I'm currently looking for a yellow or white manual 02/03 coupe with factory aero kit and < 60k miles. There are a few out there, but now I'm thinking what options I should wait for. I test drove a 99 with full leather, and I really like the leather seats / dash / cluster / etc.

How rare are all these options? Is waiting around for a C2 or C4 that meets these criteria reasonable? How rare is the combination of all these items?

I was looking at this C2:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AI T&viewitem=&item=120301140465

Not sure what the reserve is though. I'm not too sold on the wheels or body color interior panels, but the biggest part that I'm thinking about waiting for is the leather dash / instrument cluster -- which this one doesn't have. It does have leather seats however.

Thoughts? Recommendations? Wait for the "perfect" one, or is this combo too rare?

 

I like it - the wheels are a bit much but that's easily changed ya know. I like. I'd offer somewhere in the mid $30's for it. Good luck!

 

Any thoughts on the leather dash and upkeep?

According to this buyer's guide thread:
http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforum...d.php?t=414586

...upkeep of the leather can be a bit of work and may not look nice if not properly maintained. If one finds a full leather interior of this age, is it the condition of the leather a big concern?

 

I had full leather in my boxster, but because I have kids I didn't get when I got my 996. It looks great, but is fragile. There are issues of the dash leather shrinking in some spots also (I didn't have this issue on my boxster but knew guys who did), which would have been a warranty issue but with the age of most 996's you would have to take care of it yourself.

If maintain the leather using leatherique softener and cleaner, and are careful, the leather is the way to go.

BTW: The car in the ebay add looks like it was a stripper that someone upgraded. The reason I say this is that a car (other than a gt3 which did it for weight) that does not have hi-fi option minimum for stereo was a very cheap car when new for a 996. Even people who were going to replace the stereo, still got the option to have the spot in the doors for speakers.

 

Thanks for the insight. Sounds like it would be a good idea to ask for a pic of the options sticker to figure out what is factory, correct?

 

May or may not work... My 2003 996 you can barely read the sticker it faded pretty quickly.

On this ebay car I can tell you what is and isn't factory pretty based upon what are typical or not... See my notes in ()... But I can tell you that someone went in and repainted most of the soft touch stuff yellow. This is a common upgrade because soft touch stuff does get damaged and is typically what makes these cars look abused even if they aren't. I messed up my 1st soft touch part at about 4,000 miles and had it replaced under warranty.

 

Interesting. A lot of great stuff you brought up. Most importantly is that you pointed out the lack of the front aero bumper. I thought it looked rather plain compared to the other aero's I've seen -- didn't know if it was an MKII change or not. I also don't like the wing as much as the MKI.

You're also correct about the painting of pieces which the seller mentioned on the phone.

Thanks again for your help. I think I may just hold off in hopes of finding a factory aero with full leather.

For anyone interested, the asking price is $32,500.

 

well good luck... BTW: I'm not sure there was a factory installed aerokit in 2002. Though there were factory installed side-skirts available. In 2003, the aerokit II was introduced, which had a newer style skirt and new bumper/wing that looks like the GT3. The cab, got a different wing for clearance reasons...