Storing a 986 with the roof down...any issues?

[Hard-Drive]

I finally now own a garage (woohoo), and as I now keep my 986 in there, and only tend to drive it with the roof down, are there any issues keeping it for fairly long periods with the roof down?

It's a plastic window car, however I think it's had a new roof at some point and the window is in perfect condition. Ignoring any obvious stuff like operating in cold temps, or making sure the roof mechanism gets used every so often, are there any problems keeping it this way?

Thanks

[WG]

It's been 12 years since I owned a 986 "Plastic Window" but I would recommend against keeping the roof folded for any length of time - particularly in cooler weather. You should be alright in the summer months but even then, you are in danger of seeing the plastic developing creases. which are difficult/impossible to remove.

[Dyffed]

Interior would get very dusty even in a clean garage. Press a button and clip in place.

[Adam B]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

+1 and have a FFS too

[mikefocke]

A piece of soft felt between the folds of the plastic window limits the friction between the sheets of plastic and absorbs little pieces of grit that will abrade the plastic.

[kitesurfer2]

Keep the roof up- it's what Porsche recommend.

[hollydog]

I replace rear screens on cabriolets . I wouldn't recommend to store the hood open.

[Rockster]

When I had a garage and parked my Boxster in it I always put the top up the windows up and locked the car when the car was parked in the garage. Not locking the car keeps the electronics powered up longer and at a higher power consumption level which is hard on the battery.

A few times I left the top down but once I did so when some spiders were floating about on silk threads and I guess one, a pregnant one, landed in the car. I had small yellow spiders coming out of the dash for some months afterwards.

Another time a small moth got in the car and played havoc with the alarm when after I parked the car the moth would come out and flutter about and set off the alarm.

So whenever I park my Boxster (or my Turbo with its sun roof) the top is up (the moon roof is closed though I seldom even have it in the vent position) the windows are up and the car is locked. Even leaving the windows down slightly seems to draw flying insects in.

[Hard-Drive]

Cheers guys. Stopped putting it away roof down unless it was literally a parked overnight/driving next morning thing.

However, after reading the spider story, I think I may just fit a hardtop, weld the doors shut, and gaffer tape the vents up. I'm not the biggest fan of spiders TBH...

[Rockster]

Hard-Drive said:

Cheers guys. Stopped putting it away roof down unless it was literally a parked overnight/driving next morning thing.

However, after reading the spider story, I think I may just fit a hardtop, weld the doors shut, and gaffer tape the vents up. I'm not the biggest fan of spiders TBH...

Not a fan of spiders either.

Nor of any insects in the car.

On a road trip some few years back as I was preparing to leave my parents' house in MO and had the Turbo door open loading the car, arranging things for the drive back to CA, a grasshopper jumped into the car. I was unable to get it out and thought I'd just wait until the thing showed up and get rid of it.

Well, I forgot about the grasshopper until some few days later after I got home I was driving the car on the freeway to the office when the grasshopper made a surprise appearance. Kind of caught me off guard. I was close to an exit and pulled off the freeway and stopped and got out of the car and opened both doors to give the thing a chance to leave the car under its own power.

As I'm looking for the thing a CHP cruiser pulls up and the officer asks me if everything is ok. I tell him what's going on and he kind of chuckles then drives off.

Eventually I stirred up the grasshopper and got it out of the car. That thing hitched a ride of around 2K miles in my car.

So for me it is spiders, moths, and grasshoppers.

(Speaking of grasshoppers reminds me of the time, quite a few years ago -- before my Porsches -- on my way east from CA I ran into a cloud, a swarm of grasshoppers that were moving ahead of a pretty strong storm. Could see the lightning flashes off in the distance. Those high plains T-storms can be pretty strong with strong winds and heavy rain, hail even. They are not to be taken lightly. I had a handheld CB radio then and was traveling in a pack of big rigs late at night - the radio chatter helps keep one awake -- and the lead truck got hit first. The driver radioed this and shortly thereafter cautioned against using the wipers as it just smeared grasshopper guts all over the window. Then trucks just ahead of my car reported hits and then my turn came. Like being in a hail storm except the impacts are softer but really messy. I left the wipers off and was planning on stopping at a gas station to clean the windshield when the lead truck reported he had reached the storm front and the rain. Like with the grasshoppers the rest of us were soon in the rain as well. It was a good downpour -- and thankfully hail free -- and was heavy enough and lasted long enough that the rain blasted the grasshopper guts off the windshield -- with a little help from the wipers -- and the rest of the car.)

[Boxbrownie]

Just a thought then......seriously at the moment looking around for a 987 and as no garage here and lots of Seagulls, upon reading this thread I was considering getting the hard top for winter use and storage, but am I correct in thinking it would mean the softop would be folded for months on end?

Do Porsche recommend this or is there an alternative?

[Boxbrownie]

Indeed it has, but I was just wondering if there is a recommendation from Porsche regarding fitting the hardtop for maybe six months of the year and it there anything that should be done before folding or before opening at the start and end of the winter for example.

[edc]

If you have no garage, where would you then store the hardtop? You're going to need to clear out the shed or get another 8x6 shed. Even then getting one through a standard shed door is going to be awkward.

[Boxbrownie]

I have no problems storing the hardtop in the summer, we have several outbuildings, summerhouse and shed big enough for the hardtop but not the car....

[Hard-Drive]

TBH the guano is more likely to damage your paint than the hardtop. The Boxster soft top is so good, I really don't see the need for a hard top. Plus, I've had some fantastic roof down drives mid winter in the crisp sunshine. You are really well cocooned in the car and the heater is brilliant.

[allatsea]

Just to 'black cat' (no pun intended) the 'grasshopper' story - which I loved BTW..

I once had a flat, I used to work away for long periods, weeks at a time....

One Sunday I loaded the car and then went away for a couple of weeks....

A cat had obviously snuck into the flat whilst I loaded the car...

I came back two weeks later to find the flat trashed, 'swimming pool' of cat 'p--s' on the duvet (had seeped all the way through the mattress and carpet)'...

And the cat disappeared through my legs as I arrived home....

As an aside, I agree, roof up charger on, piece of wood to stop the front bonnet being closed (allows you access to the battery should it all go wrong), probably cover on as well... even in the garage.

[ooid]

Left it roof down last weekend, just for half an hour, in my garage. today I found a bloody spider and spider-web near driver's seat, not fun.

I use more than half of the year with the hard-top to be honest, somehow feels more solid especially on motorway journeys.