AustinL

This afternoon I drove my car up to the local Starbucks. All of the parking spots in front of Starbucks where taken, so I parked on an end spot in the same strip area closer to Blockbuster. I was in Starbucks for just over 3 hours while I was doing some reading.

When I walked out I looked at my convertible top, and in the very center it looked like someone had tried to punch their fist through it. The outer material is cut or sliced (very center of the top), but the layer underneath which is black, is fine.

Needless to say I was (am) very angry. In the same area close by, there is a Tom Thumb, and as I drove by I saw a squad car. I told the officers what happened and they gave me a phone number to call. I called the number and they are supposed to call me back so that I can file a report.

I will have to talk to the insurance company on Monday, and whether I report this incidence or not will depend on the size of the deductible etc. However, tops are about $4,000 aren't they?

I am still very upset about this, and will be for a while. It makes me want to get some junker to drive around for when I am going to park and leave my car. At first I was like why would someone do this, but I guess there are a lot of jerks in the world.

The thing that gets me though is that the area I was in was a pretty nice area. But I guess my lesson is that I should never not park my car where I can't see it, even if that means I don't get an end spot. But that still is impossible sometimes, like when I go see movies etc. I guess thats just life and that I have to deal with.

Mike in Chi

I'm sharing your pain today, austin, though not to the same extent.

Out with my wife in her very clean 530i. Ran into the supermarket for a few minutes. When we got home, noticed someone had dinged the door, with theirs.

You're right, there are a lot of jerks out there.

Good thing I didn't witness it. I probably would have turned into a jerk myself.

AustinL

My dad who was the previous owner of this car took a look at the top yesterday. He had previously had the top tear on him about two years ago when he was driving the car. The car was about 5 days out of warranty but Porsche covered the cost of the top.

He thinks that it also might be a possibility that the top might have torn due to it being worked on by a Porsche dealership about two weeks ago. On that they replaced several mechanical parts, re-aligned the top etc. To read more about the technical issue I had, please visit: <a href="http://forums.rennlist.com/forums/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic&f=3&t=004033" target="_blank">http://forums.rennlist.com/forums/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic&f=3&t=004033</a>

This car is parked outside at our house, so it is a possibility that due to the repairs a few weeks ago, which could have stretched the top too much, and the weather (it has been raining nearly everyday then heating up to nearly 90 degrees), the top could have torn due to too much stress. The tear is about 3 inches long and it looks like it was literally pulled apart or stretched. The tear is parallel between the driver and passenger doors.

The car is going to be taken over to the Porsche dealer tomorrow, and I will know what exactly happened. I will feel much better about this if this is an issue related ot the car being serviced two weeks ago, and not vandalism.

Has anyone else had problems with slight tears on their tops? I have only put the top down a few times over the past few weeks, and I never leave it down overnight.

I will post back tomorrow.

993,951,944

Hi Austin,

The world is full of worthless pikers
who can only feel good about themselves by hurting others through vandalism. Their
limited intelligence yields them limited
income; they're frustrated.

I hope your convertible top can be repaired
or replaced with no expense. Vandals exist
everywhere; we have to be more cautious.


All the best,

MelissaM

Austin,

First off, I haven't had any problems with tearing on my cab top; at least not in the place that you describe. OTOH, I have a 964, so the cab top is a little different.

Secondly, I wanted to put your fears to rest about the cost of a new top. I had a new top installed for around $1400 -- and that's in the SF Bay Area, where labor rates tend to be on the high side. Even with the 993 top, I'm confident that you can replace it for well under $4000. Yes, even with the genuine article.

Now, about vandalism.... I bought my cab on Halloween, which happened to fall on a Friday that year. We had company at the house, and they were using the driveway, so I had to park on the street. Well, you can probably guess what happened -- with the combination of Halloween and a Friday night, there were some folks out looking for trouble, and they found my car. Thankfully, they left the top alone and merely used the rear deck lid as a whiteboard. Did you know that Klasse car polish works great on removing magic marker writing from Porsche paint?

Anyway, I had an alarm installed which included a motion sensor. I know -- it's not going to protect my car from a serious thief, but it should scare the amateur vandals away. You might consider having this type of alarm installed, especially on a cab.

Good luck!

-- Melissa

AustinL

Melissa,

You are definitely right about the importance of getting a motion alarm, and I plan to as soon as the car is paid off. It should be paid off by the end of the year, even with the repairs that have cropped up over the past few months, and I will definitely invest in a good alarm.

I am looking forward to finding out tomorrow whether somone did this with malicious intent, or if this was an issue related ot my top being serviced a few weeks ago.

AustinL

Ok, here is the scoop. The car was taken over to Park Place Porsche today, and the service manager said that it was definitely vandalism. It is clearly this cause, because they have never heard of a top tearing in this place and there is a clear indentation. They beleive that someone just hit the center of the top with their fist.

I also talked to my insurance company today (Chubb), and there are handling this matter incredibly. Since it is vandalism the premium will not go up and I will only have to pay the deductible, which is $1,000.00. On one hand this situation is lame, because it is costing me money and I will be without my car for about a week. However, on the other hand I am getting a brand new convertible top for only $1,000.00, which is a good thing. The service manager said the last top they installed with labor was about $4,400.00.

