996 Interior Wear Expectations - Should I avoid this car

Hi, In the market for a Guards Red 996. Found one locally at one of those mom and pop lots. Carfax looks fine and hoping to get a PPI early this week when the shops open. I haven't driven many 996s so I don't know what to expect in terms of interior wear and tear for a 2002 with 90k+. Was hoping you could educate me / talk me into pulling the trigger! Stats: 2002 C2 91K Miles LN IMS Retrofit California Car Price: Asking $25k USD Interior: Grey with chipping/peeling and discoloration on steering wheel, center console, shift ****, door handle, radio surround.. Feels like I should be able to restore most of the blemishes over time; not going for a show car just a weekend car that I can maybe dd someday. So generally, would this interior be considered in bad condition? Will most of the sub $30k 996s have similar interior wear and tear? (from pics, some seem to show similar issues but as you know it can look worse in person) Pics (looks a bit worse in person): Thanks in advance! P.S. Paint has swirls but should be able to get them cut/polished out (hoping!) minor chipping that was badly touched up but not a biggy. Tail lamp lenses have a small crack on each.

I have an 03 Targa with 63,000 miles. I just had my interior refurbished by a guy who color matched dye and took most of the pieces off and feathered the edges of the wear with sandpaper before applying the finish. I paid about $500 to have the center console and the side of the seat control you are showing done. All of those pieces are available for purchase from Suncoast parts new. Some of them aren�t too expensive but the center console runs around $500 by itself. My understanding is that with this vintage of Porsche and Mercedes they used black plastic with a soft colored coating over it in the interiors. They are prone to show wear even if they aren�t abused.

Any color other than black, does wear well. After 20 years of use, they may need to be refreshed. The bolster wear varies so much, depending on the owners size & mobility in relation to miles, ie, city car with less miles and frequent in/out, vs. a rural car driven many more miles with less in/out. OP was correct, refinishing is something many of us are dealing with.

Thanks for replies. This is a Cabriolet so I imagine that doesn�t bode well for these interiors. The back seat looked brand new. I think I will adjust my expectations for the interiors of these cars and budget for the likelihood of refinishing the interior pieces.

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Cosmetics should be the LEAST of your concerns with this car. The engine should be the CORE of your decision-making process. Leather dye and soft-touch paint can easily be corrected for under $100, but an engine with serious issues will bankrupt your Porsche, especially if $25K is all you have to dump into your dream car. Follow me? For those interested, here is the car in question: https://www.autostarmotorsinc.com/pr...Carrera/710989 Here is the Carfax: https://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistor...vH21KCSpM5jge8 Now while the dealership "claims" the IMS bearing was swapped out with an LN retrofit, the bearing was NEVER registered per LN warranty requirements. (see attached image) You don't know when the bearing was installed; therefore, it may be time to do it again. The service interval is every 6 years. Also, you MUST have this car scoped to rule out cylinder bore scoring. I strongly recommend getting your mind off of cosmetic things and concentrate on the engine and the functionality of the car (e.g. convertible top mechanism). Get the Pre-purchase Inspection by an independent Porsche shop that knows the M96 engine.

Take it from me, they all wear like this. I have a 2002 Cab and the entire interior is plastic and needs a complete repaint. Carpets are good quality. Check out my YouTube channel on my restoration. Very fixable. However the engine is your starting point. I’m pretty certain that a PPI will not scope the bores for scoring. However you can usually see signs in other ways. Check the tailpipes. The left is bank 2 so cylinders 4,5,6. 6 is the culprit that usually shows signs first. The pipe will be sooty and dirty compared to the other pipe. Another way is to listen for a ticking sound on the right side of the engine. That’s more difficult if you don’t know what to listen for. My 911 has 101k miles has a rear main seal leak but no scoring. I had to check it myself. It also has seepage in other places and the piston rings are allowing oil in the combustion chamber. All things that should be serviced at this point anyway. So if it hasn’t been done, I’d budget for a gasket, seals and possibly ring refresh. Parts will be around $800-1k. However you’ll have to drop the engine to service it completely. If you’re not comfortable with that you should budget for 3k-5k in service. Oh and while you’re in there you should plan on replacing the clutch if it’s a manual. Oh and that price is on the high side for a base C2 but it is what it is in today’s market. Good luck!

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Thanks for the in-depth response and research. As I tried to convey, the question was solely and narrowly fixed in the cosmetic because I am doing my due diligence with a full PPI as stated. Please note: The dealer never stated to me the IMS had been done, the sticker was present in the door jamb. I do appreciate the warnings about mechanical as I do consider that the most important consideration. I was not aware of the 6 year maintenance interval.

No grey interior in these cars ever looks good. Seems normal to me.

