Drove my first 996 today

Well, I'm toying with the idea of buying a 996 coupe as a daily driver while I restore my early car, as I'm having 911 withdrawals. I went to look at a 2000 C2 today, and drove it mainly in traffic type conditions. My first impression was that it was well, very 911 like. I hated the quality of the interior materials, and it showed it's age there after 15 years, but the car drove very nice. It had good power, gearbox is nice, feels pretty responsive handling wise, and the brakes were good. I would definitely consider one, just not the one I saw today. If these cars were well taken care of, do the interiors fare any better? Did the interiors change anytime up to 2004. Any leads on a Rennlister's coupe in So Cal would be appreciated. Tips in the search process would also be welcomed. Thanks

The full leather option on a C2 (standard on C4S,TT) makes for a very nice interior. The full leather doesn't look or feel cheap and I assume would wear much better if taken care of. The standard interior is really cheap and crappy looking. It looks very out of place in what was once an expensive car. If its a DD, why bother?

The all-leather interiors are just fine, particularly in black. Otherwise, they can seem a bit plasticky. Either will hold up if treated well.

Interior materials were improved in 2002 and later cars. I agree that the full leather option is a very nice upgrade for the 996.

IMHO my 2002 C4S leather interior looks great.

I have the full leather and I am happy with it but the paint on the center console scratches easily. That's the bad, the good is that for $3 I had Home Depot match the ash tray cover with Behr latex and with a small sponge brush it touches right up and looks factory fresh...... until is scratches again. Mine is Savannah Beige. If it was black like mentioned above the scratches would not show.

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yeah, I absolutely love the interior on my 02 C4S. I never knew what people were talking about when mentioning cheap looking interiors until I sat in a 99 boxster. wow, what a difference there is.

My car came with the leather option from the factory, then I upgraded many of the other components, nothing cheap about my 99: https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...-upgrades.html

The full leather interior in my '99 996 is absolutely gorgeous - I instantly fell in love with it the first time I saw it and the feeling hasn't waned. The interior is a bit "Spartan" for some, but it is supposed to be a "sports car"...if I want plush I jump in the Infinity SUV and bounce my way down the road in comfort.

I don't mind the plastic in my car. Easier to take care of, doesn't matter if it gets a little wet, and it looks fine for me.

I'm not looking for plush, I just don't like Chevy Cavalier quality goods in my 911. My early cars, and SC's have materials that have held up for 40 + years. It sounds like the 2002 and later cars may have been a bit up graded. Do the 02-04 years require the same IMS RMS upgrades as the 99-01 cars?

I just bought my '00 996 C2 and drive it as a daily driver and for autox/DE duty. The previous owner of my car had the console painted body-color (silver) and it really makes the interior feel classy and Porsche-like. Mine also came with GT3 replica seats, which are a great middle-ground between full-on race seats and DD buckets. A couple small-ish upgrades and you can make the interior feel really nice, without going through the trouble of finding a full-leather car (not to mention, you'll save all that weight. :P). Admittedly, I've never driven another 911, but for a car with a reputation of being a terrible 911, this is the greatest driver's car I've ever driven. I adore the steering feel and, on coilovers especially, it is confidence-inspiring. Everything about this car feels more 'raw' and engaging and higher quality than the E36 M3 it replaced.

Yes, later cars have same IMSB, and other known replaceable issues.