996 Sunroof Delete Option

Ok, I've decided I can't live without a 2002+ 996 Carrera 2. I looked at several cars including Boxster's, 993's and 1999,2000 Carrera's. My problem is a don't seem to fit in anything but the 2002 model and even that's tight. Ok maybe it's my problem being 6' 7" and 300lbs So in the interests of more headroom, what are the pro's and con's with the sunroof delete option. Should I worry about resale ? Is it really a "no cost" option ? Will the order take longer ? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Roger

I have heard deleting the sunroof will add some headroom. It will detract from resale value by several grand (? 3-5k). But if it's the only way you can fit then it isn't an issue. BTW, you might consider adding after-market sports seats (not Porsche but Recaro or something like that) to lower your body and provide more headroom. I think a cabrio (with the top up) might have more headroom than a coupe but I'm not 100% sure. I'm 6'2" and have a ton of headroom in my Boxster with the top up. Good luck.

I think a cab will give you plenty of room with the seat all the way down. I'm 6'4" but usually have a ton of trouble with the height of the roof. I guess I have a tall upper body. The cab fits great with plenty of headroom. As far as I know the sunroof is a no cost option, your car will be lighter and better at the track. There are people that want the no sunroof cars. It may just take you a little longer to find a buyer at sale time. The non sunroof option gives you about 1.5 inches also.

Re: deleting the sun roof: I recall someone on this board a few months ago relating that his dealer demanded an extra-large deposit for ordering a car without the sun roof supposedly because of the added difficulty in selling the car if the buyer reneged. I also think the delivery time might be longer because the car might have to be taken out of the production line

I discussed this with my local Porsche dealer, Champion in Pompano Beach, FL. They might want an extra couple of grand up front right before the build order goes through. The weren't sure but thought a worse case scenario would be an extra month delay.

Not only does the sunroof take up an inch and a half for headroom, they are also quite heavy. This weigh is, of course, in the worst possible place. If one is serious about handling, they would delete the sunroof. As far as resale goes, I often wonder if the dealers who tell you that the resale is thousands less have ever really tested the market. What is they get a tall buyer? Wouldn't the car sell better?

Thanks for the Replies, I also sat in a cabrio. With the top up it had plenty of head room, but I was looking right at the top of the window. It was like having the sun shades down all the time. I have looked through many classified adds and the cars at several dealers. I never once found one without a sunroof, so they would seem to be quite rare. According to one dealer the inside of a non-sunroof car is basically the same as the Targa model with the top closed and the sunshade retracted. I sat in one and I had plenty of headroom. Of course, when we put the top down, by head smacked into the front edge of the glass (ouch). Thanks Again, Roger

Thanks for the Replies, I also sat in a cabrio. With the top up it had plenty of head room, but I was looking right at the top of the window. It was like having the sun shades down all the time. I have looked through many classified adds and the cars at several dealers. I never once found one without a sunroof, so they would seem to be quite rare. According to one dealer the inside of a non-sunroof car is basically the same as the Targa model with the top closed and the sunshade retracted. I sat in one and I had plenty of headroom. Of course, when we put the top down, by head smacked into the front edge of the glass (ouch). Thanks Again, Roger

Always a question whether ordering an "oddball" car like one without a sunroof will decrease resale value. Many people say they never open the suntop, but didn't delete it because of resale value concerns!! So the suntop leads a life of it's own adding weight, expense and decreased headroom. Reminds me of when I ordered a Mercedes 300E 5 speed in 1986. The dealer thought I would never sell it. Turned out not to be the case, the service writer at the dealer bought it when I sold it 2 years ago!! I had casually mentioned to the service writer this would be it's last service because it was for sale, he said he'd take it. Never had to place an ad. I bet suntops are the same, my new Mercedes has no suntop, special order.

FWIW, I found the '02 coupe to have less headroom than my current '00 (both have sunroofs). I'm just under 6'1" and found it tight even w/ the seat as low as possible. I've considered ordering an '02 w/o the sunroof, but find that I enjoy the "tilt" feature which raises the back portion of the sunroof.

No sunroof is the way to go, IMHO. Here's an interesting list of some reasons why you MIGHT want to delete the sunroof... <a href="http://www184.pair.com/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/cfg986/996/main.pl?read=93761#" target="_blank">Sunroof delete option discussion</a>

I don't like sunroofs but, regarding the link above: It is not going to make the car a collectible and, while admitting I'm not a structural engineer, find it hard to believe that hole which I don't think is large really compromises the structural rigidity to a degree that one would be affected by it. (We're not talkin Sebring SSCA I assume).

Last week I was working in the South Bay, San Francisco. I decided to stop by the local Porsche dealer to ask about ordering a car without a Sunroof. The salesman indicated they had ordered "many" cars for taller customers without a sunroof. He offered to let me sit in a car without one. Turned out to be one of the two GT2's they had in the showroom. Yup, the lack of sunroof does give about 1.5 inches of headroom. I did notice that the price on the GT2 was a little strange. It had a dealer "markup" of 1/3 the price of the car making the sticker price $250,000. Seemed a little excessive... They told me they could order a car at MSRP with $1000 to hold my spot in their allocation. They he told me that I would need to give them 20,000 cash non-refundable to start the build He indicated that this was non-negotiable since if I didn't accept delivery they wouldn't be able to sell the car without a sunroof. So is this normal ?? 20K cash non-refundable to start the build ?? Roger

What a bunch of nonsense. That dealership should be nuc'd. At Champion* in Pompano Beach, FL [phone removed]) I inquired about the delete sunroof. They discouraged it but if I wanted it, they would need the usual $1k down plus an additional $3k or something like that. It was very reasonable. And that GT-2? Was it used? What an absurd mark up. * I don't work there and my only connection with them is that I have bought only one car from them and will very likely order my 996 from them this weekend. I think there many more reasonable dealers than the scum that you encountered

Had no problem ordering a Turbo with the sunroof delete option--no extra fee/deposit required and my $1000 deposit was fully refundable.

You won't have to look very hard to find a dealer that will give you some kind of discount off MSRP. I got a discount back in August. The dealer I ordered from was willing to order it anyway I wanted, but they were quite confident I was taking what I ordered.

I think the dealer was just being silly. Some places in Silicon Valley are still under the impression that they can charge whatever they want and everybody pays cash. Regarding the GT-2, it was new. The GT-2 is a great car, but a quarter of a million dollars seems like a-lot. Roger