Help Is Zeintec Out Of Business?

[rogerkeith]

Christoph Zeinecker, the sole director of Zeintec, has posted a message on the Zeintec Website. If you click on "products" you will see that he is trying to sell his own Porsche. The car is financed and I don't think any of the sale proceeds will come our way!

[keithl]

Christoph Zeinecker, the sole director of Zeintec, has posted a message on the Zeintec Website. If you click on "products" you will see that he is trying to sell his own Porsche. The car is financed and I don't think any of the sale proceeds will come our way!

Ha, so now I'm going to buy a used car from that guy? If it wasn't so tragic, that would be funny. Does this mean he's going to answer his cell phone now, or has he got a new number? What a sleaze; he was undercutting his own distributors, collecting the money, all the while knowing he wouldn't be delivering any product.

[rogerkeith]

I very much doubt Christoph Zeinecker will be contactable by anyone other than his bankers, company liquidator and lawyers! He has recently been telling acquaintances that he has lost everything, including his house. He and the company owe money everywhere and Christoph has also signed personal guarantees for loans made to the company. A personal liability figure of 200,000 Rand has been mentioned. There is every likelihood this figure is understated!

I hope he has the foresight to tell us the name of the company liquidator when he next (as promised) posts information on the Zeintec website. We will then be able to contact him and register our claims. I'm afraid I have no thoughts whatsoever that any of the unsecured creditors, trade or ourselves, will get anything out of this but it costs nothing to register a claim.

The matter of possible fraud by Christoph is being followed up by the South African police at Diep River and we are awaiting the results of their enquiries. They have asked that any people who have paid for goods but not received FAX them on + 27 21715 5858 with full details, providing PARTICULAR evidence of emails which gave excuses as to WHY your items ordered, had not been despatched.

I will update as soon as information comes to hand.

[joez987]

I have been trying to get in touch with them as well. I order a top in January 2009 I recieved it in June 2009. I have been having problems fitting the top. Now I see why they wont answer my calls. If anyone wants a project to fit my 987 top on their Boxster Please feel free to make me a reasonable offer and I would be glad to unload.

[keithl]

I have been trying to get in touch with them as well. I order a top in January 2009 I recieved it in June 2009. I have been having problems fitting the top. Now I see why they wont answer my calls. If anyone wants a project to fit my 987 top on their Boxster Please feel free to make me a reasonable offer and I would be glad to unload.

Sorry that you are having problems, but at least you got something. You are in a better

position then a lot of people.

[BoxsterSenior]

I have been trying to get in touch with them as well. I order a top in January 2009 I recieved it in June 2009. I have been having problems fitting the top. Now I see why they wont answer my calls. If anyone wants a project to fit my 987 top on their Boxster Please feel free to make me a reasonable offer and I would be glad to unload.

I'm looking for a 'used' Zeintop for 986. Will a 987 Zeintop fit a 986? Or, does any one know of 986 Zeintop that's for sale on the east coast?

Thanks!

[rogerkeith]

Unfortunately, a top for a 987 will NOT fit a 986, so please don't even try.

[rogerkeith]

What is the problem with the fitting? Perhaps I can help you. I fitted one earlier this year (probably the LAST one shipped to a customer) and I didn't have too many problems at all.

[white_987]

Wow, just saw this news about Zeintec closing its doors. I bought a DYI top for my 987, it was delayed a bit but I did receive it. I remember being worried about this as I wired them the payment and had none of the protection of using a credit card. I also had the feeling that this top would not be available forever, it just did not seem like a viable business over the long term.

It is really too bad. I have not yet painted or fitted mine but I did inspect it carefully and pretty happy with the overall quality.

Sorry for those who have lost money in dealings with this company.

Kevin

[rogerkeith]

Just a word to the wise!

Before you launch into painting the top, have a GOOD look at the left hand side of the HATCH. Run your hand down the left and centre from below the rear window to the bottom. You MAY be able to feel some "highs and lows" here. A good spray painter or panel beater will certainly pick it up IF there are some ripples/waves in this area. If there are, make absolutely sure you have them flattened out BEFORE you paint because the imperfections become quite pronounced once painted.

There were some quality control issues with the more recent tops which were not picked up until AFTER they had left the factory and I brought it to Zeintec's attention.

Photo is attached.

