If no other solution is available to you, I recommend Soffener from colorplus.com. It is an oil, not a cream, and it can restore cardboard hard leather. I used it years ago for that purpose on a 928 with blue leather that had a section suffering from water damage.

 

Find a good used dash (that they pay for) and tell the selling dealer you want that dash replaced at their local Porsche dealership. That's the most likely solution that they'd accept that won't cost you a bunch of your money and will get the car the way you want it.

 

 

thats assuming that the dealer is willing to install a used dash, which I'm willing to bet most won't.

 

The question with all of it is - what's your recourse if the selling dealer is only willing to refund your initial purchase cost? Unfortunately I think you have no recourse.

The PPI shop - really blew it of course. What's the most you can expect to get out of them? Best case scenario - the full $600 cost (but that's unlikely.)

Looking at some (over-simplified guess-work) estimating:

Replacement leather upper dash (used): $1,200 - $1,500
Est. labor hours to replace: 10 to 15 hours
Labor cost per hour: $150 (low) to $200 / hr.
Labor cost for the job: $1,500 to $2,200 (low range) figure on at least $2,000

You're probably looking at $3,000 to $3,500 to get it done. (But it could be more.) Used dash. Significant amount of invasive work. Assumption that you can get a dealer to do it (used dash). Alternate assumption that you can get a good qualified independent to do a quality job. Hopefully no further issues / complications resulting from all of the invasive work (rattles, other items breaking / losing function because of the tear-down and re-install - car is at least a dozen years old...)

That $3k to $3,500 investment into your car will hopefully fully negate the issue, but will return no increased value in the car - so zero gain from that expense.

Unfortunately you have your leg in a bear-trap. Hopefully you can free it without too much pain and damage. Bitter lesson learned. Hopefully others reading the full post and situation can gain / learn from it.

Good luck with whatever process you select.

 

Groovzilla, nice picture with you posing against your car. However, a friend tried leaning his butt against my car for a photo op and I gave him an ear-full.

 

I would take the initial loss and get the refund. Take off whatever new parts you have put in and run. I have leather dash and can't live with the stains. My leather A-pillar has a little water stain noticeable only by the driver and I replaced it. I guarantee you that this apparent damage will sour your appreciation for this purchase down the road.

 

Yeah I missed that. He confirmed the same when I PM'ed him. I knew you were probably right just by the thread you shared alone, but was holding out for some hope that maybe someone knows of an alternate solution.

I paid $600 for the PPI because it included him going in with a borescope into each cylinder to check for bore scoring (72k miles and still came back clean...he sent me pics). $250 for PPI, $350 for bore scoping. The shop owner is an honest guy (other Rennlisters have recommended him too). He passed the job onto another technician, and that guy screwed up by only focusing on mechanical issues (not cosmetic). Planning to call him today when work slows down.

I'll check it out! Not expecting much, but maybe I'll get lucky. Would rather give a cheap alternative a try before dropping big $$$....not much to lose if I'm replacing the leather anyway.

Yeah unfortunately you're right. I've been beating myself up for days now and have wrestled with anxiety over it. Just trying to move on. Planning to have the local Porsche dealer give me a quote on removal/reinstallation of either a used or recovered dash (if they will accept it). My business sends a ton of cars to them for work, so hoping they may help me a little on this one.

 

I would call a shop that specializes in interiors. It will take some looking but if you call around to a few places (Kindig Designs, Texas Metal and a few others that have TV shows), you can probably find a few good references. Then send them pics and get their take. You may get a pleasant surprise or maybe not. Worth the time spent.

 

You might try some leather reconditioners and there are many options for dash covers. A cover won’t fix the problem but at least you won’t have to look at and be reminded every time you drive it. If you plan to keep the car for a long time I wouldn’t worry about it.

The black passenger seat in mine has a stain that looks like someone spilled coffee on it at some time. I didn’t notice it until months after I purchased the car. It isn’t in your face but I notice it. The light has to be just right to notice it. But, I have no intention of selling the car anytime soon. I almost traded the car for a 991 and Porsche dealer didn’t even care nor did they reduce the trade in estimate, which was a healthy offer. I changed my mind because I like the visceral look of the 997.2 interior better.

 

What causes damage like that? Water? Where else does this water go and what does it damage that you can't see?

I dunno. Depending on how handy you are, like others have said, you could source a good dash and do it all yourself. Not a small undertaking. Then take the old dash and see if you can get it fixed while it's out of the car then sell that fixed dash ...

I can't imagine any fix being really acceptable. I've lost track of this thread. Did you see the damage or not before you drove off?

 

Yeah it's not something I ordinarily do BUT I am extremely careful with my cars and was sure not to rub or move while leaning against it.
That is my 1980 911sc that was previously owned by Wayne Dempsey owner of Pelican Parts - My car was used for his book "101" Projects You Porsche 911" for the Engine Rebuild.
The book's cover has my engine showing on the lower photo w/wrench and book has several pages of photos of the car and engine area in the rebuild section.
Wayne Dempsey was kind enough to sign my 101 Projects book and write down the Vin# when he signed it

 

According to the comments in the thread linked below, it's damage caused through absorption of water into the leather (standing water on areas of the dash - perhaps caused by a careless installer during the application or removal of windshield tint...).

The absorbed water causes the leather to swell, and then leaves the damage after it dries out. The leather is structurally damaged at that point.

https://rennlist.com/forums/general-...er-damage.html

 

I would reach out to these guys- they do great work and I'm sure can solve this for you:

http://www.exclusiveoption.com/

If you want to see how they work take a look at the show "Wheeler Dealers" Season 15 Episode 13 they rebuilt a 996.

 

How much did you pay and what are the specs on the car? The dash leather may have already been priced in.