If you’re thinking about a used hardtop for your BMW Z3 or Z4, beware! I get to talk to a lot of people about their BMW roadsters and you wouldn’t believe some of the nightmare stories I have heard about buying a used hardtop.

The BMW roadster hardtops are great. They not only look great but they perform well too. They eliminate outside noise, make the interior warmer in cold weather and gives your roadster extra rigidity which may be why so many people are looking for hardtops.

The cost, if purchased new, is very high and a lot of people are looking for used hardtops to save some money. The BMW list price for a new Z4 hardtop is $2,575.00, the Z4 mounting hardware is another $180, the Z3 hardware (which is no longer available) was around $450, and the labor to install it is $250 to $500 depending on the labor rate and car. They are great but expensive.

Here are some things to consider if you’re looking to purchase a used hardtop. Hardtops are extremely large, heavy and hard to ship. When purchased new from your local BMW dealer they arrive at the dealership mounted on a metal rack on a pallet and a box is built around them. They come painted to match your car and are ready to mount. An item this large is difficult to ship and must be shipped as freight.

I spoke to one guy who purchased a used hardtop, sight unseen. It was located on the other side of the country and to save money he had it shipped via bus, in the luggage compartment underneath the bus. It still cost him several hundred dollars but was much less expensive than using a freight carrier. When he received the hardtop it was bent, twisted, and scratched. Now he is fighting with an insurance company and a bus company to get his money back and his hardtop repaired. How much money do you think he saved by purchasing a used hardtop? So far he’s spent more on this used one than he would have on a new one…and he still doesn’t have a hardtop on his car.

I spoke to another person who used a totally different approach. He installed the hardtop mounting kit on his car and drove to the place of purchase, put the hardtop on the car and drove it home. This sounds like a much better approach to me.

A good place to begin your search may be the parts counter of your local BMW dealer. They may have a hardtop lurking in the back corner collecting dust. One guy told me he got a great deal this way. My local dealer had one sitting around for a long time before someone took it home.

Here is a list of some things to think about before buying a hardtop, new or used:
*Initial cost.
*Transporting it; how are you going to get it home? On an item this size and weight, shipping is very expensive.
*Installation; this is not an easy install unless you are really handy.
*Cost and availability of the mounting hardware, needed before you can use the hardtop.
*Getting it painted, which could cost around $400.
*Removing it. How are you going to get the hardtop off the car? Two people can do it but you can’t do it yourself. A hoist can be a big help here.
*Storage. You’ll need a hoist or a cart to store your hardtop in.

A used hardtop will cost $1,000 to $1,500 and you still have to find and purchase the mounting hardware, have it installed, get it painted. You would be extremely lucky to find one in the color you need. Don’t spend this kind of money on a used hardtop and end up with something unusable. There’s a lot of opportunity here to waste your money. Do your research up front and you won’t get stuck.

For more info/advice on all your Z3/Z4 accessories, contact Dick at Roadster Solutions:
Dick Leinbach
Roadster Solutions (Z3Solutions)
P.O. Box 194, Birdsboro, Pennsylvania 19508 USA
1-877-862-0585 (toll free)
610-406-0597 (voice) / 610-406-0598 (fax)
Dick@RoadsterSolutions.com
http://roadstersolutions.com/

New forum sponsor (NorCal & SoCal regions), Valley Motorwerks are proud sponsors of the Spec30 Racing Series. Here is VMWERKS President, Walter Ford, recalling the recent opening race.

The season opener at Infineon Raceway was a raging success. The series has already grown from the 2 cars last year to 6 competitors on Saturday (March 15th, 2008) and 7 on Sunday (March 16th, 2008). The March event at Thunderhill saw 6 Saturday and 9 the following race. Add to that the 3 or 4 cars in our shop that we’re preparing and we’ll have a full grid of our own by the end of the season. The SpecE30 series is a real testament to BMWs and their durability. The cars are limited to stock engines, transmissions and differentials. Despite the cars being nearly 20 years old they are able to withstand the abuse of the warm up, the qualifying, and 30 minute sprint races with little to no maintenance between rounds! While our fellow racers are busy hammering away repairing or replacing parts we get to stand around and enjoy each others company. This camaraderie has some Spec Miata and RX7 people looking at our series, the Valley Motorwerks / Norcalspece30.com

Saturday’s race at Infineon was pretty trouble free despite half the field was made up of rookies. We took the time to talk to everyone and make sure that they were going to drive a clean race and not damage their car or reputation! The guys did really well and I was proud to watch them in their maiden race. I was not present for Sunday’s race and maybe it was a good thing. All of our good luck from Saturday was gone by Sunday’s race. Brenden Selvig from Carmel managed to overcook turn 11 and total out a Honda Challenge car. Luckily no one was hurt and the parties involved were able to work out an equitable solution. The March Thunderhill race was simply incredible. I thought it would be difficult to outdo ourselves but we did. Having a record number of 9 cars and 2 others at the track going through testing was an incredible feeling. Adam Lazur, Mike Schwartzbart, Ryan Johnson and Brenden Selvig tested for their licenses and passed! Ryan sat out the Sunday race but the others jumped in feet first. The start was a reverse grid that placed 2 rookies on the front of the pack. The races were going to be run with a standing rather than a rolling start adding to the stress. AJ Goldsmith took off early then BACKED UP and got back into place just in time for the green flag. We could have had a real catastrophe on our hands but it all worked out well. There was some really exciting racing but it only lasted a few laps. Unfortunately, the race was red flagged due to a bad accident that involved Brandon Kraus. He took Lifeflight to a Chico area hospital and was released with only bruising a few cuts and a broken arm. His crash was a grim reminder how dangerous our sport can be.

For most of the guys this was their chance to get into racing and live out a lifelong dream. The cost of building and maintaining a SpecE30 is relatively low compared to other forms of auto racing. A set of tires will run 3 race weekends and brake pads will last about half a season.

VMWERKS Racing prepared a car for licensed racers outside the series to drive during a non-race session. Scott and Marcus Miller, Don Bailey, Carlos Suarez, Mark Welch, Tommy Lo and Richard Serafino along with myself took the car out. The common thread between all of us was how drivable the car was. The Miatas owners really liked the stability of the chassis and all the torque. I owned a SpecE30 for 2 years and picked up a second one a year ago but had never driven one. I was excited to get behind the wheel and give it a go. My personal track car is an E30 but is modified to a much greater degree than the Spec cars. I was surprised at how quickly you could pedal around Thunderhill in a stock drivetrain E30. The E30 chassis equipped with the Spec suspension had no bad habits and was “easy” to drive. Needless to say the test drive concept was a good one and allowed other competitors a chance to see what racing “The Ultimate Driving Machine” is all about!

See you at the races!