Dislike Color Mis-matched Parts - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

mkgonza2 · 06-06-2007, 04:38 AM

i have recently ordered an 08' boxster. i ordered my car in guards red. i really dislike the fact that porsche does not color match the air vents on the rear quarter just forward of the rear wheel well. No matter what color you order, they are painted silver unless you have them color matched as an option for which they charge you the rediculous amount of $ 1190.00 ! My intent is to take the car down to the nearest body shop and have the vents sprayed to match. I don't want to leave my car in a body shop for a few days ; my intent is to remove the vents and take them to be repainted and then re-install them myself. This leads me to my question. Does anyone out there know how to remove the vent panels ? Are there any special tools required ? has anyone out there attempted this ? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

fishage · 06-06-2007, 05:20 AM

BumperPlugs.com has color matched side vents for $279 with a core exchange.

super66 · 06-06-2007, 05:41 AM

there are a couple links on this forum with instructions......I changed the vents on my car with painted vents and went with the cayman version.....I used bumperplugs and I recommend Eric.....the vents look great.....plus you won't have to worry about leaving your car anywhere......

I will tell you taking the vents out is a mega pain in the rear!!!! essentially requires more force than you can ever imagine and a little blind faith that they won't break....and they won't.....no special tools required

06-06-2007, 05:51 AM

I also had my vents done by Eric at Bumperplugs. Great work.

Here's what I did. I had Eric ship the painted vents to the dealership (White Allen Porsche in Dayton, OH) just prior to final delivery. I had the dealership install the vents. They charged my $20 and paid for the return postage for the core exchange to return the unpainted vents to Bumperplugs. When I picked-up the car for final delivery it was done and looked great!

06-06-2007, 05:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by super66

there are a couple links on this forum with instructions......I changed the vents on my car with painted vents and went with the cayman version.....I used bumperplugs and I recommend Eric.....the vents look great.....plus you won't have to worry about leaving your car anywhere......

I will tell you taking the vents out is a mega pain in the rear!!!! essentially requires more force than you can ever imagine and a little blind faith that they won't break....and they won't.....no special tools required

Hey Super66, your vents look great! First time I have seen the pictures.

mkgonza2 · 06-06-2007, 06:45 AM

Thanks for the info; never occured to me to use caymen vents as replacements, but I gotta tell you they look AWSOME !

super66 · 06-06-2007, 07:25 AM

thanks b! you'll notice copied your rims finally too.....I posted the pics awhile back but I think you might have been traveling or taking a 986 break.....

the view dead on takes a bit to warm up to, the other angles are great instantly....hey mike, there was a discussion on the vents on another board and a guy posted his guards 987 with cayman, here is another shot of mine and a preview of yours....maybe.....

drburton · 06-06-2007, 05:38 AM

Bumper plugs is very reputable, so that is a good suggestion.

Regarding removal, I think there is a step by step with pictures on the Renntech forum so I would do a search there.

Middle Age Crazy · 06-06-2007, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike gonzalez

i have recently ordered an 08' boxster. i ordered my car in guards red. i really dislike the fact that porsche does not color match the air vents on the rear quarter just forward of the rear wheel well. No matter what color you order, they are painted silver unless you have them color matched as an option for which they charge you the rediculous amount of $ 1190.00 ! My intent is to take the car down to the nearest body shop and have the vents sprayed to match. I don't want to leave my car in a body shop for a few days ; my intent is to remove the vents and take them to be repainted and then re-install them myself. This leads me to my question. Does anyone out there know how to remove the vent panels ? Are there any special tools required ? has anyone out there attempted this ? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Mike...mine is an 07S in guards red (see attached photo). While I agree they should come from the factory in body matching colors, it really depends on the color of the car (and personal taste) as to whether it looks good or not. Personally I think it looks OK in silver on a red car. If my car was yellow....perhaps not so good. Certainly the price Porsche wants to paint it is ridiculous but then they are not known for reasonably priced options. I did not notice vent color as an option when I placed my order last September but I would not have paid the price you were quoted, that's for sure!

What color interior did you order?

06-06-2007, 10:57 AM

Mike, one thing to consider before you proceed too far is; will the current 987 vents fit a 2008 Boxster? Just a thought. I don't know if Porsche is changing the vents in your model year.

mkgonza2 · 06-06-2007, 11:37 AM

Mussatti,
Great call - thanks. Rumor has it that they are changing the front and rear facias ; you never know what other things they may change.

mkgonza2 · 06-06-2007, 11:44 AM

Middle Age Crazy,
I ordered black interior. I really like the tan on red but my wife nixed it. By the way, your car looks great with the silver vents on red. I have a phobia about multiple colors -- i have seen some porsches that look ridiculous with all the color combinations, but then again, it's personal preference.

Middle Age Crazy · 06-07-2007, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mkgonza2

Middle Age Crazy,
I ordered black interior. I really like the tan on red but my wife nixed it. By the way, your car looks great with the silver vents on red. I have a phobia about multiple colors -- i have seen some porsches that look ridiculous with all the color combinations, but then again, it's personal preference.

I would actually prefer black leather and would have ordered that myself IF I was buying a Cayman (or any coupe for that matter) but my previous experience with a 2000 Carrera Cab in "triple black" made me think otherwise. The black leather seats with the top down got extremely hot.....something to think about. Because I chose the sand leather seats (primarily to avoid "butt burn")and knowing that a light color in vinyl tends to look cheap in my opinion, I felt I had to pop for the "full leather" interior, something I might not have felt necessary if I had gone black.

Anyway, I'm happy with it and no regrets. I know you will really enjoy your new Boxster. I picked mine up on March 23rd of this year and other than weekends I have not driven it much but when I do it is awesome. My wife has only been in it for one ride that lasted 30 minutes but she does like it and we will get some wheel time this summer for sure. My wife never learned how to shift gears manually so no sharing required!

Having it built "your way" is worth the wait.