Who daily drives their 986?
 

I am in a bit of a dilemma. Got a new job, which provided a company car.. so now i have 3 cars, and a motorcycle at the house, with only room for 2. Ill never part with my MK3 VW golf, so that leaves the company Ford and my 986S. I can either sell the boxster, or, try to exchange the company car for some kind of compensation (mileage, fuel, etc.) while sucking up my pride and driving my P-car in the rain.

Has anyone been in a similar position? I want to hear other opinions, especially from someone who travels for work. PS i had some parts for sale, please accept my apologies for not being ready to part with anything yet :cheers:

Not sure why you would prefer to keep your Mk3 Golf over the Boxster, but if that is the car you prefer for your weekend/fun wheels, then sell the Boxster. Regardless, if you are going to be racking up a ton if mileage for work purposes, an old Boxster is probably going to protest eventually!

Brad

@southernstar: the golf was my first car, i guess im too attached. had it 10 years and still going as good as the day i got it.

and my boxster is an 04, just had the clutch and LNE IMS retrofit done recently... plus if i could get $0.50/mile im sure i could have a decent reserve to keep her going

the 986 is my DD. For those crying about rain, we have a top for a reason.

DD for me, no problem!

Understood - and it sounds as if you care a great deal for both cars (the LN upgrade and the comment about rain making that clear re: the Porsche). I guess it depends upon the amount and type of mileage that you will putting on. If it is primarily city stop and go with questionable parking lots, I suspect that you will hate watching the wear and tear (and parking lot knicks and dings) on one of your babies. Yes, 50 cents a mile will likely keep up with the additional mechanical maintenance (and likely your increased insurance rates if your annual mileage increases significantly), but the cosmetic wear and tear will be another matter.

In addition, your employer may be reluctant to allow you to use an older Porsche for employment purposes. Remember, they may be partly liable for damage/injury to third parties in the case of an accident in the course of your employment....

Brad

I buy a car to drive. The Boxster is my DD. Right now, I have to park it in a gravel lot. Not good, but I do it anyway. Not even going to mention all the bugs on the car or the paint chips, but there ya go. I'll either just fix it up as I go myself or get it repaired/repainted every so often. Or maybe I'll just buy another P-car, but regardless I still have way to much fun driving my car to form work to worry about it.

I daily drive my Box snow depth permitting. I don't baby it and I will definitely hand wax it this year for the first time I have had it in two years. A few rock chips but no dings. If weather is really bad I use my wife's Camry. This car is meant to be driven and it is fun to drive. Most of everything else non Porsche is well....just plain vanilla.
I am retired so I can avoid rush hour traffic. Life is for living. Each one to their own....

I used to DD the Boxster, but the poor country roads took it's toll. I say keep them all. I purchased a new DD, we also have 3 cars and a Motorcycle. All get their legs stretched. If you like to drive the Porsche, take it on Fridays, enjoy it. Or your choice of the Mk3 or Boxster on a particular day of the week. As for me I drive the GLI daily, with Boxster getting out on the weekend and my Wednesday night guitar lesson. Now that the weather is warm, the Kawi is getting flogged with DD duties.

My Boxster is driven daily from April to mid Dec.(1st snowfall). Then covered and kept in my heated barn.

I have a Subaru Outback AWD that gets driven the rest of the year. I can tell you getting out of the Sub and back in the Pcar, makes me some greatful that I do not drive the Sub year round... I call it "The freakin' School bus"...

BUT, It starts every single time I turn the key and will go any where that I point it.


Pup

I daily drive 42 miles each way to work four days a week, and anytime I need to go anywhere I drive the Boxter. Unless of course I have to take more than one other person.

Unless you only have parking for the two cars, why not just keep the company car in the driveway? At this point with 3 teenagers, I have 4 cars, two in the garage (you can guess one of them), and two in the driveway.

This is what I was looking for. I primarily go to secluded areas, it's different every week. I'm a service and application engineer for a tool presetting company. Both cars have their share of little dings, especially the vw.

Maybe I will end up keeping all three and not tell the boss which car I drive, since the office is in Michigan and I'm not :)

I daily drive my boxster, but have a very nice Audi Q5 as my "main car". As in, if I had to choose between keeping one or the other, I'd definitely choose the Q5. The boxster is nice to daily drive, yet I don't think I could live with it being my only car.

Subaru is the DD. I got too many dings at our office parking lot when I used to drive a 944 to the office. Plus the Subie can haul more people if we go out for lunch. I use the Boxster mostly at night or on weekends, its just easier that way.

