Reading posts here and in other Porsche forums I usually find this kind of stuff:
"I only did 1000 miles in the last year" "only did 2000 miles in the last 5 years" and similar....

I really donīt understand why you would buy a car that is so nice to drive and then...donīt drive it.

I did 14000 kms with my 964 in 3 years ownership and that is only doing weekend fun rides and Porsche meetings. I have a VW Jetta that is my DD.

 

For me it's the winter weather and salty roads... would be like taking your daughter to a biker bar.

 

I can understand it; there are so many different reasons why one would own a 911.

Often it takes people many, many years to finally be able to reach the point where ownership is possible, so being a "type-A" person...they want to take really good care of the car. Even to the point of not driving it!

I look at my car in the garage and I feel it is a truly special car and I want it to be as perfect as it can be. They don't make them anymore (unless you send it to 9 Meister!!!).

That said, it all changes when I start up the car and back out of the garage...then I don't want to stop driving it!

I did 600 miles in the car this weekend! I left in a downpour and drove 180 miles to a DE. It's rained or was wet the whole day at the track. Most people parked there cars and waited for a dryer track. I spun a couple times, used half my newly installed brake pads, and added a few scratches and dents in the process.

I hated that, but I had 600 wonderful miles in the car. I found new roads, went to a new track, improved my driving skills, and met a bunch of wonderful new people. I'm glad I have those memories in my head!

Ultimately that's the experience I was looking for when I bought my car. Ultimately, I feel that's what the car was created for. No one NEEDS a 911, you want one. I've waited a long time to own this car, I want to use it as much as possible.

One positive mention about "garage queens" is that one day I hope to buy one, and turn around and drive the hell out of it. Somewhere out there is another beautiful 964 waiting patiently in a heated garage for my future ownership!

 

Henry - I'm with you. I drive my 964's as much as I can. When I lived in California, I drove the car continuously. However, since moving to New England and seeing what winter salt does to cars, I park my 964's during the winter. (12/1 - 4/1). This has cut my annual mileage down significantly.

 

Great response, Laker.

 

replacing tires, gas prices, insurance discounts for minimal mileage-- all the reasons I don't drive it the 80 mile round trip to work.

 

well i,m guilty of weekend tootling & since purchase last july have covered only 1400 miles , however i,m having unhealthy thoughts , we have a holiday home approx 400miles drive away in normandy & need to go down for a long weekend sometime late march to sort a few things out ,
i,m really fancying me & my 964 spending some quality time together on euro tarmac
getting it serviced in next couple of weeks then i,l make my decision

 

well i have put about 3,500 miles on my car in almost 2 years. I don't think about it. i just drive.
No winters salt etc and no short drives but won't hesitate for teh long drives to get her warmed up. getting anstie now I just need warm weather and a couple good rain storms to wash the sand and salt away...

 

But I get a lot of free drinks that way??? Guess I have to stop doing that.

I've put on 15,000 mi. in 5 years = 3000 mi./yr., so that's pretty minimal use.
Henry, you did 14,000 km. in 3 years, which is...is...(um...carry the 1, divided by 3.14159265, multiplied by the square root of...uh...) ~2900 mi./yr.
What is the definition of driving it: far too little - just enough - quite a bit - a whole lot???

There are a myriad of reasons why I don't drive it more, mostly revolving around "keeping it nice":
A) Traffic around here is thick and getting thicker, I'm all for risk mitigation and driving it daily would increase the risk exponentially. I see people get rear-ended on the freeway every day - even if through no fault of my own, my number's gonna come up someday;
B) They're using more and more salt and other agents in this traditionally no-salt area, and while mine has been exposed to salt before, I'd rather keep that to a minimum;
C) Adding more miles leads to more maintenance costs, and I have 4 other vehicles in the family that need to be maintained. I'd rather not add unnecessarily to that cost.
D) Mine is a pretty nice, original example and I'd just like to keep it that way. That's what gives me pleasure. I'm pretty OCD about detailing, and a jaunt in inclement weather entails an equal amount of time, re-detailing the car. I like to detail because I want to, not because I have to.

I recognize that there are differing philosophies about this subject, and I applaud everyone who uses their car as they see fit, however much or little that happens to be. It's all about what makes you happy. I'd love to have another one that I could drive every day, but as the last examples of an endangered species, I don't think I could take a life-long garage queen and make a driver out of it. I think maybe each car is meant to fulfill a certain destiny. I would rather make a DD out of an already-committed road warrior. JMO.

 

I'm in Seattle and put roughly 8500 miles a year on my old 911SC. I've had my 964 for 3 months and have already put 2500 miles on it. These cars are made to be driven and I daily drive it rain/shine/snow. I can understand if you have a Ferrari F40 or something else that is exotic/temperamental but 911s are robust and reliable. They're not good garage queens and need to be driven.

 

27,000 miles on my C4 in two years - need I say more?. I love driving this car. I put nearly 2K miles on it during a one week trip to NY including a DE at Watkins Glen with two drivers. And another 1K+ for a trip to Road America for DE and eating cheese for a week. Daily driver year-round. Most capable car in the garage. Yes, I hate to see it being eaten alive by the salt, but I try to keep it rinsed off underneath and spray it with an anti-corrosion product everywhere underneath before winter.
Now I have a "new" widebody that is "nice" and I worry that I will baby it too much. Haven't been able to drive it because the roads are so crappy and I only have summer tires for it.
I am glad that some folks baby their cars and retain a few for History.

 

For me, it depends purely on what my daily driver is.

Initially, my 964 was my only car and I was probably doing between 10k and 15k miles a year.

It then became my second car, with the daily car being Ford Focus type cars. The 964 was on a limited mileage classic insurance policy - depending on who I was with, the mileage limit was either 5k or 6k a year and I struggled to keep it below that. I was at the limit each year, because I wanted to use the 964 every journey.

I decided that wasn't working - so I got rid of the Focus and bought a MKIV Toyota Supra. That worked much better - the 964 became mostly for longer weekend journeys and fun - mileage dropped to about 2,500 miles a year.

Then I got rid of the Supra and bought the 996 turbo. Now, the mileage has drastically reduced - if I've done 500 miles in the last 6 months I'd be very surprised.

 

Speak for yourself, Jetta.

I need it. Addiction, simple as that.
(Whether physical or psychologic, I don't know. My doc says it's all in my head - but what does he know? Jeez - he captains a Lexus!!)
I take it I.V. from cuts reaching past hose clamps...
I take it up the nose with the interior's smell.
Hell, there's even near-suppository delivery of the car's cornering 'feel' through my recaro bucket.

Don't tell ME I don't need it.

 

I get near-suppository delivery of something at work, daily. It's not fun, though.

I agree, it has become an addiction. The 964, that is....

It tears me up to go out to the garage and see my beloved red C4, not being driven. And now the new WB C4, not being driven. I will probably have to start putting anti-depressants into their fuel tanks.

 

haha elbeee964 ,i deliberately don,t have a car air freshener in the car because i worry it may spoil "the smell" i also love it when i go back in the garage after putting it away warm & the smell in there is one that you should be able to buy for gents cologne ! pure intoxication