welcome. the 996 is a great porsche, a practical and reliable sports car you can drive every day and not worry about depreciation. parts and service are not bad as well, especially if you can do a few things yourself.
the headlights as mentioned above are easy to remove. please do not buff them while they are on the car. have you replaced the bulbs? here's a link on how to polish the headlights:
http://www.renntech.org/forums/tutorials/article/38-polishing-acrylic-headlights/
register on renntech to check out loren's great site at
996 (Carrera) - DIY - Tutorials - RennTech.org Forums
also get a rennlist membership and spend lots of time on the 996 board there.
hope to see you at the next cars and coffee to show off your "black dawg."