I daily my '99 986 and track my miata.
it's comfortable, easy to get through traffic (thank jebus for dual mass clutches), and makes parking on base a breeze.

I only live about 21km's from work, but it's all stop and go except for the coronado bridge, so i don't get max fuel mileage, but it's not bad. probably the best part is taking it up the mountains on the weekends and chasing down miatas. s2k's, and mini's. good times.

I drive my 98 to work about 35 miles round trip, although in the Bay Area, that's a 1 - 2 hour commute. I'm hitting about 80k miles. I've got kids so it doesn't see much weekend driving.
No sense keeping something you don't drive unless...it's collectible (not yet) , you have lots room (you don't) , or you need a back-up car (you have the Volkswagon). I had the same problem, and sold off my Infiniti as it was just rotting parked in the sun as there was no more garage room, and I don't really need that many cars.
I'd sell the car, when you tire of the Volkswagon, you can always buy another Boxster, probably newer.

Mine's my daily car, 36 mile round trip to work. Only use the wife's Alero when the Boxster is laid up during the week.

About the collectible part, it is the 2004 SE 550. #0296/1953

I don't DD the Boxster year-round, just not realistic when it can turn into a snowplow if it snows too much. But when the weather's nice, I drive it as often as I can, and I couldn't care less if it rains. My car's not that precious that I obsess over whether or not it gets wet or dirty. I bought it so I could drive it.

You could simply use the company car and save miles on your 550 (there aren't too many of them out there, so that's one that's at least worth keeping out of the rain and taking care of). You can adjust your insurance due to the limited miles you'd be putting on the Boxster, save some money there, and you could even take it off the insurance temporarily during the winter if you know you won't be taking it anywhere. And I'd say don't take it for work if you're risking bringing it to poorly/non-paved areas or secluded places in the middle of nowhere where a tow truck will take half the day to find you if something decides to act up far from home.

If you ask me, if there's any car that should get the doghouse treatment out of the stable, it's the company car. Considering you just got the Boxster not too long ago, give yourself some time to enjoy it before you consider selling it. Take it to Lime Rock and/or autocross with the PCA and get some enjoyment out of what it can do besides look gorgeous.

I DD both my 914 and Boxster. 914 for when the weather is good and Boxster the rest of the year (i.e. Texas summer).

I just hate having such a nice car sit in the garage to get driven only a few times a month. Maybe with the warmer weather i will be able to plan my trips accordingly with which car to take. Also, most places I go,I get preferential visitors parking without too much to worry about door dings

almost everyday and longest route possible, at 140k miles

I have the same situation as you. I have a company car that I drive to work or on trips during the week, which gives me the opportunity to work on my 986S at my leisure without the pressure of having to get the coilovers, or clutch, etc. done before Monday. Generally I celebrate Friday by keeping the company car at home and driving the 986 or one of my BMW's to work. Then the 986 just has duty for weekend getaway, auto-x, and track days. For me, this is ideal.

Here's a Poll just over a week ago. Interesting result. I was assuming most of the members here use their Box as daily driver. Poll results show differently.
http://986forum.com/forums/general-discussions/43682-how-do-you-use-your-boxster.html?highlight=weekend+drive

Weekend driver almost equaled the daily drivers.

Every day I can!!

I wish i could do this! except for the most part i leave on monday, and dont come home until friday. I think i will figure something out.. Not driving the 986 = thoughts like selling to get a Z3 M coupe or 996 or anything else :barf: but a few days last week in VA made me wish for the 986 more than ever

Boxster S is my wifes DD. We did buy a 21 year old Honda Accord for $1200 for the crappy weather days and a parking lot car for her part time job at the mall. Box S and Explorer in the garage with 4 street motorcycles. Accord, Escort and Avenger park outside, 2 Dual Sport Dirt bikes in the shed.

Every day I can, it's also my work car. I love it to bits!

I commuted 40 mins each way way in Portland OR. and still use my Porsche as my DD
and god do i love it!

As an update, im in VA doing a couple laser calibrations with another person from my company to show me how. We were talking cars, and i brought up how i want to take my Boxster on a couple trips, and he quickly said "NO!" in his thick eastern European accent. He said that our customers would get the wrong impression on our company, if i showed up in a Porsche, but wouldnt explain any further. Does anyone else here agree?

Unfortunately yes, especially in Europe people are super jealous!!! Customers think you are making too much money and this hurts the possible relationship, true story bro!

