Curious if any of you have a hardtop in CA find it worth while. I just bought a cab and can get a matching hardtop for $700 (used). Do I really need one? I will have the car garaged so I may not find it useful. What do you think?

 

not at all, plus its a pain in the *** to put on and take off. not to mention, when its off, you need a rack to store it... etc etc.

in cali...?? shouldnt the top be down 24/7/465

 

I like it. It’s a lot quieter with it on. And I think by having it on during winter time will save the soft top from getting ruined. I bought mine off ebay from about $500

 

I had my Boxster S for about 3 years, and drove it top down literally about 98% of the time. You don't "need" a hardtop in SoCal; and I could imagine storing it might be a pain depending upon whether you have extra room for it; OTOH, it might be nice to have depending upon your style of driving and personal preference.

 

I am considering the hardtop to save wear and tear on ragtop from the rain. I plan on keeping the car for 10+ yrs. How much is replacing the softtop? I heard soft top lasts 10 yrs. If I keep it in good condition and garaged, you think the soft top will outlast the engine?

 

 

I have the hard top and love it. Mine is a daily driver and contrary to popular belief, it does rain in Southern California. I will leave it on until the stormy season ends. It's very quiet and I happen to like the look of it on... it's like owning 3 different cars.

Tom

 

If you are going to use your car daily, I would suggest getting a hardtop. Because my parking at work is outside and I don't want to leave the p-car out, I bought a 12 year old honda as a commuter and sold my hardtop. If you are really going to keep the car that long, you may want to consider a commuter car. A lot less wear and tear on the p-car.

 

Interesting question.
I live in the Bay area, and just put my hardtop on last week. It does make the car quite a bit quieter, and it is not that big a deal to store it. The top will stay on until March or so, then it is back to being topless for the rest of the year.

Also a hardtop increases resale and trade-in by $800-1500.

 

"... it's like owning 3 different cars."

I concluded that this is the best reason to own a hardtop. The car looks so different with the hardtop on vs. soft top up vs. top down that it really adds variety to ownership of the same car. I'm actually looking forward to putiing the hardtop back on for the new [winter] look, and I remember how I couldn't wait to get the damn thing off back in March. So, I vote get it. Storgae is no big deal-- just stick in the back of the garage and keep the kids away from it.

GBG

 

"... it's like owning 3 different cars."

Ditto here!

I'm still working out the Bahntech one-touch mod or my hard top would be on now. I bought the electric hoist from Strasse for storage because my wife is petite and my 3 year old couldn't help me lift it if he wanted to. Works nicely in my garage although I will say if I was a bit taller (I'm 5'11") I wouldn't be able to walk under the hard top in the garage.

Cheers.

 

I will use a car cover at work to save wear and tear. Exhaust noise w/ the ragtop is no problem since I am used to louder cars. I usually don't drive the car everyday since I commute by train 2x a wk.

I can get the hardtop for $700. I guess it'll add a different personality to the car and possibly extend the life of the car. Any idea how much the ragtop replacement would be? I have to make up a mind soon.

 

The hard top is nice to have if you have space to store it (I use the warehouse of one of my businesses).
I hear this is an El-Nino year, so that means lots of rain. The pollution in the air will wreak havok on the delicate soft tops, so I would suggest using the hard top until the end of the rainy season.
Plus it's a nice change for the look of the car

 

Not ALL of California is like that of sunny Southern Cal...we in the North find temps dipping down into the twenties in the winter time...! Although if I lived in SoCal, I wouldn't get one.

IMO $700 is a good deal, get it, if you decide you actually don't use it...you can sell it and get your money back on it easily. On the other hand...I drove year around with no hard top on my Box...even in the cold. The heaters work great in our cars, so I didn't think to get one for weather purposes.

 

I would absolutely get a hardtop. It isn't that difficult to put on and off. Wife and I do it all the time. I have a hoist in garage. I also like the concept of a "3 car look!