Larry, I was thinking of the exact thread to post in the classic 911 section of a different forum. Given the utmost respect and admiration I have for you, it is safe to assume that great minds think alike...You always hit the "human" angle to the 997 ownership and I love that.

This question takes a whole new meaning when it comes to pre-87 911's with the 915 transmission (hence my idea of the thread with the similar question that you had posed). You have to pause in neutral (known as the pregnant pause) for a fraction of a second before you ease the shift lever into the right gear. All it takes for a $2 to 3K gearbox rebuild is a wrong shift ie first gear instead of 3rd or second for 4th when the engine is one high revs (commonly referred as the money shift). That is why I had utmost respect for the seller who let me test drive his car (that I ultimately got) and even more respect for rennlist forum acquaintance not even my friend at that time who let me drive his '86 coupe (which led me to broaden my search to include the pre-87 911s. Just like any newbie (and there are countless threads to prove this) looking to get a classic air-cooled 911, I too fell into the common trap to look for '87 to '89 911s. Why because they have the much more modern G-50 gearbox that is much easier to shift along with its hydraulic clutch and they have a better resale value (why because it is more "desirable" by all newbies). The more I read about 915 gearbox (cable clutch) the more I really wanted the classic feel which IMO befits a classic car. I really cherish driving a car that trains me how to drive than vice versa and I am so thankful to that person who led me into the 915 world thanks to that test drive. That day I drove his 911 and he drove my 997 (he was amazed at the sport plus PDK mode shifitng). G-50 is a great gearbox too and is relatively easier to deal with on a day to day basis. But the 915 is what I have and would have wanted. For lack of words, I would say that it takes patience, skill (which can easily be acquired once you spend some wheel time) and respect to drive a pre-86 car and I would have never be the proud owner that I am now but for that person who let me drive his car. Having said that I still only let very few people drive my 911. One word of caution about the money shift will scare most of my friends.

Now for the 997. I am less choosy when it comes to who drives my 997. You really cannot over-rev the engine. So any friend who shows respect and admiration for it gets to drive it. However I will always be the passenger next seat and will only let the other person drive it after I warm up the engine with a 15 minute self-drive during which time I educate them about the do's and don'ts of gear shifts. Most people have a borad smile even with the sport auto mode.

It is a car afterall and is meant to be driven by anyone who respects and admires it. I do hate it when they ask me how much the car costed me after the test drive... for the classic I proudly say "less than a Camry" .

 

sharing is caring.......I let friends and family drive the 997 so they can experience how awesome my car is....

 

My wife drove it once. She's usually hauling around our 3 kids, who all need to be in the backseat so it's really not a viable option for her 90% of the time. She has a Boxster that she drives when she's alone and I think that's enough P-car for her. Of course the techs have driven it when in for service.

I never valet, don't let friends drive it, and when the neighbors ask for a ride someplace, I tell them, "OK, let me park the 911 and grab one of our haulers".

 

First of all, this is a friendly post; let nobody take it otherwise. Well, this argument about the G50 being for newbies is not really accurate. My first 911 was a 1984 Targa with the 915 transmission when I was in my early 20s. I kept that car for 10 years and amassed a great amount of mileage in it. I learned to drive a manual transmission when I was 12 or 13 years old because my father and mother only owned manual cars. We lived in a mountainous country, so I learned to master driving manual cars in a challenging environment and, no, I never ever rode the clutch to climb a hill from a stop even with cars behind me in traffic.

I now have a 1987 Carrera besides my 2006 Carrera S and I specifically wanted a G50 transmission because it is better than the 915, not because I cannot shift. It can handle more torque and its action is much smoother. There is also an advantage - though somewhat negated by its increased weight - when you are on track as it can be shifted easier and faster than the 915. I actually found the clutch on my G50 just as hard as the 915 if not a little more so.

So, my reasons for buying a car with a G50 have nothing to do with my skill; there may be some who do it for such a reason but it's a generalization and not accurate. A newb probably wouldn't buy a 911 from this era unless he/she is willing to put up and/or enjoy its quirks which are well known.

 

At the end of the day, its a car. Get too weird about it, and then you are "one of those guys". I try to be careful with the car, but reasonable. My wife and I share cars when we have to - primarily she prefers her SUV and I prefer the 911, but sometimes I have to haul stuff and sometimes she wants to be in a 911. For me its a practical decision, for her, a fashion choice.

Valet - I avoid if at all possible.

 

Although 29 doesnt sound young it is. Most of my friends never drive anything above a 200hp and dont have the best driving abilities. I have made a decision to not allow someone to drive the car if they are not capable of handling the extra power...boys will be boys as they say. So I am the only that has driven it since I got it.

That said I do have people I would trust to drive it, just have not had a reason to.

I do let valet drive it, but only because I have to. I write down the miles and reset the trip when I get out so I know if it went around the block to many times.

 

yes it does

...unless you are a woman, and then it sounds suspicious.

 

Ciber, I hear ya... Again a friendly post from my end too. I said the G-50 is a great gearbox but more modern feel and easier to live with on a day to day basis to most people. Never did I mention that a newbie cannot drive a 915. I have been following the classic 911 market very closely for the past 12 months on three different forums. Almost everyweek a newbie (to classic 911, obviously not to driving a stick shift) is posting this " Hi, I am in the market for a Carrera 3.2 yrs '87 to '89. ...and most of them have not driven an earlier model car.

