Good morning everyone,

I just recently was fortunate enough to purchase my first brand new 2017 Carrera S. I am loving the car but over the weekend when I was washing it I noticed that the panel gaps are kind of off in different places on the car. For instance the panel gap on the drivers door is perfect all the way around which is what I would expect. However the gap on the passenger door is slightly bigger at the top and a little narrower as you go down. Overall, it matches the opening ok and I think if you tried to adjust it, it would probably make things worse. I also noticed that the right and left side of the hood and tail panels are not quite the same on both sides. I am sure I notice it more since it is a white car, but I am just surprised on such an expensive car.

I used to be in the car business years ago so I can pick up paint work a mile away. Everything seems smooth on the edges and it looks all like factory paint. I was just curious if this is pretty normal for these cars? I was concerned maybe someone tweaked the frame or something on a test drive before I got it.

Thanks for your input.

 

Common thing on Porsche. My cars hood is off 2 hairs on the side.Trim strips around window arent perfect either. I bet Im the only one that ever notices.

Every 356 Ive owned had same issues. 911's are a little better.

 

Had the same thing on my 17 C4S. Hood gap was noticeably larger on one side. I checked all the mounting points and fasteners looking for signs of a repair but found nothing. Clearly it was built that way. Sloppy - especially for an expensive car.

 

onedae; just out of curiosity, was it the drivers or passengers side? Mine has the larger gap on the passenger side. Just curious if it is a production line thing.

 

The dealer can adjust these things for you.

If you watch videos on how the cars are assembled, you’ll see why these gaps can sometimes be off. People, not robots are putting the doors and hoods on the bodies.

 

A 991.2 base rental had an issue where the passenger door and front fender would come in contact depending on the temperature outside. The paint was chipping off the edge of the door and there was a loud clunk.

Truly embarrassing.

 

Crap! I haven’t noticed anything untoward in my new C4S. But I am an easy guy to please. Car is perfect. Now that it is getting colder in NH, some creaking but to be be expected I suppose. Car has been perfect in 3 months, 3k miles.

 

There are are a lot of things people can look past as just quirky Porsche stuff, but panel gaps shouldn't be one of them. There really is no reason for bad panel gaps on a car costing this much to ever leave the factory. I don't care how they were assembled, I'm sure they have QC inspectors with panel gap gauges.

 

very true!

 

gap was on the drivers side. passenger side looked fine.

 

Exactly. This crap and the interior rattle issues are absolutely unbelievable for a car of this price.

 

I guess you’ve never owned a Ferrari. Just because a car is more expensive doesn’t mean it is perfect. I would enjoy your car and not stress about panel gaps. The dealer may be able to help you if they are major gaps.

 

This is why I never personally wash my own car.

 

Such issues are expected with Italian cars, part of their charm (however the 355GTS I took care of for about a decade didn't have such noticable panel issues).
Higher standards are the expectation of German autos.
By the comments in this thread, sounds like my 86 Scirocco has better panel fitment.
This is unacceptable in 2017 from Porsche.