Sounds like a smooth, trouble-free purchase & install experience.. |  |  |
Expect the best, and accept no substitute. |
Products for your Boxster, Cayman and Carrera. |
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| New top installed.... MarcW - 8 years ago |
My 2002 received a new GAHH top yesterday. Dropped car off Monday afternoon. I parked the car on the street and put key in mail slot and owner who lives 5 minutes away came by an hour later and moved car into the shop. Got a call yesterday afternoon car was ready to pick up so I paid via credit card over the phone and made arrangements to pick up car. I left work and got home and got a ride to the shop with my sister. We got there a bit after 8pm and the owner was there waiting. I called him as we were leaving for the shop telling him we'd be there in 15 minutes.
Got a look at the old top. Didn't look all that bad. Shop owner said the same thing. I told him where it was leaking but there was no obvious signs of any failure of the inner rubber material liner. Save for an obviously faded canvas and a cloudy window the top looked just fine.
New top appears to fit just like the old one. Oh, I elected to stay with the plastic window. All the lining and stuff is in place. Top a bit bluer than I recall the factory top, but GAHH says the top is "metropole blue".
Oh, cost was $1421.00. I didn't look at the break down. Receipt is out in the car.
Shop owner says to leave the top up for 2 weeks. Not a problem for me.
My attempt to get a new Porsche top at a substantial discount failed. SM tried but Porsche said 'nein'. SM says Porsche has cut way back on goodwill. I am a bit glad actually the goodwill thing didn't work. I got to thinking at $3229 for the new top -- discounted price I was quoted by dealer or even less had the quest for goodwill been granted -- the tops were not flying off the shelves and who knows how long ago the top was made? My fear was the "new" top would be old and possibly because of this more likely to fail prematurely. The original top lasted over 13 years -- it has been 13 years and 10 days short of 8 months since I bought the car -- and save for a year or so when I was able to park it in a garage when at home it was parked outside and exposed to the elements all the time.
Relieved to have a new top on the car. Since the old one was leaking water -- noticed this during the last couple of car washes -- the interior of the car would likely have gotten wet during a rain -- assuming we ever get any rain here in northern CA again -- and now with the new top I have no fear of the car sitting out in the weather.
Just to be sure at some point I'll pour some water on the top and confirm there are no leaks. I expect none but I'd rather find out in a controlled experiment rather than after a biblical deluge if the dire rain forecasts being bandied about by all the weather experts prompted by the Godzilla El Nino prove accurate.
Got a look at the old top. Didn't look all that bad. Shop owner said the same thing. I told him where it was leaking but there was no obvious signs of any failure of the inner rubber material liner. Save for an obviously faded canvas and a cloudy window the top looked just fine.
New top appears to fit just like the old one. Oh, I elected to stay with the plastic window. All the lining and stuff is in place. Top a bit bluer than I recall the factory top, but GAHH says the top is "metropole blue".
Oh, cost was $1421.00. I didn't look at the break down. Receipt is out in the car.
Shop owner says to leave the top up for 2 weeks. Not a problem for me.
My attempt to get a new Porsche top at a substantial discount failed. SM tried but Porsche said 'nein'. SM says Porsche has cut way back on goodwill. I am a bit glad actually the goodwill thing didn't work. I got to thinking at $3229 for the new top -- discounted price I was quoted by dealer or even less had the quest for goodwill been granted -- the tops were not flying off the shelves and who knows how long ago the top was made? My fear was the "new" top would be old and possibly because of this more likely to fail prematurely. The original top lasted over 13 years -- it has been 13 years and 10 days short of 8 months since I bought the car -- and save for a year or so when I was able to park it in a garage when at home it was parked outside and exposed to the elements all the time.
Relieved to have a new top on the car. Since the old one was leaking water -- noticed this during the last couple of car washes -- the interior of the car would likely have gotten wet during a rain -- assuming we ever get any rain here in northern CA again -- and now with the new top I have no fear of the car sitting out in the weather.
Just to be sure at some point I'll pour some water on the top and confirm there are no leaks. I expect none but I'd rather find out in a controlled experiment rather than after a biblical deluge if the dire rain forecasts being bandied about by all the weather experts prompted by the Godzilla El Nino prove accurate.
Yeah, pretty good experience. I have no complaints.
The shop was pretty accommodating regarding getting the car in off the street and not parking it outside the shop after hours. It was the shop that offered to have me leave the car on a Monday (holiday) on the street and the owner then would come by later and move it inside. And after the car was finished and ready to pick up I was ok with the shop parking it out in the lot behind the building where CCTV cameras were located but the shop owner preferred to leave the car inside until I was able to swing by and pick the car up and after hours, too.
