Previous Owner Surprises!

We all have surprises from the previous owner - on one of my old 951s, it was comical all the messed up stuff I found when I really dug into the car. I have to say though, when it comes to the 996, it's been bizarre - in a good way. I keep finding things on the car that the previous owner didn't mention to me - upgrades that definitely would have upped his asking price, I would think... for example, the first time I took off the wheels I found out he didn't just have spacers on - they were RUF brand. When I got the car, I noted the Techart exhaust tips - the guy told me "oh yeah, those are just there for show". I did a quick glance under the car and the mufflers looked to be stock, so I didn't think anything of it. I pulled the mufflers off this past weekend to do the Fister D mod and lo and behold - it has a full Techart exhaust on it (which, by the way - doesn't sound ALL that remarkable). So two questions: anyone know anything about the Techart exhaust, and secondly, anyone else have some good stories?? (good or bad)

All I found were a couple of smooth jazz CDs, a pen from the Days Inn and a bunch of pine needles.

You can't put a price on some good ol' Kenny G.

I found about a mile of un needed wire starting around the battery inside the dash and frunk from an old radar detector. A Noisy gear box and 'mis set' alarm (which through up no door lights, inside lights and petrol door lock). All were covered by my extended warranty. Apart from that. Everything else was dicky dory.

I found a fully functional and custom-integrated radar detector on a Jaguar XJR that I bought on eBay. The seller made no mention of it. With that same car, I was able to buy it about $1,500 cheaper than I should have, so I figured the seller may have been hiding something. Sure enough, about 50 miles into the drive home, the car went into limp home mode. It would reset easily, but then go back into limp home after another 50 miles. So, pretty clear why he dumped it so cheaply. After a little time on the Jaguar forums, it became clear that it was just a clogged passage in the EGR system. Pulled a vacuum hose on the valve cover, cleared the passage by poking a 5/32nds drill bit into it, put the vacuum hose back on and voila! The car ran like a champ after that.

On my 996 I found a B&B full exhaust system (headers and all) I havent fully identified the suspension setup but it may be the row. They also rearranged all the climate control, and radio items to accommodate a weird double DIN head unit. Under the frunk there is an AMP and a disc changer that I am not sure if they are OEM or not. So far that's it..

Mine came with two empty sunglasses cases, a sticky roller for getting bits off the soft top, a storage bag for the hard top, some leather wipes, a tea towel, a couple of pounds in change, a plug-in USB charger and a tin of liquid I haven't identified yet. It also came with the original CDR-22 which I put straight back in place of the flashy Pioneer thing that didn't have a CD player. On the downside, it was missing the wind deflector the options sticker said it should have. So overall.... meh.

Bought my M3 from a friend that cut me a deal because he believed the head gasket was going. It was eating a qt of water every 50 miles. When I fired it up in his driveway I put on my game face and said I'll take it and can I have a gallon of water to get home on? Got home changed out the plastic heater hose manifold, done. Went through his meticulous stack of reciepts and added up 12K in repairs and upgrades. picked the car up for 8K. Found a 20 dollar bill in a 914 once which double the value of the car

My last e30 had a rust/crash hole in the passenger foot well repaired with masking tape. Found that when searching for leaks.

When changing out seats on the old 996 for DE season I found some crusted peanuts and a penny. I still have the nuts...

I found a bunch of CD's left in the cd changer. Some good, some terrible. I wish I was as lucky as this guy... www.liveleak.com/view?i=1f5_1386569225

When I bought mine the seller didn't have any idea what suspension was on the car. He assumed it was just lowered with a fixed suspension. It turned out to be TechArt coilovers. Although the next surprise was that it had clearly been in a minor accident since the front right radiator was slightly damaged. It was probably the reason for the upgrade to a C4S bumper. But I really I didn't mind... Unfortunately I wasn't able to get a PPI done on the car since I only had an hour or two before it was going to be sold to someone else.

Quotes source post: 12008829

Way to screw over your friend...good job

Only surprised because of my ignorance. Test drove the car for a weekend, took it back and waited a week in an attempt to negotiate with the dealer but they held firm. Decided to buy it and while doing the paperwork the guy says "wow, you got a deal, some pricey options here that you are basically getting for free". Like PSE, M030 sport suspension, bi-xenons, 18" wheels, etc. My only previous Porsche experience was a 1968 911 that I had for a few years. So I was elated just to have a Porsche with heat and A/C, anything else was bonus. When I got the car home I found a car cover in the frunk, it wasn't there during the test drive. Unfortunately the quality of it was like a canvas drop cloth so I disposed of it.

Not the 996 , but in an old 944 I had, I found some "risque" photos of the POs girlfriend behind the center console along with a dart.

all i found was a CD changer cassette with 6 Indian Bollywood music CDs under the passenger seat. but there was no cd changer, instead there was an 200w amp but not hooked up.

Oh, in an old Ford F150 with after market Stereo, DAPO left one of his Pakistani CD's in it. I had to call him and ask how to get the indian chick out of my stereo. sidewindr Maybe we bought a vehicle from the same guy LOL.

Quotes source post: 12009040

This guy will really be lucky if the "owner'' of that money doesn't come knocking on his door!!!! Who knows how many friends he will bring with him!!!

'99 911 - Fabspeed exhaust '00 911 - H&R coilovers '03 Murci - twin disc carbon clutch, full exhaust, $15k+ stereo, Viper ACR - big brembo's, brake cooling ducts, polyurethane engine mounts, full exhaust and other misc mods

On my 996: Tubi Style mufflers (since gone, *sniff*), full adjustable suspension setup, engine skid plate, and the leftover electronic support parts (audio adapter, microphone, power adapter) for an old-skool Panasonic wired-handset cell phone tucked up under the dash. On my Corvette: A front left brake caliper retaining pin with no cotter pin, backed out enough that it was clicking against the spokes as the wheel turned and 1996 Gforce Sport rear tires. In 2010. They weren't very grippy, but were great for burnouts.

When I picked up the car, the previous owner said he couldn't find the owners manual and would order one for me. He did. It came in the mail a couple of weeks later with an invoice showing that he paid $250 for it from a local Porsche dealer. About a month later I was moving the passenger seat all the way forward to see what it would be like to sit in the back seat. The seat wouldn't go all the way forward and when I looked, there was the leather binder with the original manual and all paperwork including the window sticker.

Quotes source post: 12009235

ha ha!.. you wanna trade CDs?

I did find 4 Porsche wheel caps behind the spare never used, years after I bought my Porsche.

All I found were the plastic disk thingies for the floor mats. They were extra as there was set already installed. Also a set of painted bumperplugs

In my first Porsche, a 914 I bought when I was 14 years old, I found a Polaroid of the PO posing with a lawn&garden sized trash bag full of marijuana.

found out that the "professionally installed stereo" in my prev 997 was a complete hack job (even though PO paid 1000's for it) For example: the center channel was wired to the + lead from the front right speaker and the - lead from the front left speaker. The sound was incredible bad in anything over 10% volume because all the existing bose speakers where wired directly to the head unit.

Coming from a 997, immediately realized the shifter feel in my new 996 was terrible in comparison. I ordered a Numeric that day. The following week when I removed the console to install the Numeric, I realized it wasn’t a stock 996 shifter that felt like crap, it was the B&M SSK the PO had installed and failed to mention.