Cabriolet question

I'm asking this in the 996 forum, though considering a 997. What are 911 Cabriolet repair costs (specific to the retractable top) like? What are common issues? Headliner separating from top? Mechanical issues? Wear of the top, itself? Rear glass issues? I have a pretty good feel for 911 maintenance costs in general, but I'm thinking there must be some Cabriolet-specific concerns. I don't even know if this is something that needs to be addressed at the 5y mark, 10y, 15y, older?? Thanks.

Some of this will be climate related. I bought my 13 year old 996 in Palm Springs and it had spent most of its life there and in Arizona. The top looked ok but was discolored and on close inspection not in great shape. The headliner was also hanging down on the side. I elected to replace the top with a new aftermarket one. It looks the same and reused the glass rear of window. Cost including installation was about $2k and it has been installed for over a year. I've read about the top mechanism needing its hydraulic fluid topped up and this seems like a DIY. I would probably leave more complex issues to professionals since the mechanism looks complicated. At $150/hour labor rates where I am, I can see costs mounting up quickly.

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My car is an 04, the top and all the mechanics work fine. However it was just looking old and unsightly. I bought a top for $600. off ebay. I went to a local shop and had it installed, using the same rear glass for $750. flat rate. It changed the look of the car and many people thought I painted the car, lol.

I have had my cab for 4 years. 3 of those summers I have had intermittent problem with the top not coming up/down. Not even starting and the lighted indicator flashing on the dash board. My problem was (and it took me that long to find this simple problem) was the top not folding under correctly as the top went down. When I found the problem, I re-trained the top by hand holding the soft top and tucking it into the correct position as it closed down. Working the top from the key in the drivers door position so I could reach the folding part with my right hand. I did this early this spring for a week and it has worked flawlessly every time since I re-trained it. BTW I have spent nothing on the cab part in 4 years of ownership. Only my time and patience in solving my problem. I use the car about 3/4 times a week in the summer and work the top at least one time each time I use the car.

Properly cleaning and conditioning of the top is of the utmost importance. I have used RaggTopp products for years with good results. If there is anything better someone chime in and let us know what you are using.

I'll get pictures, but just had a piece from one of the arms pop off and get bent a little. JB Weld should keep it into place. My top is 15 years old and although I can't comment on shape (I don't know what to look for) but it seems to operate well, other than the rear window glue is letting go, but nothing so far that would be expensive to fix.

My top is also 15 years old-always southern California car-no problems. Looks and works quite well.

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Although the glue at the rear of my top is not separating, I am making an effort to prevent this from happening. Whenever possible, in direct sunlight on real hot days. I am leaving my windows cracked open and the car in the shade when the top is up. I suspect that on these old cabs, the heat is a great factor in making the glue 'let go' below the rear window. I came to this possibility by reading a recent posting on rennlist. Nothing lost, nothing gained and well worth a try. Let me add to this posting now July 23rd that the top has worked every time to date.

Learned about delaminating plastic rear windows when I was in research mode years ago.....helped sway my decision to go for 02-later cabs only (the smaller size was a SMALL price to pay IMHO). Best of luck.

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Along with that maybe pop the rear of the top up and check on the large inch or so seam that's glued. I'm thinking that's the first thing that fails and then it works to the window. Should be pretty easy to fix with the right glue and clamps. As far as I know mine is the original top, and it's not in showroom shape but it also gets the job done. Just that it's a wear part and/or the glue that was used just wasn't meant to last around 15 years. Things get old, not a big deal, and they can be fixed.

Took some $5 contact cement to the back window yesterday and going to touch up a few places today. Seems to have worked ok, didn't take long, and it was a cheap fix.

The hydraulic system on my '04 convertible recently developed a leak on the passenger side. The independent garage near Philadelphia, PA doing the work was able to rebuild the system for $2300.00. They indicated that a Porsche dealer would charge about $4000.00 for a new unit. Don't know for sure if that's correct but points out that repairs can get expensive in a hurry.

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Your independent technician is taking you for a ride, I just had my car service at the dealer for an oil change and inspection for the convertible. I have problems with the top going up and downtoo slow, they told me both cylinders need to be replaced with labor and everything will go for $2100. If I decide to rebuilt an independent dealer will charge $270 per cylinder plus labor I don't think is going to be more than $1000.

I've had my cab for almost 8 years and so far the only issue was a leaking hydraulic cylinder. Found a company in central Florida that rebuilt them on an exchange basis. Paid them $600 for two and paid my indie $200 to install, flush and recalibrate the system.

It may be true that I'm paying more for the hydraulic work. But there are not many indy dealers around where I live that I trust to work on my 911 so I'll have to pay their price. Maybe in a few years when I move to Fla I'll be able to get this type work done cheaper. Thanks for the input.

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I ended up buying some needles and thread to sew it up. Took a few hours, went though a few needles, and seems to be holding up fine. Didn't do anything special, mostly one or two passes across the seam, stitches were about 1/4 long. After that I put a bead of silicone across it. I'm not going to win any big awards, but it doesn't look terrible, and seems to be holding up just fine after a few weeks. Total cost was around $10 and a few hours of my time.

I have a 2001 that I purchased 3 years ago. I replaced the top last year when the rear-window started to delaminate though mechanically it was still in good working order. Personal preference was for the larger plastic-window (they are now stitched-in vice glued) over the smaller glass version. The liner was still in excellent condition and the total cost to include installation was $1400. Huge difference in appearance and I'm very happy with the end result.

I just got my 2003 Cab and the roof looks to be in very good condition. Only issue I have is the cloth doesn't slip naturally into the grooves over the side windows. When I first got it would stretch over edge of the plastic gutter. Now when I put it up, I gently guide the fabric into the groove. I think the car had been stored for a couple of years with the top down and perhaps lost it's memory?

Rear plastic window came unglued and my top shop sewed it back in for $200. Cylinders leaked and I took them out and sent them in to a shop in FL. Sent me rebuilt ones for $400. Reinstalled them myself - to me about 2 hours. No other issues so far.