New 996 Owner.... plenty of questions

Im a new 996 Owner.... sort of atleast. Im actually a dealer, i sell all my cars exclusively on eBay. I pretty much sell BMW and recently about a yr ago was selling Porsches. My dad's always had Porsche since I was born. I have an E46 M3 and this week i got an 00 911 C2 but it had all the right things on it that I like so I've decided to keep it and get rid of the M3 for now (ill get another one to accompany the Porsche in the summer). The car is a 00 with 63k .... Silver with Black Interior, it's got the Aero Kit minus the wing and the rear bumper flippers (neither of which I really care for) and it's got 19" Champion RG5 Rims (I think) along with the 3 spoke, White Gauges, The aluminum/leather Shifter that looks like the Turbo shifter and the alum/leather e-brake and it's dropped. Ill have pics soon enough, prob take some tmrw for you guys. Anyways I have a lot of questions since Im more of a BMW Guy. Ive done some searches but it doesnt help to ask to get some added insight. 1) I potentially want to powdercoat or paint the centers black.... does anyone have a pic of the Champion rims with the centers painted or powdercoated black.... i searched and found nothing.... im sure someone has done this before 2) I have a lot of stereo questions and I made a post about subwoofer enclosures. In my car, there seems to be a rear deck box behind the seats that I lifted up and saw some polyfill. I was on Rod's site caraudioinnovations and in his before and after pics on some cars he references this box as being the factory rear deck. What exactly is it's purpose cause in all their installs they just chuck it. It just looks like it's some carpeted box that has no purpose ? 3) The car has the Hi Fi Sound but no Bose.... i want to upgrade the stereo because Im really into that. Where are the speakers in this car.... I assume the tweeters are on the dashboard and the mids and the woofers are in the doors? I assume from what Ive read that the only drop in speaker is Focal's . Where are the speakers in the rear and what size are they ? 4) I want to get a short shifter. I saw that B&M actually makes the OEM shifter for Porsche and the B&M ssk is not only cheaper but it has more reduction? Ive also read to get the AP Alum LInkage..... Who has the best price , Ive found that Karfiesta has both for about 500 for the package. I'm a dealer so I can get a wholesale account at the dealer although I doubt they sell B&M 5) Although I like the **** in the car compared to that flimsy weird shaped one that all 996's have for the most part, I stil feel like this **** has a weird shape. This **** by TechArt has really caught my eye and through searching this site I found that Carnewal carries it : http://www.carnewal-europe.com/cpx_p96105.htm ..... Does anyone have this one and how long does it take to get stuff from Carnewal since its in Europe? 6) Exhaust ..... The sound of these Porsches is pure sex, just like the s54 engine on the m3 (i love that rasp).... i potentially want something to accentuate the sound a little but I dont want something obnoxiously loud like getting Bypass pipes etc...... I could say the equivalent for the m3 would be like a supersprint sport or eisenmann sport.... for the m3's there was a site called klangford.com that had all the exhaust clips, does that exist for Porsche exhausts ? the only company i know that makes aftermarket exhausts is fabspeed 7 ) There seems to be some areas that are dimmed out on the guages when nighttime comes and I have to turn on the exterior/interior lights .... is that just a bulb replacement ? Is there anyway to turn up the dimmer to make things more lit (there is on the m3 or on all bmw's for that matter) 8) Interior..... right now the interior seems so bland.... the prob is that all the stuff seems so pricey.... I really want the carbon fiber console but I saw that its like 1400 brand new... I saw mashaw makes one for like 1100 but thats still really high if you ask me..... how often do these carbon fiber consoles come up used on here and whats the goign rate.... the alternative I guess is to get the aluminum one for around 500 . Does any other company make CF ones for a more reasonable price ? 9 ) Seats.... I have the supple leather seats right now.... I have a 99 911 in stock that Im going to be sending to auction just cause its got a slipping 2nd gear... the car has factory turbo seats which ive thought about puttin in my car but im not too found off the perforated leather seats..... how much do used turbo seats bring , i saw 1 auction on ebay for red ones for 2899 but i couldnt figure anyting past that... i wouldnt mind getting trading someone the turbo seats and putting regular ones in there so i can use some of that coin to buy some interior stuff for my car 10 ) Battery ..... the car will need a new battery soon, I can already feel the battery is on it's last life.... what battery brand do u guys usually use, oem or some other brand I know thats a lot of questions, almost looks like an essay.... if people just have answers for a few of the questions It would be greatly appreciated.

welcome. That's a lot of questions and I suggest you use the search feature on key words like SSK and a whole world of modding Porsches will open up. A word of warning, when you do this there is no going back.

Did you get it from a Nissan Dealer down there?

