Daily drivers?

[ccporsche]

Hi everyone,

I'm a huge fan of classic 911s but have never owned one nor have I had much experience driving them.
My question is what would it be like to have a classic 911 (1965-73) as a daily driver? What would the maintenance costs look like? Etc.

[HughH]

To a large extent it depends on where you live, traffic conditions and the general costs of maintenance in your country
I am in Australia and live in a major city. I used a 73E as a daily driver (about 10 to 15Kms either way) from the mid 90's to a couple of years ago. It was fine and even in bad traffic or bad weather was OK but obviously does not have all the features of my 2013 Audi Q5 TDI. Even when using it as a daily driver it only needed to get a service once every 12 months - and i also used it for country trips etc. so whatever the cost of a service is in your area. HOWEVER all through that period i did regular "upgrades" and major service items from engine rebuild and back to bare metal repaint down to shocks and brake replacement / refurbishment. I would argue that they were costs of owning the car and constantly going through a program (over say a 10 year period) of replacing and refurbishing major components that wear regardless. therefore while a "cost" it was not directly related to the daily driving and to a certain extent it is a discretionary item, at least as to timing. In my experience the cost of this is much less than the cost of maintaining my wife's modern BMW's, M-Benzes etc as with those you still have to do the major maintenance, or trade the car and lose a bundle on the buy sell spread, and the items are now electronic and throw away rather than repair (dont ask about BMW X3's#$#$%#)
So you have to separate out the costs of ownership and use from daily driving costs

I would argue that the daily driving was actually good for my car and saved costs in other areas - things perishing from not being used etc.

the difficult area on "cost" is the risks of damage in modern traffic and the drivers (and sometimes pedestrians) That is what made me finally stop using mine as a daily. The other "costs" are it is less comfortable in very hot days (ie over 40degrees C) and mostly not as easy to use in wet and foggy days when it is more likely to mist up (the defrosters on the rear windows are usually shot and hard to repair except by replacing the window although after a short time the heater will defog the car. the fun factor all the rest of the time outweighs that though.

a final cost is fuel economy but if that is an issue you are better off not to have one at all

one thing though: i have a 73E and E's are much easier in traffic (as are T's) and mine has been amended over time to make it easier to use in traffic- 2.4 now 2.7 but with E cams which gives bags of torque and makes stop start driving easy. also i have an asymmetrical first gear in my 915 gear box from i think an 85 or 86 car - that makes getting into first a lot easier which is a great help in stop start traffic. also little mods on lubrication such as a turbo oil pump to ensure i always have good oil pressure in stop start traffic

if you can get any freeway or minor road driving into your commute the 911 is much more fun than a modern car

[bob tilton]

Well said Hugh!

[DJ911]

+1 to everything that Hugh said.

I have been using my 70T as a daily driver for over a year now. The car has a 3.0 engine so ample torque for heavy traffic (can't comment as to how it would be stock as car came to me with engine already upgraded).

Main difference between my previous daily driver (SAAB 93 Aero MY03) is I look forward to driving to and from work - oh yeah and the Porsche costs less to run - excluding upgrades

[edmayo]

I've used my 71 T Targa as a daily driver for the last 12 or so years, except when it rains of course, and it has been extremely reliable. Of course it all depends on what kind of car you start with and where you live. You need to start with a car that is of sound structure and had been well maintained previously. It also helps that I live in a relatively mild climate, no severe winters, although the summers can be brutal. The other idiots on the road are always a concern, but I decided years ago that I was going to drive these cars, not create a monument in my garage.

[CidTito]

My 69T is my only car. My wife has two cars, 63 comet and a Scion Xb which I never drive unless I have errands. I don't drive much but whenever drives surpass 10 miles or so and it's dry I use my 911. This averages twice a week. Living in a metropolitan city I have few issues regarding traffic, pedestrians and the "work" it takes with operation of my car. I deal with maintenance as it comes up and then I try curb bigger jobs into larger projects when the car is in downtempo.
With that said, I feel the neatest thing about a kind of "one-way" syndrome, which is the essence of driving wanting to drive one way as long as I can and not turn around. Often my phone calls are something like this.
(Ring)
Me: Hi honey!
Wifey: Hey babe, where are you?
-well I'm not exactly sure, but I dropped off my plans to Vince (10 miles away)
Oh, you must be Orinda?
-not anymore, I dropped those off about 9am
Not anymore? (Suspicious voice tone)
-yeah, not anymore, I've decided since I'm out this far I've continued one-way and now I'm in Calistoga
Oh I see (then I get fast blabbing mixed with I need this and that and when are you coming home, blah, blah, blah)
-yes dear
(Blah blah)
-yes dear ( I rarely understand anything here)
Then suddenly i get the --Who is that in the background?
-it's the people wine tasting a new release (cool thing is you can also downtime getting sober at a bookstore two hours later) of a 2010 Zin Private Reserve which labels (and usually it's here where I embellish the reasonable part of the conversation which tones down the spewing firestorm), I'm lucky I'm here and part of this.
(There is a long silence) Oh I see (sounding apologetic, then more blabbing)
-um honey, my batteries are running low... Take Care. Luv ya
Bye, but pick up some of those groceries I told you about for me. Bye.
-bye (to this day I've never got a grocery list 100% right.)

