Reunited

[Pilot2519j]

When anyone buys this car you can expect a big hit as soon as you leave the parking lot and that's the reality. Not to use the car because it depreciates is wrong since the car will depreciate normally whether it has one mile or a thousand miles. Granted at different rates but like gravity it goes down. Hence the reason to have the car is to enjoy it daily rain, sleet or snow. I drive it 20 miles a day making the drive to work immersed in melodious engine music. No matter how bad the day was there is always the drive home listening to the Porsche symphony.
With that I agree to disagree with the rest. No changing this old dog, time is running short so I choose to enjoy it as much as possible

[hjkim550]

Hey Nick,

I took the Boxster out today with my oldest boy in the passenger seat. He wanted to put the top down; and with the seat heaters and the window raised.... very nice indeed. We had nowhere to go and no agenda. Just the sun on our heads and the beckoning road ahead. Too bad there are no decent twisties around here. I do hope that the weather stays nice but I am not too optimistic.
Looking forward to meeting you, Sammy and the rest of the Chicago crew at the April 20th autocross.

Pilot,

Like I posted elsewhere, to each his own. Like Nick, I choose to keep my car garaged in the winter. I have a very, very short commute and I do not work every day.... about 12 - 14 days per month. I do not have any delusions that by keeping my car garaged, I am going to have less depreciation.... it is going to continually depreciate. I know this. But, these infrequent tiny short drives in the winter would be hard on the engine and I rather beat on my Mazda than buy a whole new set of winter tires and winter rims for my Boxster. I would hate to continually wash my Boxster by hand in the winter.... not worth it. I rather wait for nicer weather and properly stretch out the Boxster.

To each his own.

[Lil bastard]

Either way it's a matter of personal preference.

But, I live in the Great White North where it takes several minutes for the oil to flow sufficiently to float the crank when your avg. winter temp is 10°-20°. Running it in winter would certainly accelerate engine wear. I agree, not an issue if your ownership plans are short term (mine aren't).

But maybe the greatest factor in my hibernating the car each winter is that it just cannot be driven to it's limits in cold weather - if all I'm doing is using it as a means of conveyance, what's the point?

I didn't buy the Boxster for this - a Honda/Toyota/Hyundai/Subaru, etc. does a much better job of that. It takes a lot of miles to heat up the tires sufficiently to perform as designed, and there's always that unknown icy patch just ahead, not to mention the inability of other drivers raising the potential of a collision in the bleak weather.

+1 to Blue2000 - the winter can take a terrible toll on the underside. Aside from the looks, it can make the car harder to service when all the fasteners on the underside sieze from rust. ++1 that Sports Cars have increasingly become less fun, heavier, more complex and more difficult to repair/maintain. Winter use (IMO) just compounds the issues.

And, avoiding Winter Driving does preserve the car. Last fall, I was on a cruise and stopped at a scenic overlook - potty stop/ leg stretcher. A mid-aged guy and his wife on a Harley pulled in and asked if the car was new. I told them it was 10 yrs. old - a '99 and they said they couldn't believe it, that it looked showroom new. Probably not possible had I run it the past 10 winters.

I don't have any regrets cocooning the Boxster for 5 mos./ yr. Aside from making the car worth more in years to come, it heightens my appreciation of it for the other 7 mos. of the year. It's one of the Rights of Spring.

True, I'm Jones'n for it right now, but we just passed Daylight Savings, so the end is nye - YEA!!

[NickCats]

Hyung,

That's another one of the disadvatages of not having a glass rear window like your 2004. Couldn't put the top down yesterday with fear of cracking the plastic

Nick

Well, I bought my car to drive it with the top down. If I can't lower the top, I don't take it out.

I don't drive it during the winter, mainly because I don't have too. I have other safer, 4X4 vehicles to drive.

From April-October I drive the Boxster about 1 day per week. Usually for more than 300 miles that one day. I probably drive my car more than most of you owners that use the Boxster as a daily-driver.

[CT986S]

Like bmussatti, March 29th is the day for me. Can't wait. I do drive mine a time or two per month in Winter as weather permits. I discovered when I bought this car (01 S) that it wants to be driven, which requires leaving the burbs and I don't usually have that big a time window. I drive the Boxster like my gone, but not forgotten S/C Miata. The way I look at it, if I don't have tire dust on the rear fenders I'm not driving it right, and I can't do that with sand around every corner...
Besides, I just found out the production date for my tires was 2600!

Gotta go troll the tire threads!

