redlightrich

I have read the question of if anyone uses their GT3 as a DD. I have come to the conclusion that it is all in the perspective. About 6 years ago, my daughter and I went for a ride in a 71 340 Dodge Demon 4 speed. Yes it is a cantankerous machine. She asked, very seriously, "was this ever someones car? Like did they drive it to work or shopping?"

I laughed and said, yes this is how cars were in the 70s. My daily car ( in 1978) was a 68 Chevelle .

Fast forward to today, for many reasons I have been driving a Miata every day since August. I bought it used 2 years ago with 9000 miles. It now has 20000 miles, and if it were to disintegrate into dust in my driveway, I would feel as if I got every penny from that car.

Now, I briefly tried a 2015 TTS, and felt that I was riding in Liberace's charriott. Way too refined for my taste. Yes a great car, but so refined as to have lost some of its special qualities ( until you hit the gas pedal that is).

Then I spend some time driving around in my new GT3, which is my 2nd go round at this, and although it is raw, it also can be civilized. The cabin is so much more quiet than my Miata, so much so, I can have a phone conversation while driving ( the Miata has so much cabin noise I need to use a plantronix to talk, as the bluetooth picks up too much noise.
Then there is the PDK vs 6 speed. PDK is easier ( unless you are in bumper to bumper) then it may be a bit difficult.
I am not making a direct comparison between a Miata and a Porsche, because frankly, the Porsche better win every category.

What I am saying is it all comes down to perspective. My biggest fear about DD the GT3 is it may start to feel "normal" to me. I may get used to hearing the clacking motor, and the noisy transmission. The brakes that squeal so loud that other motorist stare. The gear changes that are so fast that you don't "bow" forward. So it often sits in my garage, waiting for those special moments. This spring I will begin tracking it.

My wife ( who lets me get anything I want as long as I listen to a snarky comment or 2) says " why don't you get a real car? You know, one that you can actually drive?" She thinks of cars as utility.
We all see them as part of our being. I couldn't imagine a world in which I can't aspire to obtain a terrific driving machine. Sure I want an Enzo or even an F40, maybe a Carrera GT? Maybe a Maserati MC12? Maybe a GT40?

Unless you have so much money that 7 figures is meaningless( yes I realize 6 figures will get me 2 on my list) , it is hard to justify. But I will tell you, if you drove even the F40 every day, without fail, during mundane tasks, it would probably feel less special, although I am sure the GT3 would be the most civil on that list.

If I drove it for 2 years and accumulated 30000 miles, and sold it for 95000, I would have experience less depreciation hit than most other cars, but the cost of the car and it's depreciation are lower on my list.

In closing, I believe we are all fortunate. I am grateful to be pondering these type of questions.

Thank you for listening to my rant. Now, I need to remove my car from the garage!!

Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it!!! ( I am no longer going to make believe I don't celebrate Christmas to be PC)

Rich

Keith Verges - Dallas

Refreshing - I rotate through several cars, none have DD status over any other - makes each one feel more "fresh" as it goes through the rotation. And oddly, I just bought the new Miata and you can use the BT with the top down at 40-50 mph no problem (but not highway). Sure it's wimpy, but with 2300 lb it's very lively and a welcome stable mate to the GT3 IMO.

I'm not sure I could have a DD that was boring. Closest I have is a 6-speed CTSV Wagon and even that is pretty capable.

signes

What a great post. Perspective, so true. I kind of laugh at comments we see around here about he GT3 being too rough or "race car" to DD. It's a great machine for almost any use, and you are right, we are fortunate to have these debates.

Merry Christmas to you!

R.Deacon

MC Rich

scb997

I've been driving my GT3, as a daily driver, for 16 months and almost 26,000 miles, so far. It never feels less special. It still makes me smile every time I see it, at the end of a day's work, to take me home

I've spent the last month in minivan heck. I was rear-ended in stop-and-go traffic (on the Baltimore beltway) in mid-November. The truck "almost" got stopped. I thought, at first, it was "just a flesh wound" (bumper cover and tail lights). But, there's the air inlet assembly and a lot of plastic and carbon fiber that got crunched. It's taken a couple of iterations between the insurance appraiser and the shop to get the prices for the parts right. GT3 parts can be way more expensive than the Carrera equivalents I'm hoping it's back in time for Christmas.

But, IMO, that's the biggest issue with using a GT3 (or any of those candidates) for a daily driver - the other people, who might be a little less attentive, on the roads.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Scott

redlightrich

Well thanks everyone and SCB997 sorry about the rear ender!!! It really can happen at any time, but it is terrific to see some really use it.

So it really helps me decide. I once saw a 430 that had near 100k miles on it, Yes it sold under value, probably by 25%. It became a price car. But I bet the previous owner felt that they fully got the value out of it.

Yes this forum is great indeed!!! There are so many different points of view!!

16'991GT3

^^ I agree with you, I will be DDing mine when it comes in and the one thing that scares me most is getting hit by others, lot of bad drivers out here in MA always have to watch out, I mean i got rear ended while i was stopped at a traffic light...... since then been so paranoid about other drives

Drifting

My other car is having some work done, so I"ve been daily driving my GT3 for the past 10 days. It's a treat every time I get in the car, and car is comfy enough and PDK good enough for this purpose. However, I must admit the counterpoint is how angry I'd be if i got in an accident while just using the GT3 to commute, which this thread just reminded me.

I love my GT3, but she's going back to weekend only use after this week.

Bonus is that driving the GT3 is even more thrilling when I haven't driven her for a week.

cantdrive55

GREAT post, rich...

and MERRY CHRISTMAS...