[70tangerine]

My 69T is my only car. My wife has two cars, 63 comet and a Scion Xb which I never drive unless I have errands. I don't drive much but whenever drives surpass 10 miles or so and it's dry I use my 911. This averages twice a week. Living in a metropolitan city I have few issues regarding traffic, pedestrians and the "work" it takes with operation of my car. I deal with maintenance as it comes up and then I try curb bigger jobs into larger projects when the car is in downtempo.
With that said, I feel the neatest thing about a kind of "one-way" syndrome, which is the essence of driving wanting to drive one way as long as I can and not turn around. Often my phone calls are something like this.
(Ring)
Me: Hi honey!
Wifey: Hey babe, where are you?
-well I'm not exactly sure, but I dropped off my plans to Vince (10 miles away)
Oh, you must be Orinda?
-not anymore, I dropped those off about 9am
Not anymore? (Suspicious voice tone)
-yeah, not anymore, I've decided since I'm out this far I've continued one-way and now I'm in Calistoga
Oh I see (then I get fast blabbing mixed with I need this and that and when are you coming home, blah, blah, blah)
-yes dear
(Blah blah)
-yes dear ( I rarely understand anything here)
Then suddenly i get the --Who is that in the background?
-it's the people wine tasting a new release (cool thing is you can also downtime getting sober at a bookstore two hours later.
Oh I see (then more blabbing)
-um honey, my batteries are running low... Take Care. Luv ya
Bye, but pick up some of those groceries I told you about for me. Bye.
-bye (to this day I've never got a grocery list 100% right.)

this......made my day....very funny and true.

[Jay Laifman]

My 73.5 T was my daily driver from 1988 to about 1995. Fantastic car. Perfect reliability. Still in great condition with original paint. BUT my commute was not stop and go freeway driving and it was (and is) in a garage at both ends.

I then moved to a Boxster S for a daily driver. Also perfect.

But, my commute for the last 2 years has been such that I've switched to a '67 912 for my daily driver. I absolutely love driving to work - and driving home even better. But then, again, not much stop and go, and it's over Kanan Canyon to PCH then PCH for a stretch.

Finally, I will say that the prices I've seen for the value of the early 911s sure makes one pause in putting such a valuable item into such harm's way. Then again, I guess it all depends on your point of view. I see people at my office who drive very very expensive Porsches and who sqeeze them into compact parking spaces - while I still park my 912 at the last spot possible. Yeah it's a sickness. But as I get older, I'm sure thinking of the fact that while there is a lot of pride of ownership of a perfect Porsche, at some point, these cars will be someone elses and what do I care if they have nicks or dents?

[steve shea]

I agree with Jay. I have owned my cars for a long time and for better or worse do not see as much action due to escalating value and attendant costs. 73S, 67S, 58 speedster. So last year I got a nice 912 and use it as my go ride for most travel. I still drive the others but more as Sunday drivers and sport drivers. My home town has insane summer tourist traffic and no matter what you drive you must be defensive. Winnebago driving flatlanders rubbernecking at every turn to see the sights plus large animals likely to dart into the road at any time. I don't have much of a chance in my speedster if I hit a bison, nor in a 911 for that matter. Jackson, Wyoming.

[Christian Guthrie]

Finally, I will say that the prices I've seen for the value of the early 911s sure makes one pause in putting such a valuable item into such harm's way. Then again, I guess it all depends on your point of view. I see people at my office who drive very very expensive Porsches and who sqeeze them into compact parking spaces - while I still park my 912 at the last spot possible. Yeah it's a sickness. But as I get older, I'm sure thinking of the fact that while there is a lot of pride of ownership of a perfect Porsche, at some point, these cars will be someone elses and what do I care if they have nicks or dents?

The one concern I have is that regular insurance does not keep up with the real value of our cars. The people driving the new 100K Porsches are covered because it's a new car and the current values are covered. Our "old cars" are seen as old cars by the insurance companies and valued as such. At least with the Classic insurance, you get the agreed value but no coverage for being a daily driver. I have thought about hot rodding an early 912 as a daily driver. At least then I wouldn't take as big of a hit when some yahoo with no insurance runs a red light and totals it out.