[white_987]

Thanks for that tip about the ripple in the hatch and the photo!

I did a quick check of my top after getting home it seems to be pretty good. I have some fairly long semi-rigid long boards that should help identify these problems when I do the prep work. And although I am generally pleased with the top, I did not mean to imply it was paint ready either. There is definitely finishing work to do. My plan was to do trial fitting to the car before I do all the prep and paint work.

I have a few other projects I am in the middle of so it we be awhile before I get to this... plus I am enjoying the car now that we are into the nicer weather! I also need to install the spin locks which looks to be more of a pain than on the 986 cars. I looked into this briefly and was left with the impression that I would have to remove the soft top to do this. Is there an approach for doing this that you recommend?

I have not yet decided what color to paint the inside. My car is white. I am debating whether to paint the inside white, like the outside, or black. I am not sure what the inside of a cayman looks like. My interior is stone grey.

One other thing, I noticed zeintec placed a few videos on youtube as assemble aids. I can handle the paintwork OK but have not had the experience of glueing in window glass. One of the videos shows this.

I appreciate the tip!

Kevin

[rogerkeith]

To the best of my knowledge, the Spin Lock Insert procedure is identical on both the 986 and 987. You do NOT have to remove the soft top but it IS a difficult and time consuming exercise which can be quite frustrating! I am assuming you do have the Porsche part inserts and the securing bolts that go with them. These are essential. If you could post a photo of the insert wells which should be covered with a plastic "mushroom" shaped plug, I will have a better idea of the task at hand. We can move from there.

[Nurvus]

For those of you who have paid for a Zeintop, and never received delivery, there is a new development to investigate:

http://986forum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=217758#post217758

It says that Zeineke wants to resume production in Canada. The post is oddly worded, and suspect.

I bought a Zeintop in December 2008, and received delivery in March 2009. I guess I was doubly lucky, in that the hatch was well-formed, and that I received delivery at all.

[rogerkeith]

Do not confuse Christoph Zeinecker with Andreas Zeinecke. The latter actually INVENTED the hard top design and has NOTHING TO DO with Zeintec. The two parties are members of the same family and that is a far as it goes!

Andreas has his own business, "Z-Art" and currently works from Switzerland. He is to relocate and set up in Canada with a business partner. He MAY decide to manufacture the Boxster tops later on in conjunction with all his other quality products but this will be a completely separate to the Zeintec exercise. Andreas has run a successful and reliable business for many years and unfortunately, there are some who are linking him to the Zeintec debacle. This is WRONG and unfair in every regard and from my point of view, Andreas's reputation is as sound as it ever was and he should NOT be penalised in any way for what has happened to Zeintec.

If Andreas decides to build the tops, they could possibly be made from aluminium which if course will make them much lighter and possibly cheaper but I wouldn't expect anything in the near future.

Edited June 22, 2010 by rogerkeith

[CarreraLicious]

Sorry, but I still can't see that top producing any profit. The OEM top is already made of aluminum, there are no fitting issues, you don't have to remove the trunk lid/clamshell to fit, and used ones go for only $1000 now on the market, so how can they possibly sell enough to justify a business model? Zeintops are dead. JMHO.

[rogerkeith]

I really don't think there is any comparison between the Zeintop and the OEM part from Porsche. If you are just looking for basic protection from the weather, then perhaps the OEM is the way to go. If you are looking for style and almost a complete transformation of the look of your car, then the Zeintop certainly delivers. It is all a matter of taste.

Production costs of anything in fibreglass are generally high in view of the vast amount of manual labour involved. It is very much a question of efficiencies and good business practices. In the case of Zeintec, there is little doubt these two essentials have been lacking and Christoph Zeinecker has admitted as much.

I have said all along that such an enterprise would be very difficult to run successfully on a "stand alone" basis and would be be better combined with an existing concern such as an auto crash repair business or others experienced in working with GRP..

I have confidence that someone with the expertise, will see the potential of the Zeintop, acquire the moulds and begin production again.

[CarreraLicious]

That's the thing...I don't think there are enough people out there who want a "complete transformation" of their Boxsters to look like a Cayman to sustain a business making just those tops, which again are a pain to fit compared to the OEM top, and costs MUCH more. Are there those that want their Boxsters to look like a Cayman? ...of course, but not enough, IMO.

