New 996 Cabriolet owner

Hello All, I just wanted to let you all know that this forum is great and I am looking forward to learning lots from it in the future. Another subscriber/neighbor told me about Rennlist and I subscribed after he saw me with my newly purchased 2003 996 Cabriolet 6spd. This Porsche has 21K miles on it and arrived two nights ago. I am completely new to Porsche so any advice/helpful comments would be appreciated. First observation is that the doors seem very solid, but shut in a way that seems too mechanically conflicted, maybe more like an American truck than a finely engineered German car. Is this normal for convertibles, or is there something that I can do? All external lines of the door are perfectly aligned and the car is accident free. Everything else about the car is completely flawless. Another seriously consideration is getting an third-party extended warranty, as repairs are expensive and I am completely unfamiliar with Porsche cars. This would give me peace of mind until I knew the car better. I have actually looked at this for over a week and if I do get one, an exclusionary policy is a must. Also, one that is financially backed by a significantly-sized and real company is a must. There are too many out there that are inexpensive and either don't cover much or go out of business too often. I live in California so there are limitations to what is offered here. WarrantyDirect is the leader if I don't find a similar package at a Porsche dealer. Your comments would be appreciated. I have read one thread that confirmed much of my research. Also, the car arrived without a manual. What manuals would you recommend? I just washed and waxed the car and will add a picture of it to my profile soon. Thanks for your comments

Welcome aboard fellow CABBY! The doors...do you mean the way the windows go up and down a little? I dont seem to notice anything weird about my doors opening or closing. You will learn lots around here! I am in So Cal too..maybe we will meet at a GTG or something!

No, the windows have nothing to do with it. The doors just seem louder, with more mechanical noise, than my Acura TL or other full frame doors. Now for my lack of acronym understanding. I don't know what GTG means and the only reference to it from a Google search is 'got to go,' but that doesn't make sense. I have never felt comfortable with text messaging and the abbreviations that it uses. Please let me know what this means.

Kurt - Welcome to Rennlist and Congrats on getting you Cab! Get her cleaned up and post a few pics so we can all see her. Oh, and post a few pics of the Cab, too.

... if she's in or around the Cab for the pics, you can post them on the "Disregard thread" . Welcome on board - and nice color on your 996!

Couple questions: Have you run a Carfax yet? Is the car under factory warranty, still? Did you buy it from a Porsche-dealer? Did you get a PPI? Does it have service records?

The door-closing you describe sounds normal to me. I also have 03 C2 cab and sometimes it seems like the window rattles around in the door a little bit when closing it and also the latch is not really padded so there is a metal-on-metal sensation versus doors of some cars with felt on the latch. I don't really notice this much anymore myself. As long as your door is aligned and latches properly, don't sweat it.

Thanks for your comments. It sounds like the metallic door noise upon closing is normal, as MachoBelly and another have mentioned. Regarding arr0gant's questions; yes, a carfax was run, it is not under factory warranty (originally purchased late in 2002), it came from a used car dealer's showroom, I am not sure what a PPI is, and it was professionally inspected by a third party, and no service records (but I will call on them - thanks). Hwk72, how do you know what color it is, as I don't think I mentioned this? Anyway, it is a dark green of some sort, maybe even the color of your car. I will post a picture very soon. The car is washed, waxed and today should be a beautiful day for taking pictures. Also, I planning on getting a bra for the car. Colgan makes two, one that covers the fenders and another that doesn't. Does anyone have any comments regarding bras (for cars, sorry guys) and/or if one type fits better than the other? I am sure there are other bra forums out there for those that were diverted away from Porsches for a while. Thanks.

Clean carfax I assume? Good. If it came from a used-car dealer, you can't get it Porsche certified (you prolly knew that). Since it is NOT under factory warranty, you will have to have it pre-inspected before Warranty Direct will cover it. I would recommend an aftermarket warranty and from everything I've read, Warrantydirect(.com) is one of the best. PPI is a pre-purchase inspection. Sounds like you got one, good good! Get the service records, make sure it's had an oil change within the last year, or 7500 miles. After YOU get an oil change, you can go about 1.5 years or 10k miles. Congrats on the purchase, and get some pics up, soon!

Congrats and welcome to the cab brotherhood. I would never ever use a bra. It is likely to mar the paint for life. Many choose the clear bra alternative...I myself prefer naked.

Whats the main use you have for the bra? Many on these forums have clear-bras........they are full-time protection. Personally that's all I have on the cars.........if I have a very long road trip, I may pull out the SpeedLingerie (the best).....but it comes off immediatly at destination.

