Public Reactions to Boxster and Daily Driving Philosophy
 

I've recently had a lot of time on my hands to think about my car. Ever since my Boxster's near death experience about a month ago (nearly destroyed the engine, the oil filter looked like someone poured glitter in it, however none made it through the engine) and a massive repair bill, I haven't spent another dime on unnecessary modifications. I've just been enjoying the car. Because isn't that what this car is all about? My car has 140,000 miles and it's a daily driver. I've gotta stop treating it like a 20,000 mile sunny weekend only garage queen. Just need to do basic maintenance, and make sure she stays in working order. The car is mine forever unless I want to lose a whole bunch of money and sell it. When I keep it washed and waxed, the $8,400 car I got almost 2 years ago looks like a million bucks. Ever since it's been painted Guards Red, the public attention has tripled. I don't ever know what to do or say when people ask me "how much?" I don't lie and tell them it was expensive, but if they think it is then I just play along. Occasionally I'll meet someone who knows about the car and is generally interested or people who don't even know what it is but just like it. I like it when it puts a smile on people's faces. I love daily driving a sports car, and my next car will definitely be a Porsche. I'm graduating soon and then it will be time for me to make my own way and buy my own. Hopefully 997 GEN I Carreras will continue to depreciate as the air cooled cars go sky high. Bit of deep thinking here, but I just wanted get some opinions from you guys on the stuff I mentioned here and make a point, sometimes you have to give up the pursuit of perfection and just enjoy the car. It's so damn refreshing, and your bank account will also appreciate it:p

Daily driving? It's expensive. I only drive on weekends for the most part, bought the car with only 9K miles and it'll cross 100K before the end of the year. That's through all four seasons in the northeast.
It's only left me stranded two or three times, one failed starter, the water pump let go literally days after I canceled an appointment to have it done and early on when the throttle body failed prematurely, although that was a limp home so technically not stranded. While the car was more reliable than any Japanese car I'd over the first 70K miles, since then the list of repairs that finally came due have been a big time reality check. Repair bills that exceeded the cost of my first two cars combined and then some. Sometimes I wonder if I wasn't having the same amount of fun in my highly modified Miata at a fraction of the cost. So there's that too, how much is just brand hype and how much is it really a case that there is "no substitute". On one occasion when the list of repairs was long enough to keep the car in the shop for over a month and I had no choice but to make due with rental cars on the weekends. During this time I was observed to be in a distinct depressed mental state... aka mid engine withdrawal.
So maybe there's something to these cars. But would I daily drive one? No way. Expensive, unnecessary punishment and you start taking having a Porsche at your finger tips for granted.

I have driven mine daily for the past 3 years. Oil changes, 1 set of tires, 1 set of rear tires, e brake micro switch.

That is all I have had to do. I now have just over 72 000 km and will stick to the recommended maintance items :) cheap daily driver that is a **************** load of fun :)

When I first got mine I daily drove it to and from work as well as my evening and weekend 'chore' driving.

These year I'm going to stick with my 4-season car for a lot more daily driving tasks for three reasons. First, the Porsche is a standard and daily driving here in Ottawa for me involves lots of traffic so lots of time going from stop into first, stop into first and so on. Second, I do want to reduce mileage and wear and tear. Finally - I got a new 4-season car (Volvo S80) which is also fun to drive.

When I first bought my '99 Boxster, almost six years ago, I lived in a town where you needed a car just to get to basic necessities. Of course that meant always taking the long way home just to get more seat time. I also did DE events, AX, some modifications that were on later model Boxsters and normal maintenance.
Now I'm retired, on a fixed income and live in a small town where everything I need is within walking or bicycle distance. I can't afford to DE and AX is also climbing in price so my Boxster sits in its parking spot mostly unused. I'm also concerned about climate change and, although my not adding pollutants to the atmosphere won't make a difference, I can't justify driving a car a few blocks just to pick up something.
There is still a small thread in me that wants to keep it but I also hate to see it sit as I know sitting sometimes does more damage to a vehicle than driving it like it was meant to be driven.
It's a hard decision to make given the fun I have when driving it and the falling prices of the older Boxsters would be a hard pill to swallow if I sold it, but the alternative is a lot more cash in my pocket and more exercise which is never a bad thing.

I daily drive mine and love it. Everytime I drive another car it reminds me of what a sweet driving car it is. Yes, it's friggen expensive to keep on the road and every Porsche I have owned has been. Even a reasonable priced new car is cheaper to drive even with the massive depreciation a new car incurs. Do I regret it? No. Do I get compliments on the car? All the time. Especially when the hardtop is on.