For me, I'd never even consider a Zeintop over an OEM aluminum top. If I wanted a Cayman lookalike, I'd just get a Cayman.

[aron in toronto]

Do not confuse Christoph Zeinecker with Andreas Zeinecke. The latter actually INVENTED the hard top design and has NOTHING TO DO with Zeintec. The two parties are members of the same family and that is a far as it goes!

Andreas has his own business, "Z-Art" and currently works from Switzerland. He is to relocate and set up in Canada with a business partner. He MAY decide to manufacture the Boxster tops later on in conjunction with all his other quality products but this will be a completely separate to the Zeintec exercise. Andreas has run a successful and reliable business for many years and unfortunately, there are some who are linking him to the Zeintec debacle. This is WRONG and unfair in every regard and from my point of view, Andreas's reputation is as sound as it ever was and he should NOT be penalised in any way for what has happened to Zeintec.

If Andreas decides to build the tops, they could possibly be made from aluminium which if course will make them much lighter and possibly cheaper but I wouldn't expect anything in the near future.

There are several descriptions of the operations of Z-Art Automotive on the web, that indicate they are or were connected to ZeinTop and were responsible for sales in parts of Europe and the Middle East.

This info may be incorrect, but clearly needs to be addressed before anyone starts sending $ to Z-Art & expecting a new hard top in return.

This is one of the first google hits when you do a search for "Z-Art Automotive Inc."

"As the general sales agency of the company Zeintec Suisse automotive, Z-Art is responsible for Switzerland, Austria and the Middle East. This company supplies a hard top for all Porsche Boxster models. The Zeintop, whose contours are reminiscent of the new Cayman, is equipped with a tailgate and supplied with a complete respray. The hard top is now available for ordering at a price of 3,980 euros net."

Edited June 28, 2010 by aron in toronto

[elt38]

I fear the worst! I am the Australasia distributor and I too have been waiting for stock since January.

If you have already contacted Daniel in Delaware, please keep in touch with him as we are launching some strategies to try and protect (as best we can) unsecured creditors positions.

The Delaware distributor's phone seems to have been disconnected. Is there any other way to contact him?

[elt38]

I have been trying to get in touch with them as well. I order a top in January 2009 I recieved it in June 2009. I have been having problems fitting the top. Now I see why they wont answer my calls. If anyone wants a project to fit my 987 top on their Boxster Please feel free to make me a reasonable offer and I would be glad to unload.

I'm looking for a 'used' Zeintop for 986. Will a 987 Zeintop fit a 986? Or, does any one know of 986 Zeintop that's for sale on the east coast?

Thanks!

A 987 Zeintop will not fit a 986, or vice-versa.

I also received a 987 Zeintop, last summer (!), and it didn't fit as the headliner hit the roll bars. It was also missing the latches, but Zeintec did ship new ones quickly. I was promised a replacement for the defective top, but never got it.

[XtremeMotorcars]

I have been trying to get in touch with them as well. I order a top in January 2009 I recieved it in June 2009. I have been having problems fitting the top. Now I see why they wont answer my calls. If anyone wants a project to fit my 987 top on their Boxster Please feel free to make me a reasonable offer and I would be glad to unload.

do you still have that 987 top for sale??

[neontony]

Is anyone interested in buying a redesigned Zeintec hardtop? I bought 2 Zeintec tops with side vents and wing not painted in 2009 one for myself and one for a friend of mine and I thought it was going to be staight forward sand, paint and assemble installation, however I was wrong.

I installed one on my 2000 boxster and beleive me it was no piece of cake. the top did not fit correctly to the body and the hatch shocks were changed and re-designed to fit and the hinges are of poor quality. It finally took 180 hrs to make the roof straight so it would fit properly. Now we know what to do for the next one.

Now my boxster looks awesome. See the attached pictures. Email me at neon_tone@yahoo.ca if you would like to see more pictures.

Edited February 3, 2011 by neontony

[rogerkeith]

I have heard rumors and I MEAN rumours that the Zeintop moulds have been located and production of the tops has commenced. I am trying to verify the information and will post again once I have something positive.

[coreseller]

Updates?

[rogerkeith]

Nothing to report I'm afraid. Everything has gone silent and the informant no longer responds to my emails. Just some bum stringing us along.