ChipAZ

I was told never put my 996 Cab in a car wash. Even a touch free. Always hand wash it. But the dealership is telling me there should be no problem with a 997. I still like to hand wash my cars but when it's a 105 here it sure would be nice to run it through the local wash. What do you guys do?

500

Cloth top cars should not have soap applied to the roofs as part of the normal car wash process, the tops shoud be sprayed with water and if needed, brushed in the proper direction, then left to dry. Porsche and other's have special top cleaner and preservative that should be used as indicated.The car will "handle" an automatic wash fine but it's not doing your top let alone your car any favors. I am in the south and it gets very hot here as well; I choose to wash my car right after the sun has set or early in the a.m.

Carbon_Ted

I'm not sure why the dealer would draw a distinction btwn 996 & 997 cabs as far as that issue. Fwiw, my negative experience with convertible/touchless auto wash was re the soap cycle will- over the course of about 10-15 washes- cause the convertible top fabric to lose its water-repellent coating. Possibly Porsche ragtops are less susceptible to this, don't know.. my experience was with an E46 M3 cab. Also I used to get a drip at one isolated location along glass-weatherstrip junction, apparently it could not fully withstand the direct blast from extremely high water pressure nozzle used in touchless wash.

djantlive

I wash it myself but allowed some one to do it once. It was a mobile service so it was hand washed as well. I also worry about curbing the wheel with those tracks. Maybe you can wash it early Sat morning or at dusk if it's too hot during the day.

ChipAZ

This is what the salesman told me, from what you have all said it appears he doesn't know what he is talking about. Or doesn't care. The heat down here is hard enough on a cloth top, I don't want shorten the top's life by being lazy.

Coochas

When I first got my 997, I used to run it through the car washes in which the machinery moves around your car (as opposed to the ramp type which wouldn't take a 305 mm tire anyway). The last time I did this the car wash destroyed the housing on my side view mirror (this despite my folding it inward). Luckily Porsche covered the repair for me but it was the last time my car will go through one of those washes.
Now I go to the "power spray" style manual car washes,...I keep a sponge and some microtowels in my boot for the occasion.
As the guy in the service department said, "Porsches and car washes don't mix."

wross996tt

I would NEVER run my cab through any car wash. As 500 said above, it is not a question of whether it can handle it, it is a question of whether it is good for it. I use RaggTopp cleaner and conditioner (2 different products) a couple of times a summer. In between just a rinse with water. Drying is the hard part. If you can blow dry it (e.g., leaf blower type product) that is best. If you use rags or MFs you will most certainly get lint on the roof. This lint can be removed with packing (clear) tape.

Raptor

ChipAZ: While I am a 997 lurker, I have had a cab since they were introed in 1983, and have never used a car wash. I sold the 1983 when I got a 993 (1997) and the top was original. As wross says, use a blower to dry the car (Blaster is THE product http://www.motorcycledryer.com/productpage.asp) and you won't break a big sweat washing and drying. You shouldn't wash in the "noon day Sun" anyway, unless you are English. Get it polished and waxed and, afterwards, the wash is no problem.

skier8dude

It has been a year now and I have never washed the top. I use a lint bush a couple of times a week. It still looks like new. I heard the RaggTop protectent works good on the 997 tops....

THPorsche

No, don't do it.

Hand wash it and dry it with synthetic drying chamois called Absorber- no lint

Edgy01

Porsche specifically says not to use a car wash on a cabrio. I'm not about to screw mine up for a little labor savings. I have yet to wash my top,--I have used a damp rag to remove anything that could be seen as dirt, dust, etc. Never soaked it,--I will allow the rain to do that, but that is out of my control (somewhat).

Putt-Putt

I'm pretty sure your cab will get passed through a car wash every time it's serviced. My dealer even has their own automatic car wash right behind the showroom. You can try requesting that they don't wash after service, but that won't guarantee it won't happen, since it's common practice to do so.

Le Chef

My cars never go through a car wash. That's like saying to the kid next door "Please polish my car with a wire brush". All cars all hand-washed all of the time. My dealer also hand washes all customer cars and refuses to put in a car wash because he doesn't want to damage paintwork.

500

I always put a big yellow post it note on the dash saying NO CAR WASH in English AND Spanish!

Weissy

I take my 997 coup to a brush-less car wash every weekend and have never had a problem. To the cab question... I don't know about 996 or 997's but I had a 2002 boxster S and I took that thing threw the brush-less car wash every single weekend for 3 years!! Never ever had a problem with the top what so ever. Didn't do one thing to the top of that car. With that said I didn't know about the special care instructions at the time for cab tops and knowing that my head probably wouldn't allow me to have it washed every weekend. However for 3 years with the boxster S it never was a problem.