Convertible Top Cabling Exposed - 987.2 Boxster

Hi all! New here! I am in the market for a Boxster and came across a pretty good looking example in aqua blue. Unfortunately, the top does not appear to be sealing properly, and the cabling is exposed on one side. I am aware that just about every 986 /987 has the top seated incorrectly (due to aged elastic), but I have never heard of the cabling being exposed/damaged like this. Does anyone know how/if this is repairable, and how much I can talk the price down on it? Would this call for the whole top to be replaced, or can it be ignored? Also, is this the cause of the loose fit around the window? Any help is appreciated! TIA!

Run away... unless they're paying to replace the top. This is a case where someone let a minor issue become a major issue by neglecting to recognize or fix it. We have a DIY on that cable - how to get it to seat correctly in the window surround.. but this one has gone too far - it's torn out of the top fabric, meaning it's new top time (figure from $2,000-4,000). It would have to be a VERY good deal to even consider this car.. it's going to be a royal expensive PITA no matter how it's done, dealer or a good indy.. If they neglected something that obvious - it would give me concern about what else they neglected, and these cars don't do well on neglect. with regular attention and service, they're a great reliable car.

BTW - welcome to Planet-9, the Porsche Seekers Paradise..

I agree with all of Don's post. It's not just the top, it's the fact that the top is indicative of an owner who mistreated the car in ways even a PPI won't reveal during a cursory examination. In the 80's when I was shopping corvettes and Porsche cars, I saw many with cigarette burns in the leather sport seats, "want to drive it"? They would ask. Nope, I've already seen what I needed to see to exclude it. You'd have to steal this car and have the resources to replace the entire top or go the easy route and fit a hardtop to it but again you'd have to steal it in acquisition cost.

Hiya, @damper - Welcome to P9! That the top you've posted is absolutely toast. Seeing that busted spring is a bad sign. You wouldn't just be replacing the canvas -- you'd be replacing the entire top. End of story. You have squarely cone across what's called a "project car." So as Don said... Run away! If for some reason -- unless this is a very special car (or like @ Boristhespyder said - you'd be stealing it in the acquisition cost), only then it might be seriously worth considering. You need the soft top to be properly sealed to protect the rest of the car. Ask me how I know. Not all cars are great candidates for restoration. I also agree with @Boristhespyder here about you knowing what you're likely getting into, as the owner likely didn't take great care of the car. Especially if this is a 987.1, there are plenty of examples out there that are in better shape and the 987.1 is far from a rare car. I've checked out plenty of vehicular "bad examples" over the years and have generally lucked out when knowing when to walk away. So many people seem to rush into buying something when they "have the hots" for something they've finally decided to buy. As my pop always said, "there's always another one out there." Wait for the one with the right specs for you and in the condition you want. It's out there. Now in my case, I'm generally a contrarian about salvaging things that people trash; I often admittedly have a tough time NOT saving things that are best just trashed. My story is very different than most, I guess: A few years ago, I bought a 987.2 2.9L 6MT Boxster with 250K+ miles on the odometer, that was largely trashed and clapped out. The roof was trash, with the floor flooded out on the driver's side, and a lot was wrong. Clearly the previous owners did NOT take care of the car, and I've found all sorts of surprises along the way. Meanwhile, I got it for a truly fantastic price and I knew this was a pretty rare car (especially as a 6MT). I tried saving the top, but eventually I just trashed it and replaced it with a used top in great shape -- which still needs to be dyed to black. I knew this was a HUGE gamble and so far it has paid off. To this day, I consider myself very lucky. Meanwhile, the amount of labor I have personally spent on the car over the past few years would be equivalent to a small fortune and wouldn't make sense. To answer your original question, my original top had the same "tear-through" with the cable and there was no way I could find to replace it. That was a key reason I decided to just trash the top altogether. Anyhow, I hope all this helps. Feel free to fire out more questions -- happy to help. And while you're at it, make sure to introduce yourself in the New Members section! It's kind of a tradition we have here (car photos are awesome). Cheers.

Thank you for the welcome! Is the installation of the top that much of a problem, or is it just the cost and finding one? I assume 2-4k is for a brand new oem top. I am seeing a few used oem tops for 1-1.5k online, would those not be suitable? I think I can get the seller to come down significantly on the price, so I don't think I'm going to walk away just yet. The rest of the car is in very good condition, but I definitely understand what you are saying regarding the car being neglected.

Very true. However, the price here is quite fair. I mentioned above that the rest of the car is in very good condition, and being a 987.2 , I'll see if I can move the price towards the "steal" range before walking away. I will definitely keep this in mind, so thank you!

Would you happen to know if the loose spring is part of the convertible assembly, or is it part of the motors/wiring? Also, a correction, this is a 987.2 , not a 987.1 . Not MT, but PDK which is what I have been looking for. 97k miles, seller is asking 18k, but I am thinking 15/16k. Seeing as you have experience replacing the whole top on your 987, was it just a matter of replacing the top alone, or did you need to replace motors/springs/other misc parts as well? Did you have the sealing issues around the door windows as well? Where did you get your used top? Thank you so much for your help! I'll hopefully swing by the introductions soon.

Quick reply - I think that spring may be from a cable and not the soft top itself. In my case, much was trashed per the entire system, all of which required a ton of work and expense. Sealing issues were questionable; I'm not even 100% sure that it's entirely ironed out. The used top was from eBay. Again, unless you've either been wrenching for decades or have money to burn, I too would consider just walking away as you could be buying a major headache if you're not careful. Proceed with caution and YMMV. Looking forward to your introduction shortly and let us know how things go. (PS - No, you don't need a P-car to do an intro!)

how about getting a couple of estimates from local Upholstry shops who have worked on these prior to buying the car and then negotiate the sales price. These tops and the mechanisms are quite complex so you want to be careful. Good luck.