davster

Some low life maggot broke into my garrage to steal some loose change from the car- he must have been delighted with the 50 cents he found in the coin comartment....as for me- im left with a gaping footlong hole. Can t believe the audacity of this mongrel. parked car in the garrage for less then 30 minutes. got back later to my surprise.
Guys....any ideas for now? Im insurred- hence 350 excess if i were to goto honda and replace it ( someone told me in the recion of 1200 to replace the whole lot....anternatively is there any other way to repair a hood.
GUy.....GUYS....any suggestions?
i did consider stitching, glue, and cloth tapes.......

Austblue

First of all you have my sympathy. I almost didnt get my S because of this because I didnt have a garage at first.

BTW Im assuming that you are talking about the soft top but by referring to it as your hood it sounds like you're talking about your bonnet.

I think you could probably get it repaired if you weren't insured and couldn't afford a replacement unit but you said that you are insured? I dont see the problem just put in your claim and get a quote from your local Honda dealer.

One thing that you should look at though is paying the difference and getting a top with the glass rear window. It can be done with the plastic-top frame but requires simple modding that is explained on this site if you do a search.

Hope this is what you were after if not maybe you need to clarify your question?

Blackie

There are some places (not sure whereabouts in your area though) who repair soft-tops, depending on the size of the cut. The finish is pretty good but still visible, like a scar. Couple of hundred bucks I think when my friend got hers done to her VW. If I were you though, I would get a whole new hood if it's $1200.00. I couldn't bear to see the car 'scarred' in this way. Although I've heard some people on this forum getting their roof slashed then getting it fixed only to have it slashed again a few days later.... The price you pay for owning a convertible.

Austblue

Maybe you might wanna leave the roof off when its locked up in the garage. If they are keen enough to break into the garage then they'll just cut your roof so its not going to prevent anything.

I know of people with not so nice cars that leave the doors open or at least the glove box. A lot of break ins are just like yours where they dont want the car they just want your possessions.

naishou

It's illegal to leave a car unlocked in NSW (maybe not on private property though?). This is stupid for the exact reasons you mention. When I was in Europe some years ago my leased car was broken into 3 times in the space of 6 weeks causing severe damage and delays to my trip. It was empty each time. I finally got the message that they didn't want the car and left the doors unlocked. One morning I found orange peel and a newspaper in the back seat, and a small bag of pebbles from the beach at Dieppe (the only thing in the car) was missing!

Austblue

Ummm how do you get caught for having your car unlocked?
Do the good citizens of the world take time out from their thieving to report them? j/k But really how is this law applied? Does it refer to making a claim with no visible signs of forced entry? Because there is plenty of ways to get into a car without leaving a trace. (Apparently )

The Gasman

What year is your s2000? If it had the plastic window, you might be able to get the glass window top installed and just pay a little extra for the straps to make it work right. It may be a blessing in disguise?

Aussie_ITR-0239

Sorry to hear of your woe.... they should bring back 'public stoneings' for these sort of offences!!

If it doesn't effect your insurance premium.... take it as a chance to get the new roof, with the glass window!? As it'll probably cost you as much to fix it any way (vs the excess) and it'll possibly look shite!!

davster

thanx for the reply guys- will fork out the excess and get a new soft top for the car. was thinking of installing an alarm- but on second thoughts, when the alarm goes off, damage has more than likely been done. Am i right to say that the factory immobiliser ( as installed in Australian delivered cars) is sufficient in the vast majority of cases? From what i remember- only a handful of s2000 have been nicked, the majority via tow- truck related thefts???

hlau

Sorry to hear your car damaged.

Please keep us posted with the quote from HOnda if you are going to have it replaced.

Just to remind you that you'll lose some no claim bonus if you decide to claim it, and might even end up paying the same amount.