Convertible top woes.

MustangGT01

Founding Member
Mar 16, 2001
109
0
0
Unemployment, Ohio
I need some help here convertible owners. I had a new top and rear window put on in Jan. The brand used by the upholstry shop was a vynle EZ On Auto Tops. The whole job ran for $1,500 and to say the least I'm not happy with it. when I got it back the top above the middle bow was wrinkled like a pair of old ladies underwear. Everything has been tried to get them out. Heat was used to try and get them to lay out flat, stretching was also attempted to no avail. It seems that whatever glue was used to attach the cloth material for the bow to the top had an affect on the vynle itself. Now I'm pissed at the manufacturer cause they let a crappy product roll out the door. I'm pissed at the shop because they put it on and let it roll out the door instead of calling me up and telling me the problem and fixing it in the first place. Now I can chalk the initial problem up to the manufacturer, no big deal I'll chew their ass. However, I'll be dipped if I can find a damn contact number of any kind for the yardbirds. I called the upholstry shop and they said they deal through this other guy to get their tops. They are supposed to check and see about finding the number.

To the upholstry shops credit they offered to get another top or give me some cash. If they get another top it'll most likely be from the same top company. The other deal is they refuse to put the new top on. That's not so much a problem either because if they let it roll out in the first place messed up it'd probably happen again so I don't plan on using them.

I have several questions before I go out into this wonderful venture of funked up tops again. First, what manufacturer in yall's opninion makes a good convertible top? I'm told a "sail cloth" type is a better route, is that true? How big of a pain is the cloth top to maintain compaired to vynle? Finally, is there anyone in central Ohio that knows of a good upholstry shop that can do the job right without raping me in the process?

:bang:

Forgot to mention the insurance guy looked at it and said it wasn't right either. He also said though that perhaps the upholstry shop used what they thought was the best top in their experience and any other top would be worse if not the same quality. If that were honestly the case there would be an awful lot of shirtty tops on convertibles and it would be acceptible. Especially since tops eventually have to be replaced. Knowing full damn well that ain't the case I'm not buying that **** no matter how cheap the insurance guy sells it at.
 
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my top is an electron top that i bought from 5.0resto and it came out pretty good. i am not sure you will like hearing this but the labor to install the top for me would have been only 300. it came out to 450 because they also installed a custom headliner, and well liner. but 1500 is way too much. good luck though
 
I've heard of places with $500 and less install jobs on convertible tops. That's why I thought it a tad high when they told me what it was going to cost. It was damaged in an accident and insurance covered it since it wasn't really old. I called the place up today and this "kid" answered the phone. When I asked him what the number was for contacting the manufacturer he said he'd have to "wait till his mom got home later this afternoon." I just got home and found a message on the answering machine fromt he body shop that shopped out the job to the upholstry place. Said to call in the morning and they'd have the number I needed to call to get EZ On. The funny thing is the body shop didn't do the top install. One thing is for sure though the body shop did damn good work and I'm definatly going back with them in the future. The upholstry guy though is a different story.

Thanks for the links and the info guys. I checked out the 1aauto link and it looks like a far cry better place than a company I can't even find a weblink (EZ On Auto Tops) for. I've got a few 50resto mags laying around here I wasn't sure how great their tops were though. Thanks for the info on them as well.

This is what $1,500 buys you in my neck of the woods. It's also what they try to do in order to get the wrinkles out. The pictures are small but I didn't want to use alot of space...

convertible.jpg
 
Well, ladies and gentlemen I finally got a number for the "manufacturer." The number I was given was not exactly for the manufacturer but a middleman. Big shocker there. I was told that the agreement was they would ship a new top to replace what I got or send me $200 of "hush" money and live with what I got. I call up Bob and BillyBob's (Miami Rubber 800-543-0448) and get a slightly differnt story. According to them they've not done any business with either the upholstry shop or the body shop in regards to selling a top for my car. They did say they could replace or "refund" the top if I had the paperwork involved with the top and they get the original top. I asked them if I yank off the top and send it to them what's going to happen then. MR says, no no no, you take it back to the shop, they take it off, shio it back and we have to determine if it was a install problem or a manufacturer problem. This is where the collective shiiit hits the fan. The upholstry shop already said they are not touching the car anymore, have no intention of doing anything else to the top ever. I've tried getting the paperwork to no avail. More than likely it was tossed out with the other "packing material" most parts come with. I tell the salesman, so basically here I sit withshiiit for a top and nothing more. He informs me that they sell "hundreds" every week. To which I replied, well if your open from 9-5, m-f, every week that could be true, considering that there'sa sucker born every minute. I then said as for this sucker I'll inform all the others of this crappy ass policy as it seems the only thing I can do. What's the moral of this long drawn out story boys and girls?

