Decision #2

[Tamsin Nunley]

Hello Beat People!

Just read Beardo’s dilemma, and it reminds me a bit of my own.

My own beat (Captain-Beepy-Noise) has been a bit neglected since I started commuting to work in London a couple years ago.
I only seem to get in him every couple months, and then mostly to recharge the battery. To make matters worse, i have just moved to central Guildford, where its pretty expensive to keep a parking space for an under-driven car!

The poor fellow definitely needs a new roof, and I don’t think his seat-covering is long for this world. To add to the confusion, Steve M has about £600 worth of parts I bought off him ages ago to rebuild the gear-box (as it’s a bit clunky), but we haven’t yet got round to doing it, so they (plus a spare cambelt I forgot I had til yesterday!) are also lying unused.

Other than that tho, he seems pretty chipper – maybe not quite as shiny as he used to be and, it has to be said, slightly damper-smellin'!

But winter is upon us and I guess that forces a decision – do I sell him, with the parts, as is?
Or:
Do I get him sorted completely, then sell him? (potentially losing money I suppose, but...got to say I don’t much dig the idea of selling him for parts either, sentimental fool that I am!)

The other option of course is do I sort him out and keep him, but am i just clinging on to the dream..? *sigh* Just thinking about selling him is making me feel a bit like i might start bawling... but tbh, i dont think him sitting un-used is doing him, or me, any favours.
What a shame, he’s been so much fun .

What do yous seasoned Beaters reckon tho?
To renovate, or not to renovate?

[Wh1teLeopard]

All I can really say is now is not a good time to sell at soft top car anyway...

If you can I would suggest at least waiting until spring, when people's minds turn to summer and might be looking for a little soft top for summer, or until the financial climate becomes a little warmer too.

I'd personally be tempted to have a go at fixing it first, however as you say it's a potential loss, and also it's only going to get colder and it'll be even harder to sell if it's not running by the time you do want to sell because it was too cold to continue the work.

[Tamsin Nunley]

Thanks Wh1teLeopard,

Yeah, i was thinking that it wasnt the greatest timing - but did also wonder (because of the two factors you mention) if hard-core bargain-hunters might be out on the prowl :)

While i'm thinking about it, can anyone recommend a good place to fit Beepy a nice new roof (if i did go down that route)? It doesnt have to be in the Surrey area, tho it would help...

[Wh1teLeopard]

I got mine from oxted trimming and can recommend them, here's a related thread about it:

http://u-ukhbc.co.uk/vbb/showthread.php?t=2286&highlight=roof

[Tamsin Nunley]

Ideal, cheers! :) I will get a quote from them and see if this helps me along with the decision any.. any more thoughts welcome...

[aj17ay]

Hey

please keep us updated with regards to the roof issue. As I'll be getting my Beat soon (Nov.10 fingers crossed) and might be looking to replace the roof after christmas time.

If I were you Tamsin, I would get the Beat fixed.

As mentioned before, if you decide to sell it now, you'll be losing quite a bit of money! And may not get the right interest it deserves!

Get the work done on the Beat, and before you know it, it will be spring/summer!

you may even decide to keep the beat! :)

[Mylee]

Ideal, cheers! :) I will get a quote from them


£500 ish easily

[Tamsin Nunley]

Hey aj17ay!

As Mylee predicted, they quoted me:

Honda Beat Vinyl - £155.00
Honda Beat Mohair -£295.00
Fitting £240.00appx
+ VAT
+ Carriage

I read that some folk fix their roofs on themselves tho, which could save some pennies (not for me mind, i'll be taking the lazy option :p )

Someone suggested that hiring a steam cleaner for the interior might sort out the damp smell - does anyone have any experience of this?

[Wh1teLeopard]

They are nice roofs though, I love mine :D

[beardo]

A tough decision to make. Defo the wrong time of year to fix up and sell. To be honest you may be hacked off if you fix it up and try to sell it in the spring. Spring of this year there were quite a few Beats for sale on both Ebay and the Autotrader which meant low prices. They haven't really recovered this year I'm afraid. Selling just the parts will be a long slow process. I would suggest selling it as a fixer upper, either way you will have to take a hit I'm afraid.