Nice big clear rear window again and the top looks pretty sharp. I had forgotten how badly it had faded over the years. Near as i can tell the car is as quiet as it was with the factory top, too, which was a bit of a concern going with the aftermarket top.
The shop was pretty accommodating regarding getting the car in off the street and not parking it outside the shop after hours. It was the shop that offered to have me leave the car on a Monday (holiday) on the street and the owner then would come by later and move it inside. And after the car was finished and ready to pick up I was ok with the shop parking it out in the lot behind the building where CCTV cameras were located but the shop owner preferred to leave the car inside until I was able to swing by and pick the car up and after hours, too.
Nice big clear rear window again and the top looks pretty sharp. I had forgotten how badly it had faded over the years. Near as i can tell the car is as quiet as it was with the factory top, too, which was a bit of a concern going with the aftermarket top.
| Regarding the new top ... Pedro (Odessa, FL) - 8 years ago |
… After I install a new top, It is closed and I wet the material thoroughly (in the evening).
I then let it dry slowly overnight (no sun or heat) and this sets the material's stretch memory.
Doing this allows the user to put the top down in two days rather than 2 weeks.
After a month I ask the customer to bring it back for a quick (10 minute) adjustment (if needed) of the canvas' tension.
BTW, I should move to CA. They charge 40% more than me!
Enjoy your new top.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro
Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)
Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar
"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"
"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti
"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna
I then let it dry slowly overnight (no sun or heat) and this sets the material's stretch memory.
Doing this allows the user to put the top down in two days rather than 2 weeks.
After a month I ask the customer to bring it back for a quick (10 minute) adjustment (if needed) of the canvas' tension.
BTW, I should move to CA. They charge 40% more than me!
Enjoy your new top.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro
Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)
Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar
"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"
"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti
"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna
| Re: Regarding the new top ... MarcW - 8 years ago |
Quote
Pedro (Weston, FL)
… After I install a new top, It is closed and I wet the material thoroughly (in the evening).
I then let it dry slowly overnight (no sun or heat) and this sets the material's stretch memory.
Doing this allows the user to put the top down in two days rather than 2 weeks.
After a month I ask the customer to bring it back for a quick (10 minute) adjustment (if needed) of the canvas' tension.
BTW, I should move to CA. They charge 40% more than me!
Enjoy your new top.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro
There is no rush to lower the top so I am going to just follow the 2 week leave it up before lowering it caution the installer gave me. After two weeks I'll test it with some water to make sure it is water tight. I never lower the top any more anyhow so the top stays up all the time only coming down when the car is in for service and the tech needs to put the top in the service position.
Price is what it is. The shop I used came highly recommended and I used it once before for a new rear window and was quite pleased with the results. Lot's cheaper than having it done at the dealer. The dealer would have charged me $3229 for the top and then probably had the work done at the same shop and tacked on something more. I might have found a shop that would do the work for less but probably not that much less. Then there is the question of convenience and of course the quality of the work.
You are welcome to come to CA if you want. Bring lots of money for a house. A woman I know who bought a house around 20 years ago for $160K, then 10 years ago put around $200K into a remodel sold the house in less than 2 weeks for $599K plus $60K over all in cash. (A buyer who offered to buy with the contingency of being able to get a loan offered $70K over. The seller decided the no strings attached cash offer the best and took that offer.) The house? A 100 year old two bedroom, one bath, no garage, limited off street parking. If you want something a bit more spacious, newer, in a nicer neighborhood plan on darn near doubling what you'll pay.
Expect to pay around $1/gallon more for gasoline. Other commodities likewise have inflated prices. My employer says the company paid for medical insurance is getting out hand -- while I was out of work and using COBRA the premium went from $1049/ month to $1183/month and has gone up since then but being back to work my employer pays the premium now -- and the cheaper plan looks to have me paying a much larger portion out of pocket for any medical care I get, if I stay with a PPO plan. I can go HMO which costs a bit less and has me paying less per visit or for care/treatment, but of course it is HMO and I'm not a fan of that kind of care. There is talk of passing a law to restrict driving and put a huge extra tax on gasoline/diesel to enforce this restriction. As long as I'm working I'll stay here and bank the money but when I retire as soon as I can I intend to put CA in my rear view mirror and never look back.
[www.sacbee.com]
It would seem the CA legislators are having second thoughts on what Jerry Brown is trying to do.
It would seem the CA legislators are having second thoughts on what Jerry Brown is trying to do.
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