Saratoga Top for sale anywhere?

Do a quick search for the thread about that sale, Mark, we talked it in detail. They seem to sell for about 2.000 $ eignteen months ago, but have reached new heights, now, as few of them were manufactured. A company in Australia I think (sse above mentionned thread) could perhaps be ready to manufacture new substitutes...

 

A 3-4K price really isn't all that bad for a top like this. First, it is very rare, I've read that only around 100 were ever made. Second, it originally cost quite a bit to make and to buy. The price paid most recently by an F-Chatter isn't likely too much different than what the top cost brand new (when adjusted for inflation).

As a point of comparison, there is a company in Germany that is currently making a Saratoga style top for 80s 911 Targas at a cost of more than 6000 Euros! That makes the used 3X8 top on Ebay look like a bargain.

J

 

I paid $2300 for mine last Oct from eBay

LOVE it!

 

Not my Saratoga for Sale
this guy has one for sale

contact : [email protected]

 

I see a Saratoga for sale on the Los Angeles craigslist for $6,000. In original box too.

 

Doubt that you will find a Saratoga top cheap. So far this year: an Ebay Saratoga top with a badly cracked frame & missing all the internal padding went for $2,300, then a real nice one on Ebay sold for $3,700, and lastly a mint condition top with the original box and sales info sold on Craigslist in California for a whopping $6,000 to a friend of mine. He expects it to double in price in the next 10 years.

Odds of someone having one they don't use and just want to unload is slim. However 10 years ago people were selling em for $200 to $500. Things do change!

 

I put mine on in Oct and I havent taken it off since. I really like it.

It may well be that I cannot stand it in the summer. I'll put the top on my car just to keep the sun off sometimes. This may be a winter part only.

When I get 1 year under my belt, I'll decide if I really want to keep it or pass it on.

 

I have to think that even without any economies of scale, someone could have one made very nicely for less than $6,000...

 

Problem is they crack - if people put theirs hands on them to get in or out of the low car seat. People used the tops as a handle to hoist yourself out. They crack in the front windshield area under the weight - cannot be fixed -so many have been thrown out. Some cracked ones have actually blown off at high speeds when the windows were partly opened. The ones left without cracks are rare now.

It would be very expensive to duplicate. Just to injection mold the underlying frame would cost $15,000 in R&D setup. Then add the bending of the smoked section, the factory ferrari latches and rubber parts.....a protype would run $20,000 - then it would never pass standards to be sold for use on cars. Anything made for a car must go through government approval.

buy a good one whenever you have a chance.

 

Do all Saratogo tops fit all model years of the 308? Is there a difference even in the standard roof supplied by the factory?

Meaning will a top for a 1982 GTSi fit on a 1985 QV?

 

Re OEM roof - any 308/328 roof will fit any 308/328. Difference is in the upholstery on the underside.
Re Saratoga - will fit any 308/328.

 

Thanks Jim, that's what I figured. Somehow, I knew you'd chime in. If anyone would know the answer to my question, it would be you. You've got to love the internet.

 

Thanks John. I've probably owned/sold 8 OEM tops and now own a Saratoga. Best...Jim

 

No doubt it would cost a few $ to make. The Saratoga latches are slightly different from the OEM latches. Pins are different too - kinda like OEM but w/o any rubber.

 

There are 10's of people here making parts for cars and I don't think they get them approved by the government.

 

Can someone post a picture of one for my edification please?

 

Here are a couple of Saratoga detail photos. I think Mike Tuason has some good overall photos.
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Good pics. Thats one of the first versions. Later they added rubber trim that covered all the inside of the frame. Gave it a more finished "factory" look. Those versions are even rarer. The recent L.A. top on Craigslist was a late version, with factory storage bag, original shipping box, sales papers and the warranty. The seller was the original owner too. He got an amazing $6,000 for it. But then thats just the same cost as doing belts, brakes and clutch....

 

I understand that rarity equals value (or price) from a collectability standpoint, but if it's purely the function that someone is after, I'm sure that a standard top could be nicely "engineered" into a frame (with all of the factory hardware) with a smoked clear panel nicely inset, kind of like this (or nicer): http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/308-328/397736-targa-top.html

I highly doubt this would cost anywhere close to $6,000, and you certainly wouldn't need any kind of "government approval" to build or use it.

Of course, if someone is purely after an original Saratoga with packaging and documentation as a collector piece, then maybe $6,000 is a bargain!

 

Kinda makes me wonder if I should sell my Saratoga top to fund my paint job. Would miss the top though.

 

These guys already have the moulds and make them in carbon fibre as well as fibreglass..they make to order..l cant see how hard it would be to make one out of plexiglass if there was enough interest though..maybe some one should shoot them an email

 

Sadly nowadays you cannot make a top from scratch and sell it, unless its been submitted to the US Dept of Transportation for approval. They will test the part, then give you a number and letter of approval to certify it meets safety standards. Oh, and you pay their costs. Without certification, you are 100% legally liable for any injury, say someone gets in a wreck, the top comes loose and hits a person on the sidewalk. Since the part was on a Ferrari, people will be very sue happy. When they find out its a home-made top-your going to lose. Those carbon fiber tops are in the same category. What happens to them in a wreck, they don't just crumple like fiberglas.

Best thing to do is buy the real Saratoga, which is grandfathered in by its past approval. But purchase a good one, as the cracked ones will fail and people love to sue Ferrari owners! They are stil a bargain at the current prices.