[marge602]

I've just got my Beat back after 9 months without it. I bought it jointly with my sister with some inheritance money and when i moved in with my girlfriend i couldn't afford to run two cars on my own. Because my move was planned ages in advance, i put the Beat up for sale on these very pages in August 2007. I've never updated that post, and even now i've never had a reply to it. Throughout this year i watched a few Beats sell on ebay for about a grand or so and made the decision to get enough cash together to be able to run 2 cars. I reasoned i'd rather spend a small amount money using the Beat than lose a couple of grand selling it. Now it's in the drive parked next to my trusty breadvan Civic, and i couldn't be happier. It's such a brilliant car, (and also the perfect second car) i may never sell it. I realise your situation is different to mine, but i just wanted to give my opinion.

Marge

[Mylee]

They are nice roofs though, I love mine :D


I love mine to. 100% improvement in both looks and leakage control! :D
I'd recommend the cloth roof over the vinyl

[marge602]

Going back to the Oxted roof prices, can anyone tell me if they include the folding framework, seals and back window? I guess my frame is ok, but the rest of it could do with replacing. The seal above the drivers side window leaks like a sieve!

Marge

[Mylee]

Doesn't include the frame or rubber seals, just the roof and a zip in/out back window.

[TADO]

i seem to remember a set of seals is horribly expensive? it was one of the reasons i switched to a hardtop! :rolleyes:

ps - mylee, if you want a picture in your sig. just use a hosted image with IMG thingys - like this:

(take out this bit)http://www.tado.co.uk/oddsnsods/panda-av.gif

[Tamsin Nunley]

I'm with Marge in that i *definitely* need new seals!! - hence the damp problem. They/the frame have to be ordered separately from the roof, then?

[Steve_M]

i seem to remember a set of seals is horribly expensive?


About £300 for all of the seals (3 each side) :eek:

I found filling the void thats through the middle of the seals with insulation foam strips helps. All soa good treatment on the roof material so the water runs off quickly also stops a lot of the soak through

[Mylee]

ps - mylee, if you want a picture in your sig. just use a hosted image with IMG thingys - like this:

(take out this bit)http://www.tado.co.uk/oddsnsods/panda-av.gif

LOL :D Cheers Mike, I wondered if anyone would notice!

[TADO]

GahAHa! my eyes!! too many malevolent looking pandas in one thread! :D :p
(to change the image just swap the url round innit!)

[barney]

Photobucket is a good, free picture host, or imageshack!
Barney
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/8896/desktopda2.jpg

[Wh1teLeopard]

My roof leaked, but I didn't need to replace the seals, and neither may you.

As I've said before (see attached pictures) black silicone (like the stuff used to seal a bathroom) between the edge of the seal and the roof.

It'll stop water building up inside the seal then transferring into the vehicle when you brake or turn corners.

[marge602]

Cheers Em. That must be the most cost effective way of doing it. £300 for both window seals? Outrageous. I'm doing up our kitchen currently, and have lots of silicon, but none in black! Typical. Guess i'll be off to the plumbers merchants again then.

Cheers

Marge

[LawrenceHarding]

If the hood fabric is cracked at the edge ( about 5" from the front where it folds ) it will cause leaks between the frame and seal. If the fabric's had it replace that and see if it makes a difference before changing seals.

[Basher]

Where did you get your quote of £300 for a set of seals? My local Honda dealer told me that although the seal along the top of the windscreen was available the ones around the door windows weren't.

[Steve_M]

Where did you get your quote of £300 for a set of seals? My local Honda dealer told me that although the seal along the top of the windscreen was available the ones around the door windows weren't.

Where did I get that quote?

I work for Honda

It may be availability may be a problem now, I had not looked recently.

[Tamsin Nunley]

Well, we've re-stuffed Beepy's seals with new foam, which seems to have helped a fair bit, tho it looks like they're pretty eroded near the front windscreen. (i'm guessing you cant help that except with a brand new seal) So our stop-gap solution, while he sits idle this week, has been duct tape (!) and one of those moisture-absorbey things people use in caravans :0). Next weekend, we sort his battery out and take it from there....

Many thanks for all your helpful suggestions, guys and gals!

[Mylee]

You often find good second hand seals on the Japanese auction sites. I recently bought a nearly new set for under £40