I am looking for advice from current 911 owners. I have been a Porsche fan for forever and have driven German cars almost exclusively for the past 20 years. I have had my eye on the 911 since I was a child and would like to get a 996 (I am aware of the IMS issue) as for my daily driver. Is this a crazy idea? I drive less than 5k miles a year. I am also a pretty decent home mechanic and I have a lift in my heated garage. I have replaced engines, transmissions, clutches, etc. My current car is an Audi A8 and before that I had a Range Rover so I feel pretty confident that it I can keep them on the road I could maintain about anything. I would likely drive it year-round and since I live in MI that would mean some snow. I would purchase a second set of rims and snow tires so I think it should do alright. So here are my questions:

1. Could a 996 be a dependable daily driver?
2. Could the majority of the maintenance and repair be performed by an average/slightly above average shade tree mechanic with 20 years of experience, well stocked tool cart, and a 2 post vehicle lift.
3. Are there many specialty tools needed for repair/maintenance?
4. Do they drive alright in the snow with proper snow tires? Not looking to go through 2ft of snow but would need it to handle 3 or 4 inches.
5. Any other thoughts? I am looking for your $.02. Looking for honest feedback.

 

1) yes

2) yes

3) yes

4) yes

5) Drive my 2004 C2 cabriolet about 26k miles per year in any and all conditions. Hardtop and 4 snows for winter driving. Not great in heavy slush as the tires are probably too wide even sizing down to the recommended 265s on the rear in winter. This car has been as far north as Fort St John, BC in winter (Mar 2015) but regularly travels over mountain winter roads to inland cities. Very predictable and surprisingly good traction except for heavy slush as noted above. Deep snow is a no go but that's what the awd SUV is for.

 

Excellent. I am so glad to hear from someone who drives it in the snow. Everyone up here that I know puts them away in the winter. I think it will actually be a blast to drive. My main complaint about my Audi A8 is that it goes too well in the snow. I've also been thinking about going with a cabriolet with a hardtop.

 

Buy it. Drive it.
Similiar story to yours, I bought my 2002 C2 in January and have added 6k miles to the odo, including a nice trip from Sacramento to Reno. Great daily driver that has likely helped my job performance due to vastly improved attitude at commute time. Doing Track night inAmerica at Thunderhill onThursday.
Do it!

 

That has always been my outlook on them too. These cars are made to be driven and enjoyed! This means enjoy them on a daily basis too. Why not make the commute more enjoyable. That's what I have been telling my wife for a long time now. To her a car's only purpose is to get you from A to B and nothing more.

 

I've been daily driving mine for past 4 months and I love every second of it. I've manage to put 7K miles during that time.

Even with a 35 mile each way commute stuck in bumper to bumper for half of the time, even with a very heavy clutch with dual mass flywheel (installed by previous owner), even with a lowered H&R coilovers running on run flat tires (makes for a stiff ride)....

But those open stretch roads that i can let the exhaust scream through the miltek headers through the x-pipe 200 cats through the PSE makes it worth it, those off ramps, those extra stress releaving back road detours, the walk up the back parking lot after work staring at the Porsche saying yes that's all mine.

It's the best Daily Driver i've ever had!!!!

 

My wife was not on board with the 911 either. I was going from a TDI Passat and our other car is a minivan. "Not practical". My thought was it was more practical than a Cayman. I wore her down and now I have one. Still married , too.

Only performed basic maint so far but looking forward to water pump, thermostat and brakes in the near future. Dropped the pan to look for debris (it was clean) and changed
to spin on oil filter. All very straight forward.

 

There are still plenty of relative low milage 996 cars out there (50-80k). I think your ideal car would be one with a good maintenance record that has been driven regularily (no garage queen). Be ready to spend up to 5k on maintenance once you get it to set some things straight (RMS, AOS, IMS, waterpump, timing chain tensioners) and give yourself a good start. Get that work done by a good mechanic who can also check the rest of the car with the eye of an experienced mechanic. There are some concerns if your car gets really cold starts but since you've got a heated garage that is pretty much taken care of, at least for that morning start.
With 5k there is absolutely no reason why you should not daily drive & enjoy a beautiful 911. I have kept my A6 quattro aside but it looks a bit sad....doesn't see much driving now!

 

At 5k a year i dont think you will be driving it enough!!! LOL. I drive mine daily.. and by "daily" i mean 21 days a month.

 

I'm about 15k miles into using a 996 as a daily driver. I recommend having a reliable car or alternative method of transport to fall back on when the 996 needs work. Whether that's a 2nd vehicle or the ability to carpool or use public transit, it's a good idea to have a backup. When issues pop up, you'll want to clean them up and eliminate the risk of harming something more expensive downstream of the initial problem.

Issues encountered so far that required a tow:
- broken coolant t-fitting ($13 part) that fouled half a set of old coil packs

Issues discovered & replaced proactively but didn't prevent driving:
- leak in oil cooler line (I forget the cost, it required an engine drop due to routing)
- aging battery cable needed replacing ($75)
- new starter motor to fix the one that was gradually worn out by the battery cable ($111)
- rear engine mounts ($125)
- front left headlight with intermittent loss of connection. Wire trim & resolder cured that ($0)
- clearcoat starting to break up on the front bumper (tbd, haven't addressed it yet)

The OEM plastics used in many of the coolant and SAI system fittings become brittle and break with time. From my experience, the cars are reliable once you set a good baseline for the condition of the car. DIY work saves a lot of money on relatively frequent, minor repairs and can be the difference between being able to enjoy the car vs. stressing constantly about repair bills. Many of the things that go wrong are on the periphery and can be fixed for relatively little money. There are several great resources out there between Pelican Parts, the 101 projects book, and the various forums.

I plan to drive mine about 5-10k/yr going forward and don't have a problem with periodic fixes. After all, it's a 15-year-old car that is very hard to replace in terms of performance per dollar spent. It's been said many times before that DIY work can be the arbiter of whether or not the 996 is the right car. Know what you're getting into and let your appreciation of the car balance out the inevitable elbow grease that will be required.

Remember that around 75% of the value of the car is in the health of the engine. Inspect potential candidates accordingly and know that there is a lot of supply out there to choose from. Good luck.

 

If you daily commute is only a few miles, remember to take it out for a long spirited run at least once a week.

 

1-4 = Yes, yes, yes, yes

5 - I've driven many RWD-only Porsche's in the snow. Tires are key. I run Ultra High Performance All Seasons in Chicago (because avg yearly temps are 50F) and they plow here so snow doesn't get higher than 8" and my car is still fast on the track)

You are in great shape because you can DIY and have a lift.

I personally think that the early 996s are the way to go (dual row IMS, no VarioCam, cheaper cars).

There is always going to be that repair where you say, "how can that tiny part be THAT expensive," but most things are easy to fix on this car.

 

My '99 C4. Like murphy ^, I also drove it year round on ultra high performance all-seasons. But, in Kansas City, we don't get much snow - on average maybe four times per year snows of about 4" to 6" each time and it melts away in a day or two. BTW, the all-wheel drive in these cars isn't really designed for bad weather traction, so don't let buying one with awd be a big factor in your purchasing decision. You'll do fine with a 2 wheel drive model.

 

^This^ is exactly what I was going to say. If you're driving it daily and only putting 5k on it in a year, that means lots of short drives... These engines do best when they get up to full operating temp. (200 deg. F). It seems like the ones that get driven regularly and spiritedly run for a long, long time Good luck

 

Trust me, there will be no short supply of spirited runs. Hopefully much more than once a week.