I will be picking up my very first MX5 this week and I am extremely excited! It’s a 2007 1.8i soft top in silver.
My question is this; where would I be able to purchase a hard top for it at a reasonable price? It comes with just the soft top and I want to purchase a hard top for it before the winter arrives.
Also it’s a silver car…am I right in thinking there’s only 1 shade of silver? Or is there a chance the roof may not be colour coded to my car?
Sorry for all the questions but im new at this and have very little experience with the MX5.
Good luck finding a Mk3 hardtop. I’ve been searching for a secondhand one for the last 3 months. There’s loads for Mk1’s & 2s, Mk 3s are like rocking horse muck. Mx5 Parts and MX5 City sell new ones in the colour of your choice for £1300 - £1500. MX5 City at Doncaster are the cheaper of the two and include fitting but they’re out of stock.
Welcome to the addiction, but before you splash out loads of your hard earned, think again. Do you really need a hard top? These cars are designed to be used year round and theres nothing better than chucking the hood down on a cold and crisp winters day, not so easy with a hard top on.
Also you have to think about storing it when not on the car.
Maybe also try AutoLink http://www.autolinkmx5.com/. But I would agree with the previous poster. Look after you soft top well and it will be fine for the winter and when the sun comes out there is no better driving experience than roof down in sub zero thank goodness for the heater designers
They do come up on Ebay and Gumtree so just keep looking.I looked yesterday and there was a Mk3 hardtop on Gumtree in London for £500 - and there is also the option of putting something in the wanted section of Gumtree
I have a 2012 NC which I use as my every-day car for the York to Leeds commute - A64 then A1/M1. I fit a hard top in late October and it stays on there until early March/April.
I bought it on Ebay, and the seller let me have the fitting kit for free (clearly he didn’t know how much they “should” have cost!). I paid about £700 for the roof and it was in mint condition.
Purely personal perspective on the pros and cons.
The hard top:
Gives much better visibility to the rear of the car. That's important to me as the A1/M1/A64 merge is a nightmare, especially in the dark mornings and evenings in the winter.
Its easy to fit and remove - takes about 10 minutes for two of us.
Reduces road noise.
Increases head room (don't ask me how - I'm 6'4" and I have more headroom with the hard top) - of course the headroom increases even more in the summer with the roof down
Might be subjective but I think it stiffens the car up, and
I think it looks great - the NC version has the shaped roof which (again subjective) adds to the look of the car.
True, you can't drop the roof on a cold crisp day in winter. However, I reckon there was only one or two of those recently, and that doesn't outweight the daily benefits I feel I get in the winter months from having the car set up in "winter trim" with the hard top on.
If you can find one for sensible money, and can get the fitting kit without needing a mortgage, I would highly recommmend it.
To add my 2pence I have owned 1 mk1 2xmk3 (PRHD) and a mk4 ad I know for sure that I would have been disappointed to leave the house on a bright crisp winter morning and not be able to drop the roof but my commute was only 20 mins and through mainly country lanes My roof is down more often than not to be honest but then I’m lucky to live on the South coast, protected by the Isle Of Wight where the weather can be more favourable. If you’re worried about the roof they are designed to be robust as the previous poster has said but you can always get a half cover for the car which protects the roof and is simple to put on and take off. Overall it depends on your personal circumstances and Eddie makes a good case for a hard top based on his circumstances too.
@Eddie, also your avatar is annoying me!! My gut says Tornado ADV but the pic makes it difficult to make out, please put me out of my misery!
thank goodness for the heater designers