morning all

apologies first of all, i have searched the forum trying to find what i need but its returned fruitless and i need some advise asap

i viewed a 2001 honda s2000 last evening, 63k, FSH, mot and tax til jan 2013. spotlessly clean. advertised at £5495.


i viewed it and noticed a tear on both side of the softop, which having found pictures it seems to be a common area of tearing. its worse on the passenger side and is directly right of the window low down and just above where the door closes.

he bought the asking price down to £5100 from £5485, but i would expect to get this discount from a private seller anyway with the roof being in mint condition. he wouldnt budge from that price and bearing in mind i will most likely have to replce the roof at some point i still thought he was massively over valuing the car.

i hear a new softtop would cost around £600. im still very tempted by the car as other than that its a perfect car.

the area ive described of the tear, i understand this is a common fault area? is this the case?
cost of a new roof?

thanks in advance all

 

Yeah, typically that's caused by burrs on the frame, there's a procedure for deburring the frame that usually prevents a new top from tearing. Mine had similar tears about 1 inch long, which I patched and reinforced with fabric from the inside. It's a common issue and by deburring / reinforcing, most people have no further problems. I'm not sure about pricing in the UK, but tops run anywhere from $400-$800 USD before shipping and uninstalled, depending on brand and material.