Do you put top up when parking at the grocery store, etc?
 

Not sure if putting the top and down over and over several times a day is a bad thing, but if it is, I wonder if it's generally safe to leave the top down when going to the grocery store, a restaurant, and so on. After all, bikers don't have a top to put up.

Never, people are too envious. They do stupid things like spit gum in the car, toss a lit cigarette in the car. At work I park my car in the "back 40" along with the rest that drive nice cars to avoid door dings. At the grocery store I park further out and behind a little island. The first time I drove the car to the grocery store I came out to find a shopping cart up against the front fender, dent and paint scratched.

People suck.

That's a good point that I didn't think about. I could see some d-bags who are thinking "f you Porsche guy!" and spit in it or throw trash in it.

I just do not leave anything in the car I want stolen. Part of being a convertible and motorcycle owner here. Honestly I do not even lock the doors because it will just lead to damage to the vehicle from a thief. Nothing will stop anyone if they want something. All you can do is protect your valuables and not leave them in your car while you are not in it. If someone wants it they will get it so I do no give them a reason to break anything if they want it. I leave my top down a lot. Only problem I see with raising and lowering the top would be if you still have a plastic window and having to do the chop or risk cracking the plastic in colder weather by multiple opening and closing. One of the main reasons why I spent the extra money to replace my top with a glass unit.

A lot would depend on WHERE you are leaving it. I'm in a small town and leave the top down all the time. I take my ipod with me and tuck the garage door opener out of sight. I don't keep anything in the trunk or frunk that I would miss.
My biggest fear is that a bird will fly overhead and leave me a present.

I leave it retracted and as antny stated - no valuables - The area I live in does a hot car police decoy - this has really dropped the instances of theft and vandalism of nice vehicles.

I personally leave the top down (if weather is fine) and put my windows up. I also use the 'Little Red Clip' so that if someone trys to reach into my car for some reason the alarm will go off. My brother learned this lesson as someone ended up cutting his roof just to get a little change from the glove box... ended up costing thousands for $2 of change... I learned from that, keep roof open and save yourself some problems. Thiefs are out there and if they want something they will take it.... leave nothing in view in your car and you should be good.

That is true. I live in Oklahoma so most people don't even know what it is in the first place. I would not leave the top down in a rougher part of town but I am safe 95% of the time. I do get the point where people would throw stuff in the car but I all depends on your location.

Nope. People everywhere can be jealous pricks. Eventually, someone will throw something or spit in it, etc.
I'm not worried about thieves, it's the vandals.
And yes, even small towns have them.

It looks so right with the top down. Worth the risk.

Wow, I guess I must be in a better part of town as my car would be considered just another old car. I guess I would be considered the low life with the oldest car in the parking lot. :D

At Walmart parking lot...

Second is the local starbucks....

Wow I would only put the top up for risk of a thief not a jackass that would spit in my car. I used to drive a pickup truck and people would throw their trash in the bed all the time. I always thought they did it because to them it felt less like littering than throwing it on the ground. I lived in the burbs and only put the top up when I go to the city.

depending on the length of time I am away from the car will determine if the top goes up or stays down. generally, it will go up if I am away. if left in my driveway the top may stay down for hours on end, but with the amount of trees in new Orleans, you may consider putting it up. also at night in new Orleans during the summer you may also get the bonus of the flying cockroaches confusing it for a carrier flight deck, which may break your concentration while driving.

Leave mine down all the time. Unless I expect weather (pretty rare in Phoenix) or I'm going to be gone for a long time I don't worry too much about it. Soft top isn't much of a deterrent if someone want in or cause damage.

Many years ago I had a shiny new 300Z and saw a jerk push a shopping cart at the car, he looked up from the cart, saw me and chased the cart down before it hit the car. He didn't look like he had, or ever would have a nice shiny car and apparently figured no one else should either. He just turned and slunk away.
I would keep the top down just about anywhere with nothing in the car to steal, but I installed one of Fred's wind breakers in it, and since it says "PORSCHE" on it (and lights up!) I'm sure some fine gentleman would come long to remove it from the car for me. The top goes back up for the most part.

I have parked at thrift stores, Walmart, you name it and have never had a problem

I put the top down in May and back up in November. If the weather's bad, she stays home.

That is too funny. Around here a Porsche is a rare sight, except for the Cayenne. People stare at my car, people walking on the sidewalks even point at it lol. Going through a drive through and someone always says nice car!

I took my daughter to Kohls one day, she just needed to run in and out, so I stayed in the car. 3 girls are walking towards the car, starring at it, once they get to the car one girl sees the hood emblem and says ecstatically "It's a Porsche!".

Those out-of-warranty Bentleys are being sold 2 for 1 nowadays.

Kind of like the Lambos as it seems they made more of those than Honda Accords.

You must be talking about those V10 Lambos. The V12 are the V12.
As a wise old man from Italy once said buying a Lambo and not getting a V12 is like dating Kate Upton after the implants were removed.

My first convertible was an 01 MR2 Spyder. Stopped at a parts store one day for a quick in & out, so I left the top down. When I came back just a few min later, there was a splotch of bird poo about 3 inches in diameter on my windshield and windshield post. Thankfully none in the car. Too close for comfort. Never leave the top down since. Birds love the opportunity. They do practice runs on my driveway, just waiting for the chance to bomb Punkin with her top down.

And here's a cpl photos of Carmen being bombed. Had to leave her outside one night and the birds took advantage.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1426806646.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1426806677.jpg

This is a risk with convertibles. I'm pretty sure there are some forum members that have been bombed while driving with the top down. :D One reason I usually wear a hat when the top is down.

OMG, this is soooo true. I left my car in the driveway overnight about a week ago and it looked like the birds had a pooping party on my car. From the front bumper to the back bumper, poop everywhere. :mad:

I've actually left mine with the top down all day in my underground parking spot downtown Toronto, no issues (so far) :cool:

I live in a small coastal town and leave mine down with a red clip. The worst thing to worry about is the sea gulls.

+1 on that!!

It really depends on where I am parking and for how long. My main concern is someone messing with the car, so if I can see it from where I am going I may leave the top down. Then I start worrying about birds.

I normally put the top up.

I keep the top down 99 per cent of the time. My rule of thumb is if it is going to set outside for any more than 5 minutes it gets covered. I have an OEM silver cover and can get it covered up in 30 seconds. Hell, if I know it's not going to be driven for more than two days it get covered in the garage too.

Two little deterents to make jerks think twice before messing with your interior with the top down are old biker classics.........#1 Get an empty gun holster and strap it somewhere in plain sight like the rearview mirror. #2 Put a sticker on your windshield that says " IF YOU VALUE YOUR LIFE AS MUCH AS I VALUE THIS CAR DONT F@#K WITH IT". You would be surprised how effective these things are......:cool:

if you dont have the red clip, you can just push the microswitch with your finger and turn off the car. You dont need to keep the clip in once it is shut off

Just got done taking my daughter to buy an iPod from a person off Craigslist. We role up on a school bus full of kids and we here one of them yell "Wow look at that Lambo!" lol.