I bought my specific 996 because it had a good provenance and was local. In hindsight, I would a) not get a convertible again and b) would not get metropol blue interior.
Convertibles are fun but have compromises as well as a myraid of quirks that hardtops don't.
As far as the blue ,my passenger seat first decided to rip apart in the center bottom pad at the stitches. I thought perhaps it could be repaired.
Next thing I know, I have a clogged vert drain and water is in the car for a couple of days. The leather on the passenger seat is now starting to flake apart at the side bolster.

I'm going to talk to a shop but I suspect that this color is impossible to match? If I'm going to spend big money I'd rather just replace the seats with Recaros or something but then it's going to look wonky.
Any ideas or BTDT appreciated.

 

Yea, Sally is Polar Silver with Metropol blue and the only match you will find is the very high end companies or Factory Leather..

I had been looking for years for a good used set of Metropol Blue seats and none ever available, It was not a very common color, I finally just gave in a bought a nice set of 991 seats in Black...The 991 seats are about an inch lower and I needed the extra head room for my Helmet for the Track.. The Metropol Blue is so dark ( like a dark Navy Blue) the Black Seats almost match...lol

I may try to put a few more black interior pieces in to bring it all together..( black is the easiest color to find)

 

Check for water under the driver’s seat. Your immobilizer ECU is in this location and any water damage may lead to your car no longer starting.

 

I replaced my 996 Metropole sports seats with far superior 9x7 sports seats. They are deeper with better side bolsters so you sit in them rather than on them, plus you get an extra inch of headroom too. They're easier to source too, you can get them from Boxster, Cayman and 911, they all are bolt in replacements. The only issue is the heated seats require some rewiring to work properly, there's a thread on here on how to do it.

 

Have you checked with @DC Auto ?
https://www.dcauto.com/parts/255959?...2876&year=2003

They usually have tons of seats and seat parts.

 

I looked on their site, the only ones I saw looked rough, and were north of $2k.
They are not far from me so I may take a drive out there.

 

As you know, cab interiors are are going to be hard to match, no matter what color.

I’ve got metropole in my 02 turbo coupe & have been more than satisfied with the color match
for my interior upgrades from Frank at Exclusive Option. Outstanding workmanship & communications. A great value for my money but if you’re looking for cheap, don’t bother.
Billy


Frank
Exclusive Option
415.712.6291

 

If you were closer, I would be tempted to sell you mine. They are just collecting dust in the garage.

 

When I bought my 996, I didn't realize the interio was Metropol Blue until I'd gotten it home.
It is very nearly black.
I have replaced my Metropol Blue steering wheel with a Black rimmed MOMO.
Really, as long as you replace most interion parts in pairs, you can easily go with black.
(Look around at all of the other black interior parts)
Unless you have an extremely low mileage all-original car, you're not going to affect the value.
Mine is a modified "daily" driver, so keeping it Metropol Blue does not concern me any.