IA-SteveB

I bought my 2001 silverstone S2000 a couple of weeks ago as an extra summer toy. It came with a rarely used OEM hardtop in fantastic condition that will likely remain seldom used by me since this is mainly to be a top down summer car only driven on nice days. I will rarely be in situations where a hardtop would be desired, i.e. roadtrips, rain or insane heat requiring AC. I was throwing around the idea of letting the top go to offset the purchase price of the car because I was honestly going to sell my pristine 1996 Mustang Cobra to help pay for some of the Honda. I am now leaning toward keeping the Cobra since I have had it for 16 years and I still enjoy owning it and maintaining it to a super high level. I paid 14k cash for the Honda, I feel the paid for Cobra is worth 8k and I only owe 8k on my 2016 Rav4 which I will continue to pay the small monthly payment at zero percent. I am not hurting in any way but I always like to have plenty of money hanging around for emergencies, loss of job or any number of things that can happen. I know this isn't really enough information and only I know what I have in savings and where I feel comfortable.

I am just curious what you would do in this situation? I know it would be a selling point when I go to sell the car someday (if ever) but I also know it is has premium value sold separately. KBB only lists my car at $600 less without a top which surprised me.
I can't edit my threads so I apologize in advance for typos or not supplying enough info after I post.

WVCR-V

Sounds like selling the hardtop is what you want to do. It should bring nearly half the value of the Mustang which you don't want to part with. I would much rather part with an unused hardtop than I car I love. I too drive my S2000 only in good weather and have never felt the need for a hardtop other than the looks.

cosmomiller

I have an 09 and have long thought about getting a hardtop; a few locally have popped up. I am with the S for the duration so I thought it would be nice to "complete" the car but there is the issue of price and storage space. Now that I have had the car for a number of years I really cannot remember anytime I wished I had a hardtop. Admittedly I live in a perfect area for the S both geographically (driving 2 lane roads on the coast and Sierras) and meteorologically. I love being able to put the top or down in seconds. I have taken the car for a summer week in Death Valley at 118 degrees and the a/c maintained a comfortable temperature. (The engine temp did not spike either)

Good luck.

rpg51

I have purchased two s2ks, both with hardtops. After a couple of years of ownership I realized that I like the idea of having a hardtop but the reality is I never use it. I'm convinced that you will likely do better when you sell if you sell the hardtop and the car separately. So, last year I sold the hard top for my first car. I just bought a second s2k and it too has a hardtop. So, now I'm mulling over whether to sell this hardtop. For now, I will keep it. But, I foresee selling it in the not to distant furture. I have space to store it, so for now I'll keep it.

hecash

I've had two S2000 and three hardtops over the last 18 years. I sold all three hardtops and will never again waste my time with another. I never use it. Sell the bugger.

GuthNW

As you'll get the best return by selling the hardtop separately, I'd say that it mostly comes down to whether you think you'll have a use for it or not. What I've figured out is that if it's not top down weather then the S is pretty much staying in the garage, so I'd never use one. (In our case, like yours, the S was purchased specifically to be enjoyed with the top down during nice weather.) Therefore I'd much rather have the money for something else (especially if it means being able to hang on to another car that you highly value). As you already seem to know, you won't have a hard time finding a buyer for the hardtop. Besides the guys that daily these cars year-round in less than ideal conditions, there are also those who love the S2000, but for whatever reason just don't love roadsters so the hardtop represents a compromise that they can live with.

The only thing that I'd add to the above is that if you do have a safe place to keep the hardtop where you know that it won't be damaged, then the value of that top is likely only going to continue to increase with time, so that's worth considering.

rpg51

Would you go out and buy an s2k hardtop as an investment? If that's what you're doing, your probably better off putting the $ in your retirement account.

GuthNW

No, but then I wouldn't go out and buy a s2k hardtop to begin with. However, if I currently had one in my possession with a suitable place to store it, then I would likely hang on to it at least until wintertime was fast approaching before selling.

lookstoomuch

If you don't have a particular use case for it...sell it. I use mine for commuting to and from the track. It is removed and the car transforms to a weekend toy upon return. If my only use for the S was weekend toy the hardtop would be gone

IA-SteveB