Isn't the dealer supposed to help sort out these confusing options?

 

Yes but none of the sales guys at my 3 dealers have gone to training yet so the stock answer is "I can tell you about the 997.2 options and packages, but the 991 is a little different so we don't want to mislead you - but we will do whatever research you need to find out the answers to your questions."

I don't blame them.

 

When I was ordering my 997 the dealer was completely clueless, which was bad for me because there were some options I was unaware of, and bad for them because I would have added those options to the car.... I learned my lesson for sure...

Best,

Matt

 

Ok. For those of you who claim to have your head around the leather options, riddle me this:

I have to turn my order in TODAY to secure my slot. I choose ESPRESSO, and I choose Adaptive Sport Seats Plus with full leather in the seats part of the configurator. This gives me the following:
(color coded to point out overlaps)

Espresso natural leather interior

Covered in natural leather in interior color:
- front seat centers
- front seat side bolsters
- front headrests
- front seat backrest shells*
- steering wheel rim
- airbag module on steering wheel
- gearshift lever
- center console storage compartment lid
- center console side section
- dashboard top incl. instrument cluster cover
- dashboard bottom incl. glove compartment lid
- door handles
- door armrests and paneling
- door paneling top section
- door panel inserts
- rear seat centers
- rear seat bolsters
- rear side paneling
- center tunnel cover in rear

But now when I continue through the configurator I'm still allowed to double up and choose "Center tunnel in rear with decorative stitching" as well as "Center Console trim in leather" for $1190 and $300 respectively. What is different between that and what I got by choosing "full leather" which already includes those. It allowed me to add $1490 worth of leather There is no way the word "stitching" is worth $1490.

Again - the configurator allows me to ADD the items in green and blue to an already full leather interior in which these items appear to be inclusions.
My dealer has no idea.

 

Your salesman earns a nice commission to sell these cars that practically sell themselves. Have him call Porsche North America and get you an answer. I'm sure a dealer in a smaller market would love to have you as a client if he doesn't feel like working. Make sure you use email so there is no confusion down the road. Good luck!

 

The second one for $300.00 is the aluminum painted trim ring around the shifter section of the center console. Normally aluminum, to match the trim strip across the dash and door panels, you can choose leather to replace the trim. Look at the pictures that pop up when you choose this option and click on info (i). You could also replace this (or these if you choose the leather additional leather options on the door panel [and front section of the dash leading to the windshield in the case of leather]) with carbon fiber, brushed aluminum or wood.

As hard as that one is to explain, the other one, without the car sitting here is a little harder. It appears, from looking at the interior pictures with and without this option but with full leather you get leather covering the console cover, with or without, but with it you get decorative stitching instead of simple leather cover. Behind that you get carpet without this option, leather with this option (again, with decorative stitching) and behind that (between the seats) you get simple leather without the option, decorative leather with french seams with the option.

So simply stated, it is an appearance upgrade to a more deluxe covering for the console lid, across the carpeted center tunnel and between the rear seats. It shows off the skill of the leather stitchers and makes a more luxurious statement. I'm kidding of course, but it does involve more hand-work and takes more time in the upholstery shop. Is it worth it? Not to me since it is behind the field of vision most of the time and adds potentially nothing to the resale value. You'll notice these options are marked "Exclusive." This is exactly right. They exist for one-upmanship, a kind of snooty conceit I notice more in Europe than in the US among Porschephiles (please don't flame me for this simple observation as I give it without placing value on it) where one owner can say he paid more for his car than another (thus it is more Exclusive).

For the $300 circle of leather around the shifter, I would say if you get everything in leather you might want it but I like the aluminum painted trim since it breaks up the sameness a little better.

 

Ok, well I'm going with Espresso full leather - and the aluminum bits really stand out well - which I love - and I'm adding silver seat belts. So I don't want aluminum to be covered anywhere. But can anyone speak to this photo in the back seat of an espresso 991. The stitching on the center tunnel is great - Is this the "with decorative stitching" option? I hope this is just plain "full leather" without addendum's.

I see that there are stitches around the tray in the center of the console - I'm ok with this not being leather/stitched. I'm ignoring this item in the photo. THanks again guys.

(EDIT - I see those stitches on the huge tunnel only appear when the $1190 option is selected. That is just wrong. I saw JMMK's description but I still don't see the gain for $1190! When REAR center tunnel with sticking option is de-selected, the center compartment lid (logo or not) loses it's stitching as well - and it's not in the rear of the car at all. This is a terrible builder by Porsche.)

 

Eric, that is the "with decorative stitching" option. When you get the rear center console leather option, not only do you get the decorative stitching on that part, but the center console storage compartment cover gets decorative stitching as well instead of the one-piece, simpler leather cover you get with the leather interior option. The full leather interior becomes the full leather with decorative stitching — a more deluxe leather interior, in other words.

Some of these upgraded leather options can delay the delivery date of the car since the car is pulled off the normal assembly line and diverted to the custom shop. Additionally, some can even delay the start of the assembly since the biggest flow of cars at the beginning of the model introduction will be cars that go down the line the fastest.

 

I made some edits above as I realized what you just told me - thanks. I still find inconsistency with regard to "rear" including the compartment lid. AND the fact that you get stitching on the dashboard, seats, and doors regardless of whether you choose the $1190 decorative stitching option.

SO you need to choose $1190 decorative stitching to get a consistent car. And that encompasses about 40 inches of thread? Seems off balance, fiscally. It's like making the windshield wipers pink, but if you want them to be black like normal, you need to fork over $1190 or your car looks funky. Not that bad but similar.

(You may sense OCD and overly sensitive to detail by me, but you gotta know how misconfigured my last car came from Porsche. - I'm super-sensitive and meticulous - Porsche NA nor the dealerships care - so I am doing all the legwork now)

But like it or not I see how it is - I have my head around the options and my buildout is complete - just need to turn it in today.

 

Let's see it!

 

here is the screenshot:

And I don't want to hear any noise about the rear wiper - I love rear wipers on 911's. It harkens back to 70's and SC cars.. Plus I USE it

 

You'll love it. It's a stunner.

 

Looks like a great build.

I was going to get the rear wiper for the same reasons you mention, but was dissuaded by folks on here. When I looked at it on the configurator it really didn't fit with the lines of the 991 in my eyes. Now you have me thinking again...

 

Thanks for the "delay" info Theinz. Luckily that doesn't affect anything we have mentioned here, but it's good to know nonetheless. Makes sense that custom colors and deviating stitching would be delayed - lots of demand for this vehicle. Can't roll them into the custom shop as the come through when it's this busy.

 

Thanks! Yeah When I got my 997 the folks were trying to tell me "it doesn't fit with the lines of the car. Now even more the guys say that - but I still think it makes for an interesting breakup of the sweeping rear. The rear is not a lot different in this car than the 997 and I liked it on the 997.