Soft top damaged - how to repair ?
06-02-2006, 08:56 PM
#1
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Soft top damaged - how to repair ?
Was in Switzerland all week with the car in the Atlanta airport parking lot.
Upon my return immediately noticed some damage to the top. Seems to be that the seam between the plastic window and the canvas just gave up.
Doesn't look like vandalism, more like wear. Temperatures have been in the 90s all week. Maybe that contributed to the situation.
Anybdoy had this kind of issue themselves ? How to remedy ?
Thanks in advance !
Upon my return immediately noticed some damage to the top. Seems to be that the seam between the plastic window and the canvas just gave up.
Doesn't look like vandalism, more like wear. Temperatures have been in the 90s all week. Maybe that contributed to the situation.
Anybdoy had this kind of issue themselves ? How to remedy ?
Thanks in advance !
Last edited by yvesatlanta; 09-26-2007 at 11:23 PM.
06-02-2006, 09:25 PM
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Originally Posted by yvesatlanta
Anybdoy had this kind of issue themselves ? How to remedy ?
You could start here
If your car is out of warranty, I'll be glad to direct you to the upholstery shop in Atlanta that did my (after market) replacement top.
06-02-2006, 11:55 PM
#6
I have seen a post on ebay....where you can convert your plastic rear to a glass one.....comes with new softtop for about 1800 bucks....I think this is the perfect time to make that switch!! If interested I will search for the link somewhere...
06-03-2006, 03:47 AM
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if you can find a good auto upholstery shop, they can put two rows of stitches around the plastic window and that will secure it. I know this because my rear plastic window just started separating this week in the exact same spot as yours.
It is much cheaper than getting a new top, especially if your currnet top is in good shape. I had quotes from $475 to $875 here in SoCal.
All of the shops that I went to said that this is a common fix on Porsche Cabs, and that if you do not mind the stitching, it will probably outlast the rest of the top.
capt601
It is much cheaper than getting a new top, especially if your currnet top is in good shape. I had quotes from $475 to $875 here in SoCal.
All of the shops that I went to said that this is a common fix on Porsche Cabs, and that if you do not mind the stitching, it will probably outlast the rest of the top.
capt601
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06-03-2006, 11:06 AM
#8
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Originally Posted by capt601
if you can find a good auto upholstery shop, they can put two rows of stitches around the plastic window and that will secure it. I know this because my rear plastic window just started separating this week in the exact same spot as yours.
It is much cheaper than getting a new top, especially if your currnet top is in good shape. I had quotes from $475 to $875 here in SoCal.
All of the shops that I went to said that this is a common fix on Porsche Cabs, and that if you do not mind the stitching, it will probably outlast the rest of the top.
capt601
It is much cheaper than getting a new top, especially if your currnet top is in good shape. I had quotes from $475 to $875 here in SoCal.
All of the shops that I went to said that this is a common fix on Porsche Cabs, and that if you do not mind the stitching, it will probably outlast the rest of the top.
capt601
My car is in mint condition (including the rest of the top).
Just checked the yellow pages. There seem to be a couple of companies around that specialize in this kind of stuff. We'll see. I'll keep you guys posted.
This car is a daily driver. That's why I bought a 4 year old one (has had it's main depreciation hit) at the time. I'm not going to have it sit in the garage and save it for the next owner.
I'm a bit dissapointed about the quality of the top though. As mentioned, I drive the car year around. But about 5 months out of 12 I use the hard top. That should have given it some slack.
06-03-2006, 01:07 PM
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Exact same thing happened to me recently and it is a common problem with the glued in plastic rear windows on early 996's.
I would suggest you go and purchase an new plastic window from one of the many places that sell them on line and have it stitched in. I am kicking myself for not doing that in the first place. I decided to have the whole top replaced even though it was in relatively good shape because I thought it would need replacing in a couple of years anyway. Big mistake! I had a supposedly highly experienced independent shop put a new top on for me and mess it up big time. I ended up shelling out about 5k to get a new Porsche top (they stitch the plastic in now) and have it installed correctly to make up for everything the independent screwed up. I'm taking them to small claims court.
No matter who does your top make sure they are highly experienced in working on 996 tops. These tops are complicated and more expensive than almost any other car top on the market to fix. If you get a new top I would suggest having Porsche install the top as they usually have one or two guys dedicated to installing all their tops. It is usually only a couple hundred more than an independent shop. It's worth it to get that experience.
Check out the GAHH top that has the glass rear window. i didn't like it because they use a Boxter rear window which looks much too small to me and just gives a strange look to the car. That is purely my opinion though and you may think it looks fine.
Best of luck.
I would suggest you go and purchase an new plastic window from one of the many places that sell them on line and have it stitched in. I am kicking myself for not doing that in the first place. I decided to have the whole top replaced even though it was in relatively good shape because I thought it would need replacing in a couple of years anyway. Big mistake! I had a supposedly highly experienced independent shop put a new top on for me and mess it up big time. I ended up shelling out about 5k to get a new Porsche top (they stitch the plastic in now) and have it installed correctly to make up for everything the independent screwed up. I'm taking them to small claims court.
No matter who does your top make sure they are highly experienced in working on 996 tops. These tops are complicated and more expensive than almost any other car top on the market to fix. If you get a new top I would suggest having Porsche install the top as they usually have one or two guys dedicated to installing all their tops. It is usually only a couple hundred more than an independent shop. It's worth it to get that experience.
Check out the GAHH top that has the glass rear window. i didn't like it because they use a Boxter rear window which looks much too small to me and just gives a strange look to the car. That is purely my opinion though and you may think it looks fine.
Best of luck.
06-03-2006, 06:08 PM
#11
make sure the shop knows what they are doing!!
When I bought mine....the replaces the plastic window..because it was in very bad shape...but the body shop did a terrible stitching job...and it kind of bothers me..while noone else sees it!!
When I bought mine....the replaces the plastic window..because it was in very bad shape...but the body shop did a terrible stitching job...and it kind of bothers me..while noone else sees it!!
06-04-2006, 12:09 AM
#12
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Originally Posted by Nicolaasdb
make sure the shop knows what they are doing!!
When I bought mine....the replaces the plastic window..because it was in very bad shape...but the body shop did a terrible stitching job...and it kind of bothers me..while noone else sees it!!
When I bought mine....the replaces the plastic window..because it was in very bad shape...but the body shop did a terrible stitching job...and it kind of bothers me..while noone else sees it!!
Where do I buy the plastic window ?
