Ben Z

I love my 997. I love every moment I drive it. It is my only car and therefore my daily driver. But my commute is only 7 miles each way. Occasionally I take it on a 50-100 mile jaunt, and am sick of the road noise and harsh ride after a half hour. If I had a 100 mi 3 hr r/t commute every day I would get a 3-4 yr old E-Class Merc with diesel. Quiet, comfy, and good for 500K miles if properly maintained.

Para82

Seriously? 1/2 hour?

Driven mine 13 hours straight numerous times and that never got old, smooth and fast.

Ben Z

Took it on a 100 mile R/T today down I-95 and back because we were running late and my wife's merc was low on gas. Shouting over the road noise to have a conversation, volume way up to hear the GPS directions, constant jolting going over road irregularities. Maybe a twisty road through the mountains would be a blast (I'd have to drive about 12 hours from here to even find one of those ), but a straight shot down the interstate in heavy traffic, not so much. LIke I said, I love the car, but not for long commutes.

secondshot

First day i bought mine, i drove it 700 miles. It's a cab, and even so, the road noise was no problem. And when i got home (on some pretty bumpy roads mixed in with highway), i stepped out of car feeling pretty good. I was fairly amazed at how i felt when after that drive. I have a lexus suv too, so i know what he other side feels like. Love both. Don't know about every day 100 miles though.

Petza914

I drive mine back and forth to Charlotte all the time (doing it again tomorrow as a matter of fact), which is about 150 miles from me and sometimes do the same day round trip, and don't have any issues with comfort, noise, etc and it has Bilstein Damptronics, the full RSS Race suspension setup, and the TPC DSC suspension control module. We also drove my wife's with a stock PASM setup down to FL on a Friday and back on a Sunday (around 600 miles each way). Not trying to insult you by any means, but if you can only "stand" to be in the car for 30 minute stints, seems like it may not be the right car for you.

AlohaCS

With Pirellis my C2S was very noisy, Michelin PSS made a world of difference.

MY997

To each his own...as "they" say...anyone ever figure out who "they" are???

If Ben Z gets uncomfortable after 1/2 hour "so be it"...but I am kind of agreeing with the mass here in that my daily drive is about 1/2 hour and at the end of it each way I am like "I want to keep driving" and mine is all stop and go I-275 which has been underconstruction FOREVER! LOL

PS...and my wifes car is an Lexus ISC so I know what luxury feels like...

Comanche_699

My dad was always fond of responding to that question with a very serious face,
"They my dear son, is EVERYONE other than you." - I still catch myself saying it in my head every time I hear it asked now, and I'm 44. hahaha

I am one of the lucky (or unlucky depending on your view) that can walk to work, so I don't commute in my 997 - but it is my only car, and I average about 20,000 miles per year - strictly pleasure driving. On the weekends, I'll take a 2 or 3 our cruise up the coast and enjoy it so much that I rarely stop to get out and take in the scenery.

I've driven the car back and forth from Marin County to Palm Springs and everywhere in between and like others have said, rarely feel a need to get out of the car. Granted - 5 or 6 hours in any car, even the back seat of a Maybach can be a little tiring, but I manage to get out and stretch every 2 or 3 hours just to break up the drive. I have the regular comfort seats in mine, I have always wanted to try the adaptive sport seats, but never see them come up in Stone Grey on the used market.

I would not be very into the standard California stop-and-go traffic with three pedals, especially if you're dealing with some of the norcal or SF grades. I remember one time creeping up the hill into Laguna Seca through the main entrance on race day (a rookie mistake I'll never make twice!) - and I wanted to shoot myself in the face by the time I got to the gate.

That said, OP -you know your commute. Plenty of people do it in priuses and honda fits - I'm sure the Porsche would be just fine. To be honest, I have no idea how people manage to commute in econoboxes and not feel like they're just wasting their lives away in there. Up here even the diamond lanes can be stop and go for 30 or 40 minutes each way.

Buy it. You'll see its very doable.

3Series

LOL

Ben Z

LOL I'm not the least bit insulted, in fact your reply gave me a good laugh. Think it over again, and don't worry, take all the time you need. I can only stand to be in it 30 minutes at a time. My daily commute is about 25 minutes each way. So therefore it's actually the perfect car for me.

tanger

I just bot my new to me GTS cab to be a commuter car (45 minutes to go 13 miles!). Nothing like dropping the top after work and hearing that exhaust (even if it is stop-go traffic)...

I don't mind that it is a manual, in fact prefer it.

mwolfe

My Commute: Eastside to Seattle, 22 miles one way. It can be stop and go or up to 75 mph or both. It takes anywhere from 35 to 50 minutes.
My car: '08 Targa 4S, Bought March 2014 with 56K now at 66K. I expect to put on 16+K miles per year

I bought the car as a DD. I think if anyone wants a 911 as a DD, I wouldn't think that resale value is a big priority. The car makes the drive enjoyable. After reading many of the posts above, I will look into changing toe/camber to save tires--the best will likely be not going crazy on the accelerator from starts (is that possible?). I will be doing my own oil changes from here on out.

My only regret is getting a car with so many miles--I just always have a worry in the back of my mind that I do not have any idea how the prior owner treated the car. PPI was fine, no overrevs, I still worry. I would get a car with less miles--that means I could put more on it in the long run. I would consider a PDK if I could afford it.

This is a great thread. Thanks to all the contributors and OP.

beers4all

I hope you can commute in these things. My daily is 200 Km's round trip and my new ride arrived last night.

MY997

I like that...will try to remember it for the next time I am asked...thanks

wem

Update: went with the low price/high milage/well maintained 997. It's an 06 Carrera S cab. Took the long way home last night and was so excited that I got up early today. The plan seems to be working.

Data, in case its useful: 06 Carrera S cab, 100k miles, $29k, new clutch, up to date on all service.
Got PPI at Heyer in Mountain View. Tony suggested doing some preventative maintenance (still has original water pump, battery cable is known issue, potential small crack in coolant tank) that will probably run 2-3k. It also has weird red (aftermarket?) dials that I'd like to swap out. Gotta check out the tech/DIY section.

Any more great advice for preventative maintenance? I'm looking into the camber and more frequent oil. I have to admit that it gave me pause that this car has no spare tire. Anyone find road-side assistance a must?