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. ;)

It may be a bit more expensive to do the routine maintenance, but I paid less for it than a new Smart For Two and I'm driving a FREAKIN PORSCHE every day.

This may mean more to me than to you because I'm in my 60s and have been waiting 40+ years to be able to do this. I'm making up for lost time and intend to leave this world with Porsche keys in my pocket.

i agree, the boxster is probably the car that gets more compliments per dollar in the world, almost 100 times out of 100 people would give me the thumbs up or make a comment about how brautiful the car is. The drwback is that people assume you are loaded not knowing their kias and hyundais are worth more than the boxster.

Funniest reaction was an old men, he got in front of me and started clapping and yelled "what a beautiful car, you got it made"

I don't use my Boxster as a daily driver, partly because I have a family (wife + two kids) and partly because I don't drive daily. ;)
When it comes to a 997.2 as an upgrade, you should consider the fact that Porsche now only sell cars with forced induction, which most likely will mean that prices for the naturally aspirated cars will rise.

Anyway, it's nice to see that you enjoy your car. :)

I daily drive it (9 mile commute each way), have had my fair share of small and big ticket repairs (I'm looking at you, tranny rebuilt) While it is in the repair shop for any reason I'm always missing it.
Most fun car for the money hands down. I love it when the kids scream " Nice car!" when I pass them waiting for the school bus.

Our younger son is home for 3 weeks without his car, so my daily driver will be his and I'll be driving my '03 S for my 60 mile commute each way, 600 miles a week. When my daily driver is available to me, I try to drive the Boxster to work at least once a week, but in winter only when/if the roads are clear and there is no snow or bad weather in the forecast. In 1997 I bought a brand new BMW Z3 2.8 - owned it for 6 years and put only 10,000 miles on it. When I decided to get the Boxster S, I got peanuts for the Z3, and decided I would put as many miles as I could on the Boxster. So now after 12.5 years I'm coming up on 58,000 miles, enjoying it as much as I can!

I daily drive my car and I don't find the maintenance to be that bad. Try using a Mercedes SL 600 as a daily driver and you'll know what I mean. It's not the parts are cheaper, it's that the Boxster just has fewer things to fail than a car like that Mercedes.

And I've gotten more comments from women in this car than any car I've ever owned including various convertible Mercedes, a 911 SC, and various BMWs. That was a big surprise. Too bad these Boxsters weren't out when I was single.

But at the end of the day I am inwardly motivated. I don't really care what other people think about the Boxster, I just love it.

I use my Boxster as my daily driver. Having owned many roadsters over the years, including unreliable British and Italian machines, whatever the running costs of driving this Porsche are, I'm OK with them. I'm definitely in the "YOLO" camp.

The public's reaction to the car is positive; lot's of "Nice car" remarks. But, it does take some restraint to drive the Boxster without offending other drivers. Nobody likes a showoff. Now I understand the old joke: What's the difference between a Porcupine and a Porsche? Well for one thing, a Porcupine's pricks are on the outside.

I've had mine for a little over a year, and it's my daily driver. We had a very mild winter and it was just fine.

Truck by day or in bad weather, Porsche in evenings, weekends, and sunny weather in general.

I think the part of the country one is in determines the amount of compliments.
Of course if you catch someone looking at your car they're going to say 'Nice Car'. What would they say "Dude it just a Boxster... Don't get so full of yourself"

I do think one has to drive in such a manner that you don't perpetuate the Porsche driver stereotype

I bought mine originally as a Daily and for a couple years drove it year round, snow, sleet, rain.
I was doing the 12-15k miles/year
Last 2 years, I have had to plan a reason/trip to drive it because I don't need this car as a daily.
This year, it has become a garage queen. I've only put a 1000 miles on it since I changed oil 5-6 months ago. I have spent so many more hours doing preventive maintenance this year then driving it. At least all the accessory items and fluids are new and clean while it sits under a cover in my garage

95,000 km still no problems

I've had mine since last October, drove it home after I bought it and stored it till last week of April. I put 200 kilometers on it since I took it out I just drive it from home to the golf course mostly as my wife doesn't like it. I have 3 other vehicles so I use my SUV as daily driver.

I drive mine daily 70 miles round trip in little to no traffic, some twisty roads mixed in equal a fun drive. I do plan on getting a daily in the near future as I don't like to pile the miles on the box but don't think I can find something that is nearly as fun to drive. Plus in the summer you can't beat the top down wind in your hair drive.

Not drive it? Seriously?

I drive my 911SC daily. Screw the value. Its a Porsche and it was meant to be driven.

Here is my Boxster solution - a spare replacement engine. $2850 including shipping. 75K miles. Complete with all accessories and hoses for a direct swap. Indy shop charges around $1,200 to swap engines so I can be back on the road (or racetrack in my case) for around $4,000.

Just looking at that spare engine makes me smile - no engine worries for me! :)

http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/...pszwp3ji9e.jpg