Congrats buddy, hang on to your wallet, modding is an expensive disease on a p car.

I have full clear bra. It's good, especially for track use, but if I had it to do over I would put clear only on leading edge of hood and fenders, not on bumper cover. My clear bra has a couple of seams on bumper cover and also a couple of spots that appear to be stretch marks. Maybe my installer wasn't good? Instead of clear on bumper cover, I would just repaint when time came. Repainted bumper covers are pretty common as long as you have documentation that it wasn't an accident. I don't like fabric bra's because they can mar the paint, especially if they get wet and are not promptly removed. The only time I might consider fabric bra is for track use because there is increased risk of dings.

sorry about that...I sometimes forget not everyone is fluent in forum speak. GTG is got to go...yes...but in this context and in online forums...it means GET TOGETHER...like a car meet at a starbucks...or Cars and Coffee..etc.

I have the Porsche OEM bra that came with the car and of course the fit is perfect and it does protect from debris from the road but I do also see couple of negatives with bra tho... The worse one is the potential small scratches from dust, debris, small rocks from the road that sneak-in behind the bra, especially the one with the smooth slope from the hood. Of course it's a lot orse if you drive your car in the rain with the bra on. You should regularly remove the bra and clean it from the inside, after each drive, I would say. There is a potential color fading if your car is a daily-driver in strong sunny area like CA or TX. Hope this helps... Cheers,

I didn't know the color of your car; this was just a little hint on the missing pics. However, dark green is great, maybe "Forest Green Metallic" - code: L2B4? My 996 has a light green color; Wimbledon Green looks like this \/ . Green is cool - did you know that Ferry Porsche's favorite color was green and that he had almost only green cars?

hey where are the pics???? i think it's newbie bashing time........

Congrats on the new cab and welcome to the club!

Aha, you are learning!

All your comments have been great. Thanks. I am sorry to not have placed pictures of this car on the forum. Tomorrow will be the day to take and upload pictures into the forum. The pictures I have are from the purchase but all are with the top up and I don't believe in that with convertibles, particularly in souther California. I am fortunate that there are only a few days each year that convertible tops are required if they are out of the garage, but that is the reason I have another car. Bra comments have been great. My main concern would be while driving on the highway and small debris deflects off the front of the car, but I plan on avoiding driving behind trucks and such. I just put the bra back on my Acura TL and that hasn't caused any problems at all, but I do take it off if there is any moisture in the air. I am still undecided on which extended warranty company to use, although I am heavily leaning toward WarrantyDirect. The Porsche dealer will work with this car eventhough it is several months out of warranty. Maybe it is because of my friendly demeanor, but likely because of the low mileage and third-party inspection. There are some other extended warranty companies that will work with me in California, but require me to purchase the plan in another state. I am not comfortable with this at all, so will likely go with the plan at my credit union, WarrantyDirect, Porsche or skip it altogether. I just purchased the entire service manual for this car. If pics don't go up tomorrow, please give me grief about it, as I would deserve it.

Most pcar owners will avoid bras like the plague, they inevitably scratch the paint. Consensus seems to be accept chips and fix/repaint sometimes, or put on a clear bra. When applied well by a reputable company, clear bras (basically a layer of plastic stuck on top of the paint) are hard to see and provide near perfect protection from rock chips and other road debris. Personally, I got a clear bra put on. Bad news. Warranty Direct cannot sell to you in California, unless you are dodging that by claiming to live elsewhere. You can see some of my process here: https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...0&page=1&pp=15 Search this forum for warranty and you'll be reading all night. In CA, you can buy from Porsche dealers. I worked with both Hoehn (right up your way) and Pioneer (Miramar), and ultimately chose Pioneer's (well, the one they sell). For my 2003 C2 with under 10k miles, cost me just under $4k for 60,000 miles and $0 deductible. Congrats on your purchase, and good luck!

Thanks Irksome. All great comments. I have looked into extended warranties very thoroughly and agree that my comments weren't complete. No one other than insurance companies and dealers can offer such policies in CA, but WD and other EW companies complete a meeting this week that will determine if they are allowed in CA this year. WD expects to know by tomorrow and will return calls soon after. I plan on calling them early next week. My EW considerations would have to be done legitimately, and I would not attempt to falsify my residence. Your EW thread was great and I wish I had found it two weeks ago, however I have learned much in the pursuit. Another rennlist subscriber and neighbor that introduced me to this site told me that Pioneer Porsche has a great reputation for 996's. I plan on talking to them but haven't yet. I have to look at the clear bra again. The idea didn't seem appealing to me initially, but may now. Arr0gant, I see that you are using WarrantyDirect's extended warranty. Great. They will be my most likely candidate once they get back into CA. If this doesn't happen in a week, I will reconsider other options. I will speak with the local Porsche dealers again as well.

