I have a 5 year old BMW 530i. Just made the last payment. Test drove a new 550 and 535 - OK, but my car is a manual and I do not like the automatic / steptronic of the models I drove. Plus, too close to what I already own.

I have always driven German cars (VW Jetta 6 cylinder, BMW 530) and have always loved the look / heritage of Porshce, but have only driven a 944.

I drove an '05 997 today (12k miles), and, well... damn.

My wife and I share a Jeep Wrangler (Rubicon) as a third car.

Questions:

1. I need to take my 4 year old to school each morning. Is there a good back seat or front seat solution to this? I would prefer back seat, he should be OK in front but may kick a bit and may hit the shifter. Great little guy, but he is suffering from Autism - he is very high functioning but you have less control over some spontaneous urges.
2. Can this be a daily driver - with maybe 1-2 days a week in the Jeep?
3. I sometimes have to drive to D.C. or Philly (from Richmond) - BMW is great for this, will the Porsche be too tough a drive for this?
4. What can I expect on replacing tires?
5. What can I expect to pay for oil changes? Can I do this myself?

btw - best test drive of my life!

thanks for the help...

 

I recently purchased an '05 997 Cab tiptronic for a daily drive and I couldn't be happier. My 7 year old daughter is not so thrilled though. The back seat is adequate for her and I won't let her in the front - I'm pretty sure it is against the law, something to do with the airbags and such. I recall that even the manual recommends under 12 years of age should be in the back. The rear seats are OK, the real drawback is that the front seat back is quite high and obstructs the back seat and really confines the child back there. Even with the top down they look so crammed. She is much happier in her Mother's SUV - so much room and a DVD player.

As for the daily drive, I am really considering changing jobs so I can increase my commute time. For once in my life I look forward to driving to work. I would love to do longer runs - all I need is a reason.

I can understand the difficulty in making the decision. I was in the same situation, but found the Porshce 911 to be the perfect solution. Not only does it accomodate the family (rear seat), the performance is incredible, its reliable enough to drive daily, but it holds value. In all of the cars, the 911, for me and my family, was an excellent choice. Even if from now on my Christmasand birthday presents will be new tires (rears once per year and fronts every other based on 12K miles/yr) and oil changes (~$150 from a good independent once or twice a year). The '05 is a good choice as it still has some warranty left (more if its a CPO).

Good luck in your decision and take care of you son and family - they are the most important - everything else ends up in the scrap pile, even a porsche.

 

I've had a 996 Tiptronic for three years now and I drive it every day to and from work - etc. It is our "grocery getter." Recently, I did buy an old Ford Ranger for the winter (to haul stuff in, and it actually cost less than a set of snow tires and wheels for the Porsche), but I still drive the Porsche every day. It is a very convenient and easy to live with car.

I doubt the back seat will work out well for your little one if you have to have a child seat back there: it is a bit less accessible than many back seats, but not bad once you are back there.

 

Hi I appreciate your dilemma.
Regarding Questions 4 and 5 which I cant see responses on from other Forum Members I would say for 4) that if the US is like the UK you can always get a deal on tyres (tires). The 997 is not heavy on tires, unless you use the car to the max a lot, which as a responsible parent with your child in the car you wont. So tires are not a problem.

5) is more interesting. Will this 05 997 come with an Extended Warranty? If it does, and you want to keep it going which you can do until the car is 9 years old orunder 120,000 miles, then you will need your annual services completed by a Porsche agent.Personally I think the Posched Extended Warranty is a good deal, as it covers the big ticket items if they go wrong.

Now to the youngster. Reaching in the back to strap him into a harness will not be easy especially if like mine years ago they play up. But it can be doneand as you may have seen from the photos of that 997 GT3 crashon theForum, this is a safe place to be in an accident. I had to strap 3 young boys 7, 4, and 1 into the back of my 1985 Astom Marting V8 Vantage - it worked, but the eatingof jam sanwiches in the back when entering Concours events was stopped!

Can you use it every day - yes you can. The 911 is one of the few world supercars that you can use every day and you dont need a steady stream of funds from Fort Knox.

