Whats a fair price on top instalation?

Maintenance advice to keep your Spider in shape.
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dmwhiteoak
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Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2011 1:12 pm
Your car is a: 1972 Fiat 124 spider
Location: White Oak Tx

Whats a fair price on top instalation?

Post by dmwhiteoak »

I have the old top removed and the header bow repaired and thanks to my job I am now getting in a bind. I was just informed today that I will be working everyday up until I have an event that we will be attending starting 0n the 11th. I have three shops in the area that installs tops but haven't got a clue on what would be a reasonable price.I had one tell me that with instructions he could install anything, I didn't like that answer.I have the top , Glue and wires to complete the job. Has anyone had one installed lately that could give me something to go by ? Presently the car is diassembled and just finished some touch up on the paint. I was totaly prepaired to install the top myself with the help of a friend but as the saying goes, duty calls. :roll:
Dennis Modisette

1972 124 Spider
2003 Chevrolet Z71
2007 GMC Yucon
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kmac33
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Your car is a: 1974 Spider
Location: Lilburn/Stone Mountain Georgia

Re: Whats a fair price on top instalation?

Post by kmac33 »

Install prices vary greatly. I have heard anywhere from $500 on the high end to $180 on the low end. It is a very straight forward job, so any experienced top guy can knock out a well done install.
Kevin McMullen

1974 Fiat Spider - Restoration Complete! But the mods/refinements continue
1980 Fiat Spider
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dmwhiteoak
Posts: 1088
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2011 1:12 pm
Your car is a: 1972 Fiat 124 spider
Location: White Oak Tx

Re: Whats a fair price on top instalation?

Post by dmwhiteoak »

I was quoted 200.00 and thought that was about right. Problem is they can't get to it for about 3 weeks. That's runs about true to all the shops local. I will go to an B and hope for the best. How bad can it be. I'v got 7 12 hr nights ahead of me surely I can find the time to get it back together. :mrgreen:
Dennis Modisette

1972 124 Spider
2003 Chevrolet Z71
2007 GMC Yucon
TX82FIAT
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Your car is a: 82 Fiat Spider 2000 CSO
Location: San Antonio

Re: Whats a fair price on top instalation?

Post by TX82FIAT »

$200.00 sounds about right. I've installed one myself and I've paid to have one installed. I can tell you the one professionally installed was done very well. As much as I like working on these cars...installing a top is not something I enjoyed. The job took much longer than I thought it would (about 10 hours) and I needed helping hands. I know it is not supposed to take that long. I'm one of those guys that often learns what not to do as I work through a project.

If you can find someone that knows what they are doing to install it for a couple hundred I would say it is money well spent.
Buon giro a tutti! - enjoy the ride!

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RRoller123
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Re: Whats a fair price on top instalation?

Post by RRoller123 »

Yeah mine was installed for a couple hundred in labor and it was worth every penny. Not something I was going to tackle.
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Re: Whats a fair price on top instalation?

Post by EBmez »

I'm in the same boat. I've called a couple of places and one very definite with it being $250 (5 hours labor), the other said $200-$300, so this all seems appropriate. Installing it myself (although I haven't actually bought it yet) was something I considered, but have since decided that I'd rather fork out the money to have it done professionally and know it's done right. All in all, for me, that money is very reasonable to save the hassle.
htchevyii
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Re: Whats a fair price on top instalation?

Post by htchevyii »

I thought the top install was pretty easy, with a helper. Here's a link to C. Obert's top install instructions. There are also other tech tips that may be worth checking out.

http://www.fiatplus.com/members/tech200.htm
http://www.international-auto.com/index ... =ad&aid=81
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dmwhiteoak
Posts: 1088
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2011 1:12 pm
Your car is a: 1972 Fiat 124 spider
Location: White Oak Tx

Re: Whats a fair price on top instalation?

Post by dmwhiteoak »

The prices here were also quoted in the 200.00 to 250.00 range and that was with my top already ready to go on, old already removed. That sounded good to me but unfortunately they could not get to it for a couple of weeks. Tomorrow me and a buddy will install the new top.
Dennis Modisette

1972 124 Spider
2003 Chevrolet Z71
2007 GMC Yucon
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