I just traded in my C4S for a TT. The C4S was covored through WarrantyDirect and my new TT is CPO. The warranty from Warrantydirect did not carry over to the dealer, it WOULD have carried over PP. I only used about 9 months and about 5k miles out of 4 years and up to 60k miles. I got my car with 17k I paid around $1700 for the warranty, they are sending me almost $1400 cash back for unused prorated portion. This makes me happy and I'm spending close to $2k on my Nav system. Very easy to rationalize with that phat refund!!

That is great news about WD and might be what pushes them to my top choice. I just need to wait for them to cover CA now. Prices haven't been released yet, but I expect them to be higher than what you listed. I would want to go with their exclusionary policy. What type of warranty did you get from WD? Was it an excusionary policy? Price points like this will help me not be over charged. Thanks for your helpful comments and have a nice weekend.

I'd buy the warranty at the local Porsche dealership like Irksome did. I'd stay away from Warranty Direct as the diff is not just in the Xyears covered / Ymiles covered, but also whether they approve repair orders straight away or take their royal time paying up so you're stuck with no 911 until the money transfers. If your local dealership says yea WarrantyDirect's been great, then fine. Also consider what they replace that affected part with - OEM whenever possible or aftermarket or remanufacturered even if new is available, etc. I spent $3,500 which includes Seattle's ~9% sales tax for full coverage with $100 deductible 4 years/48K on my '02 C4S from a warranty company that backs VW/Audi and a few other manufactureres.

man.... it sucks to get warr in california.......

Kurt, Congrats on the new cab. I bought an extended warranty through WD in Dec. 2006 when they were still authorized to sell in CA. I have an 02 C4 Cab and I bought the "SecureCare MBI" exclusionary policy with $0 deductible. It cost me $4595. It's the 4 year/75k mile policy (expires 4 years from purchase or when the odometer hits 75,000 miles). Steep, but I paid for the peace of mind. To each, their own. The other policy they quoted me was for their MajorCare MBI policy which is not an exclusionary policy. As a result, the pricing for the 4 year/75k mile $0 deductible policy was only $2400. In my opinion, don't get an EW unless it's exclusionary, but you seem to be of that opinion yourself already. I haven't had to use the EW on the Porsche yet, but I had a Warranty Direct policy on an earlier vehicle I had, and had no problem getting claims paid. Granted, it was a Ford Ranger 4x4, but WD paid for a new transmission, no questions asked, as well as some other minor stuff. Not many companies offer warranties direct to consumers in CA because the regulatory approval process is time consuming and costly, and the rates are approved by the state and can't be changed. On the plus side, if a company gets approved to offer the warranty in CA, chances are they are sufficiently capitalized and will be around to pay a claim if/when you need it. From all the research I did, Warranty Direct seems like a safe option, and may be one of the few options you have in CA. Also, the WD warranty is transferable (for a small fee) to a new owner if you sell the car. Hope this helps and enjoy the ride.

I've heard they are as good about paying as PCNA. I got the Majorcare, covers everything CPO covers. I like the fact that you can opt for 4 years and 60k miles, instead of 2 years 100k. I wish PCNA did that.. That worked better for me.

Just thought I'd throw in my $0.02: Clear bra - If your paint is in good shape and you are willing to pay $$$ to protect it, get 3M clear bra, full hood, , gas flap, mirrors, maybe even full fenders. I got partial and of course I have all kinds of chips where the bra ends. Or just figure on repainting once in a while. Sometimes you don't have a choice and get stuck behind a gravel truck - like I did Warranty Direct - They are pretty easy to deal with and pay quickly. I got back part of the cost when my RMS and some other seals leaked. I got the "bumper to bumper" type of coverage. It's transferable and I figure it will be an attractive feature if I sell my car anytime soon.

Yeah, it does. But, you gotta admit, it's kind of nice to know that your warranty company isn't going to fold up and disappear after taking your money! That, of course, was the motivation of the state, consumer protection. By limiting extended warranty offerings to major insurance companies, they can be reasonably assured that the shadiest of companies will not prey on California residents. Of course, an unwise consumer (who doesn't do his/her homework) can still pay too much, or can pick a company that is bad at paying claims... =)

WHERE ARE THE PICS?? I read all of these posts hoping to see the pics at the end. What a letdown. Oh, welcome.

