advice needed

[vandereydt]

Hi All

Looking for a new car

Needs to be :
reliable
powerfull
fun to drive; a drivers car
low, hard, direct steering
useable, capable of doing 35-40.000 km per year
special, something not everybody has

Been convinced in another thread not to go for Jags type F and the likes

So GT3 or Turbo S
I have a test drive booked for the Turbo, obviously not yet for the GT3

Can anybody give ,me some insights in owning, using these cars as daily drivers
When the weather is realy bad i still have another commuter car available.

Thanks
Ronny

[Rockster]

vandereydt said:

Hi All

Looking for a new car

Needs to be :
reliable
powerfull
fun to drive; a drivers car
low, hard, direct steering
useable, capable of doing 35-40.000 km per year
special, something not everybody has

Been convinced in another thread not to go for Jags type F and the likes

So GT3 or Turbo S
I have a test drive booked for the Turbo, obviously not yet for the GT3

Can anybody give ,me some insights in owning, using these cars as daily drivers
When the weather is realy bad i still have another commuter car available.

Thanks
Ronny

Believe it or not but I've average nearly that many miles per year in my 02 Boxster. The car currently has just under 280K miles (279618 as of yesterday afternoon) and I bought it new in Jan of 2002, so over 148 months it has covered on average 22.7K miles per year.

Let's see how many miles per year I average in my Turbo... I bought it with 10K miles in June of 2009. It now 128K miles. That's 118K miles in 5 years or 23.6K miles per year on average.

That many miles per year I think you are going to want a quiet car that rides relatively soft. Well, you may not want it at first but after a few months I bet you come around.

The GT3 might be too stiffly sprung -- though I've never ridden in one let alone driven one -- and even the Turbo with big wheels/tires could deliver a harsh ride.

The Boxster has 17" wheels/tires and a Turbo has 18" wheels/tires. The Turbo ride is noticeably harsher and noisier than the Boxster's.

The Boxster is more softly sprung but doesn't give up any handling or road feel to the Turbo because of it. And it rides quieter than the Turbo too. (I never drive with the Boxster top down so wind noise is a bit less in the Boxster.)

A week or so ago I drove my Turbo to LA and back. 360 miles each way. About 6 hours going -- real slow crawl through some road construction -- and coming back I left LA at 12:04pm and was home at 5:08pm. When I got home I was ready to park the Turbo and give my ears a rest.

Ok, noise/vibration and harshness is dealt with.

That many miles per year and I think you are going to experience some serious running costs. Fuel. With the Turbo I guess/estimate 26mpg tops. Around town figure 15mpg to maybe 19mpg, at best. Tires: 20K miles for the rears, double this fronts. And these numbers are with proper alignment (geo). I get about the same tire life with both cars, but the Boxster 17" tires are way less expensive than the Turbo 18" tires.

For both cars I change the oil/filter every 5K miles. More than once with either car I have had the oil/filter service done, then hit the road and a week or so later I am back at the dealer for another oil/filter service having covered 5K miles in that week's time.

Plugs I think are due to be changed every 24K miles.

Engine air intake filter and cabin filter every year.

Depending upon where you live/drive the windshield will get pitted up something fierce after a few years if it doesn't get a rock induced crack that requires it be replaced. (Already happened with the Boxster and the Turbo has some rock chips but none have developed into a crack yet.)

I really enjoy my Turbo, I can't lie, but it is a car I can enjoy a week or so covering 500 to sometimes 1000 miles per day, but after 4K to 5K miles I'm ready for peace and quiet and my Boxster fills that bill.

If I limited my usage to say my work commute: 60 miles a day mostly highway miles; I could tolerate it but my usage requires town driving too to run errands and such and around town the Turbo's a bit of work. Not as light to steer as the Boxster, a gas hog, and driveway entrances and exits and puling into parking spaces requires close attention and caution to avoid smashing up that $400 front air dam that hangs down just a few inches off the pavement.

Drive both cars. Try to arrange a test ride then drive that has you experiencing the cars as you will use them, probably on the highway unless you are going to use the car as a cab around town.

Think about living with the car day in day out mile after mile.

You might still end up buying one or the other. But at least you know what you are in for.

[vandereydt]

Thx for your wise words

My first Porsche was a Boxster 2,5 1997 I did 360.000 km in it (225.000 miles) so you v broken my record in the Boxster
In my 996 911 C2 cab I now have 250.000 km (156.000 miles)

The Boxster was set up lower and harder suspension. So is the 911.

I like it hard, firm and very direct

What I would like to know is how practical is a 991 GT3 as everyday car, and I love it being hard and firm. But I am thinking of all those speed bumps and the likes. I know one can install a front axle lifter, is that ok for everyday use?

The 991 Turbo S I am sure has all the ride comfort, luckily there is a sport set up included :-)

Of course I will test drive both, but I would like to hear from those amongst you that are driving these wonderfull cars

thx
Ronny

[mrdemon]

what's your price range ? you are listing boxsters and 991 turbo S

there are many nice cars around the 100k mark.

there are also some awesome drivers car around the 40k mark which fit the bill 100%

new , used ?


if you want a new GT3 you will be paying 15k over list atm