PDA

View Full Version : Lost my top!



Crazed_Insanity
July 27th, 2018, 09:44 AM
After 16 years of ownership, somebody had the nerve to steal my S2000 hardtop last night! Not sure why, perhaps it was due to the aluminum, hardtop paint began to peel already. My hood is aluminum too, but seems fine with its paint job... Anyway, whatever, it's stolen anyway. Somebody must really love that top I guess. Stole it right in front of my house after broken passenger side window. I suppose nowadays it's so easy to 'wrap' cars with different colors, messed up paint job is no big deal?

Nothing else in my car stolen nor damaged other than the broken passenger side window... so I'm sure it's another fellow S2000 owner who somehow just really wanted a factory top...

When I was in the dealership leasing the Clarity EV, a young asian salesmans approached me to see if I'm interested in selling my hardtop... or perhaps swap with him his carbon fiber top. I declined because his carbon fiber top cannot be easily installed onto my car... I wonder if he's the asshole who stole my top! Didn't realize my old hard top is in such hot demand?

Anyway, after cleaning up the window pieces and talking to police and insurance agent... I took my topless car out for a spin because I haven't driven it for a while...

I haven't removed the hard top for years I think. Probably since my daughter was born... probably more than 6 years ago!!! I actually haven't been driving the car that much since we leased the Clarity EV in order to save on gas money... I only drive it a bit every couple of weeks to make sure the thing still runs!

Anyway, dang it feels good to drive the S2k without the top!

Good thing they didn't steal my car I guess...

dodint
July 27th, 2018, 10:48 AM
Bummer. Insurance?

FaultyMario
July 27th, 2018, 10:48 AM
Aw, man, that sucks!

Crazed_Insanity
July 27th, 2018, 11:12 AM
$500 deductible... I googled and found out factory hardtop costs around $2~3k!!! Plus the broken window... so I'm sure insurance will cover most of it.

Not sure if I want it replace it and risk having it stolen again though.

Maybe I also need to invest in a car cover..., at least that'll make it a little bit harder for them to steal it if I tie the car cover up real good?

Need a 3 car garage!!!

Or maybe just hide my replacement hardtop in the garage...

Godson
July 27th, 2018, 12:13 PM
I was going to say, the hardtop is worth a pretty coin. I'm surprised that's all they took. The seats are worth some money on the street too.

Crazed_Insanity
July 27th, 2018, 12:47 PM
Okay, I'm gonna store my new hardtop in the garage along with the passenger seat. Just in case my driver seat is stolen, I'll have a spare...

Wife doesn't like riding in the S2000 anyway. She only pretended to like it when we're dating...

My daughter is surprisingly very interested in riding in the S2000..., but not until she's older or perhaps I get to deactivate the passenger side airbag...

Yw-slayer
July 27th, 2018, 01:33 PM
Bunch of assholes. Breaking carbro code.

SkylineObsession
July 27th, 2018, 01:44 PM
Wonder if it's worth scoping out the area where that guy works, to see if he has his S2000 parked there and whether it starts sporting a new hardtop one day? Or keep an eye on social media buy sell pages, as over here that's where stolen stuff is sometimes found (and probably usually sold).

But anyway, that really sucks. :( I will admit i'm not a fan at all of hardtops on convertibles that predominantly use soft tops (MX-5/Miata, S2000, Boxster etc) because to me it just looks strange. I'm too used to seeing the soft tops.

Rare White Ape
July 27th, 2018, 01:46 PM
It’ll be douchebags from out of town looking to score some Craigslist fodder and make a buck. If you find it advertised let the cops know.

In a similar vein, I parked my bicycle in a city council bike shed one night in April. The thieves got right past my lock, stole the wheels, then were nice enough to lock the frame back to the rack it was parked against. The lock still works perfectly. It’ll cost me over $500 to replace the wheels, so I haven’t done it yet.

If you buy a car cover, it’s just one more very minor barrier between the thieves and your goods. You’re better off parking it in a locked garage.

Crazed_Insanity
July 27th, 2018, 05:49 PM
I talked to Honda, they don't have serial # on hard tops, so it'll be very hard to trace where my top went... even if I found MY hard top on Craigslist somewhere, it'll be hard to prove it's really mine.