Sorry about the pics. I have loaded three pictures and don't know how to get to a collective view of them. Here are links to them independantly. Where would I find these pictures to delete? I want to replace some with new pictures. http://forums.rennlist.com/upload/kurts996.jpg http://forums.rennlist.com/upload/kurts996sv.jpg http://forums.rennlist.com/upload/kurts996av.jpg Sorry for the rookie references. Please tell me that there are areas that several images could be located, edited, and deleted. Again, thanks for everyone that has commented. I am thrilled to be part of this forum, as it has been very helpful. This is very important to someone completely new to Porsche, particularly since I was somewhat nervous heading into unknown territory. Have a great weekend. Kurt

Kurt - Nice looking ride! Thanks for sharing the pics. Ask and ye shall receive! Here are my "can't miss" instructions for posting a pic. These instructions have NEVER failed to help someone post pics, so the pressure is on YOU to keep my string alive! All words shown in BOLD indicate buttons. If you are just doing a "Quick Reply" you will have to click on Go Advanced button. Then follow the steps below: Down below the part of the screen where you type the text and below the Submit Reply the Preview Post and Spell Check buttons, there is a Miscellaneous Options section followed by an Attach Files section. In the Attach Files section, click on the Manage Attachments button. You will now get a pop-up window. There are 3 buttons Browse , Upload , and Close this Window . Click on the Browse button and now (in a new pop-up window) you can search on your PC to locate the pic you want to attach. Click on the name of the file you want and then click the Open button. Now click on the Upload button. After the file has been uploaded, you can click on Browse button and repeat the process to upload another pic or click on the Close this Window button. After you click on the Close this Window , you will be back to the original "message" screen. Your pic file should be listed just above the Manage Attachments button. If you are finished typing the text, you can click on the Submit Reply button and everyone will be able to see your great looking P-car! If your pics are too large, you can resize them with MS Paint, or PhotoShop software, or you can do it online at this web site. http://www.resize2mail.com/

Welcome, Kurt, and thanks for your Member support of Rennlist - it is appreciated! I'm just down the road from you in Encinitas.

Dude, that car is so f'ing hott!!! I LOVE the color and LOVE the wheels! Bug-ups, my brutha!!

Gotta911, thanks for the detailed path to loading pictures and comments on the pics. I guess all uploaded pictures are meant for forum postings and not to populate a image page. Not sure what I was thinking, but thanks. Randy V, it is too funny that you are just down the road. Who would have thought with this forum stretching around the world. Anyway, it is nice knowing a Moderator Maxmus is living nearby and drives a midnight blue 928. I don't see many of these, so maybe we will run across each other one day. I have heard about GTG's in this thread. Are there any close to us? If so, how would I learn this? Arr0gant, thanks for the very descriptive comments on my 996 pictures. It has sure been lots of fun to drive and own. Although the expense may not completely justify the benefit, it sure is great being part of Rennlist. Thanks to all. Happy Mother's Day to all Rennlist moms.

Kurt - You are welcome. Once again, nice looking ride and Welcome to Rennlist.

Welcome Kurt! Coupes look great, but cabs are so much fun to drive!

very nice color!!

Roger that. Stop by the 928 and Off Topic forums on occasion. We usually announce 'em there. See ya then!

Welcome Kurt! I'm a Kurt too, and I just got my C4 cab less than 2 weeks ago. Gotta love that top down! I like the color of your car, even if it isn't red

Kurt , Congratualtions! I am partial to green. I have had my Rain Forest Green Cab for 3 years and it has been a great experience with regard to driving. However, I would guess that including a new engine there has been 15 to 20 K of work on it done fortunately under warrenty. My car would make the case for an extended warrenty.

KevinJax, what happened to have caused this? Yes, this is the exact reason I am trying to find an extended warranty that I would feel good about paying for. California has restrictions that keep third-party extended warranty companies out, but that might be changing very soon. Please tell me what failed on your car, as I would like to know what to watch for. Thanks to all for your helpful comments. Kurt

Kurt - you are still not off the hook. You have not posted pics IN this thread! Post 'em up!

I guess you are right that my links to the pictures don't count. Here are the actual pictures that the links referred to. Sorry - I am still learning. Gota911, I hope this [IMG]works[/IMG]. Thanks for keeping me honest.

Very nice! I was thinking you were going to ruin my string of successfully helping people post pics! The string is alive and well!

One thing to consider is getting a can of RaggTopp to seal & protect the top fabric. Great car.

RF5BPilot, great point. Thanks for reminding me. The top will only be up while washing the car, but I should have the material prepared properly. Thanks for telling me about RaggTopp. Have a nice weekend.