Whether it's a spouse , friend, valet , technician, or test drive from a complete stranger buying the car .. every 997 owner faces the choice of saying yes or no to handing over that key.

So here's my questions -- and a few comments.

1) Does anyone say "no" 100 percent of the time? If so how well is that received?

2) Do you feel better if the person is close to you ? (example -- your spouse or relative versus an aquaintance who admires the car).

3) How about when you sell the car ? Does the thought of a stranger taking the car for a test drive (usually a harder drive than a leisure cruise) give doubts ?

Comments --
I am very selective with who gets to drive my car . Each car is viewed differently . For example .. i feel less nervous when someone else is driving my Honda than my Turbo . I would worry the most if I ever sold the car-- How does one allow a stranger to test drive ? No way .
that's one (of many) reasons why i trade them in .

There are some observable qualities in those who might drive the car--
1) If they are courteous and respectful (not just to me .. but to others too).
2) if they show knowledge and respect toward the car .
3) if they are hesitant to even ask and voice that they realize the car's value to me.
4) if they have good driving skill and take care of their own car .
5) if they follow the rules of the road and don't have a huge ego about driving slow

These are all good qualities --
and I still might say no.

How about you guys ?

 

The only person who ever drives one of my cars is a master mechanic trying to diagnose a problem he can't figure out with me behind the wheel, or when he's taking it for that test drive they insist on after doing certain work.

So I only say no 99.9% of the time, but it approaches 100% asymptotically because a lot of others hint they'd like to try. No one else ever gets to do it. Ever. I don't know how it's received because I never have cared enough to observe their reaction. I ignore all hints and just say no to the occasional person bold enough to come right out and ask.

Now I think about it, I rarely even give anyone a ride in it. I mean... they squish up Cindy's seat cushion, change her settings on the position, and generally just be there in her place. Doesn't seem fair to her. So I can only think of three people who got a ride. My two best friends about three months apart and the PCA instructor at a track day because I hadn't been on a track in over fifteen years and they had to consider me a novice for insurance purposes.

Gary, a bit territorial

 

Not even your wife drives it ? Even if a spouse doesn't drive the 997 ( but drives her own car) it still influences the 997 insurance premium .

If you decide to sell it .. would the person have to buy it first ?

The master mechanic is still one person . Plus if you left the car there overnight and he called in sick the next day .. another technician would not drive it ?

PS- I am really trying to narrow down the "100 percent" answer -- to an absolute .

 

When I bought Cindy an NSX, I told it was hers absolutely. She insisted we take turns driving it so we did. You're right. I would let her drive this car likewise except she had a stroke and couldn't drive even her beloved NSX as of four years ago.

If I sell it to a private party, which I rarely consider, the prospective buyer would have to make a firm offer contingent only on a PPI test drive and with responsibility basically on the lines of "if you break it, you bought it." In other words, I am very unlikely to ever sell a car to a private party. In my experience, dealers don't bother with such a drive until they have completed the paperwork. But then our cars are typically dealer maintained. I suppose they might feel different about cars for which they have no maintenance records. But not necessarily. We traded in a year-old car once for a new one. Took it home on a business lease and got a call a week later: "Omigod. They turned down the lease because this trade-in has 105k miles!" "Certainly. We told you it's our business commute car. Didn't you look when you drove it?" "Drove it? It's only a year old!" Since we had put 1900 miles on the 'new' car by that time, they offered us a loan to buy it at the same payment as the lease. The leasing company was adamant apparently, though I can't remember why they cared about the mileage on our trade-in.

As for the master technician calling in sick, I suppose it could happen. Basically, you have to suck it up when it comes to the dealer assigning mechanics. All you can do is insist on having a mechanic who is certified for your specific car with a master rating (which I think is always true for anyone who works on a Carrera at a Porsche dealership). If I thought the change was arbitrary though, they'd feel the sharp edge of my tongue.

I don't know about the insurance premium. I know when we had an old ranch pick-up sitting around that we rarely used, our premium was X dollars for that plus the NSX. Cindy essentially gave it to a young gardener she wanted to help. Our total premium increased because we weren't getting a multi-car discount anymore. I was tempted to go buy another junker and park it behind the barn to save on premiums.

Gary

 

This actually raises more questions and sub topics -

1) allowing someone to drive the car .. is a direct effect . The person has immediate hands on driving with the 997.

