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Okay, list the pros and cons to keeping my hard top. It's strictly a D/D car. When I first got the car I was a bit uneasy driving in traffic with the reduced vision of the soft top and figured when it got too hot to bear, I'd just put the hard top on. The more I drive it though, the more I am used to restricted vision with the soft top and using the side mirrors correctly/more etc.
I bought a hardtop when I had my '99. It spent 99% of its life hanging in the garage. Sold it and never missed it.
I'm thinking that's pretty much what will wind up happening with mine. I'm not selling it for $200 like the C list guy just did though. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by sammm
I had absolutely no use for a hardtop.
We bought a Miata with one and I use it alot more than I ever thought I would.
Go figure.
I had a hardtop from southern NJ to Syracuse for a few days, then to Cincinnati. A friend from Indiana bought it from a friend of mine in NJ, so I picked it up with my car, kept it on the car for a few days, then met my friend in Ohio to put it on his car. From that maybe week's worth of time with it, I will never buy one for myself (unless I end up completely gutting my car for the track...which most likely won't happen).
I had one on my '99. I liked it for track days and for the dog days of summer.
I'd like to buy one for the S2000, but they cost a lot more on the used market than a Miata hard top ($2500-3000, plus a $350 hardware kit).
Any ideas on value? I think it's a Snugtop brand with defroster. I'd say it's in very good condition.
^Hardtops typically sell for $600-$800 from what I've seen. What color is it?
White.Quote:
Originally Posted by sammm
Um... is it Montego Blue on the inside? I wonder if it's my old Snugtop...Quote:
Originally Posted by AlanP1964
I'd say $500 MAX on a Snugtop...
No, looks black on the inside with a black head liner glued in place. I'm the 3rd owner of the car and the original owner apparently bought it shortly after he got the car.
Ours resides in the master bedroom closet we used it some during the hot months but if it hadn't come with the car I don't think I'd every buy one.Quote:
Originally Posted by sammm
We have toyed with selling it a couple of time but instead we let it live in the closet in peace.
A white oem hardyop with good paint will fetch a lot more than 600-800$. A snugtop will be a few hundred less.
Okay, just got home and looked. The brand is not Snugtop but actually SNUGrip. It's numbered 3306. I'll probably list it on Craigs but still not real sure what value to put on it. It has a glued in head liner and has the rear window defroster. Looks like a couple of paint scratches. Driver's side weather stripping needs to be replaced and the Frankenbolt gripper is missing the rubber gasket on the driver's side.
I think "SNUGrip" is a Snugtop - SNUG is the brand, and they have lots lines like SNUGlid, SNUGtop, etc. They haven't made Miata tops in a long time, so you can't get parts for them like weatherstripping and hardware. The first top I had was a SNUG. I paid $500 for it, then sold it a little while later for the same - but mine had excellent paint and good weatherstripping. Last year I saw my old top on another member's car. It had apparently spent some time down in Austin in somebody's back yard, and it looked like ass. The guy that had it traded one wheel for it - one single alloy wheel. So they're worth somewhere between crap and $500.
I think I'll list it at $500 and see if I get any bites.
I like my hardtop...more room for a helmet when winter gets here..lol this year around feb when some races started it was pretty cold...
I like my hardtop so much that I rarely ever take it off. My 60 mile commute to and from work everyday, I enjoy the visibility and quietness.
I have no use for a soft-top really. It's either nice enough to drop the top and park in a secure parking lot, or put the HT on. It's personal preference according to this thread.
AgreedQuote:
Originally Posted by mr brg
When your HT is lighter than a ST setup, there is no comparison. Eezy Peezy Lemon Squeezy. Plus they are substantially cooler when sitting in grid. I don't want to mess my hair up. :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by mr brg
Serious question about that: So you don't ever drive your Miata to the mall, grocery store, Walmart, overnight/weekend trips, etc? I've been back and forth on removing my soft top once it falls apart now that I'm not in Florida anymore, but the parking and cross-country driving things are my sticking points. Wifey and I take it to the mall and other places where it's out of sight in not very secure places for hours at a time. Obviously since it's a convertible it's never really "secure", but having a top is better than completely open IMHO.Quote:
Originally Posted by GregW
We like taking day/weekend trips in the car, and obviously need to park at a hotel overnight at times. Having a hardtop would defeat the purpose of having a convertible on those trips...most were just because I have the car: we wouldn't have gone in her car or the truck. There'd be no place to store the hardtop on those trips. Is there a simple solution to this that you know of that I'm overlooking? (besides one of those cockpit cover things)
EDIT: Before anyone says it's off topic, I think it's right in line with the topic of pros/cons of hardtop.