Here in the US it is slightly different, more of thumbs up and less "you rich MF don't deserve this because I don't have a Porsche...."

Still, here at work, people associate the Porsche with me being the boss. When I visit certain customers I park around the corner, no need to wake the dog.

Back to topic, my DD, only left i the Garage if the wheather is really bad.

Andy, that is what i was thinking. its not like they are watching for my car! and some places are so big, with a whole visitor lot, how would they ever know

Also that explains why the bosses of my company in Germany drive VW passat wagons lol

There is truth to it, and unfortunately there's no exact science to determining how anyone will react to seeing you with that car. I tend to get raised eyebrows, question mark looks, and sometimes sideways looks if I'm seen driving the Porsche to the workplace. There are still plenty of people at work that don't know that I have one, and I also don't try to (and don't like to) broadcast it, though others try to go out of their way to do it for me, whatever their intentions may be for doing so. Unfortunately (at least in this case), even a 15-year-old first year Boxster still looks enough like a few years young $65,000 one that people simply think it's that nice and that's how much it cost you, and that you must be rolling in some kind of dough that you certainly can't be making here, so wtf man!!!! :rolleyes: I don't try to flaunt it that way or anything, either. It's just my car and I drive it during the nicer seasons, that's it. But whatever, there's just certain places I don't bring it when I know those seeing it will likely try to cause trouble for me out of jealousy, or assume things about me rather than just have the gumption to ask me how much it was. It won't kill me, or the car, if it sits at home a day or two out of the week.

Personally, I'd say err on the side of caution unless you know you're going to be at a place where your car will not be messed with, or if, like you said, it's a giant lot where you're unlikely to be seen jumping into/out of the car. Just make up for it on the weekends and go stretch the car's legs, or come out the the autocrosses the PCA holds in Hartford.

My 986 is a DD too. Does just fine.

daily drive mine, 97 bright red 986. Put 1k on her in the last 2 weeks, 84k on her now.

However, I throw the hardtop on it as much as possible(saves the softtop and motor), but I have noticed some areas on the softop fabric are being separated(from softtop being down?)

I bought this for 9k off of an older gentleman, best deal I have ever gotten.

After a wash, and a wax, most people think its a 65k+ car :eek: but It can be annoying. Ill stop in a small restaurant to grab a bite, and the people see me pull up in my 9k car and act different all of a sudden. Same goes for cruising around, alot of jealousy which becomes negativity. And of course, the 99% of mustangs, 370z trying to race..

I too drive my 986 S everyday again (and even make reasons to go to the store, ya know).

When I buy residential real estate and have found that if I do not talk about it, the price of the subject property goes UP. What I do is point out that even a $12k car can be made to look like $60k. Here is where I focus their attention….things gone DOWN in value over time, even a Porsche. And, everything needs repairs. Then, once they KNOW I can handle it, I start to talk about the repairs on their property and I have found they open up a little more.

At first it is a detriment, but I turn that around into actually getting a better deal. The owners have seen HOW I take care of my stuff and they WANT their property cared for that way too.

On Commercial property….they just think I have good connections, which doesn't hurt.

I was at a loss…until I figured out a way to turn the conversation around.

At a daily job, it is a different mentality. Kind of like, "What are you doing here? You obviously don't NEED to work." Bosses got jealous fast…unless you take THEM for a ride! Then, you become their driver!

I've gotten that one before, too, which annoys me. It's like they seem to think the car never breaks or needs anything. Don't tell me what I do and don't need, you know? If I didn't need to work I sure wouldn't.

Anyway, let me not rant. Point is while these cars are amazing to drive and enjoy, the air they tend to carry about them is a double-edged sword depending on your situation.

My Main mode of transportation. I've put on 6k since I bought the end of Sept 2012, so that puts me on the 12k/year schedule. I have definitely noticed a range of attitudes towards Porsche.
I love top down driving but at a stop light I feel way over exposed

- don't dare look in rear view to make sure the hair is straight

Generally I drive my E320 to work, but will take the Boxster when I head to classes at the university (no hang-tag parking passes anymore). On occasion I'll drive the Boxster to work and do not receive any odd glances as I arrive at the office before majority of the staff does.

I have received the "You have a Mercedes and a Porsche? You must have money!" line before. :rolleyes: My Mercedes was a cheap cash buy, is 18 years old, and isn't pristine (but still looks nice). My Boxster cost less than a new Corolla, but I'm sure they wouldn't bat an eye if I told them I picked up a new econobox. Ha.