996 question ?

Nath123 · 26 Aug 2013

Hi all, looking at buying a 996 3.6 . But I won't be doing many miles . As I only work 5 mile away . It will do more on the wk ends but even so I cannot see me doing more than 6k a year .! Will this damage the car in anyway ? Also haven't decided on manual or tiptronic . Your views would be appreciated . Thanks

monty · 26 Aug 2013

Hi and welcome, I had a c4 manual for 2 and a half years doing about 6000 miles a year. They are great daily drivers. My only advice is keep it under 2500 - 3000 revs until it's reached temperature (some say 2000). Consider fitting a low temp thermostat and maybe get the oil changed at 6 months rather then a year (I only did that once as I was doing about a mile and a half to the train station for a while).

Others might have more technical views but based on my own experience it was fine doing low miles... Just give it a bit of mechanical sympathy until it's warmed up.

eca02apc · 26 Aug 2013

So long as you give it a good long run once in a while I wouldn't worry much about the short journeys. On such short runs your oil (not water) probably won't even get up to full temp so try not to give it too much stick, but these things are built to be used and driving at low rpm labours the engine. It seems to be accelerating hard from near idle (under 2,000 rpm) is one cause of bore scoring.

pj_sibley · 27 Aug 2013

I've had my 996.2 nearly a year and only completed just over 3k miles so far, although I actually use the car fairly regularly! This has included some motorway driving of 100+ miles, as well as shorter journeys around where I live.

As the other posts suggest, make sure to do some decent length trips from time to time, ensure the car gets up to temperature (water and oil) properly and keep on top of any servicing/mechanical requirements. Also nice if you can keep it in a garage for those in-between times but not always possible of course!

scottuk · 27 Aug 2013

Hi there,

I have owned my C4S for just over one year, covering only 2K in that time, I personally don't use my car for any short journeys, but will dig her out for a weekend outing when the sun is shining. Don't rush into 996 ownership, there are some great cars out there, hopefully you find one, the good ones tend to cost more for a reason!

Scott.

T8 · 27 Aug 2013

:welcome: Nath,

I think you'll find that doing 6k miles a year is above average for a 10 year old 996. At that age they tend to be used just as you intend to use yours. eg. It took me 3.5 years to do 10,800 miles.

As already said it's not how many miles you do it's the type of driving and the way you drive it that's more important. Always warm it up before exceeding 2,500 revs but don't labour it either.

Try to avoid short journeys, (I rarely did less than 40 miles in mine once the engine was started) and change the oil annually.

Manual or Tip is very much a personal choice. The only way to know what suits you is to drive both. Use the 'Search Forum' button to view endless debates. As a Tip fan I always encourage people to make sure they use the 'M' function of the Tip box on any test drive.

Happy Hunting :thumb:

tikkathree · 27 Aug 2013

T8 said:
:welcome: Nath,

I think you'll find that doing 6k miles a year is above average for a 10 year old 996. At that age they tend to be used just as you intend to use yours. eg. It took me 3.5 years to do 10,800 miles.

As already said it's not how many miles you do it's the type of driving and the way you drive it that's more important. Always warm it up before exceeding 2,500 revs but don't labour it either.

Try to avoid short journeys, (I rarely did less than 40 miles in mine once the engine was started) and change the oil annually.

Manual or Tip is very much a personal choice. The only way to know what suits you is to drive both. Use the 'Search Forum' button to view endless debates. As a Tip fan I always encourage people to make sure they use the 'M' function of the Tip box on any test drive.

Happy Hunting :thumb:

Well I need to declare now that I intend to buy a 996 about seven years old and plan to use it for all journeys including 10 mile home to work. I figure if I can manage an 11 year old MGF to do this and whizz down to Burgundy without a hint of trouble despite a reputation for "fall apart" head gaskets, it should be no more difficult for a piece of high quality German engineering.
Am I wrong?
Pete

T8 · 27 Aug 2013

tikkathree said:
Well I need to declare now that I intend to buy a 996 about seven years old and plan to use it for all journeys including 10 mile home to work. I figure if I can manage an 11 year old MGF to do this and whizz down to Burgundy without a hint of trouble despite a reputation for "fall apart" head gaskets, it should be no more difficult for a piece of high quality German engineering.

Am I wrong?

:dont know:

Opinions are split regarding whether short journey use has any effect on engine reliability although everyone agrees that it takes quite a few miles for these engines to get up to full working temperatures.

My view is that Porsche didn't design a 300 bhp+ car to be used as a city car or for short commutes. Unfortunately that didn't stop a lot of rich people buying them new and using them in the city although at least when stuck in city jams the engines would have properly warmed up.

I doubt whether the same could be said for a car doing a 10 minute commute but if that's what people want to use them for that's their business. :bye:

mrfastbaz · 27 Aug 2013

I ve had my 3.6 carrera 4 tip for just over 2 years, always warm engine up for abput 12 miles then give it a gentle stretch usually l,eave in 2nd or 3 rd where possibble to open up....gets the fluids flowing nicely...however this is weekly and always drive about 40 ish miles just for the "fun" of it....then park up till the next week. By the way since its MOT in August 2012 I have driven 2900 miles and in that time has had a service in Janaury as required under the servicing requirements at my local opc. My motto is drive to enjoy but only after warming up.
I personally would not use it for any trips under 15 miles as the engine oil has only just reached it s normal operating temperature by then... Even managed on the way to its MOT a couple of weeks ago to do over 40 mile drive each way even though the garage is only 5 miles away... :thumb:
Another way of looking at it is that you wouldnt want a pedigree racehorse to be used in a coal mine as a pit pony....buy the 996 of your choice but geta little run around as a daily car and keep the 996 for those special days...

tikkathree · 27 Aug 2013

mrfastbaz said:
I ve had my 3.6 carrera 4 tip for just over 2 years, always warm engine up for abput 12 miles then give it a gentle stretch usually l,eave in 2nd or 3 rd where possibble to open up....gets the fluids flowing nicely...however this is weekly and always drive about 40 ish miles just for the "fun" of it....then park up till the next week. By the way since its MOT in August 2012 I have driven 2900 miles and in that time has had a service in Janaury as required under the servicing requirements at my local opc. My motto is drive to enjoy but only after warming up.
I personally would not use it for any trips under 15 miles as the engine oil has only just reached it s normal operating temperature by then... Even managed on the way to its MOT a couple of weeks ago to do over 40 mile drive each way even though the garage is only 5 miles away... :thumb:
Another way of looking at it is that you wouldnt want a pedigree racehorse to be used in a coal mine as a pit pony....buy the 996 of your choice but geta little run around as a daily car and keep the 996 for those special days...

Hmm. Looks like I'll be finding a long way round to work as well as continuing present habits: warm up slowly and carefully keeping the revs down until oil temp is up.
You wouldn't believe the numbers of thoroughbreds racing point to point or just hacking about....