Softop Slashings
 

hey, im considering buying an s2000 but ive heard all these horror stories (im new to forum) about softops getting knived... just out of jealousy? they dont steal anything.. they just knife your softop?

i dont plan to get a hardtop cause i personally think it doesnt look that great....

can anyone give me some advice on what they've been doing to prevent this kind of incident? also, if something does happen, would my insurance go up..

I've had a soft top Jeep for 13 years and had no problems. I don't think a Jeep ranks very high on the jealousy scale though. I believe the best you can do is be choosy about where and when you park and hope for the best. Only had the S a couple months, I might be a bit paranoid about it but I'm getting better.

A coworker had a MG I think, lived in a bad part of town, in apartments, parked in the open. After the third time his top was slashed to break into the car, his insurance company asked him to please just leave the car open. I believe different insurance companies would have varying reactions. An insurance worker told me once that if you've been with their company for a long time, they are a lot friendlier claim wise.

My S is a second car. Fun car that only goes out on nice days. I wouldn't consider using it as a daily driver. It's like my Batmobile. Instead of buying a hard top, I went out and bought a daily driver. A pickup for everyday back and forth to work. It was used and affordable. I don't care what goes in or on my pickup. It's a truck and I don't have to worry about it.
On the other hand, my S stays garaged and I am very careful where I park it. I still remove the antenna if I will be gone for a long period of time. PEOPLE DO HATE. UNFORTUNATE BUT TRUE. There are a lot of jealous people out there so you have to be kind of low profile in your S. I almost feel like I have to stay with my car if I'm going to take it out. It's like taking your kid to the park. Gotta keep one eye on the kid at all times. It's hard to drive normal in this car but if you show off, you will attract attention. I was in a line of cars this weekend on a curvy dark road posted 25 mph. Probably 4 cars back and this jerk comes rolling up behind me in his pickup and starts honking and hollering for me to get out of his way. Yelling that I wasn't even going the speed limit. Like where the hell was I supposed to go when I was 4 cars back and right on the tail of the car in front of me? That's what I mean. PEOPLE HATE. They also want to get to close to your car. Bottom line is that a car like this is a magnet for jerks. Good luck.

It is a problem. Always has been with convertables and roadsters. People do cut the tops to steal. It isn't just about hate. People will cut the top of the S2000 to get the seats. There is a special bolt you can buy to prevent theft of the seats. I think it is called McGaurd and you can see posts about them on the group buy forum from time to time.

I've never had the problem, but I am very particular about where I park. My S lives in a garage at night and is a sometime/fun car.

There is a problem, but I've not heard about slashings just for spite/jealousy. The slashings that I've heard about usually involve theft, particularly the theft of seats. This can be quite costly. One of the members of this board, Kudakan_4, has done a group buy of the McGard seat locks and he may have some left. You might want to pm him.

Unfortunately, I think your best defense is to be careful, and even that is not a guarantee.

If you live in, work in, or frequent bad neighborhoods, your stuff is going to get ripped of and/or vandalized. It isn't right, but that's the way it is.

Wherever I go, I leave the top down when I park if I'm not worried about the weather. (It's garaged at home and parked in a semi-secure parking garage at work.) I don't usually even bother to roll up the windows and lock the doors.

If I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving the top down when parked somewhere, I'd either go somewhere else or drive the beater. It's not easy to find another job on a whim, but merchants, restaurants, apartments, houses, etc. abound. Just don't go there if you're not comfortable parking there. Someone else will take your money.

Bottom line is that it depends on where you live and age and or mentality of the populace in your area. I wouldn't dream of leaving my top down in my area. I'd come back and fine someone had thrown a lit cigarette or container of sticky soda in my car. I don't know why so many people are this way. So sad. That's why I drive a beater. I only take my S out when I can keep an eye on it. It is very confining. Gotta move!

I keep it in my garage at home.
If I go out,(restaurants etc...)I park it so that I can keep an eye on it.
If I have to go downtown,or risky areas,I drive my beater.

And never park it with the top down,even if you can keep an eye on it.

I park in various areas of CC Philly and have never had a problem. We live in an affluent area (the Main Line of movie fame) where Porsches, Rolls, exotics are a dime a dozen...so who would be jealous of a Honda :confused: ;)