Can a 991 handle regular short journeys with no issues?

[wax lyrical]

Strange question I know, but I'm thinking of buying a 991 Carrera S (auto) but am concerned as my wife will never bother with 'warming the engine/oil up' properly and will probably often do short journeys to local shops, etc (3 or 4 miles each way max).

Long-term, will this be detrimental to the engine/transmission/drivetrain?

Thanks in advance for all input.

[Robertb]

Its not ideal as the majority of its use under that scenario is 'cold', but if its on a regular basis then the components will retain a coating of oil on them from the last time it was used. An issue could be fuel dilution of the oil from the cold starts. Maybe worth considering annual oil changes with top-notch oil, rather than the 2 yr regimen but I'm sure it would be fine... even 3-4 miles locally takes around 10 minutes which should warm it up.

Our 20 yr old X5 3.0 petrol is used on a similar basis and is still going strong at 135k miles, I suspect one can overthink these things.

If its the difference between owning a 991 or not, then I'd wing it! Just make sure you give it some regular longer trips.

[SkinnyPete]

I used to worry about stuff like this, then I stop worrying and would you believe it, the car is absolutely fine.

[FrancisA]

wax lyrical said:

Strange question I know, but I'm thinking of buying a 991 Carrera S (auto) but am concerned as my wife will never bother with 'warming the engine/oil up' properly and will probably often do short journeys to local shops, etc (3 or 4 miles each way max).

Long-term, will this be detrimental to the engine/transmission/drivetrain?

Thanks in advance for all input.

Nothing strange about the question.......rather sensible actually. It will be fine but at least every weekend take it on a 20 mile thrashing. I mean get the oil temp up to at least 70 and thrash the st out it. You should smell the engine oil burning when you park the car. That way you know it has had a good run at least once a week.

[Coxey]

Unlikely as I’m sure you will be taking it out every weekend for a blast.

[Louis Balfour]

wax lyrical said:

Strange question I know, but I'm thinking of buying a 991 Carrera S (auto) but am concerned as my wife will never bother with 'warming the engine/oil up' properly and will probably often do short journeys to local shops, etc (3 or 4 miles each way max).

Long-term, will this be detrimental to the engine/transmission/drivetrain?

Thanks in advance for all input.

It will be fine. The 991 is great as a runabout. Which is why I hated it more than any other car I have owned. It was meant to be a sports car. but pootled about happily like an Audi A3.

[FriedMarsBar]

All of the above are excellent ideas, changing oil and filter once per year, frequent spirited drives to get the oil really hot etc. You could also add an annual oil inspection when changing the oil annually. This would tell you about fuel dilution and wear materials etc. Millers and myOilDoctor
It might be best get one completed ASAP so you know the state of the engine now and then in a years time you can tell if any misuse has caused any issues, which I doubt very much.

https://www.millersoils.co.uk/oil-analysis/
https://www.myoildoctor.co.uk

[wax lyrical]

Thank you, All. I appreciate all the replies.

[wax lyrical]

I understand the comment about the 991 being a little too 'sedate' and like an Audi now, but I'm wary about getting a 997.2 (as there would be no warranty available for these, as too old) and 991.1 prices are very similar now.

Unfortunately, for me, I need the reassurance of a good warranty.

[Stuart70]

Louis Balfour said:

It will be fine. The 991 is great as a runabout. Which is why I hated it more than any other car I have owned. It was meant to be a sports car. but pootled about happily like an Audi A3.

991 GTS here - best car for actual hard road use (on real UK roads) that Porsche made. Ragging the hell out of it is a joy - hearing that NA 3.8 screaming is one of life’s great pleasures.

And yes, it can pootle around like a hatchback as well, but that is the least of its abilities.

[Louis Balfour]

Stuart70 said:

Louis Balfour said:

It will be fine. The 991 is great as a runabout. Which is why I hated it more than any other car I have owned. It was meant to be a sports car. but pootled about happily like an Audi A3.

991 GTS here - best car for actual hard road use (on real UK roads) that Porsche made. Ragging the hell out of it is a joy - hearing that NA 3.8 screaming is one of life’s great pleasures.

And yes, it can pootle around like a hatchback as well, but that is the least of its abilities.

I preferred the 997gts I went 997-991-991-997.

The 991 was a better “do everything” car but the 997 felt more special.

[supersport]

You would hope that it's not just a local to the shops and back kind of car, as it's an odd choice for that.

Assuming you actually use outside of that it will be fine.

