After the sale of my Boxster fell through last year & I decided to keep it I also elected to do some mods I had been thinking of. I upgraded the rear speakers to 3 1/2 inch ones and had the roll bar powder coated in Guards Red. I had considered getting a tonneau cover for it back in 2001 when I bought the car but backed out when I learned you had to drill into the dash and body. I think my desire for a tonneau cover came from my youth when I had one on my 1972 MGB while in college.
I recently bought one from an eBay auction for $231.01 delivered. It was brand new with all the installation paperwork, templates and parts. This is a tad below the going price for a new unused cover. I dug deep into the internet and learned everything I could about them and the installation. I think deep down I knew installing it was beyond my abilities, but I still had hope that once I had it in hand I could figure it out. Wrong. I could see that if you screwed up one mounting point that the cover would not fit correctly. It seems that this is a common theme on the different posting I found on the net. That and the thought of drilling holes into the dash or body were a deal breaker for most folks.
My first stop was at the local Porsche dealer. The SA told me that he has never seen a Boxster with one installed and that his service department has never installed one. But, for $189 an hour they would give it a go. And, he had no idea how long it would take, but I should plan on four to six hours of labor; $756 to $1,134. At that point I was thinking I made a mistake and I should sell it and cut my losses. But, at the recommendation of the Porsche SA, I stopped by the local upholstery shop, Conejo Upholstery, where I met the owner, Alan Whey. He has owned and operated the shop for 40 years. You could tell by talking to him and looking at his shop he knows what he is doing. He had never installed one but had no doubt he could do it. I made an appointment to have him install the tonneau cover. His rates were $96 an hour and he figured two to four hours; $192 to $384.
When I picked up the Boxster the bill was $300. He did a first-class job. Interestingly, he said that he found that the template for the tenax fasteners under the side mirrors were off by over two inches. Fortunately, he caught this before he drilled the holes. I verified this when I got home by laying the template on the car. It was in fact 2+ inches off.
Overall, I am pleased with the results. The cover is made out of the exact same material the convertible top is made of. The seams are well sewed and the zipper is heavy duty. The fit is perfect. Because the cover has been folded up for the past 19 years there are some deep creases that will come out over time and it will lay flatter. Of the three fasteners on the dash only one had to be drilled in. The other two used the existing holes on the dash speakers. The ones under the mirrors and the ones one the rear clam shell are there, but not overly cosmetically distracting. There are also fasteners installed on the rear seats to assist in the storage of the cover. The cover came with tenax caps to cover the studs when the tonneau cover is not installed. IMHO, it looks better without the caps. They are larger and stand out more. I drove the Boxster on the freeway with the passenger half of the cover fitted. At 80 MPH, there was no flapping or excess buffering of the cover. There is an elastic strap that hooks the passenger side to the bottom of the dash to help with its stability. I am guessing that after the newness wears off I’ll leave the passenger side up and the driver’s side stored behind the seat. The top stay down 99 per cent of the time so this works for me. I also believe that it will take some time to figure out exactly what position to put the seats in to best fit the top. You put the seats forward and recline the backs. You can also fold the Velcro back under the roll bar to install the screens in the roll bars. The center wind deflector can’t be installed with the cover on.
So, there you have it.
