High mileage car and driving habits.....
 

I currently have a CLS 550 and I am looking for something a step up in performance and fun, which got me to looking at 997.1 Turbos. I will buy the car to drive it as my main driver 80% of the time here in MI. I will probably put 12-15k miles on per year. With that said, I feel like a higher mileage car with 60K+ miles on it should be fine for me. I would look for one with good service records and that has been well maintained with hopes for driving well over the 100k mile mark. There are a few out there with this amount of miles in the $52k-$60k range. Two questions....is my thinking right that if I am going to put a lot of miles on it and it wont be a just a weekend/garaged car (I am not overly concerned about future value) that I should already purchase a high mileage car? The low mileage cars with 25k miles are asking $65k-$80k compared to finding something hopefully in the low to mid $50k range. All my driving is around town and on the expressways and I actually prefer a automatic, so I feel a Tiptronic car and Mezger engine combo will be a great combination for my intended purposes of driving a lot and enjoying the car. Am I missing anything or way off base in my thinking? Thank you in advance and I have enjoyed reading all of your forum posts. You guys here are a wealth of knowledge.

I think you are spot on with your evaluation. I don't see a need to buy a low mileage car at a premium then pile on the mileage. 60k -70k miles on a TT is nothing if it's been maintained. You probably would need a separate set of snow tires/rims for the winter if you try to drive during that season. These cars are pretty low as well; they tend to act as snow plows with anything over 3-4".

I bought my car with 60k miles and just passed 69k in less than a year of ownership..its not my DD, hell its my rarely drive but when I do take it out once a week or every other week I put some miles on it and run it through the gears hard. I ride my motorcycle 90% of the time but when I take the car out...she gets her workout in. I did not care for resale value since I got mine with all the mods and warranty included for an amazing deal compared to what others are asking. If you cant find a tip 09 with 60k miles for mid 50s then youre buying from a stealership obviously

Your plan is a good one

Just MAKE SURE it has a service history. If not, find one that does and has been cared for.

I'd also not plan on using it during winters if you live where snow accumulation is common and more than a few inches. Yeah you can throw snows on it, but it's really not fun or a pragmatic vehicle for regular snowy commutes.

high mileage would definetely suit your needs. i bought mine with 60k miles. i would make sure all the usual 997.1 tt issues have been sorted. take it from my mistake since i bought mine i had to install the sharkwerks coolant elbows, pin the rest, replace the cam sensor, replace mass airflow sensor, replace both fuel pumps, replace the horn imagine that, and a few other things for a manual car (clutch master cylinder, accumulator)that you would not have to deal with. at that mileage you want to make sure those issues have been sorted, trust me. at least now i know most of everything on my car is new and gives me the confidence to drive without fear