should i buy a hard top?

Thanks guys. Great feedback! Still in two mines thou! Guess I'll mull it over for a while and check out the associated threads.... maybe go view one in the flesh, that's if I can find one! The car's been garaged before I bought it so I was a bit concerned about water ingress as mines parked outside now and my last motor 'Smart Roadster' developed an expensive leak over the electrical unit....maybe I'm a little being over cautious.

Cheers again
 
You could always get a weather cover to go over the soft top ? I don't know if there's a soft top cover made specifically for the Roadster, but again I go back to my MGTF(160 by the way) and they did a soft top cover made specifically for it.

And I THINK it would fit the Z4.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CAR-HOOD-..._Car_Exterior_Accessories&hash=item2327ea7c96

Just a thought.

EDIT : Just noticed, the same seller does on for a Z3 ! (Picture shows the fit)


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CAR-HOOD-..._Car_Exterior_Accessories&hash=item2327ea7ada
 
Don Gilham said:
You could always get a weather cover to go over the soft top ? I don't know if there's a soft top cover made specifically for the Roadster, but again I go back to my MGTF(160 by the way) and they did a soft top cover made specifically for it.

And I THINK it would fit the Z4.

Just a thought.
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Good thought Don..and a considerably less expensive option! I'll check that out too :)
 
chrisj900 said:
prefacelift zeds are prone to rain killing the roof motor. water overflows the drainage system and soaks the foam surrounding the roof motor. tends to happens when the drain holes are blocked. a hardtop does stop the water damage but if the foams already soaked when you put the hardtop on, there is the chance that it wont open in spring. i tend to have my hardtop on all the time unless there is a few nice days of sun!! it looks great, quieter, and you can pick them up for £600-900. if the roof motor does go the repair bill will be £600+ at a garage and you wont be getting your investment back from that.

only down side is the size, requires 2 people to move and unless you have space in a spare room or garage your screwed
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Spot-on reply Chris! Thanks mate. Me thinks I'm a little paranoid about water leaks plus because of my last car and I live on a main road - when it's dry weather (whenever that is, lol) black roofs get real dusty and constantly look shabby...but I can see what a lot of people are saying about its a pain in the butt to take the roof on and off...don't think I could be bothered so I'd end up leaving the HT on permanently. oh what's a girl to do! :)
 
Sorry to say guys, but facelifts are just as good in killing the roof motor

Plenty of thread fromfacelift owners with this issue. infact the new insulation is supposed to be holding rain water which in turn rusts the motor
 
markeg said:
I have one, would recommend it for winter or long motorway drives. Makes the car look totally different (ignore coupe owners with their jibes on being a coupe wannabe). As usual, its your car, you decide.

Regarding the roof motor - its a well known issue, there are plenty on here that have suffered roof motor failure through water ingress. Its important to keep your roof drains clear (again, plenty of threads here on the issue)

And welcome to the forum, JuliaFlaherty8, don't forget to post piccies and a quick intro in the newbies section! :thumbsup:
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Hi Mark. Thanks for your welcome! I agree a HT does make it look totally different..wish I could see one for real thou. none on AutoTtrader locally. :(

As for posting pics, my car's bog standard, would members still be interested? Also I use a iPad, can I upload etc just as easy as a PC?
 
I am just wondering twhat the market would be for a soft-top cover from roadster owners from this seller on Ebay ?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CAR-HOOD-..._Car_Exterior_Accessories&hash=item2327ea7ada

I contacted him to ask if he was going to bring out a version for the Z4 and he told me that he wouldn't be doing so, as the Z4's were mostly hard tops !!!! :roll:

I can say that the quality is excellent from my experience with my MGTF softtop.
 
I wasn't going to bother buying a hardtop and wasn't actively searching but a silver one came up for sale locally last summer so I though 'why not?'. The car is outside all year but I do have a storage room to keep the top in, not going to lose money on it and it will protect the roof over the winter (though we've not had much snow here!). I'm not fussed about the cabin being a nicer place to be, don't do much long distance driving and the car's not a motorway cruiser anyway.
 
Don Gilham said:
I am just wondering twhat the market would be for a soft-top cover from roadster owners from this seller on Ebay ?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CAR-HOOD-..._Car_Exterior_Accessories&hash=item2327ea7ada

I contacted him to ask if he was going to bring out a version for the Z4 and he told me that he wouldn't be doing so, as the Z4's were mostly hard tops !!!! :roll:

I can say that the quality is excellent from my experience with my MGTF softtop.
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Just realised BuzzTopz are only a few miles from me! I spoke the guy and he'll let me pop down for a fitting to see if any of his soft tops fit the Z4. Fingers crossed...I'll let you know the outcome.
 
Ranski is right - there are lots of facelift roof motors that have failed recently, mine included. None are immune if the car is not kept in a garage. If my car lived outside and my garage was simply for storing stuff then I'd have had a hard top ages ago. Not sure who had a dig at the soft top damage versus paintwork, but comparing the two is just idiotic - roof is fabric and it will 'wear' in an external environment much, much faster than paint. unless you've had it resprayed using Crayola kid's paint... I drive mine every day almost all through the year!so I'd love to have one... But with the car living in the garage I have no room to store the hard top when it's off. Ideally I'd have the Ranski solution with a winch on the ceiling to suspend it when it's off and to allow me to put it on by myself in 5mins.

Bit of a ramble there, but basically if you can afford one, have space to store it and help to get it on and off, why not ? They give the car a different look (that I personally like) and it can only help protect the hood and motor.
 
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