Glass vs Plastic Another top question

On Thu, 21 Aug 2003 23:24:11 GMT, wrote in news:uwc1b.2939$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr22.news.prodigy.com:

I will assume you're in the U.S.A. since you don't mention location.

I bought a Robbins top via post/courier and had a local shop install it. Install cost was C$200 which at the time was quite a good price. Our installer was quite familiar with convertible tops for other makes and did a great job. Your average dealer may very well soak you for installation and do a fair to poor job if they're not in the business of regular soft top installs.

Is the glass worth it? Depends on what tradeoffs you want. Pros- visibility/strength/snow removal Cons- heavier/can't drop anything on it/difficult to fit roll bar/won't fold

Personally I would never go for the no zip option. I like the ability to drop the windows including rear for airflow in some conditions.

I recently cracked the vinyl rear window on my '94 and replaced the top with a Robbins zippered glass window top. Even though the vinyl hadn't started getting brown, the difference in visibility is incredible. Well worth it, IMHO. The installer I used (recommended by Flyin' Miata, which is here) quoted $300 but charged about $250.