Hey s2ki gurus, I have a serious dilemma and I was wondering if permanent hardtoppers or experts could chime in with some help. A little background info, my MY00 was broken into by thieves and I don't ever plan on replacing the soft top. My painted mugen hardtop is going on tomorrow permanently. I don't ever plan on driving top down ever again, I just love the way the mugen hardtop looks. I even bought alloycraft's ht locks. HT is staying PERMANENTLY. I want to remove the soft top and frame + motor and sell it(since the soft top has a huge rip and isn't functional anyway). I'm basically driving around with a 100 pound rock that doesn't serve a purpose in my car. Removal will shave 100+ lbs. off my car, and research shows that I am saving 50 dollars in gas a year. There will be room to store small stuff where the soft top usually sits.

However, the concerns are:

1. Resale value of car without soft top frame + motor. Is it going to hurt that bad? I don't plan on selling my car anytime soon, probably 4+ years
2. I've removed the soft top before and it's a big pain in the ass
3. How much can I resell a MY00 Soft top assembly for? Is there even a market for it?


Thanks in advance to anyone replying

 

1) It will not hurt the resale value too much, it will just limit the number of potential owners. This may make it difficult to sell.
2) Not really a concern
3) If you can find an owner that really needs it, you may be able to get 100-200 for the frame and motors. There is not much of a market for this- except for those that removed theirs and are looking to reinstall for resale.

The softtop assembly only weighs about 60 lbs (not 100)
I bought mine with oem hardtop and no softtop / motors. It didn't lower the price any (it was actually above kbb and 5 years ago when they could still be purchased) but oem hardtops will do that. The first thing I would have done was gut the softtop- I am not a fan of convertibles.

 

1. It depends. To the average buyer, probably quite a lot, because most people will want a soft top. To a small group of people like yourself who only want a hardtop? Not much. I bought mine without a soft top installed and I paid blue book value for it at the time...
2. Yep, it is. No way around that really other than paying someone else to do it...
3. Not much... if anything. I tried to sell mine awhile back with a plastic window and no rips and I think the best offer I got was around $100.

 

I would keep the soft top if you can in storage so that when you decide to sell your car you would at least have the option to put it on to help with selling your car.

 

My soft top plastic window is completely ripped off from when thieves broke into it so there's no point in storing it, except for the frame and motor. I'm leaning closer and closer towards removing the whole assembly now...

 

1) I would imagine that removing the soft top would limit your amount of potential buyers. I know that I personally would not buy an s2000 without the soft top installed. I put the top down almost every time I drive it, so to me it's a huge deal. YMMV.

2) Get a six-pack and go to town

3) I would sell the motors separately, since I have heard of soft top motors failing before. The top itself I would cut into patches and sell them to people that have rips in their soft top. I have seen this done by members/sponsors before, but can not comment on the selling success.

 

Permanent HT vs easily removed HT are two different things. An OEM top with OEM hardware can come off in less than 30 seconds which makes it more convenient. As someone trying to sell an s2k right now that doesn't have a soft top I can say it's definitely hurt. I've had a lot of people that have turned away because of it even despite the low price. Most people just want the soft top. I've even had a guy offer me significantly more just to put a soft top in it so he could buy it but at the same time it's not that easy to come by a complete assembly and then install really is a pain.

 

I am seriously debating if I take the insurance pay out and buy a hardtop and just gut the softtop...it would be nice but part of me wants the soft top still.

 

I would leave the frame. You can get one of the aftermarket replacement tops for $400 when you go to sell it. Like others have said its not a huge amount of weight your saving and you can probably lose it elsewhere much easier.

 

My soft top is brand new. Car was broken into just before I bought it and the soft top was replaced. I've debated this same thing. Whether to take it out and sell it or not. I've only put the soft top up once because I like the hardtop so much. I'm basically riding around with a small boat anchor I never use. I just don't think about it anymore. I need a second set of latches and then I'd be set for the sunny days.