One thing I will be doing in light of what happened though, is start going somewhere else to get my coffee. I went so much and staid for such long period of times, I think people got to know which car I was driving. So perhaps someone who was jealous did this? Or it is possible some punk kid going to Blockbuster did it. But whatever the cause or reason, some good is coming out of this situation.

After the car is paid off, I will definitely be investing in a good alarm.

Bins

Penalty by punishment of the exact type that the vandal chose to lay out in the first place. Or is that not harsh enough!!!!

tom_993

[quote]Originally posted by Tcuguy:
<strong>After the car is paid off, I will definitely be investing in a good alarm.</strong><hr></blockquote>

Why wait?

AustinL

My concern about alarms is over what kind of alarm to get, and then the question of whether or not an alarm would even prevent this type of vandalism. Sure the alarm would go off, but it wouldn't have prevented someone from sticking their fist through my roof.

I am not really sure what to do so I am open to suggestions. There is an alarm on the car, but it does not have a motion detector.

What gets me still as that I was in a nice part of town and it was the middle of the day. That is what makes me think some punk kid did it. Who else would be stupid enough? Unfortunately, no one saw them do it.

B-Line

Hey Austin,

Sorry to hear about your bad luck..

Hope it all works out..

Seth

AustinL

Here is the status so far:

Park Place has given the car to a guy in Irving who specializes on interior work and convertible top repairs. The insurance company will be sending out an adjustor tomorrow (doubt they will today), to verify that it is indeed vandalism.

I talked for a long period of time with my service managers about the pros and cons of an oem top vs. an aftermarket top. I was leaning towards oem, but the clincher was when I was talking to the guy who will actually be doing the repair work. I asked him that if this was his car what would he do, and he said he would definitely have the oem part put on.

Most insurance company would probably try to make me get the aftermarket top, but Chubb seems like they understand that this is a Porsche and to keep its value it needs to have an oem top. They didn't even care where I took it to get fixed. The claims lady said "you are the customer and you take it where you want it to get fixed." Talk about reassuring.

I am not sure whether I will have my car back by the end of the week though. It depends on how long it takes to get the oem top. Once they get it though, I was told the work would take about two days. So I guess I should have it back within a week.

I feel like I am deprived not being able to drive my 911, it really is addictive.



Now the big question is how to avoid future vandalism? It was the middle of the day in a decent part of town. I know that from now on when I go to Starbucks I will park where I can see my car, but what about when I go to the grocery store or movie theatre? One thing I never do though, is take up two spaces. I think that is just asking for it. I do however, always try to get an end spot if it all possible.

Kabel

<img src="graemlins/icon107.gif" border="0" alt="[icon107]" /> I've always been fond of that alarm/theft detering system that was demonstrated at the beginning of one of those old Robocop movies. The one that gave the thief a warning and then proceeded to lock in, fry to crispy, open the door and eject the carthief/vandal. Not sure that would do much for the exterior vandal, but am sure the 007 type that blows the car up with the vandal is not the best solution for the 993 p-car either. On the reality side, sorry 'bout your situation though. It cost me about $5K to have my 98 Cab top replaced and I also recommend the OEM to retain the vehicle value. Also, we just had an incident here in the Dayton area where vandal/s went through a couple of apartment complexes and slashed the tires on a couple of hundred vehicles and the donut brigade that are so good at giving tickets to save the world haven't a clue! What a world, eh?

AustinL

Ok everyone, good news! The insurance company sent an adjustor out to look at my car yesterday and they agreed that it was vandalism. The service manager at Park Place Porsche recommended a guy in Irving whom they use for all their convertible top and interior repairs. I think this was her way of suggesting if I have any convertible top problems in the future, like this recent repair, then I should go see this guy. The labor isn't half as expensive and then there isn't a 30% mark-up on the parts.

But anyway, since the insurance company agreed that it is vandalism that will be covering the cost plus labor for a Porsche oem top with liner and rear window. I just have to pay the deductible and the insurance premium will not go up. The only bad news is that there is not a blue convertible top in stock anywhere and Porsche is sending one over from Germany. They should have it in Monday or Tuesday morning at the latest. The work should take about two days, and I will be able to pick up my car next Thursday. So that is the only bummer, is that I have to go nearly another entire week without driving my car.

So even though this was a bad situation, good is coming out of it. Now does anyone have suggestions for how I can avoid future problems? My first idea is that I should vary my schedule. For instance, if I am going to go read and have a cup of coffee, I should not go to the same place everyday, especially around the same time. I think doing so gives someone who is envious or someone with bad intentions the opportunity to do something. This doesn't help random vandalism, but it does help I think if someone sees the car over and over etc.

One question though? I never double park but always take up end spots. However, sometimes like when I go to a movie theatre I will park a good distance away from everyone else. Does that make my car stick out even more and make it a potential target? One idea I had was to continue to get end spots but park with everyone else so people don't get the impression I'm trying to stay away from everyone else.

Looking forward to everyone's suggestions...

Edward

Tcuguy,

So sorry that you had to deal with the mess that vandals left. True, insurance covers it, but there's nothing that truly replaces the deductible or the loss of peace of mind.
Regarding where to park, though, I like to park in end spaces like you. But I think a well-trafficed regular spot beats a remote end spot any day. After all, vandalism, like most crime, is one of opportunity...so do your best to deny them the chance. Better luck next time...and to us all, for that matter!
<img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

Edward