Why I brought up this up on this thread was to mention that I would not have even looked into a 915 but not for that person who let me drive that 915 equipped car of his. So I always preach this to every newbie in the market for a classic 911: Never buy a car of that age for it's technical specification...buy it for it's mechanical condition.

Now back to the regular scheduled program. Sorry Larry we just digressed OT. Just two passionate 911 owners here, I hope you understand.

 

Interesting topic. I had a 03 Manual 996 Turbo and the most my wife would do was back it out of the garage. She drove it one time with me and was so nervous she said never again. Last year got her a Cayman S with PDK and she absolutely loves it. I have now sold my Turbo and have a Carrera S Cab with PDK. She has not driven it yet, but I am sure she will. Says she will still be nervous because it is "mine". I sold my Turbo to a close friend in the neighborhood and still had a hard time letting him test drive. I drove him first, then rode while he drove. Anybody other than family has little if any chance of driving. Also have a Cayenne and pretty much let anyone drive it. Big difference to me between my DD and the fun car. We all have our personal issues........

 

Don't you all think with the PDK, there is very little chance (especially with you by the side) that somebody would harm your car. So what are some other reasons for hesitation. Let's hear it.

 

PDK is a new question for me. I've never owned a car with an automatic transmission that I cared about. I mean, I respect machinery and tools of all sorts, so I treat them all correctly, but some tools earn our affection for the ease with which they do their jobs properly and that affection leads to extra attention to giving them a long life.

No car with an automatic transmission ever made me feel that way. Period. No automatic works smoothly enough to be anything but a nuisance I tolerate for the utilitarian role of the vehicle. I have liked some automatic transmission cars, grudgingly, but none really earned my affection because they never worked as well as they would have with a proper transmission.

PDK... well, I've heard so many good reviews of its performance here on 997's that I reserve judgment. I will say that I drove a Boxster one day at the dealer to kill time and it was equipped with PDK. On that relatively low power vehicle I found that PDK emasculated it. A light low-power roadster can be a lot of fun, but that was not my response to this PDK example. When I'd offer power at an unprogrammed moment, I was left cursing it silently: "Pick a gear, damn it!" Even a few hundred milliseconds seems indecisive when you're accustomed to having the right gear beforehand, since you have foreknowledge of your own intentions.

Now with all that understood, would the merely appliance nature of a car with an automatic let me give it to others without concern? Well, now I think of it, yes. We had sedans with automatics in the years when we needed to drive clients around occasionally. I could have handed over the keys to such a one with only a mild twinge I suppose. A facial tick barely noticeable to someone who didn't know me. Anything for a client? Well, not quite, but letting one borrow an Acura sedan? Sure. Though it never arose.

A Carrera with PDK? Wow. Tough call since I don't have a PDK. But off the top of my head, probably not.

Back when I was fifteen and driving my first car, I managed to sideline it for two weeks by turning brodies in a vacant lot -- what a squeaker today would call 'drifting' I think. On the third revolution, the unsecured battery tipped over into the fan blade, the tips of which bent and promptly carved a delightful arc in the radiator core. Delightful if you're a fellow who welds up such damage for feckless kids. I was devastated when I thought I'd ruined my car, but Grandpa loaned me the cost and it took me a month to work it off.

My point is you don't need to blow a shift to damage a car. I haven't owned a car with an unsecured battery for the last fifty years since then, but other ways come to mind. Our Volkswagen Beetle could be stood up on two wheels quite easily, as is true of any car with swing axles. Coming forward forty years or so, an NSX can be spun and bounced off a mountainside as Cindy's dealer proved when she destroyed Cindy's lovely car.

With the exception of those oxen-like appliances we bought for business, we like cars that are fun to drive and fun to take to their limits, so they tempt any driver. But they have limits that are beyond the talents of most of the people who might ask to drive them. Since we expect to keep them for a decade or so in each case, we treat them appropriately ourselves. Some might question that when they see me exploring those aforesaid limits, but I know how to use a car without abusing it. I usually get 100k to 110k miles out of each clutch on a car like this Carrera S. Other people do not necessarily have that talent (or the experience either) so loaning them a car of ours is basically expending some months or years of the car's life.

Can you hasten the wear on a PDK P-Car with clumsy skills? Certainly. So my suspicion is I would not let others drive a PDK Porsche if I ever was talked into foregoing the pleasure of shifting for myself and bought one in a weak moment.

Sorry. Adias. It's old fashioned, I know, but I've been diddling that joystick since age eight and I'm addicted. De gustibus non est disputandum.

Gary

 

huh?

 

I basically will let anyone I trust drive my cars. My car is a PDK and its basically unbrakeable so far. I'm a little hesitant to let others drive my lambo, only because if you launch it with LC 4 or 5 times you will be replacing a very expensive clutch, other than that its no big deal.

My Girlfirend drives my 997 all the time and i've even taught her how to use LC and slide a little with the PSM off. My 20 yr old brother has driven my car to many car events and I normally text him and tell him to stop driving like such a woussss and step on the go pedal.

I normally do give a small talk to people that drive my cars that goes like this " the front end is lower than most cars, please park a bit off the curb. All tickets are yours to pay, and I have good insurance so please enjoy the crap out of your drive."

If my cars were classics that would be much harder to replace I might be more selective but all of my toys are pretty easy to replace so I don't worry to much

 

My wife's driven the 997 a couple of times. Techs drive it during service.

J

 

to OP
1: yes, 100% of the time, no-one else drives my car, they can get their own
part 2: I don't care
2: That does not confront me
3: does not apply, I'm never selling this car