Broken hardtop glass...any reason? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

n4ally2 · 12-11-2010, 11:53 PM

Now that we are in Dec, I decided to put my hardtop on my 06 boxster. I took care of the hardtop. I purchased a hardtop roller carrier, put on the cloth cover the hardtop and put the hard top on the carrier and push it against the wall. When I unzipped the cover today, what I found was shattered glass at the bottom of the cover. My husband does not remember if it knocked it or not, but I know I certainly never hit it. Like any wives, we like to blame our husband but I would like to give him the benefit of the doubt. Has this happened to anyone? Was it due to force or something else?

Lucky · 12-12-2010, 04:01 AM

I think it would only break if hit/struck or if too much pressure was put on the glass.

Shattering due to a hit wouldn't take too much force if the striking item was small, narrow, or sharp. Is there a small tear in the cover? Maybe it was a stray bullet from a drive by...

As far as the too much pressure scenario goes, I assume your cart is like most and the bottom support rests against the glass. If something or someone pressed down - for example, leaned heavily on the front edge of the top - it could transfer enough force to the glass to break it.

Sorry about the breakage. Let us other hardtop owners know how much it costs to put right. I have a ceiling hoist for my top... I chose that approach to minimize the chance of damage.

JTP · 12-12-2010, 04:15 AM

.

Kids...

KevinH1990 · 12-12-2010, 06:43 AM

Sorry to hear about the damage. As a hardtop owner, I'm also interested in the cause of this problem and any possible preventive measures. I use a lift for mine, but it may not be the method of storage. While my first thought is that someone or something (pet?) must have struck or pressed down on the hardtop and caused the breakage, this reminds me of an incident from my youth.

My family was living in Savannah, Ga. in a ranch house built on a concrete slab. One winter day, my parents discovered that one of our toilets had cracked. The crack started in a hole that looked exactly like it had been made by a hammer.

They lined up my two brothers and I and questioned us in depth concerning who had broken the toilet. We were all younger than 7 at the time. They used all the techniques at their disposal (good cop/bad cop, bribing us individually to rat out the others) to no avail. No one would admit to having broken the toilet or turn state's evidence against the other two. I think they punished all of us as a matter of principle.

Fast forward about 30 years. During a holiday gathering, my Dad was discussing some freeze damage that a neighbor suffered during a cold snap. He said something to the effect of "it was like the time in Savannah when the toilet froze and cracked." After some questioning, he admitted that when the plumber was replacing the broken toilet he said that cracked toilets were a fairly common problem in the type of house we had. The cold outside temperatures were channeled to the plumbing fixtures by the concrete slabs. This caused the water in them to freeze and expand, cracking the fixtures. Of course my parents never took the time to tell my brothers and I that we had been fully exonerated.

So, it is a good idea to check if there is some other cause of the problem before accusing anyone. However, your husband probably did it.

ekam · 12-12-2010, 06:58 AM

I say the dog did it.

n4ally2 · 12-12-2010, 10:31 AM

Thanks for the feedback. We live out in Northern CA, we can't blame kids or pets since we have none.

I have my hardtop stored this way for the last 4 years and never had a problem. My husband sweared that he didn't hit it, even when he could probably hit it when he is lifting beers out from the front trunk. i will give me the benefit of the doubt since he is usually very careful, with the exception when he is drunk. hehe. We did have a cool spell 2 weeks ago, we got to below freezing during the night, but I think the glass should be able to handle the temp. So i guess i have to treat it as things comes in 3s. For the week, I did a 40K maintenance, front breaks replacement and now have to replace the glass, costing me lots of $$$.....sign!

I will let you know how much it cost once I get an estimate tomorrow.

Idaho Red Rocket 3 · 12-12-2010, 07:33 PM

Remember to check with your insurance agent to see what level of coverage your policy has for glass replacement.

mikefocke · 12-13-2010, 04:58 AM

You'd be surprised what can be covered.

My son ran through a too deep puddle in his Mazda on the way to school to take a test (of course the test was canceled) and we found the water damage was covered under his renters insurance and not his auto policy.

n4ally2 · 12-15-2010, 03:35 PM

Alright. I do not have good news. The glass must be obtained from porsche. It is glass +seal at $410 + tax. That is a very expensive piece of glass. So all of you hardtop owners, be very careful.

KevinH1990 · 12-17-2010, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by n4ally2

Alright. I do not have good news. The glass must be obtained from porsche. It is glass +seal at $410 + tax. That is a very expensive piece of glass. So all of you hardtop owners, be very careful.

Thanks for the update. Now when my daughter helps me put on or remove the hardtop I can say, "Be careful that window alone will cost over $400 if we break it." Before, I just said, "Be careful, just like everything else on a Porsche I am sure that window will be expensive to replace."