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YOUR RESEARCHHow common is sunroof delete?
Leading reported evidence
Use a/c and/or drop the windows too
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Suggestion
Especially when you have the option to use the A/C and/or drop the windows too
Leading evidence: 'Use a/c and/or drop the windows too' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, The most frequently discussed action is 'Use a/c and/or drop the windows too' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
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I have a 1998 996 with no sunroof. How common is that and what would the benefit of it be?
A friend of mine claimed it made the car slightly lighter and provided extra headroom. I guess that could be true, but it just seems strange why someone would order a brand new 911 and specifically refuse a no cost extra like a sunroof.
Depends on your geographical location...most all cars built and sold in the North American market were equipped with sunroofs. Other markets around the world not so much. I have owned 2 sunroof-delete 996's and both were ROW built cars. They offer my 6'3" frame some welcomed headspace.
The sunroof doesn't actually have a piece of glass in it, right? I just fixed mine but it looks light and unnecessary to remove if weight loss is your goal. I did a sunroof delete in my e46 m3 a while back but that was very noticeable because you remove the sunroof cassette, glass and motor. It weighed close to 100lbs.
These cars only ever had fiberglass (I believe that is the material) sunroofs and never glass. I think the biggest weight savings from the delete is the motor. I want to say converting to slick top saves like 30lbs, but I may be confusing that with a 944. Either way that is a gold mine if you are a racer it is also weight that is driving your center of gravity up.
To the op. As others have said they are very rare and highly desired by track guys.
Also, some people just really hate sun roofs, my dad bought my mom a new car a few years back and they had to special order it because she refused to get anything with a sunroof. Ultimately, it cost them $10k, $5k over another car that was identical, but with a sunroof and $5k the dealer was going to take off for buying 2 new cars off the lot. I couldn't believe it and thought it was an utter waste of money, but she was happy with it.
In Europe it is more common for the buyer to spec and order a new car themselves when the factory is geographically close. And the markets are small considering every country have their own dealers and local laws etc. In the US it seems more common for the dealers to spec and order cars. So I guess it makes less sense for a dealer to delete an option like a sunroof if you don't know who the buyer is when you put the order in. I might have misunderstood the American car market, but I have seen on youtube people being able to buy brand new cars at the car dealer and drive them home there and there.
More space for a helmet was what my friend said too. But I doubt my car has no sunroof because the person wanted to track it. But as you and @gbarron pointed out, it makes sense if first owner was tall.
I guess they hunt down sunroof delete cars for track day cars? It is interesting, the US is such a huge car market, people hunt down all kinds of cars, models or certain options and are willing to pay for it. Not that I am selling my car any time soon, but a sunroof delete car like mine has zero extra value in Europe.
Yes here in the US dealers order a bunch of cars on loan from the manufacturer and then sell them on their lot ready to go that day and that is how most sales go, especially of more basic/cheaper cars. You also have the option to go to a dealer and have them order what ever you want and that can take anywhere from a month to 18 months depending on the car. Ignoring the current craziness in the U.S. car market, unless you really want something very specific you are much better off buying something off the lot and the dealers don't want to sell you custom order cars, because they need their lot inventory to sell to avoid having to make more payments to the manufacturer on that specific car, which creates potential cash flow problems and undesirable interest expenses. As such, it seems to be that custom ordered cars cost MSRP where as you could typically pay at least 5-10% below that for a car on the lot.
Thank you for the explaination. That is super interesting. The US has such a huge market and high demand, you can sell cars in other ways than we can in Europe. Or perhaps it is just because I live in a small European country. I live in Norway, but I don't know if I could buy a new car today off a lot if I wanted to. Perhaps with an Asian car brand, they seem to mostly have standardized option packages. But most often, if you want to buy a car, you spend lots of time in the website configurator or get a seller to advice you on how to spec it, then you wait for delivery. And obviously these days, it takes many months from order to delivery on popular models.
Not Porsche.
Every vehicle is paid for before it has a build sequence number and build slot assigned.
They lost their *** in the early 1990's when the market crashed with 1000's of cars left sitting at the port of entry when dealers refused them.
*raises hand*. I greatly prefer non-sunroofs. Never use them and slicktops look cleaner and save weight at one of the worst places to have extra. Plus, I am taller and it does make room for my head and helmet.
GT3 is a slicktop, M3 is slick, 964 will be made slick this winter, hopefully.
Not common enough...
Benefits... Doesn't leak or break open in a rainstorm. Doesn't add 30 LBS to the highest point in the car. If you have a slick top 996 in the US where they are very rare, chances are you like to party.
I feel like sunroofs on sports cars are an old people thing... If you want to have the wind blowing through the 3 hairs you have left - get a convertible to go to cars and coffee with.
Yea, the manufacture is paid for the cars but the dealer usually has a "floor plan" ie.. a loan at the local bank for the cars on the lot....( they are paying interest on them, you get your best deals at near the end of the month)
Very few dealers don't have a "floor plan" and actually "own" all the cars on the lot....
I fully understand about "floor planning" for vehicles currently in stock at the dealer,having walked the lot many times to find units that the banks representative couldn't locate.
I was just commenting about TYPE65's statement.
I'm not a sunroof guy either. My DD is a 2014 Acura TSX, owned since 2014. I used the sunroof maybe 3 times. I am tall, so with the seat all the way back, I find the sun glares between my eyes and sunglasses. Then I start wondering, "Which one of those birds flying overhead will crap on me?" Because, unlike Zbomb, I don't have 3 hairs or any hair on the top of my head!
I've never used the sunroof on my 996.
Gotcha, I was just adding context/insight..
I use the roof vent feature a lot also ( plus it gives it that " I don't want to sit still look" ) ..I never want/need to open the sunroof....and the 1 inch more headroom would be SO welcomed...
Us slicktop owners didn’t delete them, you guys with them, optioned them. It’s all a question of perspective ...
As others have said, 30lbs removed from the highest part of car, what’s not to like ? Especially when you have the option to use the A/C and/or drop the windows too
I don't know how it was in the US, but I am pretty sure sunroof was standard in Europe. Almost every 996 have them. And the spec sheet for my car literaly says "Option code: 652 Delete Sunroof"
I can well believe it. But like I said, it's all a matter of perspective
For every 100 individuals who wouldn't have a 996
without
a sunroof, there's at least one or two who wouldn't have a 996
with
a sunroof. And I happen to fall into the latter category
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