Regards Big Bob

 

Hi vman,

I feel qualified toansweryour questions. My daily driver is a2004 996 C2 with X51 engine (normally aspirated, 345 hp), 6-speed manual, M030 suspension, sunroof, nav, power/heated seats. It just turned over 30,000 miles this morning on my way to work. I have two kids, one of whom has spent considerable time inback,front passenger, and recently as a driver. I also track the car, so it gets vigorous exercise.

1. This is probably the deciding factor, in my opinion. Porsche does make child seats for the 997, for both front and rear seats, if I'm not mistaken (it did for the 996). Any Porsche dealer can sell you one (probably for a high price), but I'd check around for a used one on places like ebay, Rennlist, etc.

2. Yes, it is a very good, very reliable daily driver. I purchased my car Certified Pre-Owned (100k mile warranty) with 6,000 miles on it (the previous owner had traded it in on a new Cayenne). I have had one problem, and that is the CD changer stopped loading the disk I selected. The dealer replaced it immediately, no questions asked, said they had seen some issues with that particular changer (Becker CDC-4) and the firm suspension. It cost me about 1 hour at the dealer.

3. The 997 will definitely have a harsher ride than your BMW. I drove mine on a 1,700 mile round trip last summer with my son, and we had a ball. My wife's MDX would have been more comfortable, but I think an occasional trip of the length you're talking about would be ok (I-95 can be pretty bumpy in places).

4. I had Pirelli P-Zero Rossos at first. The rears lasted 12,500 miles, the fronts lasted 25,000 miles. So I used 6 tires in 25,000 miles. Figure about $300-$350/tire + installation. You don't rotate them. At 25,000 miles, I switched to Michelin Pilot Sport 2. They have a higher wear rating than the Pirellis, they are quieter, and they have a slightly softer ride (perhaps a more compliant sidewall?). So figure about 9 cents per mile for tires.

5. Oil is changed at 15,000 mile intervals (that's the standard service interval). Mobil 1 0W-50 is the grade used in my car, sothe 997will be similar. My car has never used any oil on the street and uses about 8 ounces in a 2-day track event (a few hundred miles of high performance driving, lots of acceleration and braking, speeds up to ~150 mph). My dealer charges $99.70 for an oil change (includes 10 quarts of Mobil 1, filter, washer, sealing ring, and labor). You can do it yourself. There are how-to listings on various Porsche-specificforums.

I wasn't able to digest much of the e-trail because it became a bit vitriolic, so I just skipped to the end. If I ask a stupid question, it's because I didn't read all the other posts. Here are some other data that might interest you, along with some questions.
- I get 21-22 mpg city, 28-29 mpg highway, 11 mpgat the track.
- Porsche is the benchmark for brakes. You'll find none better.
- My 30,000 mile service cost $473. I can't remember exactly, but the 15,000 mile service was about half that.
- I routinely test drive cars of all types (I'm a car guy), and my local Porsche dealer is the most knowledgeable dealer of any type in the area.I purchased the 996 after driving Mercs (CL55, S55, and E55), BMWs (M3, M5), Audi (S4), Lexus (GS430), and a few others.
- What model 997 is it? Is it an S? A cabriolet? A C4S?
- If you want more information about the track, I can supply it, but it's too voluminous for this post. Suffice it to say that, on the track, the driver is a much biggerfactor than the car, so the talk about what car is faster in this e-trail is lost on me.

Best regards, and happy motoring.

 

[Reply to CMXI]

Thanks for the detailed response!

I am likely to keep the BMW and Jeep now and just add the 997. I have accepted the fact that the Jeep can live outside of the garage...

 

So - reviving an old thread..... I postponed the purchase to economy fears, but this year I started looking again and found the exact car for me - from a dealer about 5 miles from my house. 2008 C2, 4,000-ish miles, the options I wanted, and I had them add an XM module from the Cayenne and an iPod adapter in the center console (NavTV).

Thanks for the support guys... Oh, and I am keeping the Jeep and BMW - Jeep needs to learn to be happy outside.

http://gallery.me.com/vinnie4639#100049

 

Very cool! You will love it!