Kevin

[986911]

I also dont drive my Pcar in the winter. Last year I covered her in the garage from Dec-Apr. This year I didnt cover her, but drove her a few times because of our mild winter here in NY. Took her out the other day & my CEL came on. Shes back in the garage awaiting fix.

[Frodo]

Admittedly, I recently used this pic on another (older) thread, but I like it and it sort of sums up what this thread is about, so hell with it, I’m a usin’ it agin:

What I’m driving now…and what I plan on driving pretty damn soon:


When I got my Box (June ’06) I swore I wouldn’t drive it from the first Fall/Winter snow eliciting the spreading of salt until winter’s end, to include a good hard rain to wash away that road salt. This was a purchase I wasn’t even sure I could justify financially. (I didn’t even think about a 911---I just couldn’t reasonably afford it.) So I was determined to take care of it. While I still want to do that, I have softened my stance a little, for three reasons:

1) I’ve come to believe that it’s not really in the best interest of the car to sit totally idle for that long, at least not unless you (unlike me) want do a whole laundry list of things to prepare the car for its hibernation;

2) If the roads are dry, I don’t really think driving on them is a big deal, even with a little dry salt on them. (I think it’s the salt dissolved in water/slush that works itself way into the nooks ‘n’ crannies and causes eventual problems---take a look at the driver’s side rear wheel well of the Camry); and last but certainly not least,

3) I just don’t want to go that long without driving her.

That’s my compromise position, and I’m stickin’ with it!

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by Frodo

Admittedly, I recently used this pic on another (older) thread, but I like it and it sort of sums up what this thread is about, so hell with it, I’m a usin’ it agin:

What I’m driving now…and what I plan on driving pretty damn soon:


When I got my Box (June ’06) I swore I wouldn’t drive it from the first Fall/Winter snow eliciting the spreading of salt until winter’s end, to include a good hard rain to wash away that road salt. This was a purchase I wasn’t even sure I could justify financially. (I didn’t even think about a 911---I just couldn’t reasonably afford it.) So I was determined to take care of it. While I still want to do that, I have softened my stance a little, for three reasons:

1) I’ve come to believe that it’s not really in the best interest of the car to sit totally idle for that long, at least not unless you (unlike me) want do a whole laundry list of things to prepare the car for its hibernation;

2) If the roads are dry, I don’t really think driving on them is a big deal, even with a little dry salt on them. (I think it’s the salt dissolved in water/slush that works itself way into the nooks ‘n’ crannies and causes eventual problems---take a look at the driver’s side rear wheel well of the Camry); and last but certainly not least,

3) I just don’t want to go that long without driving her.

That’s my compromise position, and I’m stickin’ with it!

Unfortunately, dry salt in the presence of just humidity will start the oxidation process. It's not as aggressive as salty water, but it's still doing it's job. If you do drive the car in the winter in areas that salt is used on the roads, at least wash the car frequently. Make sure to wash off the suspension parts as aluminum oxidizes too. Try to get the underside of the engine and as much of the gas tank as you can as well. These are some of the areas where it sneaks up on you.

[hjkim550]

Ugggh!! Spoke too soon,

Snow, snow and more snow forcasted for this Easter weekend and the next week with lows in the 20s.

Man... I hate Chicago winters

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by Pilot2519j

When anyone buys this car you can expect a big hit as soon as you leave the parking lot and that's the reality. Not to use the car because it depreciates is wrong since the car will depreciate normally whether it has one mile or a thousand miles. Granted at different rates but like gravity it goes down. Hence the reason to have the car is to enjoy it daily rain, sleet or snow. I drive it 20 miles a day making the drive to work immersed in melodious engine music. No matter how bad the day was there is always the drive home listening to the Porsche symphony.
With that I agree to disagree with the rest. No changing this old dog, time is running short so I choose to enjoy it as much as possible

I'm not talking about depreciation, I'm talking about loss of value or loss of property due to mechanical decay or damage, it's a very different thing. You can abuse a car and replace them often, and I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, or you can hold onto the car that you enjoy for many years (I've owned my Rx-7 for over 20 years because I can't find a car that I like better) but you have to be more careful with it. In the years that I've owned sports cars, I've become convinced that car's aren't getting better or more fun, they're getting heavier and safer with each successive year.

It's up to the owner, no one's right, just different. You won't be able to convince me to drive my cars in winter and I won't be able to convince you of the opposite and there's nothing wrong with that. But I can confidently say that my Boxster will last longer than yours in the long run.