I owned this car before Therotman, and I used it as a daily driver. It had no AC so the commute in south Texas was unpleasant sometimes for sure, but I was sweaty from work anyway.

The only drawback is maintenance. If I wanted to do something big, I needed to finish it all in a weekend.

You only live once. If you can afford, enjoy it.

Larry,

I say GO FOR IT! I drive my '68 911 back and forth to work a lot in the non winter months, it's fine and actually kinda fun in traffic. When you hit a clear spot, NAIL IT! Haha!

I have thought about getting an SC and driving it year round as you are thinking of doing, and I think it would be entirely doable as long as you take these things into consideration:

1. No AC
2. 3 or 4 "snow" days a year may be somewhat iffy to drive in
3. Salt issue, make sure you hose off the car frequently despite the galvanizing
4. Gas mileage

You would have driven your Lexus in the snow, right? The Lexus that's worth maybe twice as much as the SC? The issue is no AC? In a cabrio? Hmmm, I'm not sure where I see the problem, here.

Maybe pick up another cheaper, maybe less pretty, more miles, etc. 911 as your back up vehicle. You would always have spare parts...

-kevin

Gabe:

Great comments. I am very likely going to do it. The issue now is knowing how the PPI will turn out, and telling my wife. The last item is the worst issue. But I really believe that this is a balanced transaction. Like Fung Shwe, there is a Ying and Yang to life. This is my zing and zang coming back to life.

thanks for the comments.

larry

Larry, good to hear from you and glad to see that porsches still run thru your veins. Kermit was, and always will be, one of the nicest cars i have seen.

I have often thought about what if's regarding commuting and daily drivers, and wishing I had a job that required me to daily drive, and thus comtemplate as you are. So let me live vicariously thru you for a momento.

Get a 95 or similar subaru legacy for snow. $2-3k should do the trick. I had one for a few years and it was practically indestructable. Great in snow.

The lexus will net you $18-23k?
So lets say you have sub $20k to play with.

If it was me, I would be contemplating such a step.
I would look at SC's as you are, and also the 964's. Somehow I feel that the 964's are the neglected child, the little orphan that is much maligned for no great reason. If you could get a good one for a decent price .. whoagh nelly.

Nice looking SC here
Nice color 964 C4 (for snow) from Maine here

Best of luck.

Karl.

Any production 911 can be a daily driver. My experience includes over 100,000 miles in a '65 912, a '70 911E, and a 914, mainly in Colorado. All three were used summer and winter (with four studded snow tires), and all three survived--with a little care, like washing off the salt. Unlike Ferraris and other exotica, a 911 can be used every day of every year. That's the joy of it!

Frank

The way I see it is how much time do you spend in traffic, and how much do you value your remaining years alive. For me, life is too short to drive anything other than a stripped out 930 all year long. Scottsdale summers and all. No ac in mine. Besides, a lot of times I get around by bicycle anyway. I can handle heat. Just not in my house which I keep at 68 degrees.

So what happened Larry?

I am currently driving my '69 911S hotrod as my daily driver.

3 weeks ago a girl side swiped my Isuzu Trooper and totaled it. I am getting an insurance settlement, but for the past 3 weeks the 911S has been my only car, everyday driver.

This car was stripped to bare metal inside and out, has zero sound deadening or undercoating and has a felt RS carpet kit glued to the painted metal floors. IT has lightweight racing seats, RS door panels, short shifter and poly bushings in the shifting. The interior is all business.... no A/C, no power options of any kind, no radio at all.

The suspension is full race. 22mm front and 28mm rear torsion bars, Elephant racing front mono-balls, SRP front and rear anti-rolls bars, alloy rear control arms with monoballs, sway-a-way adjustable spring plates, Elephant poly-bronze spring plate bushings, Bilstein custom valved racing shocks front and rear with the fronts on RSR raised spindles, alloy front cross member, Elephant front strut brace, turbo tie rods..... all the goodies. The only rubber anywhere in the suspension is on the front A-arms.

The engine is a 2.6L Supertec built MFI hotrod with a lightweight flywheel... a real screamer at 7500rpm, Henry guessed at 230hp.

Fiberglass hood, front and rear bumpers.... the car weighs 2050lb with 1/2 tank of gas.

I am not planning at this point to replace the trooper. The hotrod 911S is going to stay my daily driver, at least for now.

My wife refuses to ride in it. Housewives frown at me and shake their heads. I may need a dentist to replace some fillings that get rattled loose, I often smell of exhaust and sweat, the police are going to be tracking me and this grin may not wash off.

Larry,

Good to see you back.

While I think everyone needs to do what they like, if it was me, given your back story, you may find a better deal (car + wifely approval) by looking at a 964 (or possibly if the budget allows a 993). She may actually be willing to ride with you....