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Yes, and that's why I spent time to help you to understand that like a book, you shouldn't judge a Porsche by it's cover, but rather, the health of the engine. Worn or sun-damaged cosmetics on a 20-year-old Porsche Cabriolet shouldn't come to a surprise, especially the graphic grey interior which is known to age poorly. I know, I had two of them. As long as the leather is not torn, you can easily repaint (i.e. leather dye) the seats, parking brake handle, gear shift ****, and center console for under $100. Easy DiY project. My comment about the PPI is to make sure you get one conducted by a reputable Porsche-specific shop, not just any shop. With the LN Retrofit serial number, you can contact LN Engineer and get an actual purchase date and that may help you to pinpoint when it was installed, but no guarantee. It wouldn't surprise me if this car will need quite a bit of work. I would expect to pay at least $5,000 after the sale if it passes the PPI. Just make sure the PPI includes a bore scope inspection. Good luck!

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okay

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Ouch! lol While gray would never be my first choice, I wouldn't go so far at to say it 'never looks good'.

I have a grey interior cab and would say what you see is pretty typical. The grey shows every mark due to the black underneath.

Nice mats. Coco?

Looks fairly normal for a car of this age. My car definitely has some wear spots on the interior.

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There is a lot of good advice on this thread. Sounds like you have done your research with regards to what to look for regarding the engine and what you will need to do if you purchase the car. In answer to your question, there are a few threads on the 996 pertaining to "interior upgrades" on RL that will give you more ideas, links and costs. As everyone suggested, the pictures look pretty much like any other 996 grey interior. Same wear and spots. I have a grey interior and have always liked it. As mentioned by many, the leather wear can be fixed cheaply and easily with dye. The rubberized plastic can either be replaced with the same rubberized plastic parts, stripped and painted, or even upgraded with aftermarket items. Many folks have been stripping and painting these parts themselves or going to Bumper Plugs to have them do it. This is an option I am seriously considering. Just haven't figured out which color I will use yet. Plenty of affordable and even expensive options available. Hope the PPI and Bore Scope are favorable. It's an awesome car.

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Great advice But it�s tough, especially when the you�re buying long distance. Many Porsche-specific independent shops don�t have the knowledge of the M96 that we expect them to. This shop said not to worry about the slight leak at the IMS/RMS because it�s a 99 and they don�t have a problem. I had to wait until last month when my 996 passed the IMS Solution pre-qualification at a certified installer to really feel good about my purchase. It was refreshing to dealing with people knowledgeable and experienced with the 996.

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Although I do agree with what you have said but at 90k it's safe to say that the IMS is fine.........if it was to fail it would have by now. Boring scoring would be more of a worry for me. Listen to it on cold start up and if there is a slight ping then you will know....OR....look at the driver side exhaust and see if there is black sut on the exhaust pipe itself, that's another indication of bore scoring issues. Other then that these cars are bullet proof and should get 250K without issue. Just my $0.02 worth.

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bulletproof huh? the 32 other failure modes might say otherwise. Intermix from a cracked head is a popular one. As for the IMS being fine...maybe it is and maybe it isn't, but to say that just because it made it to 90k means it won't fail is not exactly a sure bet.

space gray and natural grays look good. Graphite Gray does not. Plastics do not. Full leather is so worth it. omg the hand wringing over the motors. Yes, not something to take lightly but Jesus people.

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Respectfully disagree. I really like the way my partial leather Graphite Grey with Natural Grey trim looks. The sport seats really help. Sorry but those wrinkled comfort seats look horrible in any color. There straight out of a 90�s Japanese luxury car and don�t belong anywhere near a 91. I understand the hand wringing over the engine when a rebuild cost more than you paid for the car.

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not in my experience. My IMS technically failed with 117k on the clock

Yep. Gotta spend probably 6-8k getting the engine protected before you worry about the interior or other mods. Assuming bore scope and oil test is good, then replace IMS, RMS, water pump, UAOS, ignition coils, spark plugs, fuel injectors, and while you are in their with the engine partially dropped, good look at clutch and flywheel, then engine and transmission mounts, plus all brittle plastic/rubber pieces in engine bay. Then you will have an engine you won't have to worry about for quite awhile. He'll, I've had mine for 19 years and still haven't done a damn thing to upgrade the interior other than GT3 seats, cage and racing harness. Same 19 year old rubbery plastic stuff in graphite grey and I love it.

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THIS. At 90K or higher there are many, many, MANY things that will fail soon. Take it from me, I've got the worst case example. The only thing that isn't f'd up is the engine so I should be grateful. However, it doesn't mean I'm not going to drop the engine and refresh the whole thing. That's kinda what I do. Now if I can just get the interior back together and the running gear, and the...

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Keep going Yogi. It will be a work of art once you are finished with it.