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THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCH$ to replace soft top on '01 996
Leading reported evidence
Install factory is not even close
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
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0
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1
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed
$5K installed for factory is not even close to accurate.
Leading evidence: 'Install factory is not even close' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, The most frequently discussed action is 'Install factory is not even close' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed
For $3k installed w a factory top, that's the lowest I've heard.
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Suggestion
Dealer in Atlanta recognized immediately, and sent me to his recommended upholstery shop.
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Suggestion
I considered trying to replace the entire top, folding mechanism and all, with an 02+ top.
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Suggestion
I had to replace the fabric on my 2000 996 top as well.
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13 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Rennlist: 1 discussions
0 evidence records excluded for query context · 0 excluded by outcome qualification · 0 adjusted by outcome qualification.
0 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Generation: 20261026T212127Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
$5k installed if you want a factory top. Gahh makes a replacement top w same fabric and should cost around $3k installed. I assume you had a few upholstery shops looked at the rear window and determined it's not repairable? If not, I'd do that before you replace the top.
$5K installed for factory is not even close to accurate. I had mine done recently and it was roughly $2K for parts (top and window) and $1K for labor.FYI.....Porsche parts and dealer installed.
Wow, that's encouraging to know. Aftermarket top material alone is close to $1k so you must have gotten a real good deal on a Porsche top. For $3k installed w a factory top, that's the lowest I've heard. Many it's bc CA prices are higher.
Possibly, but those are Porsche prices.....not sure why Cali would be more but the best thing to do is get a quote from your SA first and have him break it out parts and labor.
For me:
Parts--> Top $1652.21 Window $504.88
Labor--> $950
Why? Severe fading and cracking window.
My dealer was told by PCNA that they will no longer replace the top under warranty here (way too many top replacements in the Vegas sun!). Of course this decision was made a few months before I requested replacement and just before the 4 yr warranty ended.
In the process of doing it right now, myself. Went with the GAHH top- a sew in- b/c I wanted the rear window tinted. Local upholstry shop with lots of experience and references will be doing the install. All in, should be around $1800.
I considered trying to replace the entire top, folding mechanism and all, with an 02+ top. Got lots of advice from memebrs here, RennTech, and local (Thanks Dell, Eric!). Ended up not going down that route due to multiple factors- cost being the least of them.
Hey,
I live in Rochester, NY. I had to replace the fabric on my 2000 996 top as well. The headliner was OK so we left it. My upholstry shop here ordered a non-Porsche replacement top from a vendor in California. They shipped the same day and the shop took one more full day to install it. The top came in black and had a new plastic window. I have to tell you, to my eye, it looks beautiful. I would never be able to tell it was not OEM.
The cost including labor, parts and overnight shipping was exactly $2,244.
Please be careful when your automatic top mechanism opens your top. If your material bulges out toward the back of the car when the clamshell closes, the clamshell latch will puncture a thumb sized hole smack in the middle of your fabric! Been there, done that.
Good luck
My MY 2000 had the often seen separation (not open leak) of the glue joint at the exterior bottom of the rear window. Dealer in Atlanta recognized immediately, and sent me to his recommended upholstery shop.
Price for new OE top was $3500 installed.
Price for new German mfg non-OE top was $1900 installed.
Top appears indentical in every way, except for the fact that there is a stitching seam surrounding the plastic window. This appealed to me in the light of the reason for the replacement.
Went with the aftermarket and have not regretted it at all.
Quote:
Please be careful when your automatic top mechanism opens your top. If your material bulges out toward the back of the car when the clamshell closes, the clamshell latch will puncture a thumb sized hole smack in the middle of your fabric! Been there, done that.
Good luck
Yep, happened to me too. There is a small flap that has a spring on it in front of the latch mechanism. A failure of a >$20 part cost thousands in damage
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