t34418l31

There is a 951 that I am practically set on buying. One thing that is making me question is that the car has a bra on it. That in itself is not the problem but the fact that bra has been on for 7 years and never taken off. The car is cosmetically in excellent condition and has clearly been taken care of. Paint shines, no dash cracks, immaculate seats etc.

What can I expect upon removal of the bra? The car has probably never been driven in the rain and is parked in a garage but I'm sure a decent amount of water gets underneath during washings.

I am definately willing to spend several hours bringing the paint damage back to the same condition as the rest of the car. What sort of process should I undertake? Is it even possible to get it to match the rest of the car?

Luis de Prat

A good cleaning, gentle polish with a paint cleaning product like Zymöl cleaner polish, and then wax with a decent carnauba paste wax.

There will most likely be rub marks that will only go away with a professional polish that will remove a layer of paint, but the previous treatment will get it close.

ausgeflippt951

You WANT to buy a car w/ a bra, espesh one that's had one for as long as that. The bra/dash cover typically means that the owner took quite good care of the car. Don't worry.

If there is any damage, it can easily be polished out.

white924s

if you can find one of these cars with no dash cracks, buy it - it generally means the po was meticulous about car maintenance and those are the kind of cars you want to buy (take it from someone who bought a car from the exact opposite kind of seller)

billthe3

I don't know... My car has absolutely no dash cracks, but when I picked it up it looked like it had been sitting outside for half a year (the fact that the tires were low on air pressure and had big flat spots supported that thought), and since I bought it I've had to do a headgasket, belts, waterpump, and I have a feeling I may need to do a clutch soon as well.

Vjgtrybno1

It's not difficult to remove the bra and I would ask the owner to do so. I ran a bra on my 528i continuously for a few years when I was doing a lot of interstate driving and before I knew more about them. The good news - no stone chips. The bad news - the finish was badly scarred where dirt got under the bra and rubbed the finish. IMHO, the meticulous owner removes the bra when washing the car or if it starts to rain and reinstalls it after washing/waxing the car.

As for the color matching, it depends on the paint color and whether the car saw much sun. Some colors fade more than others and some come back nicely with an application of Klasse all-in-one or Poorboys level 1 polish.

hacker-pschorr

Sort of a silly question - ask to remove it before buying. I have one for my 944, takes less than 10 minutes to remove / install.
I take it you've never pulled a car bra off to find paint gone and/or a mold buildup.

You cannot buff out paint that is missing. Slim chance the paint can be buffed to match if there is an extreme fade difference (seen this on more than a few red cars with bras).

A bra that has never been taken off does not mean the car was pampered. In fact, IMO the total opposite. I pamper my 944 (wth a bra) - it comes off in every rain storm, before I wash it etc... You do not want to let a bra dry on a car, ever. So someone who allowed this to happen for over 7 years either doesn't know any better or doesn't care. I know a lot of people with car bras on "normal" cars that never take them off. These are not well taken care of vehicles.

Not to mention in the 80's car bras were a fashion statement, some still go after that look & has nothing to do with taking care of the car.
Many detailers I know would say the complete opposite. Why? By constantly applying cleaners and chemicals that cause the dash to crack.
Not to mention I've seen plenty of Porsches with perfect interiors ownd by onwers who don't know a piston from a lug nut & took care of the mechanicals accordingly.

robert944h

Leaving a bra on for extended times is very bad for the paint. If the bra gets wet the moisture can cause the paint to acually change colors, it almost looks faded. I've seen this on three different cars in the past 2 years 964 roadster, 968, and 993. It can't be buffed, wetsanded, or waxed. Only options were to repaint or put the bra back on. I would have the seller remove the bra and send pics!

Naplesguy06

If it's a Colgan bra which is OEM for Porsche it wont harm the paint unless friction is involved. However, Porsche uses Laquer paint and it is easily polished back to new if it has been maintained. I think the benefits outweigh the harm, think of all the chips that that bra deflected. I am a bra man, thongs work too.

ausgeflippt951

Huh my car had a bra and dash cover and when i removed it the paint was beautiful...i was my understanding that the PO never removed the bra as long as he owned it...

My car is in great shape cosmetically and every PO babied it. It was also dealer serviced it's whole life and never left Tucson...

Vjgtrybno1

Forgive me for saying that we could argue about this until the cows come home or they can take 10 minutes to remove the darn thing and know for sure what the condition of the car is. It may be that the paint underneath is perfect or it may be that the owner is hiding something under the bra, but if I were buying it, I'd take 10 and get a good look!