why are all these people buying Porsches?
 

I just finished a 2,000 plus mile drive covering 6 states in as many days. During the entire drive, other than the ones we were driving, we saw 2 Porsches, one on the road and one in a carport. I know they are out there, but why aren't they being driven? Is everyone buying them for a status symbol or what? One of the very most fun cars to drive on the planet and they are sitting in garages. I currently own 3 and log close to 50K per year on them. I just cannot imagine owning one and not driving it. Like being married to a super model and not......well you know.

I totally agree with you Mountainman. I believe a lot of folks here do not drive their P cars for two reasons.
1. They get salt on them and are afraid of them getting rusty.
2. Perhaps a greater chance of an accident in the winter weather.

I did however see a newish 911 Turbo being driven in slush the other day. I was quite surprised. When I drive my Boxster around I very seldom see Porsches in winter in this city of a million people.

Even going to Palm Springs Ca. recently I hardly saw any. I am on my third winter of driving my Boxster and I would say it is holding up well except for a few rock chips on the front. I try not to think what is being done to the underside and suspension but at least it gets driven regularly.:) http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01/0021391177884.jpg
This is an example of salt and crud on the car before a carwash!
Guy.

My (almost "mint") 98 Boxster is my second car and it stays inside, waxed, spotless and covered when I'm not driving it. When I DO drive it the sun is always shining. So, living in Chicago the car stays inside for at least 4 months a year. I typically drive it about 5,000 miles a year and hope to keep it for at least another 10 years ...... LOL, it will be an "antique" by then....LOL.

I'm fortunate to have a nice choice of "toys" to play with in the nice weather....Boxster, motorcycle & airplane......I know I'm fortunate ..... but I'm also a "clean freak" so I spend a lot of time cleaning, maintainiing, and waxing....lol...lots of surface area.

We have noticed the scarsity of them on the road all times of the year and all types of weather. My wife thinks it is noteworthy any time we see one being driven

They are a dime a dozen here. In my previous gated community (not nearly as fancy as it sounds but definitely way over-priced space wise) I counted four Boxsters, a Cayman, three Cayennes and one 968. We're talking about three square blocks at most. Just down the corner there was another Boxster and a few blocks in the other direction a 997 Turbo.

Whenver I want to remind myself of just how many water-cooled Porsches there are for sale right now I log onto Autotrader and search for 1999-2013 Porsche. On Carreras alone the volume is staggering. Then you toss in all the Boxsters/Caymans, Panas and Cayennes on top of that with plans for a new Maccan as well? Unbelieveable. Yet most buyers won't touch any of them. LOL

I see dozens if not hundreds of P cars, most late model, every day. I do of course live in their largest US market. You could move here if you're feeling lonely?!

Trade the north Carolina mountain roads for city traffic? Tempting, but I don't think so.

Don't forget toxic Chinese pollution blowing over. We know about that here.

My car's special to me. I don't even drive it in the rain- I have another vehicle for that. My Porsche is special to me and I enjoy it more by saving it for pleasure-only, perfect weather drives. I like it to be clean and perfect- a prized possession. Sacred, not mundane....

I see many panameras here in South Carolina assuming because engineers love them, as for boxsters I will see 3 while out at most.

My car is special to me. It's the only means I have to travel multiple miles.

I'll see a different Cayenne every day. Saw an 03 Boxster yesterday. Between spring and fall I see lots of 911s. There's even a clone of Punkin running around OMA. But only 1 Signal Green Cayman. ;)

In my neck of the woods I see more Porsche and Tesla than Accords.
The real "exotic" cars here are Pontiacs and Mercurys

I agree, I see them everywhere in LA. Almost every weekend there is a Porsche cars and coffee meeting somewhere nearby if you're lonely.

Last summer I drove from Ohio to California and back. I crossed IN, MO, OK, TX, NM, AZ, CA, NV, UT, WY, NE, IA, and IL. I saw a total of one, yes, one Porsche on the highway, a beautiful 356.