DON'T BUY YOUR CONVERTIBLE PARTS FROM MIAMI RUBBER!!!​

DON'T USE EZ ON AUTO TOPS!!!​

DON'T LET YOUR VERT BE WORKED ON BY SOMEONE THAT HAS TO WAIT TILL MOM GETS HOME!!!​

MAKE DAMN CERTAIN WHO YOUR TOP GETS SHOPPED OUT TO IF IT DOES GET SHOPPED OUT!!!​

I apologize for all the yelling but I am a tad bit pissedoff at the moment. :mad:
 
First, I would second the recommendation for Hartz tops. I had one installed on my car two years ago and it still looks new. I paid just over $1,000 to have the same job you did (back window included) done to my car at a very reputable shop.

Secondly, if this was an insurance job and nobody is stepping up, I would contact the state insurance commission. Here in Washington, that would get everybody hopping. Tell the insurance agent and the body shop that contracted the work what you are going to do and they'll both probably roll over.

Whatever you do, don't let them put another crap top on. Demand original equipment quality and threaten them with a complaint to the insurance commission and a lawsuit if they screw around.
 
wythors said:
Whatever you do, don't let them put another crap top on. Demand original equipment quality and threaten them with a complaint to the insurance commission and a lawsuit if they screw around.

It's your car and it's your call. And it is supposed to be fixed to before accident condition. Get the good top. I've heard Electron is an OEM supplier and I plan on using their product when I redo my vert's top soon. I've donr soem checking and they seem to be the best. Those pics are horrifying.
 
I'm going to talk to my agent again sometime next week after I cool down from today. The really farked thing is even if I get the damn paperwork wormed out of the upholstry shop, according to the upholstry shop they won't touch the top again. Leaving me to find and pay for another shop to remove the top and send it back. At the moment I don't have a garage to keep it in even if I got the top off. I say that because Miami Rubber, the top provider to the upholstry shop, says they have to have the top to determine whether or not it was a manufacturing mistake or an installation mistake. If it's proven to be an installation mistake I'm out the top. The insurance company is out the money for the installation, which they don't seem to care about. And I'm stuck with a frame and no top. Even if they decide to give any money it'll only be $200 and I'll be stuck buying a new top and finding a new installer to put it on, I'll be out of pocket then.

Short of telling everyone I know not to do business with the upholstry shop in Dover, Ohio and Miami Rubber, it's all I can afford right now. I'd give my left nut to have a lawyer in the family right now because that's what'll most likely take.

In the end of this whole damn fiasco though I've learned not to trust a shop to shop out my car to someplace they think is good enough. I'm also now educated as to a couple of top manufacturers that I'll look into when I can get the thing redone. If you guys say they are good I definatly put more weight in it than the insurance guys, they seem to know ****t about tops. For the moment though I guess I'll have to be happy the rain doesn't come in right now. I'm also seeing that a cloth top is a better option than just the vynle. If you're in my area avoid these asshats, they'll screw you as you can see.
 
i went to a shop and got a vinyl top put on rear glass and all for 773.25 and i thought it was a damn good deal cuz i was getting quoted upwards of 1200 bucks elsewhere. its a good quality top and im glad with my purchase, only flaw i found was that in the left quarter panel (i guess ud call it) there are a few waves where the top is stretched unevenly, but i talked to a lot of people, and its only like that because my right back end sits slightly lower than the left back end (need new springs, coming soon haha)

sorry bout ur bull**** experience and hope u get it all resolved to your favor