NTI 911E

I am starting to feel guilty about driving my 911E so often. Of course, these cars are meant to be driven and mine definitely runs better when it's driven frequently. But my car is sort of a special case.

My dad ordered the car new in '73. It sat in the garage from about 1980 to 1995 or so untouched. In the late 90's my dad and I had it repainted and got it mechanically all back in shape. It had about 45,000 miles on it then. Now it's got 56k on it. I just keep seeing all these old cars with under 50-60k miles and how everyone is going bat **** crazy over them and wonder if I am going to take what is a really rare car (a low mileage unrestored early 911, technically still one owner even though my dad hasn't driven it for years) and make it into just another early 911 with an average amount of miles on it.

This car will always be special to me. I learned to drive stick with this car. I am not going to sell it, so it's not really about the value, but I guess it sort of is about the value just in my head. Just because I'm not going to sell it doesn't mean I'm not concerned about its value.

Fortunately (!!), something breaks every 2,000 miles or so that costs about $3k to fix, so that keeps me from driving it _too_ much, but I can't beat the guilt of putting a lot of miles on it.

I know I'm being neurotic... but am I being too neurotic even for a Porsche owner?

dfinnegan

Wear it out. What greater tribute.

flatsixnut

Why have something you can not truley enjoy? I would drive the pants off of it, then pass it on to your son/daughter (if you have one).

old man neri

So in 10 years you have driven it about 10k? Drive it more.

BlackPearl

????

That seems a little odd. My wife's 1969 912 is driven weekly about 50 miles, and we do at least one big trip a year (like the 912Registry rendezvous in San Luis Obispo, etc.). So, the car sees about 3000 miles a year plus or minus. She goes in for the "annual" tune up ... complete tune up ... and that's about it for maintenance/repairs. It's been my experience that the 912 is a bit more fragile/sensitive engine than the flat 6's. She's very careful with it, and it's spot-on reliable every time she turns the key.

So, how are you driving your car, or where are you drivng it that you need $3K worth of repairs every 2000 miles? Maybe you're not driving it enough? Keeping these engines and bearings "wet" is essential. Driving them until they get completely up to operating temperature is also essential. Changing the oil every 3000 miles, or every 6 months regardless of miles is really important to the "old" cars, too.

I'm wondering what you're doing?

I think the remedy is to drive it. If you're not looking at putting it up for auction in Vegas for BIG $$$$, then drive your Porsche like you live your life: drive it hard, wear it out completely, and when it's ready for the grave, make sure there's absolutely nothing left at all. (I hope I go to the grave that way. Hehe!)

Just my opinion. ;-)

NTI 911E

I might have exaggerated the repair costs a bit, but it does seem that every six months or so there is something else that needs to be fixed. The alternator went about 9 months ago and a couple of weeks ago the timing chain tensioners failed. It's at the shop presently.

The car is no doubt still suffering from 20 years of not being driven. I drive it frequently these days, as frequently as I can given my schedule which probably means about 3-5 times a month. I'd say that I've put 6k miles on it in the last three years or so, and as I said above I know it runs better when it's driven. It does spend a large percentage of each year out of service, but that's mostly because something breaks and I don't have the time/money/energy to fix it at the time. In the last few years, it's been the sunroof, the return tubes, the exhaust pipe, the brakes, etc and now the alternator, tensioners, and probably heat exchangers... and when something breaks it just tends to put the car into a hibernation for a while until I can get it fixed.

Additionally, I never take it for short trips so it always gets up to temperature and the oil gets changed at least every six months or so (or if it sits for longer than that, it gets changed before it's driven again).

NTI 911E

I absolutely truly enjoy it. I'm just afraid of "ruining" it by using it too much like a normal car! There is so much traffic these days that I'm terrified of some moron hitting me, or of something else happening to it. And as I said above, it's still a very low mileage car for what it is, and if I keep driving it like I have been, it won't be long before it is no longer "low mileage."

BlackPearl

Well, sounds like you're on top of it as far as what's going on. I'd agree your repair issues are probably hold-overs from when it sat for a long period and you haven't chased all those old gremlins out yet.

