I have mixed feelings on this. My Pcar is my daily driver, and I keep it in Garage-Queen shape. This means petty vandalism from creeps who don't understand. That is a PITA.

I agree that a cheap second car is a must. I am looking for an older Japanese pickup, maybe as nice as Supers...

John

John, I think you have a good plan there. The long life reputation of the Toyota pickemup is well deserved. After going for a time with the daily drivers, it makes driving the Porsche even more special, even more enjoyable, IMHO...

My daily driver is a '71T - coz I Luv it!!!!

Before that it was a 924, but since I got the 911, I can't see any reason why I should drive anything else.

When the revolution comes, we will all have to drive Porsches!

Good to see another VW junkie making the "upgrade" :)

If you can live with a Beetle DD then moving to a 911 DD is going to be EASY! Trust me you spend much much less time turning wrenches on a 911 than you do a Beetle. I sold my '69 Beetle for the 911.

I do not use my 911 as a DD, but could in a heart beat. Normally my '66 VW Bus is my DD.

Look at the post "Must sale my car" for a lead in your area.

I bought mine for $11,500 two years ago and have probably only put $250 in it so far. Granted I ripped the A/C out which is what most people spend money on anyway.


Good Luck!

Thanx everyone!!!!!!!!!!

I have been very lucky to get all of your opinions.

To honest...I think I am approaching the point of "who cares, I want one bad!"

But here is what I would say I've gathered from all of your advice:

1. Make sure I understand the history of the car and get a PPI.

2. Expect to work on it (no trouble here).

3. Expect it to not be as reliable as a new car (toyota being the recent example)...yet potentially very reliable for 25 year old car.

4. Go for an SC instead of an ealier one.

5. Always get the advice of those who know!!!

Thanks everyone. I'll not get rid of my beetle, but perhaps you will see another happy 911 owner on the road.

>I'll not get rid of my beetle<

Oh, you will! :)

A qualified yes.

Provided you can either afford high maintenance bills, or are prepared to do a lot of work yourself.

Typically an old car will drive fine for the first few months you own it, then a few problems will occur and you'll spend $$$ getting them sorted out.

Then either the car settles down and becomes very reliable, or more problems occur <sigh>.

My 73 T gets used every day, but I have had the transmission rebuilt, replaced a lot of the CIS components, the whole ignition system and generally spent quite a bit on other annoying troubles associated with age (e.g. two of the very expensive Fuchs wheels were so far out of true they had to be replaced).

Having said that, its never stranded me, I've always managed to get home...

But something that nobody's really touched on is attitude.

Let me try and explain:

Unlike the majority of people who use this board, I don't care what my car looks like - there are numerous paint scratches and dents, and I couldn't care less about the interior either. This makes it totally feasable as a daily driver - some parking lot damage and general wear and tear is inevitable and the front of any 911 collects paint chips like a rash.

Bras are for women and cross-dressers!

My somewhat unusual attitude also means I can do track days and other mad stuff like <gulp> using car washes without the usual 911 owners' terror of <horror> scratching the oh so precious paintwork... Also anyone who expresses interest can drive my car - I don't really care if they damage it since everything can be replaced or repaired.

A final plus point - many problems associated with older cars can often be traced to lack of regular use, in a strange way adding lots of miles actually contributes to reliability.

Summary

A daily driver is not going to remain immaculate unless you are prepared to do lots and lots of work on it all the time. Do your homework, look and drive lots before you buy, and don't ever fall in love with an inanimate object that can't love you back!

If you have the right attitude, any 911 can be a very rewarding daily driver. With a different attitude, you're looking at a daily driver with the 911 as a week-end/special occasion car.

You decide.

- roGER

mines an '86 that i have had as (our!) only driver.

superb!! i love it. which means:

1. i enjoy working on it!
2. i enjoy spending money on it - on stuff that it really doesn't NEED!

imho, it'll be fine as long as:

you get a good one to start with.
you're not going around the globe in it - mine is our only car but we put only about 6k miles a year on it.

i think buying the latest model you can (for reliabilty) , either an sc or carrera.

enjoy;)

Buy the latest you can afford and make sure it has been cared for. Condition and provenance is all. You will be rewarded with reliable motoring if you continue the high standard of care and preventative maintenance that these automotive jewels deserve.

I use my Carrera every day to commute; a 70 mile cross-country round trip. I love it! But unlike roGERK, I prefer to keep mine in good condition. Not concourse, not washed every Sunday; but good. Pre-89 911's are mechanically relatively simple cars and were manufactured to incredibly high standard. Buy with great care, and have fun!

i got out of my 70 bug that i built from the ground up & had as a daily driver for 12 years for an 85 cabrilolet that needs some work, no regrets & on the road everyday. do it! oh by the way it ran 14.20 in the 1/4 & top speed 125

Here's my .02 --

I bought my '83 SC Targa as a daily driver (a bit of a misnomer because I travel so much; it's probably driven 14 days a month). It cost me $13K in 2000 and needed a $2K investment pretty quickly to get into daily driver shape (fuel system, battery/alternator, refurbished Targa top, ad nauseum).

I've since put in another $8K to get the interior perfect and finish the mechanical stuff so everything works (headlight washers, updated A/C, etc.) All work was done by a qualified Porsche mechanic and a local specialty shop (Autos International).

The reality is that this car has 158K miles on it, and will probably cost me $1.5K a year to run. Additional reality is there is nothing on the road with the feel, sound, and class of an SC.

It's worth it, big time.

Cheers!

C.

ujeni77

Not sure where you live and what the climate is like, but do not forget to check for corrosion as with any other older car.

There are many examples of bright shiny cars hiding $5000 rust and paint repair bills. Seem to be quite a few here in UK, what did we do to deserve it? :(

Do a search for Rob Justice, or rust, you'll quickly get the picture.

Get one anyway, just try and drive it more than spanner it. ;)

I use an 88 daily, covering about 20k miles per year, I would say go for it. Just expect more maintenance issues than with a new car. Buy the best you can find and budget for parts and labour.

I also run a tuned, garage queen that covers abour 5k miles a year, problems are different but about equal. I think you get as many problems from not using it regularly as using it - Do you use it and wear it out or do you leave it idle and let it rot and seize up? I know which is more fun!

Like the ad says, just do it. Buy a 911 and don't look back. You can always pick up a cheap beater if you decide you need it for the daily commute. About 6 months after I bought the SC I decided I didn't want to put it through a Michigan winter. I simply stood up in my office at work - at the time one of many in a cube farm - and shouted "Who's got a car they want to sell for $500?" A guy 3 cubes over said he had a VW Rabbit he'd sell for $500, which had just had a tune-up and ran like a charm. That car lasted 2 winters and needed nothing : )

I figure about $500-1,000 a year for odds and ends for the 911. Most of that goes toward the "little things" that you'll always seem to want - better tires, better headlights; etc. My wife and I have had 4 new cars in the last 8.5 years - besides the VW Jetta my wife had (which was as solid as a tank), the 911 is easily as reliable as the rest, and a ton more fun. Stick with a coupe, though - my SC has needed a new targa top for all of the nearly 7 years I've owned it, and will probably need a new top for at least the next 16 years until our youngest son leaves for college :rolleyes: