2K miles/month on P-car...am I crazy? (long)

jess5engine · 11-10-2003, 05:40 PM

Am I crazy to even consider putting 24K miles/year on my 87 911? I am currently using a 11-year old Toyota as my commuter and I am entertaining the thought of using the P-car as its replacement. My commute consists of driving 200 miles a day 2-3 times a week. Of the 400-600 miles a week, freeway miles constitute about 97% of the miles.

I am considering this because my Porsche is by no means a garage queen. I purposefully sought one out that has been driven regularly and well maintained. She currently has 123k miles on the original motor with no rebuilds. The clutch was replaced about 2K miles ago. She has absolutely no oil leaks and burns very little oil.

If I replaced the Toyota with another car instead of the Porsche, I would spend about $5-7K depending on the car. What are your thoughts on instead saving this money for future repairs/maintenance on the P-car and using her as the commuter? Does anyone else drive their P-car this much? What can I expect in terms of longevity for this motor before and after a rebuild? Please help me decide!! Thanks

Jesse

Sonic dB · Sonic dB's Garage

Well Jessee...to give you an example of P car daily drivership...
Ive been putting on 3K a month, going on 3 months now... and I dont plan to stop anytime soon.

One thing Ive learned: Porsche 911s were made to drive.

Now, Im putting effort and money into "modernizing" the car, with updates like shocks, sound proofing etc. just to make it more comfy.

Moral of the story is: dont sweat it...just drive! Sounds like you selected the right car to do it with...higher mileage and well maintained.

pegasus9 · pegasus9's Garage

I'd say go for it. You said it yourself, your car is no garage queen and these cars were meant to be Driven. Besides your Toyota can't give you that same grin your 911 can.

There are some on this board that drive that much. I think there is one person who drives up from Diamond Bar to the Bay area every week.

Beethoven · 11-10-2003, 06:42 PM

And you guys don't even have to contend with winter weather! I drive my car daily (not quite as far though) through all kinds of weather. Great fun, couldn't do it any other way anymore.

nostatic · nostatic's Garage

My SC is my daily driver, slogging through LA traffic 5 days a week, and making at least one run each day on the weekends. Sounds like your commute would be pretty easy on the car with all that freeway mileage.

drive, drive, drive.

dbraunsr · 11-10-2003, 07:28 PM

I drive my P-car 50 minutes each way in LA traffic (early 5:00am) and it's not enough. I think I'll take a job in Camarillo, just so I can commute farther....maybe the bay area ??

Run the wheels off of it !!!

makaio · 11-10-2003, 07:32 PM

I don't think you're crazy at all. I drove my CAB 300 miles yesterday, just to purchase the wife a new pair of sunglasses

.

Putting those kind of miles on it, you're just going to have to do maintenance things like oil changes, valve adjustments, re-packing of wheel bearings, and such much sooner. No biggie.

jess5engine · 11-10-2003, 07:40 PM

I should add that there is virtually no bumper to bumper traffic during my freeway miles. Currently, I do about 70-75 mph for about 90 minutes straight. I'd imagine this will extend the life of my clutch and engine?

Jess

Beethoven · 11-10-2003, 07:44 PM

Where can you drive for an hour and a half at 70 mph in California??

dbraunsr · 11-10-2003, 07:56 PM

Sorry, not clear.
From one fire zone to the other (Santa Clarita to Simi Valley).
Once early in the AM (5ish) and turn it around in the PM.
When everything's on fire, head west again in the PM -- Grimes Canyon.....

jess5engine · 11-10-2003, 07:57 PM

Believe it or not commutes like mine do exist in California - you just have be awake at an ungodly hour. In my case, leaving Roseville (Sacramento area) at 4am arriving at the Bay Bridge-San Fran 90, or so, minutes later.

caliber60 · 11-11-2003, 09:39 AM

Daily driving is fine. I drive my car to work everyday(50 miles round trip) after I bought my 911 last year. If you want to maintain your 911 yourself, you need a second car. It's a fun car to work on but sometimes frustrating. I have done some maintenance work myself for the past 12 months. Some jobs will last through out the weekend. If you don't have the luxury of another spare car. You might need to bring the car to the service shop which will be more $$$ out of the pocket. Don't bring the 911 to a regular German auto shop that repairs MB or BMW. Porsche is a stubborn car(just like another other German cars). It needs to be serviced a certain way to make it right.

rsr808 · rsr808's Garage

My '84 cab is a daily driver... I put 4000 miles plus each month during my weekly "commute" from LA to SF. All these miles without a hitch... knock on wood.

The only thing that I had to compromise on was tires... after blowing through a set of SO-2s the first few months, I got some less inspiring tires that are lasting much longer. They sure don't stick very well though. By the way, I've been doing this commute since January 2, 2003!!

dotorg · 11-11-2003, 10:14 AM

I daily drove mine all summer. Almost 6k miles in four and a half months, and its almost twenty years older than your '87! Drive it!

Milu · 11-11-2003, 10:42 AM

I'm doing about 2000 miles a month about ten months a year with a late 3.2. Very little traffic mostly highway. For the last three years.

I needed a car to use daily in all conditions and I decided another 911 wouldn't cost much more than something I only half liked. With the added advantage that I always had another car available when I wanted to check something like a dme relay.

My friends and neighbours believe I am insane. They are probably right, they are also jealous.

masraum · 11-11-2003, 10:57 AM

'88 carrera, daily driver, bought with 110K miles, now up to 160, with about a year of downtime because I was travelling for work. The car loves it, mostly just keep gas and oil in it and keep tires on it and it will go and go and go.

GrindingGears · 11-11-2003, 10:58 AM

How very inspiring! I drove 1k last month and thought I was driving my pcar too much. Thanks for the wake up call, now I realize I'm on the conservative side.

For those of you who drive in the LA traffic, I feel your pain. Once a week I commute from Palos Verdes to UCLA at around 4pm. It usually takes me aprox.1hr 15mins. However, I've left PV at 5pm before and and it's taken me 2 HOURS! That's 2 hours for a 25 mile commute. Arggh. When I'm in that 405 traffic I try to keep at a steady speed in 1st gear. The drive home at 10pm is always fun though....

Sonic dB · Sonic dB's Garage

Alot of times on the way up, I take Supelveda... at least Im moving that way. On the way back, I get off at 90 and take Culver down to Vista Del Mar...pretty drive and Im moving.

shh...dont tell anyone that doesnt drive a Porsche

I avoid 405 at all costs, even taking the 110 up and 101 across cause thats not nearly as bad as the 405 most times of the day.

dickster · 12:27 PM

ours used to be our only driver.

now we have a "family" car i worry that the 911 isnt getting enough use

singpilot · 11-11-2003, 12:49 PM

As many of you know, I fly for a living. Based in LaLaland. Stay on my boat in Redondo when over at the coast. Live in Las Vegas. Is almost impossible to jumpseat anymore, so I drive between the two cities.

Have seen everything on the I-15 between here and there. Temps well below zero (but it's a dry cold) at the tops of the passes in the winter, temps above 120F at the bottom of the valleys in the summer. I do this trip at least three times a month in the winter, once a month in the summer.

I do get to pick between the 944, 911 and the 420SEL.

Drive them every day. I consider the stone chips a badge of honor, haha.