I'm considering a used 997 Porsche for my next vehicle. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like the full leather interior was common outside of the Turbo models. That brings me to something which I know has been done plenty with cheaper vehicles, but which I've never heard of happening to P-cars - a full interior swap. Anyone know anything about it? Ever seen it happen before? Is it worth it, or would it be a better value to find an upholstery shop that'll do a custom interior?

I'm also curious about adding extra options to a vehicle that didn't come with it - For example, adding Bluetooth/iPod, or upgrading the headlights, or swapping the seats. Are these feasible to do, or would it be better to wait for the "perfect" car which has everything I want?

 

Some add-ons are worth it: bluetooth, ipod and/or mechanical ones to enhance driving or aural experiences. Be aware though that you won't get value back at resale time. Keep in mind that the mods you seem to be considering won't add one iota to the performance. Leather looks rich, smells good, is a pain to properly maintain and begins to sag on the seats after a while. Some savvy buyers eschew the " full leather interior" in favor of worthwhile options such as sport chrono plus, Bose high end, X51 option etc.

Porsche options list is notorious for its high prices and at order time many buyers balk at the cost of frivolous items ( embossed headrests, console lids etc) in favor of practical ones. The lack of "candy" will not deter you from enjoying the heck out of a P-car.

 

You are right, full leather is a very rare option and a pricey one which as noted by ogun kept buyers and dealers away. If you're patient you'll find what you want, if not you'll end up paying through the nose for these options after the fact. If you go to Suncoast Parts website you'll see that they offer several of the full leather pieces for ridiculous prices. I'm sure it would cost less to have it done at an upholstery shop but I'm not sure if the results will be as good.

The full leather is the primary reason I pushed really hard to find an allocation when I was ready to buy, I really wanted it.

 

I think it would be better to find a car with the options you want. Upgrading these cars with factory parts is financially forbidden.

 

Keep searching, there are many full leather non-Turbo cars out there. When I was looking, it seemed to me that full leather was more common than not. It maybe just the timing of what's currently out on the market.

 

You are completely in error here. There are many many 997s that were loaded with leather compared with Turbo models. In fact, even my lowly 997S has more leather in it than the Turbos provided. In fact, just a week ago I was looking at a beautiful 2007 S (Tip, unfortunately,) that has a ton of leather and even sycamore wood throughout. (Probably $6000 in wood, alone).

Being bespoke automobiles, there are many customers who absolutely loaded up their 997s. You need to spend more time looking. I would not waste my time even thinking about retrofitting leather into a car.

 

If you want Full Leather, find a car with it. Way to expensive to do after the fact.

As far as seats, it depends on what seats the car has and what seats you want. For me it worked out, swapping out my Bucket Seats for nice Alcantara Sport Leather seats, but it was a lot of internet work, many phone calls, and a few disappointments until I found a great guy on this site that knows more than any dealer in my area about seats and probably Porsches in general. If i had it to do over again, I would probably try to find a car with the seats I want.

Good luck..

 

Even though I have had parts redone in leather in the past and it is not as expensive as you might think and the leather quality exceeded what was offered by the manufacturer I would agree that it is better to find the car with the options you are looking for.

 

Wait for a car with full leather.......IMO there's nothing that compares to the pleasure I get just looking at that leather and experiencing it every day. I wouldn't own a Porsche 911 without it!

I can also say that it just gets nicer as it ages.......like me!

Tom

 

As others have said, full leather isn't that hard to find. Perhaps you'll find an interior with Porsche's natural leather

 

Great to hear how wrong I was. Now back to lurking while I search!