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The short answer, is yes, my 964 is officially a garage trophy I no longer drive.
The long answer (story) is my last big DIY push was August-Sept 2014 when I redid the whole AC. My last big outing was Sept 2014 when I drove down to Austin for the Lone Star Le Man event at COTA. After that it got parked and I became a father in Nov 2014. I drove it to work less than 5 times in 2015 and did a few Cars & Coffee outings and that's it. I let my registration and state inspection lapse in the latter part of the year.
Big difference from 2012 when I was doing DIY deep dives, driving it to work and everywhere, more than my daily driver, going autocrossing a bunch, etc. During 2012 I autocrossed the car every weekend in the month of May.
I told myself I was going to make it a point to drive it in 2016, so on the new year I started to drive it to get a state inspection (required to renew my now Classic status vehicle registration) and for the first time ever the car left me stranded on the side of the road. A shift linkage literally fell out the bottom of the car. So now it's on jackstands and I have a bunch of shift mechanism parts from FD Motorsport that I need to find time to install.
yeah,
i drive both of my cars. The convertible was a heritage from my father two years ago. I did a full rebuild, ne coils, new roof, overhaul the whole car and yes, i love to drive it. In 2015, i did a great driving adventure "grande alpes" from switzerland to the south of france. It was great and i think, my father would have loved it :-)
The maritime qpe is my first porsche, i own it for 7 years now and i did some modifications. I still track the car, doing some fast road trips to the 24h on the ring for example or weedend rides to the lake of garda. But also weekend duty when visiting parts of the family some hundred kilometers away...
but, to be fair. None of the cars is used for downtown rides here in munich. I`ve no problems with parking the cars "everywhere", they are both proper insured. But, i`m afraid of vandalism or a "hit and run"... so i do not park the cars in tight downtown parking slots...
Ha, actually I already have one (the one in my avatar). It's a wonderful car that is such a nice counterpoint to the 964.
For me the biggest roadblock with driving my cars is not the cars themselves or their perceived value... its life. I have two kids (3 years and 3 months), my own business, and work from home. There's not a ton of opportunity to drive for fun these days, no matter what the car. I’m definitely not of the mind that you should wait till your old to buy some of your dream toys (which is why at 30 I convinced my then finance that the best honeymoon would be too buy a Cayman and go on a roadtrip), but it was a lot easier to just pick up and go somewhere when it was just the two of us!
I'd hate to see it go, but in the end getting rid of the Cayman and buying something like a 996 C4s might not be a bad way to compromise to get something I can take the kids/wife in, but still get a bit of Porsche fun out of it.
Ha, actually I already have one (the one in my avatar). It's a wonderful car that is such a nice counterpoint to the 964.
For me the biggest roadblock with driving my cars is not the cars themselves or their perceived value... its life. I have two kids (3 years and 3 months), my own business, and work from home. There's not a ton of opportunity to drive for fun these days, no matter what the car. IÂ’m definitely not of the mind that you should wait till your old to buy some of your dream toys (which is why at 30 I convinced my then finance that the best honeymoon would be too buy a Cayman and go on a roadtrip), but it was a lot easier to just pick up and go somewhere when it was just the two of us!
I'd hate to see it go, but in the end getting rid of the Cayman and buying something like a 996 C4s might not be a bad way to compromise to get something I can take the kids/wife in, but still get a bit of Porsche fun out of it.
If you are going to get a 996 see if you can't get a turbo. They don't have the IMS failure issue, whereas the rest of the 996 (and indeed 997.1) line did.
I'm with the others who are not saving their car for the next owner. But I'm in the same boat when it comes to paranoia about theft, especially because the alarm on it is kind of useless. But the worst thing about the theft for me is similar to canuck's reasoning, that it would be tough to find a clean 964 for decent money. Plus, I feel that once you really devote some time and sweat to wrenching on your own car, its a much tougher bond to break.
I've found myself driving mine less for a few reasons. I'm in the car business and work a whole lot of hours, so my best option for driving my car is to take it to work every once in a while. A few times now I've walked out with the key and every intention to drive the 964, but lost interest at the last minute. I think that's mostly bc I'm in a suit and tie and size 12 dress shoes, and those things do not make driving a 964 all that enjoyable. I also never know when I'll feel like running to lunch or grabbing starbucks, which means more uncomfortable driving and figuring out how to drive/shift with one hand while holding a coffee in the other. I've also been dealing with a severely warped front rotor that has made driving less enjoyable. I finally bit the bullet today and ordered new rotors, even though the current ones have less than 10k miles on them. Not fun to order parts that should not have worn out, and that are purely maintenance items. My last reason for driving it less is that I just moved to a new place, and the roads around the house are pretty horrible. Between traffic and poor condition it's almost a chore to drive to get anywhere that is remotely enjoyable in a 964.