I've only been able to afford one car at a time. So every car I've every owned has been a daily driver. Now that I'm married, my wife's car can serve as a backup car, but the Boxster is still my daily driver. I haven't had a repair bill yet, but I know that is part of the cost of ownership.

On the other hand, I get to drive a Porsche EVERY DAY and that is awesome! I haven't found a load I can't carry between the two trunks and the top down. Most people think I must be rich. If someone asks, I tell them truthfully "My wife bought it for me. She loves me." Then they realize I'm just a lucky man. (Usually they want to know what my wife does for a living. LOL)

I've had a blast with the upgrades I've done so far, from the "free" desnorkle mod to the $280 rear speaker kit. I think I'm done with the upgrades and will focus on repairs and maintenance from now on.

I drive mine daily and wouldn't have it any other way. I have the top down as much as possible also. There has not been one day I do not get a compliment on it, whether it be at a gas, parking lot or drive through.

No way for a daily driver for me. I commute over 110 miles a day, been doing it for almost 33 years. I buy commuter cars or motorcycles for a daily driver. Now if I worked a few miles away from home it may have been a different story.

Daily Driver - not really
 

I enjoy driving it spiritly but feel if I drive it everyday it will diminish the fun. I live in NYC and traffic is always horrible. However, I will drop the top and drive it every evening after traffic dies down.

First year of ownership I was doing a lot of traveling and the car was mainly kept in the garage and out only a couple of days a month at most. Kept breaking down. Since I changed jobs and been able to use it more frequently (say once or twice a week), it's been as reliable as my Forester. Still, I'd rather use it on Friday date nights with the wifey and to the golf course on Sundays. Just something to look forward to on the weekends. Besides, it's pretty hard to find an open road in Manila during weekdays!

I think in my 2.5 years of ownership, I've only put in 6,000 Kms.

I only put 3000-4000 miles on mine in a season. However, unless it's a day that I need to pick up my dry cleaning, I drive it daily when it's out of storage.

I still haven't taken mine out of storage (we had snow on Easter Sunday).

I drive it daily because of the fun factor, plus I was really enjoying the heated seat on my Back this morning as I had been installing flooring last weekend.

I'll continue enjoying it as often as possible till it dies, and then I'll just get another one.

No need to meter out the fun, you or your car could be gone tomorrow so enjoy it now.

Boxstering may be an addiction, but there are no harmful health effects, just the opposite really,
as you arrive at your destination with a smile on your face and the effects of good endorphins last the whole day.

So there you have it, "Driving a Porsche is good for your health"

I put about 15k miles per year.

60 mile commute (one way) in Chicago traffic so I only take the car to work once or twice a month. You know those days when it's 65 degrees in the morning and it's just begging for a top down ride to work in the morning.

I probably put 6-8k a year on it, but I'm moving closer to work so I'll be able to pull out the bicycle on nice days finally. Haven't touched that thing in a couple years.

OklahomaBoxster, think twice before you buy a 997 Gen I car. I'd drive your boxster until you can afford a 2009.5 car (Gen II) or newer to get that new motor without an IMS in it.

That would be properly dodging a bullet, and what I'm planning to do in the next few years.

+1 When I'm driving anything else, I'm thinking, "I wish I could be driving the Porsche right now". I drive mine to work every day. That was the plan and I'm sticking with it.

Does it really matter since you can change out the bearing, or can you not do that on those model years?

I switch off between my Boxster and my motorcycle for to and from work. Its 25 miles each way and both give me and great deal of enjoyment and are the perfect way to wake up in the morning and arrive at work smiling. I have put almost 10k miles on mine since I got it last August and haven't had a bit of trouble. My last oil change was completely glitter free and with the amount I drive it I do not foresee having issues. In my opinion the number one cause of problems with our cars is that they get lonely, depressed, and want to punish you for not taking them out more often.

Bearing is physically too large to be removed without complete engine disassembly.

My recent post explains my reaction pretty well:
http://986forum.com/forums/general-discussions/56587-first-11-000-miles-4-months.html

In short, I drive a LOT, tried many vehicles, enjoy my Porsche experience the most. Is it more expensive to maintain and repair? Yes, by a bit. Is it worth it for the feeling I get everyday? Yes, by a LOT! On the fairly rare occasion it has to go in for a pricy repair, I have to remind myself that I have less than $20,000 invested in TWO of these damn things, and that ANY car that's over 15 years old with well over 100,000 miles on it is going to need pretty regular repairs and maintenance. ;)