Plastic rear window bummer
 

Hey guys awesome forum! I picked up a new to me 2002 Boxster s triple black in like new shape. It has 30,500 miles. The car was mint when I bought it Oct 1st. I had the top down for about a wk in my garage and didn't think much of it, today I put the top up and see a big wear line across the rear plastic window. I wanted to cry! The window was perfectly clear when I bought it now its all screwed up. It does not appear I can fix without replacement but should this have happened? I assume it is damaged from where it folds up but it hasn't been that cold. The lowest it has been was about 50 F.

So anyway can I replace it with glass or does it have to be plastic? Also can I get a tinted piece for it?


Btw I love the car and only wish I bought it sooner!

Buy some Plexus spray, it will likely bring it back to new and is a very useful product for the plastic trim. And yes, you have to be careful of the temp when rolling up or down -- when it drops to 55 I become careful. There is also an increased need to karate chop mid fold down once the temp drops to reduce the potential of a rip. You'll love the car, our cars are practically twins it sounds like...

There is a piece of fabric that you're supposed to put at the fold after having done the "chop" to make sure the top folds properly. Aftermarket tops have glass windows, but they are smaller and make engine access difficult. 2003 and later tops don't have this problem.

Buy the set of Novus plastic cleaner and polish. #1 is a general purpose cleaner and conditioner (windex for vinyl) and #2 and #3 are to polish out oxidation haze and scratches. Amazing stuff. Should get rid of the light scratches that you have, at least it did for mine.

My mechanic could not believe how much better my window looked after one polish with #2 and a couple of uses of #1. Said he has never seen a better 12 year old vinyl window.

Thanks guys for the tips. I will give the cleaner a shot.

Is it possible to replace the window with real glass? It doesn't look like it because of the need to fold up.

You cannot directly replace the plastic window with a glass one. There are aftermarket tops with glass windows that fit the fold area of the older Boxsters. The glass windows is smaller than the plastic window, and, as mentioned, seems to restrict access to the engine compartment.
http://www.autotopsdirect.com/Boxster-Glass-Windows-s/97.htm

Another option is to replace the complete top and frame assembly with a used OEM one from an '03 or '04.

In your case (because you have the B-version transmissions), the swap is straightforward and only takes a couple of hours: https://sites.google.com/site/mikefocke2/installinga'03-'04glasstopandframeona'97

Regards, Maurice.