FOUR HUNDRED AND SIXTY TWO MILES! I was shocked and not a little embarrassed when I did the sums, after collecting my Carrera 3.2 from Porsche Bournemouth, and worked out the distance travelled between the 2015 and 2016 MOT tests. I’ve owned the car for seven years and although it’s in pretty good condition, good enough, in fact, to have collected a fair haul of PCGB concours trophies, for me the raison d’etre of air-cooled 911 ownership is the driving experience, and in my opinion the further you drive them, the better they are. Yes, the car is on a limited mileage insurance policy, but 5000 miles should be plenty for a car only used for pleasure, when the weather is good.
Of course, some owners enjoy keeping the mileage down and I’ve never been one to criticise those who want to spend more time looking at their car than driving it, it just isn’t for me. I’m aware of the what has happened to the market for these iconic cars so I can’t ignore the ‘V word’ and yes, I know that the value of the car has increased somewhat during my ownership (however, I refuse to use the ‘I word’ - it is not an investment as I have no intention of ever selling it) but that has never stopped me using it, and never will. I might be a bit more careful where I park it these days, but that’s about it really and I’ve always been quite particular in that respect.
In my defence, during the period in question the car spent time with Canford Classics, having remedial work done to the kidney bowls and jacking points and, as they are the only people I’d trust with my precious Fuchs wheels, they were commissioned to refurbish them at the same time, after a third party attacked them with industrial strength cleaning agent. In addition, a new work contract meant coming out of (early…) retirement and purchasing a car for my daily commute, so I bought a Boxster S (I know it’s not air-cooled nor is it a 911, but it’s a brilliant car and currently early ones are stupidly cheap – but that’s another story). All of these factor combined meant that the 911 clocked up but a tenth of its usual annual mileage.
So, has my car become a garage queen? Well, since the last MOT in October, it has already clocked up 508 miles and with an entire summer of driving ahead I intend to ensure that it doesn't become one. I’ll try to report back with better news next year!