Hi Zpak, I'd like to comment on your dealer status and this means nothing negative towards you! We had a thread last week about someone searching the aucitons for a 996. IMO, the auction 996's are cars the dealers pass on for whatever reason. CASE IN POINT, if that person is still searching for the really cheap 911. Now Zpak, welcome and you will love your Porsche. I'd watch ebay for used parts if you're looking for a deal. Also, headers will improve your sound and add power. My car runs the bypass and I really like it, but I don't drive it all of the time. I would think it'd get very annoying if I had to make a trip in traffic for a distance. Regarding seats, you might check into some of the Recaro's etc. Also, there is a thread on here regarding painting the wheel centers that might be helpful. It was a yellow aero with black wheels. Good luck.

Hi 2pak - welcome to the board. I can't answer your questions (I'm a new owner too), but I had to laugh when I saw the reference to "klangford". He had to be the funniest guy on e46fanatics.com which is where I'm guessing you found the reference.

You have have plenty of questions? Well us seasoned vets here have just 1 question........ WHAT ABOUT AN INTRO AND PICS FIRST?????

dallasboats, it's 2pak actually not zpak let me add my insight on the whole "auction car theory" since Im asking for your guys for your insight. There's a huge misconception that all the 911's that end up at dealer auction are rats; cars that dealers passed up on because of problems etc. That's actually anything further than the truth. Like all cars, the 911's that end up at auction represent usually 1 of 3 scenarios. They are either lease returns, trade ins, or they're aged inventory (e.g. 90 or 120 day units). Lease Returns Remember when you return your car off lease, Porsche Credit is the one who owns the car, not the dealership you bought it from and get it serviced at. Now in most cases the dealership has first right of refusal (i know this to be the case with BMW). However recently there's been a pretty clear trend. The leasing companies such as Porsche Credit and BMW Financial Services are overestimating the residual value on the cars when determing the lease. In some cases it's a catch 22 because if they are to correct it, the monthly lease payment will end up skyrocketing and thus will kill off sales (this is very much the case with the new 7 series). So even though a Porsche dealer may have the right to get the car before it goes to auction, it's not always in their best interest. The Porsche dealerships are right next to me bidding on the Porsche Credit cars at auction. Trade In's If you trade in your car to a Nissan Store or a BMW Store etc. then in all likelyhood they will just bring the car to auction. Aged Inventory If a dealership has a car for 90 or 120 day, they will bring it to auction and attempt to move it. At that point it has become aged inventory. This includes even highline dealerships and franchise stores etc In all these scenarios are theyre ratted out cars, sure !!! They're ratted out cars for every make and model. However at the same time are theyre really nice Porsches too, yes !!! It all depends on the circumstance. Ive sold prob about 7 or so 911's and a few Boxsters in the last yr since i still sell mostly BMW and the prices of 911's have risen but all the ones I've sold have been very nice examples. anyways if anyone can hit up any of my questions that woudl be great

How did I know that was coming?

Wow - I love that shift ****....... http://www.carnewal-europe.com/cpx_p96105.htm I just ordered it from Gert! Maybe it is me, but I have really tired of the carbon fiber look. I will take photos after the new shifter **** is installed.

me too... how long does it take upon ordering to get it?

My shot at your questions. welcome 1. i don't have any pics but power coated centers not only look good they hide the incessant cleaning of the brake dust 2. Get sport exhaust and you won't care about stereo 3. see 2. 4. buy from sunset porsche. they are the most reasonable and since you have dealers liscense you will get even better price and no tax. OEM short shift is about as good as it gets 5. sometimes up to 3 weeks from Germany. i like the CF shifter better, but if you don't like the feel of the stock shifter, you might not like the CF either 6. factory sport exhaust sounds great, but there are a lot of after market choices. Again, my advice is to sticl with factory parts when it comes to everything but aesthetics 7. The dimmer is the knoob on left side between speedometer and tach. clockwise brighter, turn and hold 8. watch ebay for interior pieces. they can be had reasonably if you are willing to get your items a piece or two at a time. the wood trim is generally easier to get than CF. check out the feedback from sellers closely though. there is a lot of junk on there as well 9. not sure what you mean by turbo seats. there are sport seats with more pronounced bolsters which I personally like better. used they go for 700 to 1k a piece in good shape. there are lightweight GT3 seats that are ridiculously expensive and and IMHO UUgly. 10. A porsche battery will cost you 50 bucks more than a similar after market battery. I have always incorrectly believed you should always use the pcar battery. tool pants, a mechanic who posts on the 911 forum all the time, said there was no need, so I bought an optima the last time. works great

smshirk in regards to the interior pieces, i found someone whose local in fort lauderdale who is postin on ebay that for 150 dollars he will paint the console and the upper console and the surround around the gauges any factory color. i read up and it seems like the quality is shoddy, i guess bumperplugs or suncoast is the best option (cf console is way too much). the **** im ordering from carnewal isnt cf its the techart one. also, how can i tell if my car has a sport porsche exhaust? is there something to look for because I honestly think mine might have it.

Trust me, that is something you would know. Does your car sing at WOT or does it ROAR like a cup car???