Hardtop or glass windowed hood

Hi everyone.
I'm off to look at a couple of TF 160s tomorrow. Apart one being very green and the other silver the biggest difference is the green one has a hardtop (there's £550 difference in the prices).
I need to be able to use the car year round so I've been thinking that a hardtop is going to be pretty much compulsory but am I just being a lightweight? (Or in my case a mediumweight)
The last convertible I had was a Saab 900 and that was cold on an icy morning but that had a glass back windows that defrosted pretty quickly. I had a rule that said if the external temparature was in double figures and it was dry then the roof came down so I'm used to getting a cold head.

So should I go for a hardtop or will swapping to a hood with a glass window be a better bet?

Does the car without a hard top have a glass rear window already fitted? If not then you need to factor in the cost of fitting plus the cost of the HRW relay and switch (if they aren't already installed).

The extra you are paying for the car with a hard top is more or less what buying one would be, so that makes both cars a similar price, effectively.

Neither of them have a glass back window at the moment. What I'm thinking is that a hardtop means no flicking the roof down in winter sunshine, I'm guessing that it's enough of a job to mean it goes on when the weather turns bad and stays on til Spring. I'm now trying to decide if the hardtop is worth having at all and would I be better saving the money and getting a glass screen fitted and getting a cover for the winter - that would save some de-icing on February mornings.
Even here in the balmy South it can get pretty cold, wet and horrible.

Andy1970h;14902 wrote: Neither of them have a glass back window at the moment. What I'm thinking is that a hardtop means no flicking the roof down in winter sunshine, I'm guessing that it's enough of a job to mean it goes on when the weather turns bad and stays on til Spring. I'm now trying to decide if the hardtop is worth having at all and would I be better saving the money and getting a glass screen fitted and getting a cover for the winter - that would save some de-icing on February mornings.
Even here in the balmy South it can get pretty cold, wet and horrible.

We run our car all year round, soft top only and no glass window. Never had a problem, just need to be careful that the window is warmed up and pliable before dropping the hood.

The big problem with a hard top is finding somewhere safe to store it.

David Aiketgate;14903 wrote: We run our car all year round, soft top only and no glass window. Never had a problem, just need to be careful that the window is warmed up and pliable before dropping the hood.

The big problem with a hard top is finding somewhere safe to store it.

+1 and our car lives outside all year.

Thanks everyone, I'm more tempted by the one without the hardtop anyway but I'll wait til I see them in the metal.

Andy1970h;14914 wrote: Thanks everyone, I'm more tempted by the one without the hardtop anyway but I'll wait til I see them in the metal.

Yeah, the car is the important thing! You can always buy/sell the hardtop later.

Check out this buyers guide .

I fitted a glass rear screen in Meg's hood years ago now and have never needed a hard top. The beauty being that if you get a beautiful sunny winters day you can pop the hood down and enjoy it still!

Thanks everyone, took a look at them both and I'm wondering if I'm being unrealistic.
First one looked ok, although not having the switch for the heated window fitted despite having a hardtop seemed odd, but then had a gearstick that flapped around like a flappy thing that's taken a course in flappiness.
Second one was sound mechanically but looked like it had lost a fight with a morning star.

My budget is 4K so am I crazy to think that I should be able to get a TF that looks ok and goes ok?

That is a healthy budget for a TF and should easily get you a 2003/2004 model. I would hold out if I was you rather than jump into a deal you are not happy with.

Test drive as many as you can and you will get a feel for them and will find the one that is right for you, which is what you seem to be doing anyway.

Personally I think that hardtops are the work of the devil. I work nightshifts and there is nothing I like better than dropping the roof on a crisp winters night, it is part of the fun.

CJJ;14950 wrote:
Personally I think that hardtops are the work of the devil. I work nightshifts and there is nothing I like better than dropping the roof on a crisp winters night, it is part of the fun.

I have to agree now. Today was my first drive in a TF and despite a dodgy gearshift it was every bit as fun as I hoped. A lot like my Cooper S (the first BMW one) except with the wind on my scalp

If I end up buying a TF with a hardtop then I'll wait until the weather turns and put the hardtop on ebay.

2 things you'll find more useful are a model with aircon, it clears a misted or frozen screen much quicker, and a wind break, we were nice and toasty on the M6 at 10pm with ours up with the temp below 10'