Mine came from LA. Long Beach to be exact. Owner must have been way east side. Hood and windshield and lights were like sand blasted.

Good to hear that someone drives his car... and does not just own a museum piece that sits in a garage.

I agree, although mine is not my only means of transportation, It's my primary DD.

Wimp here.

I bought the Boxster as a third car. The SO is not impressed, given the two bikes in the garage (heated shed for I built for them for winter), so I want to extend it's life as far as possible with reasonable use, as I may not get the excuse to buy another. My RX-8 was a daily drive, and an absolute blast in winter, but I decided to keep the Porsche for a March to November car. Mainly for days when it is not suitable for one of the bikes. Given that will mean rain trips, I know I will have to learn to love washing it.

actually ran into a guy with a kit (sadly) 356 speedster today, was still an absolute beauty loved seeing the car.

Porsches are everywhere here, but 986s have dropped off the map. Only see a handful per year on the road, and about a 50/50 split of regular vs. S models.

In our case, I think they've all been driven into the ground because the 986 was very popular here in the warm weather. Least likely place for me to see any Porsche is on the highway. I figure it's because this city isn't large enough for the affluent to have to head for the hills yet. Go downtown and into the adjacent neighborhoods, and that's where they all are.

Overall, I think there are definitely less Porsches on the road, in general. I blame this on there being a larger pool of awesome cars to buy here now vs. 10-15 years ago, and less mystique around the badge than before they started making SUVs.

I see way more Cayennes and Panomaras then anything else on the road. Did find lots of Carreras, Caymans, and Boxsters at the track yesterday. I guess you have to go to their natural habitat to see lots of them. It's Greta to see them being used as the designers had intended. I think I saw more Caymans, by far the track weapon of choice at this event, in one day then I see in a year on the road. A few where even trailered in and most where run slicks and. Couple of Rs After the Boxster I see a Cayman in my future. There was even a Carrera GT. That was a real privilege to see be used in anger.
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1391365884.jpg

There is no shame in it being a kit car. Especially if done right, real ones are never driven anyhow, and I'm sure he has more fun, besides even in kit form the nice ones bring more money than an everyday boxster

I see more Cayennes and Panameras than 911s/Coxsters.

Salt + water + iron = ferrous oxide, or rust. Salt may preserve meats, but it destroys cars. And in the Northern climes, salt is what is used to melt snow and ice from the roads.

Since I purchased my 01 S a couple years ago, it has been my DD through October each year, and tucked away under a cover from November to mid-April (or maybe later based on the Winter we're having this year).

This past Autumn, I upgraded my Winter vehicle from a 99 Acura CL with 192K miles to an 05 BMW 330 coupe with only 43K miles... so Boxster may be only a sunny-DD this year.

DBear

Last weekend I had to winch a Suburu Outback out of the ditch along side our private road because he couldn't make it up the steep icy hill to our house and slid off to the side of the road. I've got four 4x4's and my Boxster. No need to drive it in the winter around here.

Didn't mean in the winter. The recent trip we took was in the south, no snow, ice or salt, no Porsches on the road but ours. In general we rarely see Porsches on the road and we drive lots of miles winter, summer and thru many states. One of ours is a C4 bought specifically for winter driving. After all, they race these cars in ice, snow, mud and everything else. I just find it hard to believe that someone who owns a Porsche and enjoys driving it could walk past it to drive anything else. Unless I am going to lowes for a load of lumber, when I go my Porsche goes. As they say, life is too short to drive a boring car.

I am with you a 100%. I am sure when I come to sell mine the body may not be in the greatest of shape,the underside will likely be pitted etc but it is a fun car year round. My wife laughs at me when I don't take it out if there is more than 3 inches of snow but I have never been stuck yet in the three years of ownership. Life is for living. This car makes my life more enjoyable year round.:)G.

simple supply and demand. Not so much the merits of the car.

