I've been casually looking for a hardtop for a couple of months. My 986 isn't a daily driver nor is the winter weather in CLT bad enough to really require a hardtop. I wanted one for a few reasons: 1) I like to travel in my car and will feel better leaving it in hotel parking lots, etc. with the added security from the hardtop. 2) I believe I will drive the car more frequently without worrying about getting bird poop and other contaminants on my gray softtop. 3) It is fun to be able to change the character of the car in a couple of minutes.
I personally like the look of the car with the top down best, then with the convertible top up and lastly with the hardtop on. Having said that, the look of the hartop is slowly growing on me.
I had already ordered the hardware needed to attach the hardtop because I knew I would be getting one someday. I actually installed the spinlocks on Tuesday, closed the deal with the seller on Thursday, and picked up the top yesterday (Friday). I drove from Charlotte, NC to Bordentown, NJ and back in the same day. I left home at 2:30 am and arrived back at 11:58 pm. I was stuck in bad traffic in MD/D.C./VA for a couple of hours; otherwise I would have been home around 10:30 pm. The round trip was 1130 miles. I only averaged 60 mph (due to all of the stop & go traffic) but did get 31.5 mpg!
The car ran flawlessly. Fortunately for me I fit well in the Boxster seats. This is by far the longest trip I've done in the Boxster and maybe the longest trip I've ever done in one day. I spent approximately 45 minutes with the seller and then was on my way back. I felt surprisingly good after so much seat time.
The seller and I put the top on without any fine tuning. It locked into place and I was on my way. I spent some time this morning adjusting the top and have it fitting much better. I will let it settle for some weeks and fine tune it a little more. I can see where it needs a little adjusting although I don't think most will notice. The view out the rear window is great when compared to the glass window on my GAHH top. I also immediately noticed that the engine/exhaust/air intake noises seem to be enhanced. These noises sound really good with the hardtop on. Anyone else with a hardtop notice this? The stock stereo (I do have PNP rear speakers and a 996 6-channel amp) also sounds a lot better with the hardtop on.
I paid more for the top than I had planned, but feel fortunate to have found a Biarritz white top in good condition. I may could have found a cheaper top in the wrong color and had it painted. I think I would probably have equaled what I paid for this top and now I don't have to worry about quality of the paint work and color match.
ddb
