Glass window top for '97 to '02 Boxsters - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

RandallNeighbour · 04-27-2005, 07:22 AM

larez2, if your existing top will fit my 97, I'd be interested in buying it from you if it's in good condition. PM me if you decide to replace yours.

I agree that glass window replacement tops will be everywhere in a few months, and the price will come down as well—competition is a good thing for us owners.

CA_Boxster · 04-27-2005, 12:21 PM

I'll put some picks up when I get a chance.

ddb · 04-27-2005, 02:09 PM

Hello CA Boxster:

Looking forward to seeing pictures of your top.

It's my understanding that all Boxsters are pre-wired for the rear-window defroster and it simply will plug into the new top. Was this not the case for you?

Did you order your top and take it to the installer or did you purchase it through the installation shop? I ordered my top directly from GAHH. I called 3 reputable installers in my area and received quotes from $520 - $600. I chose the shop whose work I've seen and his price happens to be $520. He will stand by his work and do a great job. My total will be around $1600 with the higher quality material including the premium for the gray material.

I tracked my top online and I may have it tomorrow. Now I need to work on an appointment for the installation. Even with the glass window it only weighs 13.4 pounds.

ddb

Brucelee · 04-27-2005, 04:54 PM

I would doubt the pre-wiring on any pre 03 Boxes. Since they all had plastic windows up till then, don't see how the wiring would be there.

Make sense?

CA_Boxster · 04-27-2005, 05:12 PM

DDB,
Sounds like you've got a good thing arranged. It was going to be about $400 for parts and labor (ballpark estimate) to wire up my 2000 Boxster. I suspect Mr. Lee is correct and the pre-2003 Boxsters don't have the wiring. The only reason I can think to have had it is if it was related to the hardtop.

However, I never actually looked. I guess it's possible Porsche threw in a few extra wires just in case hardtops were attached to the cars. It' worth a phone call to a dealer, I guess.

The shop supplied mine. I had actually called to ask if they were aware of these new tops and to see if they'd install one if I bought one on my own - it turned out that they were just starting to offer it themselves.

ddb · 04-27-2005, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CA_Boxster

DDB,
Sounds like you've got a good thing arranged. It was going to be about $400 for parts and labor (ballpark estimate) to wire up my 2000 Boxster. I suspect Mr. Lee is correct and the pre-2003 Boxsters don't have the wiring. The only reason I can think to have had it is if it was related to the hardtop.

However, I never actually looked. I guess it's possible Porsche threw in a few extra wires just in case hardtops were attached to the cars. It' worth a phone call to a dealer, I guess.

The shop supplied mine. I had actually called to ask if they were aware of these new tops and to see if they'd install one if I bought one on my own - it turned out that they were just starting to offer it themselves.

CA Boxster,

I think it is worth the effort to see if you already have defroster wiring. I don't know where exactly the wire is located, but I think I read it was somewhere in the back on the drivers side of the car. My car is a 2000 as well. I will let you know what I find next week (if I'm able to get an appointment). What color is your exterior and interior? I'm sure my new gray top will require more effort to keep clean, but I love the look of the white exterior with gray top and gray interior. Did you have to spend a lot of time cleaning your old gray top? How do you like the look of the black top?

ddb

ddb · 04-27-2005, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brucelee

I would doubt the pre-wiring on any pre 03 Boxes. Since they all had plastic windows up till then, don't see how the wiring would be there.

Make sense?

I think ALL Boxsters have the wiring because all optional hardtops have electric defrosters. It's my understanding that the rear defroster will be activated when you depress the button for the side mirror defrosters. So the connection should be plug-n-play. I will verify this hopefully next week.

ddb

Brucelee · 04-27-2005, 06:46 PM

Keep us posted. I was under the assumption that all Boxsters had pre-wiring for rear speakers too. Turned out that was not true and I had to purchase a harness and wiring to install rear speakers.

PS-I will be a dealer tomorrow and will ask about this.

ddb · 04-27-2005, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brucelee

Keep us posted. I was under the assumption that all Boxsters had pre-wiring for rear speakers too. Turned out that was not true and I had to purchse harness and wiring to install rear speakers.

PS-I will be a dealer tomorrow and will ask about this.

Thanks for checking Brucelee. I'm looking forward to your followup tomorrow. It will be next week at the earliest before I can confirm.

I wish that all Boxsters were pre-wired for the rear speakers. I have a PNP kit to install as soon as I get the time. It looks like the most time consuming part is running the wire from rear to front.

ddb

Brucelee · 04-28-2005, 09:04 AM

I stand corrected. Dealer says all Boxes are prewired for rear defroster. Weird, no pre wire for rear speakers, but pre wire for defroster.

Go figure!

Shortbus · 04-28-2005, 09:10 AM

I think that's because of the hardtop. (have defrosters)

RandallNeighbour · 04-28-2005, 09:10 AM

That assumes the car has side mirror defrosters as an option, right?

porscheguy05 · 04-28-2005, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brucelee

I would doubt the pre-wiring on any pre 03 Boxes. Since they all had plastic windows up till then, don't see how the wiring would be there.

Make sense?

It is there on my 99. It did not come with the hardtop from the factory, but it still has the hookup, which made me very happy.

ddb · 05-04-2005, 02:12 PM

All,

I dropped my car off this afternoon to have my new top installed! We opened the box for the first time and looked at the top. The color (Graffiti Gray) and overall quality is beautiful. The installer said the folding creases would be more visible due to the light color; but I don't have a problem with that. The horizontal electric defroster lines are very small (1-2 mm) and are black (or some other very dark color).

The installer raved about the quality of the GAHH products. I saw several big catalogs as well as several boxes in his shop and office. He said he uses a lot of their tops and interior upholstery kits.

The car will be finished late on Thurday or early Friday. I will post pictures as soon as possible.

ddb

porscheguy05 · 05-07-2005, 08:26 AM

I got my GAHH top yesterday through cabrio world, and after recieving it and also instructions from the factory porsche manual on its installation, I decided to take the plung and install it myself. This is my second top I have put on, so I was not going in totally blind, but the other one was on a 61 vette and was a two piece setup that required more adjustment and was a totally different setup. To make a long story short, the shop wanted 9-10n hours of labor, and in six hours of work I was done. It turned out great, and looks like it came from the factory with the glass window. GAHH did a really nice job. They use the same German material as the factory tops, and from the inside the pattern on the fabric even has the same tecture and design. If anyone is considering installing one, it was not too hard, but I would only attempt it if you have some mechanical know how. On my scale of 1 to 10 I would rate it a 5 as far as difficulty, just a little time consuming though. Cabrio World provides a copy of the installation instructions from a porsche factory repair manual, and I only paid 695.00 instead of the GAHH suggested retail of about 950.00 USD. Overall, I am very pleased and would recommend the product to anyone. Please let me know if anyone has any questions.