rhs63

I have a 1986 944 in mint condition with just 51k miles on it. I use it over weekends and the occasional drive during the week. A change in jobs requires me now to drive 70 miles total daily to and from work and I'm debating if I should start using my 944 as the commuter car, even in the winter (with winter tires). I want to avoid having to buy another car, but I'm also hesitant to put that many miles on the Porsche and turn it into daily driver...

smokin_944

I think it would be a shame to drive such a pristine example in winter. I would only do so if there was a financial constraint imposed on me.

sca037

Yes, get a Winter 'beater' and keep your 944 out of the nasty elements........it deserves it after nearly 25 years!

Brian

alordofchaos

+1, that car is too nice with such low miles...

You'd be putting nearly 18k mile a year on it, and you'd be seriously PO'd if some cell-phone talking airhead dinged you or worse.

I would think of the purchase price of a decent beater to be "insurance" for the 944. I take it your other car is a truck or SUV that gets crappy mileage?

Econocars, especially domestics, are pretty cheap and can make good winter beaters.

944Ross

Salt... door dings... cinder chips... scratches from scraping ice and snow... I can understand the reasons for doing it ($$$) but it's a shame.

V2Rocket

i would do it until winter came around, then hope id have something else for the salt and snow.

there is no reason not to put miles on a car, especially a pristine one. all of ours are looking tired, you need to catch up!

M758

I used to have an 84 944 that had been a weekend driver and concour car. I won shows in class many time for me and the original owner. However about 5-6 years ago with just 71k on it I turned it into a daily driver. The reason was that the car was never being driven. It just sat. I was not concouring any more and did not care. A nice low milage 944 is ok, but for me 71k was too many miles to be really low and other that being clean the car was nothing special. So I chose to drive it daily. I did and it was alot of fun. I got good mpg from the car and really enjoyed it. Wife got pregnant however and I decided to sell it. Back to the original owner no less. He has continued to drive it alot.

So once you start to drive it will no longer be low miles and so nice. However you will get enjoyment from driving it. If you are ok with it having 100k and a few bits of wear in 4-5 years go for it. Of course for me snow is not a factor.

JohnKoaWood

Considering the current market, or lack of market. Why not drive it?

FWIW I had 67K on my N/A when I bought it a little under 3 years ago, and will roll 97K today... I love it, but I drive it too! Almost 30K in the time I have owned her, including being unused for almost 18 months (couple months durring clutch rehab and almost a year after I bought the turbo!)

Fishey

Its a 1986 944

I vote Snowmobile the 944

pnbell

No, do not do it... Low Miles, Mint Condition... I wouldn't even suggest using it as a daily driver in good weather!!

My Car has like 180k+ miles, and i use it as a Daily Driver...

Last Year i daily drove it about 70 miles a day through the winter: Before i had 2 rock chips... After............ Hundreds! Literally!!!! :'(

I didn't expect DC to have a Snowpocalypse... My car suffered...

kenkawai993

In that condition, keep it like that. I wouldn't daily drive it, just weekend cruises imo. If you can (financially), drive the 944 daily till you have some money saved up for another beater or when the nasty winter weather is here, whichever comes first. At least you could drive the 944 daily, enjoy it, then purchase a winter beater. If financially you cannot save for a winter vehicle, I guess you have no choice but to daily drive it !

ritzblitz

Ill trade you mine plus cash for it haha.

V2Rocket

then why even own it...

if youre looking for a time-capsule or "investment car", the 944 is nowhere near that category...

the 944 is a sports car, meant to be driven and driven hard...it is way too good a car to let sit shiny and protected under a car cover in a garage until that special day comes...that is what 1930s bugattis are for...

rgs944

Drive in good weather for a few months untill you find true work car. You'll enjoy it again and you still will not put too many miles on it.

mclaudio

Go for it! Maintain it well and keep it clean. A 944 is not an A-rated (or even B) collectible car. The biggest return on your 944 investment is to use and enjoy it. At its current 51K mileage, it's neither an ultra-low mile car that you may want to keep as a time-capsule car nor is it a high mileage car with a lot of needs to be a reliable DD. Sounds like a good choice for your commute.

Lastly, in another forum I frequent, there is a saying on one of the members posts: Not putting miles on your Ferrari is like not having sex with your Girl Friend so she'll be more desirable to her next Boy Friend.

Replace the Ferrari with Porsche and this saying seems appropriate. ;-)