Boot/Bonnet opener (cheap on AliExpress)?

[zcacogp]

Chaps, 

 

The boot/bonnet opener on my 987.1 has failed. It seems that they do so occasionally. The switch for the front boot ("frunk", as I think it's de rigeur to call it on here) has gone wobbly and needs a bit more love to make it work. 

 

A new one? Seems to be about £90 from an OPC. 

 

BUT

 

It seems you can get the part on AliExpress for .... £9.70. Literally, 10% of the OPC price. It may not arrive for a long while but - hey! - I don't use the car that much, there is another boot to put things in, the switch still works and if it fails then I can still open the frunk from the key. This cheapo bargain is here: 

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003786674022.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.2c36bcf4V3iu5A&algo_pvid=e25ab47c-38f5-4e74-9ab8-54ffcce138a0&algo_exp_id=e25ab47c-38f5-4e74-9ab8-54ffcce138a0-11&pdp_ext_f={"sku_id"%3A"12000027163973803"}&pdp_pi=-1%3B9.7%3B-1%3B-1%40salePrice%3BGBP%3Bsearch-mainSearch

 

Is there any reason NOT to save £80 and buy from China? 

[extanker]

you have been assigned as the beta dawg tester on this 

[zcacogp]

Thanks. Assigned by whom; the seller or this forum? (Or both! 🤔)

[extanker]

by ferry default po ......what an honor too 

[Windymiller]

10 minutes ago, zcacogp said:

Thanks. Assigned by whom; the seller or this forum? (Or both! 🤔)

Yourself! For ‘volunteering’ to take a punt on a £10 Chinese version and letting us all know if it works 🫣😉😁 
 

i recall a previous thread a year or so back on some similarly cheap versions available on eBay - a number of the community members bought them and reported that they worked fine 👍🏻

[Acquell]

If was me, i think it may be worth a go as probably not that technically hard to copy from original, however I’d probably go for one off eBay like this

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bonnet-Boot-Release-Switch-For-Porsche-911-997-987-Boxster-Cayman-99761310502-/393914203067?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0

 

for a couple of pounds more it will likely arrive a lot quicker and if it’s rubbish then maybe eBay will cover you on that.

Edited March 29, 2022 by Acquell

[zcacogp]

Thanks .... that's the cheapest one I've seen on eBay and I've just ordered it. 

 

Thanks for the link! 

[duncan]

Replaced one last December, UK supplier delivered in a couple days, was £12.33 now £15.19, no complaints. Not really worth bothering with  Aliexpress.
It works, it looked as equally flimsy as OE part that failed. 2 micro switches, 2 LED bulbs it’s not a £90 component. Allow a good 10mins to fit.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154583071660

[SimonK]

I had the same issue with a failed mechanism. eBay fixed it for £15 and it works perfectly. It took about 4 days to arrive and was not difficult to fit.
 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174391810398

[zcacogp]

UPDATE: new bit arrived and it appears to be identical to the old one. There may be some very slight moulding marks that are different but they are very slight if there at all. 

 

So, thanks for the recommendation. The replacement gave me a bit of change from £10 and was delivered to my door. At a wild guess this is a 90% saving on the OPC price, which I'm very happy with!