^^ Is it just me or does that last post seem off topic?? ::EvilBana
Maybe I was just lucky, but if I had the top down on the Miata (meaning it wasn't raining or insanely hot and I had my kid with me), I never put it up when I parked.
If you're ken o you can't fit in the car with a hardtop....oh wait you can't with a soft top either :)
Part (a BIG part IMHO) of owning a Miata is the drop top....why don't you HT lovers buy a nice Buick! :cat:
This. I initially bought mine thinking it would be a track-only car. Then I realized how much fun it was to drive on the street, largely because of the convertible (and I came from a 300zx with t-tops). I don't think I'll ever not own a convertible again, all because of the Miata...I even bought a Wrangler when I needed a truck in NY because of the convertible thing. Which I didn't have a hardtop for either, and that was my daily driver in Syracuse, even in the -20° winters...which I could have done without.Quote:
Originally Posted by sammm
Oh, same here, don't get me wrong. I would usually park at grocery stores and places with the top down. If I was going to a mall, I'd usually just put the top up unlatched. Just parking overnight somewhere without a top at all, intentionally, seems like playing with fire to me. BUT...I grew up in NJ/NYC area, so I'm not used to not having to worry every second of the day.Quote:
Originally Posted by goofygrin
And again, I'm seriously asking how you guys with no soft top at all deal with this..guess I just need to commit.
Hmmm... 3.8 L at only 167 HP and FWD for the Reatta, no thanks.Quote:
Originally Posted by sammm
Fixed it for ya! ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob®
Excuse me Grandpa what was a Buick Reatta? ::pimp::Quote:
Originally Posted by Electro
I avoid long drives with the top town like the plague, it beats me up too much. When I run errands I take the V1 with me so there isn't much of anything to steal. On road trips, we take the HT for the highway, if I cruise for a day I'd leave the HT in the hotel room.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob®
An overpriced 2-seater that boasted a $30,000 price tag; in hopes of entertaining ENTHUSIASTS with a "non-sporty Luxury" car to compete with the Corvette in sales. They made very low numbers and sold prolly just as little of them. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by POS Racing
Edit: That was back in 19 of 89 thru 19 of 91.
LMAO. It runs, ass. There's nothing from the turbo in either direction, but it runs.Quote:
Originally Posted by POS Racing
Well, yeah. But that only works if you're going back to the hotel before you start coming home, which usually is not the case for us. Guess I'll just think about this more when my top needs to be replaced or removed. Thanks for the input.Quote:
Originally Posted by mr brg
See, I'm the exact opposite. I drive into work almost every morning with the top down, but I don't have covered parking at work so I put the top up during the day - not for security as much as to keep the surface temp down on the black leather seats.Quote:
Originally Posted by goofygrin
To me, having a convertible with only a hard top that can't be stowed (like an S2000 CR) defeats the purpose of having a convertible, because I can't put the top down whenever I want to. But I tend to put the top up/down several times a day. Case in point - I dropped the top when I drove home for lunch this afternoon, but decided about 2/3rds of the way home that it was a little hot, so I put the top up at a light.
That said, I'd love to have a hard top to leave on the car all day long, but only for July-August. And I wouldn't remove my soft top.
I still have my soft top but I rarely use it. My soft top has small water leaks and larger wind leaks. I don't like birds pooping on my seats and the occasional rain it's nice to have. At a store I put it up if I'm out of sight. But it's RARE I take off the hard top.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob®
I was really debating getting a park ave to autocross, but I hear that the brakes aren't as good as the miata, so I got the miata instead.Quote:
Originally Posted by sammm
Yeah I got mine as a "race car" but realized it's so much fun I drive it daily now. After driving with the hard top I can't stand the wind noise of the soft top on my drive to and from work.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob®
I would buy another sportbike if I wanted to get beat up on the highway.Quote:
Originally Posted by mr brg
Backpage in the Observer can discipline you much cheaper than the price of a sportbike.Quote:
Originally Posted by GregW
Fine. I just took mine off ad it's in the garage. I'll give topless another try tomorrow.
I use mine about three months out of twelve. It came with the car in 89 and love having it in the Winter. If you have no use for it and could use the money, sell it.