2) An indirect effect would be .. not allowing anyone to drive the 997 but one still shares the road with strangers .

3) or --something in between --where one person is a primary driver of the 997 in a multiple driver household .

This actually opens up something I forgot in my first post. Health is something that even the non driver faces . It can also effect all ages . For instance a few weeks ago a young woman (20's) had a diabetic event and almost ran me over while i was jogging. She did crash into a tree on the sidewalk .

I am sorry to hear that you have faced these health concerns as a couple .

I suppose one can be the best driver but a sudden health issue can effect anyone .

 

While I am a true Porshephile and have owned my share of 911s and Porsches for that matter and while they are great cars and it is very nice feeling being an owner, in the grand scheme of things its only a car and that's what insurance and a good relationship with a Porsche technician is for. As a hobbiest car collector the best advice I got over the years as it relates to cars is that there will always be another one.

 

I remember the first time I drove a Porsche. It was exhilarating. I do judiciously share that experience; whether the neighbor-gearhead to my 14 y/o niece learning to drive a stick.

It's just a car. It is not fragile.

 

I understand what you are attempting to say but I do not believe fragile is the correct adjective in this case. One of the main reason most love Porsche 911 and spend the money for them is not because they are fragile but just the opposite. By me saying its just a car does not mean that I would let anyone jump in and drive, but I would treat it as I would any luxury or sports car as it relates to letting others drive. You mention the first time you drove a Porsche and the experience, well you did not mention that you were the owner of the car, and if you were not just imagine if the owner had your mindset, then you would never had experience that exhilarating feeling. Share the positive energy and it will come back twofold.

 

Wow, thats a tough question. So far

1. Wife drove it once for about 30 minutes. She didn't want to, was afraid of it. I made her drive it anyway and she loved it.

2. My best friend drove it for about 10 minutes.

3. Offered my dad a test drive. He declined.

Thats about it. Lots of other people have asked. I usually just kind of brush it off and they get the hint.

 

My wife drove it once for about 10 minutes. I was so nervous that it made her nervous and therefore she didn't enjoy it. She did tell me that she has a "Ladies Weekend" planned and she wants to take it. I want her to enjoy it and then perhaps she'll understand my passion a bit but man..... I don't know if I can do it.

Nobody else has asked other than my 16 year old nephew, who got the big phat
"hellz no!"

No valet. Mechanic yes.

 

The only one who's ever driven mine is my brother (and of course, mechanics at the dealer) and he has both an F430 and a 996 Carrera; we are both enthusiasts and PCA DE Instructors so I trust him and viceversa.

 

I will let anyone other then a complete stranger drive it. As I told one person, there isn't anything that you are going to do to this car that I haven't done at least once. If you crash, I have insurance, if something breaks I have a warranty.

To me this is nothing more then an appliance, and there will another.

 

Im in the same boat as you. There is nothing anyone can do to my car that I havent already done. At the end of the day its all just nuts and bolts.

 

I let my girlfriend drive it once and she was nervous about it. After 5 mins or so into the drive, she started to enjoy it more. I was in the passenger seat the whole time. She's the only person besides myself driving the car. I drove my Dad to Starbucks once and offered to let him drive. He said, "No, thank you, son!".

No one else has driven the car.

 

While I'm seldomly approached by others to drive my car, I don't really have a problem with it as long as I'm riding with them. Interesting situation happened a couple of weeks ago - a good friend of mine let me borrow his Mercedes S600 (V12 bi-turbo) to take my parents out to dinner for a birthday (they wouldn't fit in the back of the 997S). When I returned it, he hinted at letting him borrow my car in return sometime. I didn't really have much ground to stand on saying 'NO' so went with it. He's owned a couple of Ferraris before and knows how to drive safely so it would probably be fine, but I would still be a nervous wreck. We'll see if he mentions it again...I guess what's fair is fair. Afterall, his Mercedes costs almost double what my Porsche did.

As for valets, I always struggle with this one. In Atlanta, most of the restaurants I go to have valet only so I'm left with little choice. They usually park it close and I keep an eye on them, and take care of them in the end so it works out. As for mechanics, I use the dealership - given the 100's of cars they service every month (some much nicer than mine like the Carrera GT there last week). I think they would look at me funny if I said their certified tech couldn't drive it!