Reading the original post was like reading something I myself wrote. Ditto for many of the posts in response.
I have had my 964 for almost seven years. Got it for $20k with 60k miles. It is clean, clean. Early on, drove it a bunch, though never on salted roads or, even, moderately rainy days.
Over last couple years, I've driven it less and less. But, I love it more and more. As a lifelong car and racing guy, one who knows the history of sports cars, I view it as artwork. The DNA, the connection to the past and to drivers like people from Mark Donohue to Hurley Haywood, the overall vibe all make it artwork to me. Artwork I can back out into the driveway, wash, wax, take for a drive every once in a while and then sit in with a glass of wine and almost tear up.
I bought a cheap Lexus SUV with good AC and heat and terrific in snow a couple years ago, thus removing the DD adjective from the car.
Nice thread. Thanks.
If it isn't snowing, raining like hell, or a really hot day I drive it. Plain and simple. If I don't drive a 964 for a few days especially a week, I get withdrawals. I have gotten lucky in finding the 3 964's, although I am not as optimistic that if I wreck one now I can find another. That being said, life is short so I drive hard and I drive often.
Like the Max Jax. I just didn't want to have to move it out of the way and it was more money then the Bend Pack lift I can just drive over and park. I just want every type of lift imaginable. Man, does a lift make working on these cars so much more pleasurable. No more being a jack stand animal.
No doubt these cars are a blast to drive. But so many factors come into play why I or others do or don't drive their cars. First of all to me they are toys more than a mode of transportation.
I daily drove a 911 from the early 80's to the late 80's when I purchased my first SUV. Driving down Rt 3 into Hoboken everyday took its toll. Eventually I decided it was more work than it was worth. Being surrounded by bad drivers taking 1+ hours to drive 13 miles sucked no matter what I was in.
I purchased every Porsche I owned except the first couple for two purposes either as a weekend driver or a track car. I would rather drive a Cayenne or my Raptor when I need an Urban assault vehicle which is 70% of the time. If I can use the remaining 30% to do nothing but drive fast and furious I would but it is not always priority one.
I find I enjoy my cars on the track more than I do the street where I can push the car and myself to the limits for some safe and serious fun.
No doubt I drive some of them less than before because the value has gone through the roof. Although it doesn't change my approach to driving. If I commit to taking one car out or another I do so with the intention of driving it as it was meant to be driven. A car like my turbo I take out infrequently but when I do it is for a nice 300 mile drive with some friends. The rest of the time it is at shows winning trophies. In some ways I wish it didn't have all original paint and is about as perfect as a car can get. However, it is, so I treat it with the respect it is owed. Looking back I have about 6-8k miles on it in hindsight was a waste and I gained no pleasure from driving it in bad conditions or for no reason.
Just like anything you buy new you use it all the time at first but as time goes by you use it less and less for one reason or another. Or in a case like Rudy it is what the latest flavor is that gets the attention. How many installed pools or purchased pool tables that they used for the first year and now collect dust or alge.
Am I preserving my cars? To a degree. Am I doing it for the next owner? No. I see no reason to abuse the cars for no reason (this relates to everything I own) I make each mile count and best part is I have cars that always look as good as they perform and the days that I want to take them out they are ready for Go and or Show. If anyone will benefit, it will be my son one day. He will inherit a fine collection of toys and what he does with them is up to him. I won't be able to say a thing at that point.
Don't forget that many of you own the cars you do because someone else was preoccupied or didn't drive the car on salty roads and inclement weather. I agree letting them just sit especially unprotected is a crime but I would rather see a car not driven then abused for no reason or just to drive it to the liquor store to get door dinged by some inconsiderate ****.
FYI there is no longer some arbitrary mileage that devalues these cars. My C2 is just a hundred miles over 60k and it has not impacted any offers or interest I get. Condition is more important. Unless your car has well below 60k miles and is in perfect original condition/paint etc and or a turbo 3.6 it is what it is. Make the miles count and you will always have the smile when you need it and others that know what you have will be jealous of you.
01-12-2016, 03:11 PM
