For all the hardtop owners

[cory58]

....especially when you have friends at the local dealer ...right Cory ? Lol

Fo shizzle! Love the covers over the rear mounting pins. Thanks Hendrick + BMWCCA discount.

Maybe my windows need to be adjusted to prevent the leaks. Can I bribe you with some beer of your choice for some assistance with the windows?

[jeffnhiscars]

Fo shizzle! Love the covers over the rear mounting pins. Thanks Hendrick + BMWCCA discount.

Maybe my windows need to be adjusted to prevent the leaks. Can I bribe you with some beer of your choice for some assistance with the windows?

I'm more of a courvoisier guy but will settle for hard cider lol.

Happy to have a look and see what trouble we can cause

[JWHIII]

I helped justify the purchase price of my hardtop by rationalizing it would increase the life of my soft top. Not to mention all the other reasons previously listed.

As a side note, if you're thinking about buying make sure the rubber seals on the top are in good shape prior to purchasing. I'm very fortunate that my hardtop doesn't leak at all but I remember reading that the main seal that goes across the front is horrendously expensive (like $700).

[wcipolli]

Just bought a vert that came with a hardtop - having a sedan and being in SC I don't think it'd be worth it for marginally less wind noise on the highway. I think if you have a nice soft top and you're in a warmer climate, and it's not your only car the hardtop is completely unnecessary; it's not like you put it on and the car and it's wildly different.

I will say that it's super easy to put in and take off so you don't have to worry about that. It definitely lowers the noise, but it's not a HUGE if you have a nice top. The seal was done by the previous owner and it is perfect - even with just the soft top there isn't a ton of noise. The hardtop is definitely "cool" to have - pun intended because the AC is noticeably better than with the soft top. and the sun penetrates the soft top more. I also imagine that the hardtop will continue to accumulate value as they become more "rare."

In any case - I'm fumbling around the idea of selling mine since it will probably just sit in the garage for ten months of the year and on the car during the months I'll primarily drive my sedan. I have a post in the parts for sale section if you're interested - PM me.

[///M42 sport]

best investment for the vert. I just lift the top myself and balance on my back and hold onto handle bars. Not heavy just awkward shape.

[OldManHenry]

I've been weighing the choice between a new soft top and $500 or a hard top... I like the idea of the hard top and the GLASS WINDOW. What I'm unsure about it since my wife is tiny and uninterested in being in the garage with me at all, will I have a helper to remove and store it? Will I ever put the top down anymore? Should I just have a good shop redo my top and spend the extra cash on upholstery?

[Das Delfin]

as much as I miss having a glass rear window, I would spend the money on a second car to DD in the winter time and only drive the bmw when it's sunny out, ie. when I don't need any rear window at all. For me it's an easy choice because I wanted a 4x4 for the snowy winter anyway.

If I bought a hardtop I'd want it body colored which means way more cash etc etc

best investment for the vert. I just lift the top myself and balance on my back and hold onto handle bars. Not heavy just awkward shape.

That's what I would do with my old truck and its camper top: turtle-back it onto a stand I'd made out of 2x4's. What was once an awkward job for two men became a 2 minute job I could do myself. Some people use a hoist or straps hung from the ceiling. But the reason I bought the bmw instead of a jeep was I wanted the ability to put the top up at a moment's notice, so buying a hard top would pretty much defeat that!

[JWHIII]

The hardtop really is pretty easy to get on and off. That being said if I had to choose between either a hardtop or a soft top I would definitely go with the soft top. After owning a couple of jeeps I've been caught in sudden downpours too many times to ever want to just have a hard top for my e30.

Has anyone here tried using bicycle lifts for removing/storing their top? Cost of the lifts would be less than $50. I'm seriously considering trying it.

This guy did it and it looks like it worked pretty well.

http://www.unofficialbmw.com/e30/hardtop/

[mlbryant8]

I've had my top for about two to three months and I love it. It doesn't leak like my soft top and for this time of the year it is perfect. My winters are mild so the fall through the spring is when I will go with the soft top. During the dog days of summer with our daily rain, the hard top has proven to be ideal. I know it seems odd, but the top works opposite, but idea, l for me as it would for someone in a colder clime. I can't wait for the fall, though. I am itching to go topless.

[f16dude]

without question, the hardtop is the best. It insulates, muffles sound, seals up tighter, and makes your car more secure than the soft top. It makes your noisy, hot in the summer and cold in the winter vert nearly as comfortable and practical as a hardtop coupe! true to BMW style, it is over engineered with a rear defroster that works beautifully, and even mounting points for a roof rack! I absolutely LOVE my hardtop. Seriously, get it.

[f16dude]

The hardtop really is pretty easy to get on and off. That being said if I had to choose between either a hardtop or a soft top I would definitely go with the soft top. After owning a couple of jeeps I've been caught in sudden downpours too many times to ever want to just have a hard top for my e30.

Has anyone here tried using bicycle lifts for removing/storing their top? Cost of the lifts would be less than $50. I'm seriously considering trying it.

This guy did it and it looks like it worked pretty well.

http://www.unofficialbmw.com/e30/hardtop/

My hardtop came with the original hoist. It mounts on the garage ceiling. Just pull in and attach the thing, crank it up and done! Only problem is the instructions were in German. Still, at least it came with instructions. I nearly lost my mind trying to figure out how the hell the hardtop mounts up. My local mechanic shop didn't even know. Luckily I found a tutorial on the forums. Thanks for that by the way! :nice:

[MC Hammered]

I love the way the car looks with the hardtop on and wish the 2dr had the same rear "pillar" treatment.

[JWHIII]

f16dude, I've never even seen a pic of a factory hoist. How does it work? I saw a drawing once of what was supposed to be a factory lift and it screwed into the roof rack mounting points.

[DJNikonn]

Do you guys just keep your softtop in the storage trunk when the hardtop is on?


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[JWHIII]

^^^ Yes. My soft top really doesn't get much use. For the most part my vert stays in the garage with the top down during the summer and only gets driven when the weather's nice. In late fall I'll throw the hardtop on and it stays that way until spring. During the winter I probably drive my vert more frequently than the saloon just because it has heated seats and rear defroster (the rear defroster is broken in the sedan).