I'm going to sell in move in the next few months so I have a ton of odds & end car parts to sell. Now typically I'd just do a search for the part and find numerous parts for sale or that had been sold but I'm running into a blank wall with the removable hard top (Targaish) for a 2002 Viper RT/10.
I get nothing for sale, sold or even from the Dealers, so where do I look?
So after I posted this I found someone posted the answer to this question in my post about removing old tape. I'm aghast at how much they are going for.
Have you checked any for sale sections of the Viper forums?
Also, eBay let's you look up recently sold items, and the price they sold for.
I use Ebay. I also look at what things sell for, not what is asked. Because some sellers are completely delusional .
EBAY in this case was useless.
So I've found some sort of indicator on this piece, but what about other pieces if they don't pop up in a search? Or the dealer isn't still selling that part? I've usually done about 40% of new when that was all I could find.
When your normal searches fail you is there a go to place that I'm missing?
The Viper hard tops trade hands in that $1500-$3k range depending on condition, manufacturer, model year, and color.
- Color is tough - the rarest colors are the toughest to find a hard top for, but there are fewer people who want them. Popular colors are easier to sell and command a stronger price. For example, my Viper is a 2-year-only yellow that only had about 400 cars total painted that color. Figure most people either have a hard top or dont want one, and you maybe have 5-10 people total in the USA who actually want that part at that time.
- Manufacturer is next. Certain aftermarket manufacturers command big bucks since the tops are desirable and out of production. Lemke 3 piece tops and Autoform tops command a premium because they fit and are still well supported or are a neat gee-whiz option. OEM tops, oddly enough, are the most common and least expensive out of the group.
- Model year - There are just a handful of OEM tops for the 92-96 cars but tons of OEM tops for the 97-02 cars. As you are seeing there was a big lot of them auctioned off a few years ago, plus more of the 2nd gen cars got sold with factory hard tops since they also had power windows. Note that the 96 is a gen 1 for top style and a gen 2 for electronics...no factory windows for a 96. 97+ tops absolutely will not fit 96 and down. They kinda sorta fit on the body but the windows and doors dont line up.
- Condition - Better is worth more, but its more about the little items like trims and clips and completeness than color. High liklihood the color will be changed for a show car or vinyl'd or ignored for a driver so a few scuffs are not a deal breaker. Incomplete tops and damaged tops are work basically nothing other than for parts for another one because the smalls are all NLA.
If it was mine I would post it on the viper forums and facebook groups and hope to get a local sale for $1k on the fast sale and $2000 on the slow sale. $1k would have it gone in a few weeks. $2k and you will sit on it for a while. You could also call around to a few of the dismantlers and see if they want to buy it,
When a search for sales or OEM parts fails you where do you guys look?
E30 hard tops have gone way up in price, same with E36 and Miata tops in the last 5 years. Vipers have appreciated rapidly, I'm sure the tops have as well. People who collect cars usually like to collect the things that go with them, especially if those cars will be sitting in a garage more than it's being driven. If you're not selling to a friend, do it Portuguese fish market style: start unreasonably high, and lower the price until someone snags it.
I sold my E30 hard top in crap condition for $2500. A viper is worth considerably more than most E30 convertibles..
mr2peak said:
E30 hard tops have gone way up in price, same with E36 and Miata tops in the last 5 years. Vipers have appreciated rapidly, I'm sure the tops have as well. People who collect cars usually like to collect the things that go with them, especially if those cars will be sitting in a garage more than it's being driven. If you're not selling to a friend, do it Portuguese fish market style: start unreasonably high, and lower the price until someone snags it.
I sold my E30 hard top in crap condition for $2500. A viper is worth considerably more than most E30 convertibles..
I only know it because I have been looking for a yellow top for my 95 but am not in a rush and would only use it during storage so I have passed on quite a few. Otherwise Ebay is pretty much the only resource for peer-to-peer sales that is consistent. Forums are all over the place pricewise, have a narrow user base, and I would estimate most items on forums go for between 20 and 40% less than Ebay. But also no fees on forums, no taxes, and if its a local sale usually a better price.
