Gallop

I was talking to a friend who lives in Germany and he thinks we Americans are crazy that we get rid of our 911s when they have "high mileage" like 100k-150k. He said Germans (and most Europeans) consider 911s with 100k miles (or equivalent in km) as a baby, and 911s are built to hit 300k miles easily if well maintained. He thinks it's an American cultural phenomenon that we trade these cars at $100k miles (or less) thinking they are high-mileaged cars... when in fact they're not even at mid-life span... Thoughts? Is he nuts or are we?

Personally I was happy to hear this refreshing viewpoint because it means that with 55k miles my '07 is just a baby! Woohoo!

Dennis C

I have a Swedish friend who told me that in Sweden, the average ownership time for a car is 17 years.

robh75

I think this is cultural phenomenon because a) American cars used to be so unreliable which is partly why 100K has always been seen as "high"; and b) Americans want the "latest and greatest" (often through leases) so don't keep cars so long on average.

workhurts

Our 100k miles is probably like their 200k km. If you think about it, out cars probably do less stop and go than theirs.

As a percentage of salary, cars in the US are much cheaper than in Europe so I think we tend to go through them a bit faster.

I don't think it's just cars. I think Europeans are just a bit more frugal/resourceful. Might a WW2 thing.

ADias

YES!

Ynot

We are just more spoil, we have a bit more disposable income, and used cars are much cheaper, making it much easier to obtain. For a lot of Americans, Porsche is their second or third car and not daily drivers so getting to 100K will take a very long time. We usually get bored with the car before it gets to 100K. For me, mine is a 2006 and has 24K miles, at this rate, I'll never get to 100K, maybe my son will or maybe, I'll sell it before then.

Redline911

Have you driven, or know anyone that owns a 100k mile Ford product? My brothers' daily is a 10 yr old Mercury Mountianeer with 110k on the clock. The thing is on life support. If it makes it to 120k it will be a miracle. Plus it's worth about $1,500. So for many cars, 100k is about the lifespan. The 911 is not one of those cars.

sebBo13

If anything I would say it is the other way around. Seems like in the US a lot more regular people drive 911s, whereas in Europe (at least in Germany) Porsches are mostly owned by "doctors and lawyers" who have several other cars. Also germans do a lot of "good" Autobahn km partly because most cities are within a few hour drive of each other and flying within Germany is a bitch. OCD does the rest ;-)

DC911S

Had an first generation Integra that has 245K miles on it, when I traded it for a new 1998 Integra Type R Number 313. Ran great, had some metal cancer, leaked a bit of fluids, but did not burn oil, AC still worked. Can a 911 go that far? Who knows.

freeman2344

This is quite true. Being German myself, I believe I can shed some light on this. "Regular" people truly wouldn't dream of owning a 911 - at least not a new one (heck, I always have to chuckle when I hear about people complaining that 911s are too common - if you live in a rural area, like me, you're probably the only 911 owner in the area...it's surely different in Hamburg and Munich though). Make no mistake. Germany is a very wealthy nation and the standard of living is obviously very high, but comprehensive social security obviously comes at a cost as well and performance vehicles are not high on most people's priority lists. You also have to consider that even though the average person has much less cash available to spend every month, a new 911 itself is also much more expensive than it is in the US. If prices were somewhat aligned, it would probably be more realistic for more people. Hell, even Corvettes are expensive over here.

As regards the high mileage...well, I'd say it is actually WORSE over here (for a reason I also don't understand). It's true that most people use their cars all year (including me) - as that's what a 911 is for...but since we're using the metric system, the "cut-off" mileage comes a lot sooner as that's 100k KM (which is 62k miles) - it's what we would call the "Magische Grenze", literally a "magic threshold". Passing this mark alone causes the vehicle to lose a few thousand € in value. I personally don't agree with this at all, especially as our 997s get older. The condition of the vehicle is a lot more important than mileage can ever be. And, as a previous poster has noted, I'd rather have a high-mileage Autobahn cruiser than a low-mileage garage queen.

Wayne Smith

My F150 had 237K on it when I traded it in. My F250 currently has 155K and is running great. My Econoline was over 300K when I sold it.

Able1

I have done 200k in a Dodge a Ford and a Gm, if I cannot get 200k out of my Porsche, then shame on Porsche.

sebBo13

Given the quite impressive accumulative mileage that some of you guys rack up you should really start thinking about buying a plane or at least a helicopter ;-)

Redline911

Well then the trucks are sure different than the cars. My first car was a 1986 Ford Escort GT manual. It needed $3k of work and wasn't worth that much so it went to the scrap heap at 86k miles. My 1992 5.0 LX Mustang died at 120k and 1996 Explorer made it to about 115k. That was my last Ford product. Never again!

wc11

I think it comes down to decades of market "conditioning".
Most auto companies offer x number of years and 100,000 miles as a warranty so Joe public worries when warranty expires. How many of us very Porsche owners look for aftermarket extended warranties?

And then it's the , "I want a new car every few years" thing.
Companies are offering shorter and shorter lease terms to get some in to new cars in as little as 18 months.

My DD is a '98 4Runner with 502,000km (312,000 miles) and still runs great