Oh well. The Lord gave it to me, the Lord takes away... blessed be the name of the Lord. Just hope that thief crash and burn or somehow learn his lesson soon.

Like I said, just glad that I still have THE car!!! The hardtop rattles and flexes and made a lot of wind noises anyway! :p

Just curious how insurance will be able to compensate me with... its super hard to find another factory hardtop... market value for a used one could cost as much as $4k!!! It's be nice is they pay me cash for my loss...

Will take the car in for estimate tomorrow.

Cam
July 28th, 2018, 11:04 AM
Aww, man... bummer. :(

Dicknose
July 29th, 2018, 02:00 PM
You haven’t taken the top off for years?
The “convertible police” should stop you and issue you a ticket for driving with the top up.
I only drive with the top up if it’s raining. Doesn’t matter how cold it is, roof is down.
Ok I did change that rule, it snowed on me once, so rule is now rain or snow! When the snow stopped I put the roof back down. And yes the temps were still at freezing.

Sorry to hear about this. Hopefully it will work out and maybe you will drive the car more.

Crazed_Insanity
July 29th, 2018, 11:13 PM
It's a 2 man job removing the hardtop, plus I don't have much space in the garage to store it... hence I just left it on for years ever since the arrival of the baby I think... thought it'd be safer and harder for thieves to break in...

On the bright side, my 16 year old soft top now looks brand new thanks to the protective hardtop...

Anyway, now it'll be easy for me to copy your rule! :D

dodint
July 30th, 2018, 06:55 AM
But anyway, that really sucks. :( I will admit i'm not a fan at all of hardtops on convertibles that predominantly use soft tops (MX-5/Miata, S2000, Boxster etc) because to me it just looks strange. I'm too used to seeing the soft tops.

I always thought the BMW Z3 looked good with the hard top.

https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/image.php?u=261199&type=sigpic&dateline=1324044013

Crazed_Insanity
July 30th, 2018, 08:41 AM
https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/37867879_10155948735584671_8552059886756691968_n.j pg?_nc_cat=0&oh=d6bc8e6812a5b5b781ac0e573655f0c4&oe=5BD48B4D

Courtesy of Goggle Maps, I can prove to my insurance that I once upon a time owned a hardtop.

It's not that bad looking I don't think... and it protected my soft top over the years...

Hardtop does end up with more rattling noises and surprising wind noises compared to soft top.

Perhaps I'm better off without it! :p

Phil_SS
July 30th, 2018, 08:48 AM
That shit ain't right!

CudaMan
July 30th, 2018, 10:41 PM
I left mine on most of the time I had my S2k, too. It was much better for security (people loved to steal the seats back then, don't know about now), rear visibility, and protecting the soft top from sun damage. I removed it at autox events or for the odd weekend excursion but for the commute etc it stayed on for practical reasons. Didn't hurt that it's a good looking top.


It's a 2 man job removing the hardtop

Technically...

Sorry to hear you lost your top. Hoping insurance comes through!

Crazed_Insanity
July 31st, 2018, 05:44 AM
Do you still have it? If yes, I recommend hardtop locks to deter thieves from stealing yours.

AAA can’t get a replacement from Honda nor could they find one in the used market so they decided to just write me a $3000 check. The original MSRP price from Honda.

I’ll probably eventually get a cheaper aftermarket top, but for now, I’ll enjoy my car topless for a while...

[edit]
Just realized you wrote 'HAD', so you've lost the whole damn car already! :p

CudaMan
August 1st, 2018, 08:18 AM
Yep, sold in 2011 to move to England. :) Reunited with it a couple weeks ago at an autocross in WA when its Canadian owner drove down. Doesn't look like the same car anymore!

Crazed_Insanity
August 1st, 2018, 09:05 AM
Mine still looks the same since the last time you drove it back in early 2000... minus the top of course! :p

CudaMan
August 1st, 2018, 09:51 AM
Seems like ages ago! You were a brave man handing the keys to some videogame-playing kid at the track. :)

Crazed_Insanity
August 1st, 2018, 05:21 PM
Oh I knew she’s in good hands, kid! :p

FaultyMario
August 6th, 2018, 12:09 PM
Oh I knew she’s in good hands, kid! :p

Understatement of the year!

FaultyMario
August 6th, 2018, 12:10 PM
Oh I knew she’s in good hands, kid! :p

Understatement of the year!