I bought my 02 in February of this year with 37K miles from the original owner and have 57K now. I expect to drive about 24-25K annually, as I did with my Acura TL 3.2. I drive my 986 everyday, rain or shine (live in Florida so I do get wet alot). My typical commute to work is almost 70 miles RT, about 1.5 hours total drive time, mostly highway and heavy traffic or through construction zones. I deal with flying debris on a daily basis, bumpy roads, lots of 1st and 2nd gear shifting and clutchwork on the highway in rush hour. Although I always appreciate the opportunity to drive a car like this daily, there are costs to it.
I expect to replace back tires every year, fronts about every 18 months. I do oil changes at 15 K at a cost of about $300 at a local speed shop (dealer too expensive for me for the same work). Coming up on the 60 K service in a few weeks which will cost me about $600. Just put fresh rubber on(Michelin Pilot Sport ZR N2's) at $257 each at Costco.
I got lucky and found this nicely broken in car with a 2 year warranty which covers everything including tire hazards. I drive it safely and open it up when I have the chance. I take it on weekend trips with my wife and find it has just the right amount of space for our luggage and all my camera gear. I just added an iPod connector thanks to the great info on this site.
I think about all the people who have these great cars tucked away in the garages and talk about driving them on occasion- not why I bought mine. I expect to have more seat time at speed in my car this year than many will have for the duration of time they own them. I could not be happier with this choice. When it wears out I will get another porsche. Comparatively, they are not that expensive to buy, a bit more than normal to maintain, and with average reliability they are an absolute blast to pilot.
If you are seriously thinking of a 150K vehicle you will need to consider replacing the engine, or at least be ready to. The lightweight block is not particularly known for a very long lifespan, and retail sales figures drop considerably as the mileage goes up on the 986. I'd keep the Bimmer and use both cars.
I spend about an hour every other weekend to clean her up. I have a Lapis metallic with Metropol Blue top. Dark colors do show more imperfections and oh my does it shine when it's cleaned up. I just wash and dry it, and wax it about every 3 months. The car looks great, drives great and has some "age" on the front nose. I plan to pull it and repaint it when it starts to make me embarrassed.
In closing, buy one, drive it as you like, drop the top whenever you can and live your dreams
