2ndof2

Prob. a good question for a therapist if I had one. My p-car mechanic makes me feel like I drive it too much, my friend with his 2 year old 997 garage queen with 4500 miles makes me feel guilty too. He even went so far as to tell me my 993 is "done" as in all used up because I have 75K miles and counting. He jokes and says how come I won't take it on long trips so I can get to 100K miles more quickly! Pretty funny, but I'm actually concerned about wearing out too much stuff on the car from use. Its probably because I like the car so much I really have no plans to get rid of it. And now after adding a little refrigerant and new belts yesterday my mechanic comfirmed that I have a slightly leaky damper...turns out I still have the original monroes after 75K! Time to dump more $$$$ into suspension I guess. The pressure is causing me to reconsider a cheap commuter car for the daily 60 mile round-trip commute. Trouble is I'll miss driving the 993 and feel guilty for NOT driving it.....

RallyJon

At 75k, there shouldn't be any guilt.

I can understand that you might take a breath and think about whether you might want to sell just before hitting the major value-reducing mileage points (50k, 100k), but if you love the car, are keeping the car, and already have 75k on it, just get out and drive!

Arena993

Guilt to me is not driving my car enough

Adrienne

At over 132,000 miles on mine, I have long ago gotten over the guilt. I can relate, but think about this: what, or who, are your saving it for? It's a car, not an investment.

To be honest, if your mechanic is giving you a hard time, he is a terrible business man.

Get the suspension done, and enjoy it even more. You can drive the 993 as long as you want. It's completely rebuild-able (you might mention that to your mechanic!!). For the price, it cannot be replaced.

trickydisco

I totally hear you.
I too feel quite guilty adding ANY mileage on my car,
which ofcourse is totally absurd. Not logical at all,
but I think we all recognize that our cars are special,
and all things being equal, we would rather a smaller
number on the clock than a larger.

Having said that, those of us who truely DRIVE our
cars get considerably more intrinsic value and full-on
joy than I experience.

It's the trade-off, I suppose.

I'm looking at a 3 Series as a daily that can still provide
joy, but of course there is no comparison.

Paul902

Don't feel guilty...It is your car, you've paid the cost to be the boss (to steal a thought from BB King). For me, I know that it is an expensive toy, and that it has a fixed lifetime after which the good will be worn out of it. Whether I use up those miles in 5 years, or 50 years is OK with me, as long as I am enjoying each mile to the fullest. For me that generally means driving it when I am in the mood to experience my Porsche, not simply that I need to get from A to B, but each to his own. It is an awesome car, enjoy it as you see fit.

95 C4 993

Sell your 993 so your mechanic and friend can make you feel more guilty. After that, fire your mechanic and then tell your friend that a real man drives his 997. At the end of the day, his garage queen 997 is depreciating.

Who cares how many miles are on it and what others think.

c993k

Cut a piece of black electrical tape and cover the numbers, Out of sight, out of mind! It works.
Chris

s4vant

As someone who's been surrounded by death for the past few years, including a potentially life threatening head injury myself, I've come to one resounding conclusion: live today to its fullest, and don't waste time worrying about tomorrow. Planning for the future has not been abandoned mind you, but I embrace each day fully from start to finish and do not deny myself any wants (within reason, of course). Time spent deliberating is wasted. Commuting in a 993 has to be less painful than the same act done in some soulless practical box. Plus, you never know if that commute may be your "last drive", and who wants that act to have taken place in their "other car"? What am I saying to you? Stop wasting time worrying if you're driving your car too much, and instead spend that time basking in the smell of warm oil and the sound of that flat six on your favorite road.
You can bet I will when I have one.
Cheers,
Jason

Adrienne

^^^works for the CEL, too!!

pcar964

Your friend is just confused, because his car probably won't last 100k miles without having the engine or transmission replaced. You simply need to educate him on what Porsche reliability used to be like, and then he will see that 75k miles is just broken in for a 993

msw

at 185K miles on my 97 turbo...I must not only be guilty, but convicted, sentenced to death, and well into the afterlife.

2ndof2

My friend has owned a 944, 911 Carerra, 964, 996, and now a 997. The most miles he ever put on was about 12K before selling. He likes the newest P-cars and would rather sell before expensive problems or repairs occur, however, I bet the depreciation hit is equal to or more than the cost of repairing a well used car and keeping it. I have not lost sight that we all live once and that using the car is fun. Just paranoid about sh*tty drivers, theft, vandalism, and parking lots. Aside from that its really just repair costs that concern me but if that was the biggest consideration I guess I wouldn't drive a Porsche.

Allen

Bottom line is that it costs more per mile to drive a 993 than say...a Honda. When I first got mine over 6 years ago, it was a pretty good "stretch" just to be able to buy it...ie: there would be no money left over for a "maintenance fund". So I purposely very much limited my driving...because I couldn't afford to be spending any money on the car. As time went on, I became able to afford to drive the car more and more, so I allowed myself to drive it more and more. Now, I don't really pay any attention to miles...it just so happens that I put about 3000 a year, simply because it's a weekend/nice day car. It really did suck having to do that, but it was my strategy going into the deal AND it was the only way I was able to get the car.

993RS

Life is too short not to drive one's 993 as much as possible..