To help with your confusion on the leather issue...
Standard leather interor on NA996s is what is known as 'partial leather' or 'leatherette'. The full leather option upgrades all the partial leather on dash and setas to real nappa leather and I think should be standard on a vehicle of this price.
Natural leather is another leather which I believe you need to order in conjuction with full leather and it is only available in 2 colors: natural leather brown (dark brown) and natural leather grey (dark charcoal almost black)...The natural leathers are big bucks and the colors are'nt great so dont worry about them.
You can also get the "supple leather" option which means that the seat inserts will have ruffled leather instead of the standard perforated one. This is also not available in conjunction with sport seats and IMHO the normal non-supple looks sportier...
The last leather options all relate to covering any plastic parts in the car with leather...They are really not worth it and expensive so no worries. Also, Porsche now makes all the interior plastic trim in colors that matcvh the leather so they do look good.

 

Hey, I did exactly the same thing. I had a heavily optioned M3 on order ($61K with gas guzzler) and I ended up getting a decent 03 996 from dealer stock for much less than $10k more.

What a great upgrade. Every time I drive this car I love my decision more and more. You won't regret it. The M3 is a great car. But the 996 is just sublime.

Good luck finding your car.

 

I almost forgot, For me, the most important must have, was it had to be a Cab.

 

18" wheels, xenons, sport seats and if you want PSM, add aerokit later if you like the look, B&M SS and the X74 suspension is a nice setup.

 

CD changer... if u need one anyway, be sure to order it now

 

Still having a hard time with the PSM - dealers says I dont need it in TX, board seems to think I do... its a pricey option when I am already at my limit on budget, yet if it is TRULY a safety neccesity I dont want to skimp...

Current Order looks like this (what do you think of the deal I am getting by the way - bad, ok, good, or great?)

04 996 (order car - End May/Early June delivery)
Arctic Silver Metallic/Standard Black Leather
18" wheels w/color crest center caps
Xenons
Bose Sound
Delete Sunroof

$65,000 + TTL

* there are other cool things I would like on this car, but I feel like they could be added later (exhaust, short-shifter, etc)

THOUGHTS? Thanks! :-)

 

Why would you delete sunroof??? it doesnt save you any $$$ and I think it is one of the better features of the 911 since both Gallardo and 360 have no sunroofs for those nice days....
Also, how much is PSM?? on a RWD Porsche it is ESSENTIAL!!

 

good feedback on the PSM... my original intent was to get it, I am just getting a lot of very conflicting information on whether it is really necessary in climate like Dallas, TX where I live... I am starting to think I should get it anyways (?)

As for the sunroof - strictly a personal thing... I dont care for them on serious sports cars like this. It puts extra (75 ish?) pounds right up on top of the car where you wouldnt want it for handling, rigidity, etc. PLUS - I had a car with a sunroof in the past (BMW) and I hardly every opened it. Since I plan to keep this car forever, not worried about resale problems from no sunroof. Again, this is a very personal thing, and I realize many would probably disagree with me... I just dont care much for sunroofs on a car like this.

 

Get PSM, it's cheap insurance IMO. I track my 996 a lot and it has kicked in a few times and saved my....At least here in Houston.LOL
As for the sunroof, good enough for Steve McQueen good enough for me It's a nice feature IMO.
If I was going to order mine again I would at least get all leather seats if not full leather. I agree it should be standard at this price point. Having said that, my std/partial leather has been very durable and problem free with the kids and the Texas heat.
Almost forgot, get M030 sports suspension, at $700 it's easily the best bang for the buck option in the entire Porsche option book.

 

Sunroof delete, thats GT2 and GT3 style, nice.

 

PSM ? Depends on how you plan to use the car. I do not have it, and do not miss it. I do not track my car, I don't drive in the snow, ice or even the rain for that matter. It is a 3rd car for me and doen't come outside unless the weather is perfect. If I were to track it, or drive it everyday, and be exposed to the elements, That would be a different story.

 

thats it JASCLASS...thats the point in my case, try to get as close to the spirit of the GT3 on a 996 budget :-) Did a little more research on the M030 sport suspension, but I still cant find any information on this option(?)... still dont want a sunroof, and the standard leather/leatherette is just fine for me. I sat in the sport seats and they were a little too narrow for my 5'11, 190lbs frame.

 

The M030 is the upgraded sports suspension, includes stiiffer springs and shocks as well as larger sway bars. Getting it from the factory as an option can potentially save you a lot of money later as it will cost about $2K to retrofit or upgrade to RoW 030. The RoW version will sit slightly lower (20mm front and 10mm rear, all +-10mm).

 

The sunroof is nowhere near 75 lbs....A lot less

 

For my own comfort level I took my car ('03 996 c2, NO psm, no suspension upgrades) to a huge (empty!) parking lot last weekend. It had recently rained and the lot was still very wet. I spent lots of time trying to make the car spin... not just stomping it while cranking the wheel mind you... I mean putting the car in specific scenarios and perturbing it to see what would happen. Most of this was at relatively low (~30mph) speed.

Here's what I think I learned: this car has a whole lot of understeer built into it. So panic braking and turning tended to still be somewhat safe. However if you are already near the limits of adhesion in a turn and then get weight away from the rear you are simply going to turn around.

I once even attained simple lift-throttle oversteer of about 180degrees. That was a real grinner.

Get the PSM if you can.