Boxster Hard Top

Now that I have the hard top, here's how the process went and what I think.

I needed the hard top only because PCA-GGR requires it plus the Brey-Krause roll bar extension in order to participate in the Time Trial series, which I was going to do. [NOTE November 2007: the Time Trial rules have since been revised, and a hard top is no longer required. Check the GGR rules for the latest information.] Since a new hard top goes for nearly $3000, I had been keeping my eye on the Boxster Board classifieds, looking for a used Arena Red hard top. But used hard tops are somewhat rare, and finding one in the right color was even less likely. I had heard that ordering a new hard top could take a month or more to have delivered.

Barbara Jeffress said she had good luck getting a used hard top painted for $400 or so for her Ocean Jade Boxster, so with time running out I started looking for any used hard top. I figured at $1500 plus the paint job it would still be a lot cheaper than a new top. But still no luck.

Finally, with less than two weeks to spare, I saw an ad for used red Boxster with hard top in the newspaper. I called the guy and asked whether he would consider selling the top separately. He said he might, and we agreed to talk in a couple of days. And it turned out that his car was actually Arena Red. When I asked what condition the top was in, he said that it was in fine condition, with only a slight scratch a couple of inches long in the top center rear, which he'd had buffed out and was barely noticeable if you looked closely. Unfortunately, he wanted $2000 firm for it. But I figured that while $1500 was more reasonable, I wouldn't have to spend $400 painting it because it was the right color, and in fact I was a little desperate to find a hard top in time for the Time Trial at the end of February.

So we agreed to do the deal pending my inspection of the top. He also agreed that I could have the "spin locks", and I met with Docta Boxsta to get the inside scoop on how to install the spin locks. I got a cashier's check and met the guy in the City. I pulled up next to his car and checked out the hard top while waiting for him to come outside.

Right away I saw the problem. The so-called tiny unnoticeable buffed-out scratch was in fact a really bad six inch long gash that was totally noticeable. Well, no way was I going to pay $2000 for a used, beat-up hard top from this guy. I said no thanks, went home and decided to call around to the Porsche dealers.

I had the impression Clair Parts Express had the best discounted prices on Porsche parts. I checked their web site, which listed the hard top at $2750. I called them to ask about availability and shipping, and they said that there was one Arena Red hard top in PCNA inventory, and that it would take a couple of days for them to get it, then they would ship it to me in a few more days at a shipping cost of $400+. Which more than evaporates the discount.

I called my local dealer, Sonnen, to see what their price was. Surprisingly, they essentially matched the price, and because I would take possession right there, there was no extra shipping cost. So this was obviously the deal to take. The total with tax was around $3000. By the way, spin locks are included when you order a hard top, and it also comes with the felt blanket for the rear window. It is shipped in a huge crate.

For those who don't know, the spin locks are the receptacles for the rear attachment points of the hard top. If you order a hard top as an option with your Boxster, the spin locks (obviously must) come with the car. If you don't, your car will not have the spin locks. But they come with a hard top that you order separately. If you don't have the spin locks, you'll see a little plastic plug the size of a quarter between the roll bar and the exterior body panel. This plug is removed to reveal the spin lock bracket, and is also put back in the spin lock when the top is off to keep dirt out. Installing the spin locks is impossible without having the right type of tool and knowing how to get to them (the tightener hex bolt head is in a very awkward location that is best reached when the car is being assembled at the factory). The front of the hard top attaches just like the soft top, with a tab on each side and a latch in the center. The rear has to two spikes that slip into the spin lock sockets. Each spike ends in a latch handle that torques the top down. Finally, the rear defroster cable is plugged in.

When the top arrived I drove over to Sonnen with the ball-end allen wrench that I'd borrowed from Michael, ready to install the spin locks and pop the top on. But when I got there, the hard top expert, Mike, shook his head when I suggested that I would just take 15 minutes to do the installation there. He said that he had done a number of hard top installs, that he's finally figured out how to do it quickly and with the best fit adjustments, and that it takes him an hour now that he's gotten good at it. I relented and agreed to have him install it (additional labor cost to me). Sure enough, I had to wait in the lounge for over an hour, and sure enough, the fit was excellent with no strange whistles.

The hard top is really nice. Right away you notice that it makes the interior seem quiter and more cocoon-like. Road noise is quieted, and so is engine noise (which may seem to be a negative if you love the music of the boxer, but is actually OK). However, you get used to it pretty quickly, so the initial vevety plush luxuriousness is soon forgotten, until you remove the top and you once again hear the original cockpit ambience. The rear window is much bigger than the soft top's window, but your rearview mirror view is still limited by the roll bars to about the same view. A little cable plugs into a socket to supply the defroster power to the rear window. The glass window makes the rear view much clearer. The hard top really does give the car a different outward appearance, which I'd heard mentioned but hadn't really gotten a good sense of in photos. It really looks nicer than the top-up soft top Boxster. It is more of a racing coupe look. Of course, top down is the best of all.

It should be noted that it is essentially impossible for one person to put the hard top on or take it off. It is not so heavy that I can't carefully lift it off the ground and move it a few feet, but it is so big that I can only barely do so, and I sure can't lift it from the ground to over my head. And it's not safe to balance it over your head because it feels like at any moment it could topple over. I had hoped I'd be able to do a solo lift, up over my head, and then carefully walk into my car and sit down to lower the top in place. Absolutely no way. So unless you have a hard top hoist, you'll definitely need an assistant to switch between hard top and soft top.

A side note. Before Mike installed the hard top, he noticed that my cabriolet soft top (he referred to it simply as the "cab top") was showing signs of abnormal wear. I'd noticed this too and figured it was my tough luck. Where the top folds, to the outside of the rear window, the creases were wearing. In addition, where the top latch rests when the top is folded down, it was wearing a mark in the top and etching a mark in the rear window. Mike volunteered, without my asking, to order a replacement cab top under warranty. Now that's great service.