larry47us

I've only had my 2004 996 Targa for two weeks. I LOVE THE CAR!!!!

Winter is coming, and I need to make a decision:

1. Do I get winter tires and wheels (at $1600 for 18" wheels and Blizzak tires) and drive my Porsche all winter, or
2. Do I take the $1,600 and buy a beater to drive all winter long, giving my precious Porsche for a nice long winter nap?

My mechanic says, "sure, you can drive your Porsche all winter, and the body won't rust, but you'll pay the price for additional maintenance as the undercarriage gets corroded by the salt, and the distributor and the cables, and the . . . . . . "

OK, so I buy a beater for the $1600, and then . . . . . I have to put new tires on it, and brakes, and a battery, and new struts, and the rest of the front suspension, and before I know it, I have spent an extra $1,000 - $1,500 to fix up the "beater" so that it's safe to drive. Who wants to do that?

And, even though my car is nice, it isn't like it will be a classic car that needs protection to maintain its value. Right??

So, what should I do, buy winter tires or buy a winter beater??
TIA for your thoughts.

larry

achtung911

buy a dd! (daily driver) beater for the winter.

philooo

I assume it will wear faster but i doubt it will really fall apart. Cars are meant to be driven. If it was a collector I could understand the preservation idea, but it is only a 996. It all depends if you are on a budget or not. I think that driving a 996 is a little more pricey than a 'beater' and even more so if you drive it in the snow, but driving it all year... isn't it priceless

achtung911

i dont dd mine because id put way to many wear and tear miles on in. and would get damaged at my work. the stuff they put down in the winter is terrible for cars and id rather not have my 996 exposed to them ie gravel and chemicals... i bought a 1998 jetta gls for 1500$ its a very nice comfortable car for a dd. and muc cheaper on gas lol

Pac996

keys, brakes work and it still burns fuel makes a simple formula for turn the key and take off. When you get older please tell me how didn't enjoy yourself as much as you could off and regret it. That's a hint

Pac996

Oh yah, when you approach old age and wonder if the back pain will ever go away and be able to drive the porsche? just drive the thing. it's only a car. If I had a 917 I'd daily drive the heck out of it.

Ray S

Get the tires and drive it.......

juankimalo

Drive it!

Enjoy!

In Madrid (Spain) we have between 20º F and 45º F

My friends and me usually go out to drive not so far from Madrid to the mountains, and there we can get snow in high points... before going out we hav a look to the weather forecast, but It's not a problem cold temperatures to enjoy your car in winter season. It's an evident that water, ice and snow are not a 911 best friends, but I don't store my car.





Our cars are always equipped with summer tires, but we get care where to go.

It's a pity a car storaged

Dennis C

I drive mine all winter. I've seriously considered a winter beater car, but I haven't bought one yet. I keep driving the Porshce, and I keep loving it. I just put my Blizzaks on last weekend. (It snowed yesterday by the way, so the timing was good).

Barn996

Drive it and enjoy your Porsche year round, it will be happy and so will you.

Sneaky Pete

Drive mine year round. You should too! I have a set of Blizzak on 18" turbo twists. They work great.

Shark Attack

Porsches do not like to sit. In fact they get down right pissed off. I found the best way to handle the winter is, Plug in the battery minder. Drive it as long as you can till the first flake falls. Then drive it in-between storms when the roads are dry. This has worked out quite well for me the last 5 years. And maybe it is my imagination.. But in colder weather the thing seems to gain about 30 hp

larry47us

Hell, I already AM older. That is why I decided not to wait any longer to buy another Pcar. I'm 62. Was I going to wait till I was 70 - 75 - 80 to finally buy a Pcar and have fun driving it? Nope. I decided to do it now.

The Votes are in and the winner is . . . . . . . "Drive the hell out of it all winter." So, that's what I'm going to do. Now, where did I put that $1,600??

larry

Marc Gelefsky

My winter beater is a Cayenne but on any nice days where it's not to cold I take the 996 out for spin!

Just drive the hell out of it!

LJpete

My beater is a Grand Cherokee. As a previous poster stated, I put the car on a battery maintainer and drive it in between storms.