The market for replica cars is small and the number of replica cars that have been done well are likewise small. Meanwhile the market for used water-cooled Porsches has never been bigger but only a very small % of the used car buyers will take a chance on an out-of-warranty German sports car requiring specialized labor and over-priced parts. There simply are not enough buyers to absorb that much inventory so they don't command good used prices like the replicas and air-cooled originals, however very few P-cars are at the 356's classic status yet where market price now exceeds the sticker price, and by a lot.

But the good news for us is that you're much safer in a water-cooled Porsche, you've got much better handling, much better speed, fastest to race, and relative to all Porsches, these are the least expensive to run if you're not a DIY'er ...which has built-in costs of its own, namely your time, tools you must own, space you must have, etc. And water-cooled Porsches are cars you drive the wheels off not ones that sit in garage awaiting their next layer of wax or a sunny day.

Further to this original thread as I do not consider my Box a prima donna of the make unlike GT3's , Turbos, 993's etc. I have no hesitation in parking it anywhere, driving it anywhere except my butt gets sore over long distances.

As long as I don't get written off in an accident and the car does there is a great variety of P cars out there to chose from. Mostly garaged and babied. And they won't be that expensive either especially older Boxsters. What's not to love. :) G.

Same here in SW Va, I drive everywhere in mine and very rarely ever see another Porsche. I've seen a couple Cayennes, and a couple Boxsters.

It makes my little yellow eye-catcher that much more special. ;)

Driving a Porsche 356A Speedster is a Sense of Occasion - YouTube

while on the topic of 356s

That Porsche is gorgeous

I am in agreement that anytime I can drive my box I will. The occasions I don't are: in the snow, when a truck is necessary to haul things or when I need to take my kids somewhere because 1. Neither is large enough to ride in the front seat and 2. because 2 children won't fit in a boxster. Otherwise I drive my 986 whenever I can. But, I would be lying if I said I never had any reservations if the weather isn't perfect, but the fun of driving it overrules those reservations 95% of the time. To the oeiginal point though, I also rarely see many p-cars on the road here in Utah. The exceptions would be on a perfect spring or fall day and cayenne's. I typically see at least 2-3 cayennes a day around the city.

I see GT3s, Turbos, Caymans, Boxsters, 991s's, 993s every day of the week in my parking garage at work. These are daily drivers for the people who work in our buildings.

I also see Teslas, Bentleys, M5s ....

Working in Houston's Galleria (Financial District) is always a great way to see some automotive eye candy.

I rarely drive my boxster to work though, just because rowing through 1-2 and 2-1 gear changes in 20 minutes of traffic each way and almost getting rear ended by an idiot too busy texting or talking on their cell phone to drive and watch out for me and my low stance is very frustrating.

Plus, the 2-3k drone on my eBay muffler is deafening with the top up, and there's only 12 days or so a year that you can enjoy the top down in Sauna City, Texas.

I never really paid attention until I read this thread. I've seen 2 986s in the last 2 days. Saw a cayman today, and see quite a few Porsches here in No VA daily.

A couple Boxsters running around my area. One turbo and a few 911's. I DD a 2012 Corolla. I think the best part about having a DD other than the Porsche is the fact that the Boxster is always a good time. I have driven her once in the past month and it was a 5 mile drive. Washed her and put her away for better weather. By not driving the Boxster everyday the fun does not wear off. I use to have other "toys" that were my DD and the fun of the car wore off because I experienced it everyday.

Knowing that each time I step foot in my Box and there is not a single crumb on the carpet or any dirt anywhere, knowing its clean as can be is what makes it the fun car it is. I don't ever get "use" to the power because I don't drive it enough. Going from my 130ish HP Corolla with its non aerodynamic ways to the peppy S with aerodynamics it gives me two totally different worlds.

For anyone who DD's a Porsche, it is impossible to not take for granite(sp?) just how fun the car really is. Not DDing it makes for a great experience every time.