Contemplating selling my hard top & soft top

[01 RT SNAKE]

I really don't like the soft top and you can't put the hard top in the trunk so I've been thinking of selling them both to pay for a three piece hard top. I called Chuck Tator today to get a good estimate as to what they're really worth. Both should cover the cost of a three piece top.

I'm scared that if I ever go to sell the car, not having the two original tops will be a turn off to a potential buyer. What do you think? Personally, as a buyer, I'd rather have a good looking hard top that takes up less room than the originals . Chuck seemed to put some doubt in my mind as to whether or not I should part with them by stating that the Viper is done and anyone who would potentially want to buy my car would want the original tops.

My RT/10 is in great shape but i do not have the original exhuast. It has a Corsa system. So the "originality" is gone. It also has 24,*** miles so it's not like a it's a museum piece either.

Should I just sell them and get a top that I will use or keep them for the possible collectability in the future?

 

[Bill Pemberton Woodhouse]

I think that absolutely you will limit your buyers and many will shy away if you don't have both tops. Both tops have become prohibitively expensive and they can only go up. Get the other top , but hang on to these as it is a negative with the later model RT10s if they are without them.

 

[01 RT SNAKE]

Man, coming from Chuck Tator and Bill Pemperton, I think the Gods are trying to tell me something!

 

[WANTED]

man, Coming From Chuck Tator And Bill Pemperton, I Think The Gods Are Trying To Tell Me Something!

end Of Thread !!!!!!!! Jmho

 

[AZMotorgod]

Mike,

Doesn't it **** when you have to spend money.

Anyway, I am back from my roadtrip and I have the GN. Let me know when I can swing by. My mechanic has to fix my A/C so lets do it at night sometime after dinner around 8-9ish.

 

[supersnake]

I would keep your tops as they are Mother Mopar Original pieces, Buy the 3 piece and hang on to the others, I have a 95 RT/10 with both tops and I think with the Original Car, The tops can only be money in the bank. I personally would not shy away from a quality car if it had only the 3 piece but I like to keep my cars all together with there Original Parts.

 

[01sapphirebob]

I would also hang onto the original tops. I know for me when I bought my '01 it had to have the hard top. Even though I take the thing off at the beginning of the summer and it never goes back on the car till the day I store it for the winter, there is something about having both the tops that was a selling point for me.

 

[Stretch]

I can't argue with the points to keep the two tops you already have, because they're pretty good points for a potential buyer.

However, when I was searching for an RT/10 a 3-piece top was definitely something that I would watch out for because I wanted the top. I ended up purchasing a car that already came with the 3 piece and I'm glad I did. So for me it was a plus. But I would not have been less excited about the car if it had the factory hard & soft tops as well.

 

[jdeft1]

+1 for the 'don't do it' club.

The top reason I bought my current viper is the fact that it came with two perfect factory tops, never used factory windows and two sets of Vipermania windows... Yeah, It's a gen 1 but we all want 'stock' parts on or with our toys.

(I'd like to trade my extra set of V-mania windows for a set of NW engineering 'sliders' for any interested.... PM me.. Just sayin')

 

[Twister]

Keep them and get to the chopper

 

[sdaddy]

As a Gen 1 RT/10 owner, the soft top and Mopar hardtop are both a PITA. The soft top looks like s#$t and having to remove the sport bar to put on the Mopar top maket the Mopar hardtop look like a complete afterthought. I have the Mopar hardtop and zipper windows taking up space in one of my bedrooms right now and the soft top and hard windows filling up whatever minimal trunk space the RT/10 has. No more collectable than a driver RT/10 has potential to be, I would do what works best for you and not worry about resale. I think most informed buyers planning to actually drive the car would prefer the minimal hassel the three piece top provides.

The only real consideration from my perspective is if you need the additional headroom that the three piece top does not provide.

 

[TAXIMAN1]

always keep the original tops

 

[JonB]

I think that absolutely you will limit your buyers and many will shy away if you don't have both tops. Both tops have become prohibitively expensive and they can only go up. Get the other top , but hang on to these as it is a negative with the later model RT10s if they are without them.

what he said

And, if you use the 3pc top, you had better be under 6' tall and/or 2" lowered seat.

 

[Richard Koch]

I also think that keeping your original tops would be an excellent idea. Think about the car in 10 or 20 years and how hard it would be to find those tops. I would think it would make the car easier to sell later.

I was amazingly lucky to find a used 3 piece top on Craig's List near here. I picked it up for $1,000, which included the 3 vinyl storage bags. I had to repaint it black to match my car, but it really works great except for the decreased headroom, but fortunately I am not very tall. I can't run with my helmet on, but other than that it works fine.

I just made an 800 mile round trip to Oregon as a test run for Salt Lake and I was able to put the 2 side pieces for the top behind the driver and passenger seats. The vinyl storage bags pad it well enough so the paint doesn't get scratched. I only had to move the seat a little bit forward to fit it in. I am short enough that I could fit both pieces in and the center part was stowed in the trunk and didn't take much space at all. It gives me the ability to have a top to secure the vehicle at night while traveling, but also gives me a chance to use almost all of the "huge" RT-10 trunk.

Good luck on getting the 3 piece top. It is a very well designed and excecuted product.

 

[Vipermann1]

Let me ask this question.

How much can you get for each item? (Hard Top and Soft Top).

I too was thinking of selling only my soft top.

Thanks,

 

[01 RT SNAKE]

Let me ask this question.

How much can you get for each item? (Hard Top and Soft Top).

I too was thinking of selling only my soft top.

Thanks,

From my discussion with Chuck:

New Hard Top - $3200-$3300
Worth - $1500-$1600 He said to ask $2000 and work down from there

New Soft Top - $2800
Worth $1500-$1600

*these prices were based on very good condition

 

[spikeone]

I wish mine had came with the soft top just to have a "safety" in the trunk on rides

it would have been a plus for sure when buying if it had came with both tops so you should keep both if you plan on selling