I would have on quarms about running a 997.2 without a warranty. Would probably prefer one over a 991, although the 991.1 GTS with ducktail is a lovely car.

[wax lyrical]

No, not just a shopping car. I'd be taking it to work a couple of times a week (25 miles each way) and also driving a fair amount on the weekends.

It's just when my wife will be WFH and the car's on the driveway, I know she'll do her local 'errands/shopping' in it rather than use the Q5.

supersport said:

You would hope that it's not just a local to the shops and back kind of car, as it's an odd choice for that.

Assuming you actually use outside of that it will be fine.

I would have on quarms about running a 997.2 without a warranty. Would probably prefer one over a 991, although the 991.1 GTS with ducktail is a lovely car.

[wax lyrical]

For me, a 911 is meant to be driven. Many years ago I had a 996 for several years and I did 150k miles in her before the engine went pop.

[c4sman]

From the sound of it any modern 911 should surely cope just fine with that mix of usage. The short trips will be made up for with your commutes to work and weekend use. Do it now!

[politeperson]

I am over 60,000 miles now in my C2. Short journeys, long journeys everything.
I trained as a car mechanic but have never even dreamed about doing anything to this car that I purchased new.
The main dealer has looked after it, the costs have been reasonable (oil service £350 for example).

No issues to report.

Having just come back from a day at my friends Mercedes garage, I am more worried about my wifes new E300d Estate which appears to have camshafts made out of chocolate. I have just been helping him reassemble a very sick engine from a 2019 model, ours is the same model but newer. Change the oil every year on that one!

The 911s that produce faults and issues are then ones that sit around doing nothing, so dont worry.

[Maxf]

wax lyrical said:

I understand the comment about the 991 being a little too 'sedate' and like an Audi now, but I'm wary about getting a 997.2 (as there would be no warranty available for these, as too old) and 991.1 prices are very similar now.

Unfortunately, for me, I need the reassurance of a good warranty.

I’ve got over 2 years of Porsche warranty still on my 997.2.

[JackReacher]

Maxf said:

wax lyrical said:

I understand the comment about the 991 being a little too 'sedate' and like an Audi now, but I'm wary about getting a 997.2 (as there would be no warranty available for these, as too old) and 991.1 prices are very similar now.

Unfortunately, for me, I need the reassurance of a good warranty.

I’ve got over 2 years of Porsche warranty still on my 997.2.

I'm looking at 997.2s and 991.1s, and the warranty point is tricky. On the face of it you have that piece of mind that if something big goes wrong you should be covered, and that in theory it must be in decent shape to have the warranty, but on the other hand its very restrictive in what you can do with the car and where you get it maintained etc. I was shocked to find out that a lot of 991.1s don't even have DAB radio. Plenty of aftermarket options for that and/or android auto to make it much more useful as a daily driver, but that would void the warranty. So the engine could go pop but because you have an aftermarket head unit they don't pay out, even though it would be completely unrelated. And porsche don't even offer their own upgrade.

[Louis Balfour]

JackReacher said:

Maxf said:

wax lyrical said:

I understand the comment about the 991 being a little too 'sedate' and like an Audi now, but I'm wary about getting a 997.2 (as there would be no warranty available for these, as too old) and 991.1 prices are very similar now.

Unfortunately, for me, I need the reassurance of a good warranty.

I’ve got over 2 years of Porsche warranty still on my 997.2.

I'm looking at 997.2s and 991.1s, and the warranty point is tricky. On the face of it you have that piece of mind that if something big goes wrong you should be covered, and that in theory it must be in decent shape to have the warranty, but on the other hand its very restrictive in what you can do with the car and where you get it maintained etc. I was shocked to find out that a lot of 991.1s don't even have DAB radio. Plenty of aftermarket options for that and/or android auto to make it much more useful as a daily driver, but that would void the warranty. So the engine could go pop but because you have an aftermarket head unit they don't pay out, even though it would be completely unrelated. And porsche don't even offer their own upgrade.

Adding after-market DAB doesn’t void the warranty because it is an audio accessory. I had it in my 997.2 GTS for years with Porsche warranty.

[M666LMJ]

supersport said:

You would hope that it's not just a local to the shops and back kind of car, as it's an odd choice for that.

Assuming you actually use outside of that it will be fine.

I would have on quarms about running a 997.2 without a warranty. Would probably prefer one over a 991, although the 991.1 GTS with ducktail is a lovely car.

Thanks Supersport. You guessed right. I'm following this thread