996 interior trim questions

[OS Inspector]

so if you had wood trim n wanted another which trim pieces are not removable or hard to remove easily? can the steering wheels trim be changed without new wheel? looking at a car with wood trim and its just not my style aluminum or carbon is prefence what do you guys think the cost of replacement interior pieces would be? thanks in advance guys

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[erubin]

I have slowly but surely been replacing all the soft touch painted trim pieces in my cab. The latest being the seat belt outlets. I have a mix of carbon and Alumalook. The overall cost is dependent on how and what you do. The carbon parts are quite pricey. The cheapest source I have found for quality CF parts is DB-Carbon, which is a German based company. The painted parts can be sourced through bumper plugs, but often cost more than the carbon parts and also require you to ship them your original parts. The negative of this route is the inability to return the car to stock allowing you to sell the CF or Painted trim pieces. There are also suppliers on eBay that have painted trim kits using your cores. These can be purchased at a much lower price. I have seen prices as low as $399 for center console, batwing horseshoe, and other misc parts. I am not sure of their quality but they are very reasonable. I do not believe that you can change the wood on the steering wheel but you can probably get it painted Alumalook at Bumper Plugs

[OS Inspector]

so how much do you thnk youve spent so far 1500$? n lots of time?

[deckman]

If you go to stock changing is inexpensive. If you go to carbon it's way expensive, meaning you could spend thousands replacing your wood parts. Aluma isn't that bad. Changing the steering wheel will be pricey, but there could be an interested buyer for the one you have. That's what you need to remember, every piece you remove you can sell. I think the market for wood trim on our car's is really limited though.

I watch interior pieces on ebay regularly since I am looking for a couple of specific leather parts. I can tell you that almost nothing except carbon sells. The prices people ask for the parts probably has something to do with it. The same pieces sit and not sell and get relisted many times. I think a lot of people selling the stuff give up and just hold on to them.

As for the work required to replace parts, it depends on the part. Most of them are really easy. Much of the interior of the car just snaps together.

[OS Inspector]

yea the steering wheel seems pretty pricey at 800-1200$ for a porsche part, n the carbon console at 1100

[deckman]

A carbon rear console just sold on ebay this week for about $400. A carbon batwing sold for $70. That's about all the market will bare these days.

[erubin]

Check out db-carbon-interior.com for carbon fiber parts. They have the best prices for new CF parts I have seen. They are often cheaper than the painted parts from Bumper plugs and do not require core exchanges. The last parts I replaced were my seat belt exit trim. These parts were around $220 shipped. I replaced my hazard surround and ignition around and these parts were around $80-$90 each. I was able to find a brand new OEM rear console in alumalook for around $450 on sale. You can find used parts and save allot of money but it takes time and patience. The cheapest way to go is to have someone paint your current trim pieces to match your exterior body color.

[rudy1024]

Or you can go the finished carbon fiber wrap route... I wanted the CF look, but not the CF prices... this approach worked out best for me, the pieces are wrapped in CF fabric, then finished with high gloss polyacrylic furniture finish :







Rudy

[mwh27]

Turned out that it's quite difficult to replace some of the interior trim in the 996. I bought a carbon fiber strip that goes across the dash board (under the glovebox) and then realized that it takes an act of congress to get off the old piece.

The "right" way to do it is to take off the entire dash! There are a million (ok maybe a thousand) little screws that hold that piece on. Or you can try to gnaw thru the trim piece from the front which seemed like a lousy idea.

Or you can put the carbon piece in a drawer and plan to resell it later on Ebay (my plan).

Anyway, look before you leap on this one is my advice.

[erubin]

Originally Posted by mwh27

Turned out that it's quite difficult to replace some of the interior trim in the 996. I bought a carbon fiber strip that goes across the dash board (under the glovebox) and then realized that it takes an act of congress to get off the old piece.

The "right" way to do it is to take off the entire dash! There are a million (ok maybe a thousand) little screws that hold that piece on. Or you can try to gnaw thru the trim piece from the front which seemed like a lousy idea.

Or you can put the carbon piece in a drawer and plan to resell it later on Ebay (my plan).

Anyway, look before you leap on this one is my advice.

There is a much easier and quick way to accomplish the replacement of the dash trim strip. I replaced mine with the OEM Alumalook pieces. Search my DIY for instructions. My method builds on a DIY posted by another board member and fined tuned the process making very easy.

[deckman]

You picked the three pieces of trim that are the hardest to replace on the entire car. Most are much easier than that. There must have been a law suit associated with those three pieces for them to be attached in that manner!

[manalex]

I am in the process of converting a '99 996 to a track car and have removed the interior. The leather and vinyl pieces, i.e. seats, door panels, etc. are in relatively good condition but I don't expect to sell them anytime soon, just don't see much of a demand. However, the remaining trim pieces (all of them) have been carefully removed. These include the three pieces of trim mentioned in an earlier post, all the AC vents, A/C/Radio surround, overhead light panel, etc. The original interior color of the car is grey, but the trim pieces are a charcoal color with a rough texture. If anyone is thinking of sprucing up their interior please let me know.