greetings ...new guy here
joe, age 60, n.y.c.

ive been considering a 2009-11, 997 cab.

when viewing some online pics cars are usually shown with top down.
when they are shown with top up , i sometimes notice what appears to be a stain ,and or wrinkling of the top. i have seen it enough to be concerned.is there a design flaw or just improper care by the owner?

also if there was a design flaw in the 997 top,or mechanism,
has it been corrected in the 991?

has there been any other changes in the top and the rear window from the 997 to 991?

 

im guessing that if u leave the top down you could get wrinkles. My cab doesn't get them because I always put top up at end of drive. I also clean
and condition top once a year with ragtop.

 

I don't have a cab but my wife has a Boxster. I know that you should not put the top down when it is wet. More wrinkles I believe. Also the 991 cab roof is a new design which is elegant and looks like a coupe roof too. But is a 991. Which is a love it or not so much opinion among Porsche fans.

 

The canvas does get some shiny marks at points of folding, even with proper care. But with 2 years under my belt, other than those small shiny marks, no signs of wrinkling or real wear.

 

Top is going to wrinkle and get shiney spots if you put the top down. Part of owning a Porsche convertible with a German canvas top. Good news is German canvas holds up extremely well and is very durable so I suppose if you never put the top down it would never wrinkle or get shiney spots and would hold up well to all that sunny weather it was being driven in while still up.

 

The top is going to get wrinkles and get spots if you put the top up/down but the tops are very durable.

 

The top on my 06 997 cab really looked terrible ... shiny spots, wrinkles, even some fraying. It tends to get grease stains in a particular spot on both sides from the mechanism, too.
Not a super high mileage car, either. Most 997 tops I've seen do not look very good. Compare that to my wife's Mercedes CLK 500 which is an 06 with 90k miles on it and her top still looks brand new (and she uses it all the time).

This is the shot the dealer just posted of my 06 (39k miles) ... I can't believe they would post that, actually. Yikes.



I can't say the top on the 991 looks like it is going to wear any better, my 2012 top has some marks on it and it's only got 4k miles. All you can really do is keep it up when you are not driving the car, condition it and cross your fingers.

You can see the marks here, it's a red top which may not help, but my 997 was black and it was super challenged.



Ironically, the black top on my previous 993 cabriolet (97 with 90k miles) looked great, but it was aftermarket canvas.

That being said, the top on the 991 is much more streamlined and echoes the lines of the coupe. It's very smooth to operate and the new rear side windows and powered wind deflector are very nice additions. You can put the rear side windows up now, which you could not in the 997. And the wind deflector in the 997 tended to rattle in the car, or at least mine did.

 

thank you all for the feedback.



so the wrinkles are the result of storing the top in the down position.

that is easy enough to understand,and being aware of that owners can avoid extended periods in the down position.



but does the composition of the top material contribute to the problem?

and is the composition industry wide, or differant among auto makers?

would an audi,mercedes,or corvette top all be made of the same material?

i have seen many audi a5 tops and they all look flawless.

no signs of wrinkles or marks.





is the mechanism or frame a contibuting problem? what i described as a stain,others have called shiny marks,spots,and grease stains. so my concerns are warranted, there clearly is something going on here,that doesnt seem right. i have seen too many late model cabs that show the imperfections , and too many pics of cars photographed with the top down ,possibly to conceal the flaw.



yes the 991 top is clearly a visual improvement,but does it go beyond that?

is the top made from the same composition of the 997? is the rear window plastic,or glass. has the mechanism been reengineered? perhaps the 991s havent been on the road long enough to know.



i know i have asked a lot of questions,but thats how i learn.that why i came here, to speak to owners who have the product. two years ago i put the cart before the horse,i purchased a bmw 535 m sport,then joined a bmw forum. by doing it in that order i learned many things about the car after purchased it. i learn from my mistakes this time i will reserach well in advance.im a long time car buff,and i usually do my homework but last time out the bmw was third on my list and didnt get the attention i should have given it. porsche was # 1 and m.b. # 2. for a number of reasons those deals didnt materialize and my 3rd choice did.



i have to say i find it hard to accept the fact that porsche would allow this cab issue to continue. knowing what i now know, i cant see myself putting down 60 to $80,000 and have to see those imperfections everyday. i will either have to consider a coupe or wait another 2 years and go for a 991 cab,unless of coarse they are experiencing the same issue. if they are they would have surfaced by then.

 

My 06 top goes up and down nearly daily. Top looks awesome, I treat clean and treat it 2x a year. You will get a wear marks on the top left/right side where the arms fold, shiny small spots but no big deal. Mine looks brand new as compared to vjd3 above. His looks like it wasn't take care if very well. A new top isn't that expensive so I wouldn't really worry about it.

 

I've had convertibles all my life and they don't look like coupes! They all show signs of use.

It's going to show some wear. No big deal. The upside is that the top goes down. Big benefit for me and it outweighs the wrinkles which don't bother me at all. I see them as adding character.

Buy the coupe and no wrinkles.......just don't try and put the top down!

Tom