Cary_West

Hello again!

I finally bought my first Boxster, a 2000 S model. I got a pretty good deal, but that's because it has some minor cosmetics that need to be freshened. The rest of the car looks great, and it runs great (no oil leaks, RMS, IMS, waterpump, top done!)

The passenger and driver's side door panels both have leather (or vinyl) that needs replacement, not sure if I should swap the entire door panel or just get it reupholstered. (it's all black, with speakers) Anyone ever had this done or have suggestions?

Also, there is the 18" rear chrome turbo twist wheel with a bit of curb rash. Again, I want to either replace entirely OR get rechromed. Ideas?


The passenger side visor will not stay in position. Anyone ever fix this before?

After I fix these little things, it's on to my first Porsche oil change!

Byprodriver

Congratulations on your new ride! I would get a quote from the best upholsterer you can find on redoing your door panels & look out for good used replacements that seem to come up for sale more often lately. The bad thing about chroming wheels is to repair curb damage you have to strip all the chrome plating off, remachine the wheel smooth, then chrome plate, about $250-$300 for your wheel.

Cary_West

Is the door upholstery real leather or vinyl? (I won't have access to the car for a few weeks)

Macster

I'm embarrassed to admit I do not know. With partial leather interiors I'm not sure which door panel parts are leather or something else.

However, a good upholstery shop should be able to tell you. I've seen panels or sections of seats replaced for not much money and the job is quite good and nearly indistinquishable from factory. The difference is in most cases the new panel/piece has less patina than the surrounding areas but in the case of a seat panel, I suspect one's butt doesn't care.

The chrome wheels I'm a bit leery of. My info is that Porsche does not support any straightening or machining of the wheels it offers so if the chrome has to be removed (acid?) and the wheel remachined prior to chroming then this suggests the wheel is compromised.

I know you won't like to hear this but I'd remove the chrome wheels and replace them.

Sincerely,

Macster.

Cary_West

Thanks Mac, I may have found a set to swap with.

ppbskis

My first Boxster had the "Full Leather" option and it appears you do too. When you have the sewn looking seams on the door that is what indicates that your door panels are leather. I would also guess that your dashboard is also leather as well as the two small panels on the center console adjacent to your knees.

SKM

18" used Boxster wheels with silver finish are readily available. Yes, that's full leather on the door panels. Perhaps a shop can replace the shrunken/damaged sections. I've never seen a 2000 S with full leather interior. I'm sure you can find used leatherette door panels.

smshirk

I had the door panels on MY 97 reupholstered just around the outsides and did it in deviating colors. The red was faded and blistered, so I put some black vinyl around the outsides of the red leather centers, which were OK. It was cheap to do, but the upholstery guy quoted me a low price and lived with it. He said he would never do another one as there were a lot of clips and it was hard to get them back on right.