Conundrum - Family of 4
 

When I bought my 911 (991.1 4S) 3 years ago, my kids were little and fitting the four of us in the car for a spirited ride to get dinner or ice cream was exciting for all. Since then, I’ve moved to working from home and sold my daily driver, so now it’s the 911 and a Tesla X that my wife mainly drives. Ashamed to admit it, but the 911 only gets a few thousand miles of use every year since we take the Tesla most places. However, for those times when my wife is busy and I need to drive the kids around, it’s different now

Driving the kids to school, even sans wife, has turned into a complaint fest, with my kids (13 and 11) fighting over who has to sit in the back seat.

As such, I’ve decided to do something about it and am now torn between adding a third car - something fun and relatively inexpensive like a 4 door Jeep Wrangler and keeping the 911.

Or, my other thought is to sell the 911 and buy something more conducive to our family situation for a few years (say until my daughter is driving in 3-4 years). Naturally my mind goes to Panamera (love me a Turbo), Cayenne Coupe, or Taycan. Have also considered RS7, RSQ8, Rapide, etc

I’m sure I’m not alone in this forum of others that have gone through the same. What did you do? Did you regret it? Did you go back to 911 later in life?

looking for some advice/ real life experiences

Add a 3rd car.

Yeah, I like the 3rd car idea as well.

Wranglers are fun. And your kids are going to be driving soon enough anyway. If you really want to hear them complain, get a manual Wrangler :)

Take a look at the 2025 4Runner. Legendary vehicle in its class and well-loved by owners of all model generations.

If you want fun car to drive and fit your growing kids in the back, go drive a BMW M2 Competition. The newer ones have a polarizing look--some like it, some don't--but the previous version (2019-2021) are great all-around cars. (I have four teenagers, so I am familiar with complaints.)

I vote for getting a pre-owned Cayenne as a 3rd - don’t get rid of the 911.

Are you kidding me! Just 10 seconds ago, I was talking to my cousin about the new 4Runner and how sweet it is that they finally changed the design after 10 years, but for the better, as they keep the old goodness and added stylized bits that make it look better. Nice call :)

BTDT several times as kids were growing up.

An obvious fix would be for the wife to drive the 911 when she has errands so the Tesla is available to you to use for kid taxi? To some that might be akin to blasphemy so…

It might be easier (and less expensive in the long run) to keep the 911 and just buy a 4 Runner (or Jeep or whatever) as a temporary fix for your conundrum. You can then give it to the daughter who will be driving in a few years. In the meantime you have use of the 911.


Such problems, right?

I was faced with a similar dilemma in the past. I embraced the idea of a third vehicle and bought a new GMC Sierra Denali crew cab pickup truck. It was one of the best vehicle decisions that I’ve ever made. I love the truck and I can’t imagine how I lived without one. The utility, comfort, and space are unmatched. A family of four can easily ride in comfort in any seat. The only downside is parking the beast in tight urban areas, but that isn’t common for me. I don’t really daily drive anymore, but the truck is the vehicle that I drive most often.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...5267865f5.jpeg

I have a Tundra as my DD. It's nice to have the pickup bed (I hobby farm and plant about 5 acres of food plots spring and fall so I use the bed quite a bit). If that's too big, maybe a Tacoma?
I've had a pickup of some brand since the early '90s and couldn't imagine life without one.

Couldn't agree more. The 4Runner is arguably perfect for a wide variety of use cases. Such a great vehicle in so many situations from grocery getter to rock crawler.

You will kick yourself (repeatedly) if you let the 911 go. Ask me how I know. We have a base Cayenne (2016) and it is great for 4 or 5 with reasonable cargo space and is very comfortable to drive.
Others have made good suggestions if you don't want to go Porsche for the third car.

Keep the 911, you’re overthinking things on your end. What happens when you replace or add another vehicle… oh wait, more of the same “Dad, but you said I get to ride up front this time…. Noooooooo mom told me it’s my turn….but I cleaned my room first… well I made dad spam pancakes with strawberry jam and whipped cream on top this morning!” Keep in mind, you only get one passenger seat… maybe look into new/old cars with the front bench seat style that holds three up front.

Hey kids (said in your serious dad voice): Every other day you switch from passenger seat, to backseat. This is an all day rule, not a point-to-point rule, so each day kid X has the front seat for all drives on said day, regardless of the event schedule. Kid Y will follow on the next trip, even if the days drives aren’t as eventful or fewer than the previous day. Special cases, Cars n Coffee… you sit up front on the drive there, you get it on the way back - easy peasy man!

Let’s face it, kids are expensive and can be a complete PIA. I know this and Im only a single dog dad :crying: I know it’s easier said than done (from an outside perspective), but a simple plan, and a little tough love will go a long way.

There are lots of used Honda Accords that need a good home.

Add a 3rd car. Find a gently used panamera turbo. They can be had for a small fraction of the MSRP. I got mine over 60% off with 11k miles.