bugger..........rear window

[joey]

well this morning whilst putting the roof down I heard a crack, and feared the worst...I was right to.

an eight inch vertical split down the frickin middle of the rear window, now it wasn't in the best nick it had a couple of minor splits in visually unimportant places but was fairly clear and weather proof it looked 80% condition wise and I suspect was the original OEM window, I had hoped to get another year out of it and spend my budget on a remap at evolve and fogging the airbox...alas it was not to be...


am going tomorrow to a place called soft-tops.co.uk in croydon to get a new rear window in at the cost of £125 fitted...very reasonable I thought.

2 questions

1)anyone dealt with this company?

2)the window was old but i am assuming the cold night last night was also a contributing factor, so how do I make sure this doesn't happen with the new one? (obviously warm it up but any nifty tricks for this?)

any advice much appreciated.

 

[bruce&kim]

Sure the company in Croydon will be able to give you plenty of good advice mate regarding maintanence and theprice seems fair to me. Be good to see a picture of your new back window

 

[joey]

rest assured I will be posting a pic of it when its done!....

will also mention I am a forum member , as i'm sure it will help to ensure a nice job is done!

nothing like the incentive of a good review and more potential customers to ensure good service..

re the price they are definitely the cheapest I have found,one slight concern,they have been trading for 14 years and i could find no reviews at all...this can often be a good sign though as people only tend to post when they are unhappy..wish me luck!

 

[badman gee]

Don't put roof down in cold weather.

 

[bruce&kim]

Don't put roof down in cold weather.

Have to admit a hardtop is a great asset especially the extra headroom for me its roof down or hardtop cant get on with the softop and rear view mirror the size of a brick

 

[micklaw]

Don't put roof down in cold weather.

mark is dead right. if you are just get the cabin space warm before you do and all will be well

 

[joey]

ok...

seems like a "rookie error" on my part....T.B.H I wanted to change it anyway,but whilst it was functional i couldn't really justify the cost...it is the only thing apart from the "present" left on the left rear bumper by the wheel arch by some numpty in a car park, that was bringing the car down visually..,oh and the mirror bases bubbling...whats all that about?


so once its sorted tomorrow we are two or three jobs away from showroom condition.

I will not lower it again in the cold until the cabin is toasty!

also thinking about getting one of those buzztopz roof covers for overnight in the winter months.

 

[badman gee]

Alloy mirror bases corrode, it's normal

 

[GazHyde]

Alloy mirror bases corrode, it's normal

...and easy enough to sort out yourself if you have the inclination!

http://zroadster.org/wiki/bmw-z3/maintenance-repair-and-overhaul/bmw-z3-mirror-base-refurbishment/

You can also buy replacement plastic bases if they are beyond repair...

 

[joey]

ok ,good to know,


thanks Gaz, I think I will tackle this after the winter...its not too bad at all tbh but is one of those niggly little things I will get around too at some point.

I was considering getting some replacements from a breakers but I might see if the guy who is gonna respray the bumper will sort it at a good price.


thanks for the advice all.


pics of new window to come tomorrow!

 

[g8jka]

I have used soft-tops in Croydon. My dad and myself both went down in April and had a new roof fitted to both of our zeds. £350 fully fitted and the quality is exceptional, as is his work. He fitted both roofs in 5 hours all by himself. There is quite a few zed owners who have used him and I am yet to hear one bad review.

I know its only a window your after and it is most likely to be a sewn in one that he does and not a zipped in one like the OEM roof has? It may be worth considering a whole new roof if you can afford it and if yours is a little tatty.

Heres a few pics of his work, he does blue or black

 

[joey]

thanks for that g8jka,

its good to hear a good report on this company before I go down, but he seemed really cool on the phone and I tend to be lucky with these things...

thankfully my top is in really good condition and 100% weather tight, due to the car having two consecutive lady owners who both kept it garaged, the window went because of the age of it and me being a numpty and lowering the hood whilst it was still cold, ,it was the original OEM one so on a 98 car an expected expense.
with the new window and after a coat of renovo hood renewer my top will look like its just rolled of the production line..

 

[joey]

so I went down to croydon soft tops today and got a new rear window fitted...turned up at 2pm as agreed all good told it would be ready in 2 hrs..

I have nothing but good things to say about the service there ,he is a really friendly and knowledgable guy, and got the job done in the 2 hrs he said, enough time for me to go into croydon and buy a load of crap I cant afford...

quality looks great and I didn't realise till now how much the old one was bringing the car down visually.

will post pics tomorrow in daylight.

fyi £125 fitted inc vat

I can highly recommend them.

 

[joey]

sorr

 

[joey]

sorry its a bit mucky...


I forgot how nice it is to be able to see clearly out of the rearview mirror!

and the cabin is so much lighter...a triumph!

 

[GazHyde]

That looks a good job sir! Was it a zip in replacement?

 

[joey]

Thanks Gaz ..

yup! it was..I understand that's preferable to the sewn in type?

and i'm happy to say its perfectly dry in the cabin too...had some work down in shoreham today and it was pelting cats on the way back so a good test...

I suppose time will tell how good a job it really is..

jobs left to do..

seat bushings

remove CD changer rack in boot

cold air intake (although i'm a bit worried about hydro-locking as its my daily drive around the surrey and sussex countryside)

remap at either evolve or bruce and kim's recommendation in exmouth

17'' bond star wheels (gonna look for some with tyres on when the time comes)

renovo roof and get the couple of scratches on the body blown over...(wait till summer for those)

my aim is to have a really lovely example of a standard M44 1.9 visually speaking ,with a couple of subtle performance upgrades that won't compromise the reliability of that fantastic power plant.

 

[badman gee]

Good stuff.