely >100k car to start with in 7 years is pushing a 996 past 300k, likely going to need deep pockets at some point.

People said that about my c300, I bought with 90000 and at 164000 in 1.5 years. It didn’t skip a beat! These areGerman cars, they are known world wide for being reliable I don’t understand the hesitation here. The depreciation is the most expensive cost. I paid 26000 (dealer overpriced e) and now it’s worth about 15000 and I owe more than that on it. buying a 36000 dollar s class or Panamera would do the same. I have to say though I made a lot of unnecessary trips in my c300 I haven’t been making lately. my theory is what am I gonna do? Spend my time in a ****ty car 12 or more hours a week just to avoid premium gas and depreciation? It makes no sense. That’s what these are are for is eating up miles.. The maintenance on the merc outside of normal maintenance is literally about 3000 in normal driving time of about 5 years. That’s not bad. The s class and Panamera are better built than the c300.

30k a year in mileage is doable in any car as a daily driver. Just comes down to how much time and money you want to spend to keep it running. If you have a shoe string budget, buy a late model Honda Civic under warranty. If you are a skilled DIY guy, you can save quite a bit of money, but you will still be replacing old parts and they cost money. If you need an Indy, you better have a big budget. But anything is doable with a big pile of money.

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Rennlist needs a "LOVE" button. Something more emphatic than "like."

OP- out of curiosity, what's the nature of your job that puts you on the road 30,000 miles/year?

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At that amount of driving, I would expect a company issued vehicle or at the least, a generous car allowance.

OP asking about 996 and 997 and then entertaining / asking about Panamera or s550 instead is hysterical. is it reliability we�re after here brotha? Or just having a convo around daily�s?

Go for it! I daliy my 99, putting on about 10k miles per year. My car has 167k miles on it. If you want to get better tire life buy harder tires and have the rear wheels aligned with less negative camber. This will reduce the hanflung limit some but if your driving is all commuting it does not matter. These cars are reliable when well maintained. If the engine fails sell the car and get another one. How is this different than any other old car when the repair cost exceeds its value?

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It's not. However, what many are trying to communicate is that sure, you can easily daily it. But just because the entry cost to purchase is reasonable, you will still have to spend quite a bit of money on parts and service to keep it running so you can get to work every day. I say go for it if you have the money to put into parts and service. Imho there is no better car to drive. However, if you have a shoe string budget for one car, get a Honda Civic with an extended warranty.

One of my salesmen drives about 40k/year. He's been doing this for a long time, like 20+ years. He gets a new Accord every 4 years and gives the old one to his wife. At that kind of yearly mileage consumables become a real issue. Accord tires are cheap (relatively) and last 50-70k. Tires for the 911 are not cheap and last 15k. That said my daily driver is either a 32 year old 535 VW or a 16 year old 955 Porsche so do what you want.

I used to daily drive my 99 about 7k miles per year, it was my favorite daily out of the 24 cars I have owned. I also own 4 other cars and would NOT daily a 996 as a 1 car solution 30k miles a year. I drove it from LI NY to Key West FL on a road trip, the car was running fine until it threw a code halfway home and has cam deviations. Just like that my daily was down, but I have other cars, also a wrench so I can fix the 996. If you have a lot of money to throw at the 996 sure you can keep it going, with enough money you can keep anything going.