Interior refurb or leave alone

[j2huss]

I have just purchased a 911, 993 Targa (1997) which is in pristine condition. However as the car is now 10 years old the grey leather seats (especially the drivers) has signs of age cracking in the leather itself. I have considered having this repainted (as they call it in the trade) but I am unsure what this would do to the value of the car? Has anyone gone through the same thought process and what was your conclusion? The car is absolutely original and that is my worry. It is also "as new" except for the said ageing to the leather. Give me your thoughts please.

[TTTurbo]

Leave it !

[ukwill]

j2huss said:

I have just purchased a 911, 993 Targa (1997) which is in pristine condition. However as the car is now 10 years old the grey leather seats (especially the drivers) has signs of age cracking in the leather itself. I have considered having this repainted (as they call it in the trade) but I am unsure what this would do to the value of the car? Has anyone gone through the same thought process and what was your conclusion? The car is absolutely original and that is my worry. It is also "as new" except for the said ageing to the leather. Give me your thoughts please.

Depends how much cash you want to throw at it. How about getting the front seats reupholstered?

[spenny_b]

The "perfectionist" in me says do 'em...the worn look looks ok on 1950's Astons that raced at Le Mans (etc) but a 1997 car is too new to pull that off. IMHO, and a general comment not aimed at yours, worn = tatty and unloved.

Just my 2p worth

[Pickled Piper]

I had mine done when I purchased my 993 three years ago. It's well worth doing as it brings the seats up like new. In fact I really can't understand why you wouldn't do it. It costs significantly less than having the seats fully retrimmed.

The other thing you can do is swap the backrests driver to passenger. These unbolt and are exacttly the same. Swapping them over evens out the wear and the worn outer bolster now becomes an inner bolster.

pp

[captainmark]

Does the "connolising/painting" wear off or need to be touched up over time?

Also did you bother to replace any of the leather (ie on the bolsters) before having it done?

Thanks
M

[Pickled Piper]

captainmark said:

Does the "connolising/painting" wear off or need to be touched up over time?

Also did you bother to replace any of the leather (ie on the bolsters) before having it done?

Thanks
M

I didn't have any leather replaced. The "paint" will wear off over time but since I treat the car carefully it's not really an issue. The very small amount of wear that is now evident is in keeping with the age of the car. Prior to the painting the seats were a let down.

pp

[j2huss]

Pickled Piper this is really interesting. Great idea about swopping over the back rests. You have said that you had yours painted. Do you have any before and after pics? And who did you use? How much does it cost? and how long does it last?

[Pickled Piper]

Hi,

I paid about £175 about three years ago. I had the work done by a company called Image Car care in Solihull.

Unfortunately, I don't have any before and after photographs.

I have a light grey interior. The driver side outer bolsters were heavily scored. The "painting" made the seats look like new but now three years later the areas of heavy scoring are just starting to show again but do not make the car look shabby in any way. More like a well broken in pair of leather shoes.

If I were doing it again I would consider removing the seats from the car and possibly even removing the backrests so that they could be laid out on a bench. This would make the job a lot easier for the "painters" as they would not have to spend time masking the interior of the car and hopefully reduce the cost due to the decreased labour.

I certainly wouldn't hesitate to have it done on another car. The finish is not as durable as having the seats completely retrimmed but at a fraction of the cost I think it is very good value for money.

pp

[designergraphics]

Don't know if you have standard seats or hard backed seats. If you have the standard type it might be worth you keeping an eye on eBay for a pair of hard backed. You should be able to pick up a good set for 700 - 800. I was fortunate enough to pick up a full leather interior on eBay as we wanted to change our blue interior to grey. Finally fitted everything yesterday and it looks great, much better than the vinyl dash & door cards. A tip for anyone thinking of changing their gearknob...don't pull too hard, we've now got a badly cracked windscreen.

[j2huss]

Do you have any pics of the leather dash and how easy was it to fit? I want to change my gear gator but dont know how it comes off. Any ideas?