Bottom line, keep driving it as much as you can (yeah, limitations on weather and $$ are a challenge, I understand ...) and stay on top of it as best you can. Doing some of the "repairs" yourself, while time-consuming, may help with the lost time driving/money issues (it might have been faster for you to do the muffler and brakes yourself than waiting on the shop ... and a lot cheaper, I'll bet).

Your heart is in the right place: you obviously really like the car. So, get a Bentley Manual, do some reading/learning, drive it as often as you can; start it and run it in the garage in the winter if absolutely necessary (those dreary Maryland winters are tough), and you should have that car "sound" in short time. Definitely ... drive it!

NTI 911E

Oh, I did the muffler myself. That's why it took 3 months to get it done! "Gee, it really is a great day. I should drive the 911. Oh ****, the muffler. Hmph. Well I guess I'll go another day."

My dad and I replaced the hydropneumatic suspension with the S setup, did the brakes, did the return tubes, and a bunch of other stuff ourselves.

It feels like I can take most of the car apart and put it back together blindfolded, sometimes even without parts left over! However, when it gets to the archaic/temperamental electrical system or engine internals, I leave that to the pros.

andrew911

I think you should keep driving it like you do- which is good weather times when you can really enjoy it.

I don't know if the relative value loss of driving a low miles car is lower since the car doesn't have original paint (i.e. I don't know the long nose market well enough to say that the original low mileage car fetch was they do (or were fetching before the recession) becuase they were time capsule cars as they left the factory even with original paint) or if the repaint doesn't matter as much, but I think the variance of cost per additional mile isn't bad considering you're not going to be driving it 15K miles/year.

Mostly unrelated, but when I bought my car it was 9 years old with only 13K miles. I drove it the way I drove my prior 911's which is good weather weekend enjoyment only- I never regretted not worrying about the miles driving it that way, as I enjoy each mile. (I used to go about 2,500/year, but then got married and had a kid thus the reduction to about 1,500 miles/year on this car vs my prior 2 911s ) I didn't buy it to keep it a creampuff that never got driven, but it did turn out to be the lowest mileage car by far when I was looking for a -92-94 911. It's still a very low mileage creampuff, but not the steril timecapsule car I could have kept it.

I think the prior comments about driving the car to keep it in good operating order are quite valid- the 15 years the car spent sitting couldn't have been good. It does sound like you've made quite a bit of headway doing what should be one time fixes (well, at least until the next generation in your family has to re-fix them in 2050 )

Happy driving- beautiful car!

-Andrew

NTI 911E

I think there is no doubt that the cars with original paint in good condition will be worth more than a repainted car. At the same time, I also think it's generally agreed that the paint jobs back then sucked and so many of them have been repainted by this point.

My car was repainted the first time around in 1980 because of bubbles in the paint. The second time was in the early 00's.

elpresidente

Let me rid you of your guilt. Trade me for my 1987 3.2 Carrera

racer

I you want to treat is as an investment then park it immediately inside one of those moisture proof bubbles.Or sell it so you are no longer tempted to use it. If you want to treat is as a nice old car, then you must keep using it! Lack of use causes more problems than using it. It is a car afterall. use it. use it more.

NTI 911E

We actually kept it in that for a couple of years after it was repainted the second time. Our conclusion was that it didn't really do much better than a car cover, and was a big pain in the *** to put on / take down.

Erik @ Carquip

I would drive it as often as possible. Something tells me that you did not get the car to sit and look at it right? So there is your answer. Porsche cars are to be driven, in my opinion, not looked at. I understand that they can be worth quite a bit of money but still, the beauty of owning one is not in the investment, it is in the driving.

Now that this with a grain of salt though, I am a driver and always will be. If you don't like to drive your car that would be something different entirely, but you seem to really enjoy it, as you should so let that enjoyment guide you. Life is short and you never really know just how short it can be, so don't waste anytime wondering about things that you simply cannot control. Enjoy every moment of the car or simply get rid of it and get something that you can enjoy without worrying.

Just my .02 on this.

Have a great Christmas and holiday season.

Erik Johnson
Carquip Sales