A hardtop's not going to stop this. It's very easy to bust a window, unlatch and then swipe the seats anyway. Don't kid yourself by thinking it's a a security feature.

 

The hardtop would take a determined thief about an extra 30 seconds.

Personally I'd just buy aftermarket seats and a new shift nob, then have the insurance pay for the top. Actually, you might even be able to get THEM to pay for the aftermarket seats...

And yes, the car can be listed as totaled as long as damages cost more the (i think) 60% of the cars value.

 

Exactly! Actually it would have been cheaper to fix had they busted the window and got into the car that way instead of slashing the top. And like you said, a hardtop wouldn't do much in this situation either and is really only good to protect against vandals, not theives. Also, with the seatlocks, if the theives find out you have seat locks, they will more than likely slash your seats (and maybe the rest of your interior) out of frustration and you would have to have them replaced anyway. I spoke with the insurance adjuster and he's having the car towed to one of their preferred body shops where all of the work is guaranteed. I guess that is a good sign since the cost to fix it may be cheaper. Fortunately, there was no further damage to the car.

 

A hardtop is just another thing for a thief to take.

 

Especially the Suzuka hardtops since they are so difficult to find for sale second hand.

 

rather than slash your top and pull it open manually and then steal your seats, they will break your window, steal your hardtop AND STILL take your seats.

thieves p!ss me off!

 

I can do it in 8...and i'm a ham fisted mechanic. I'm sure with the right tools a good mechanic can do it in 6. So 8 hours labor at $120 plus the cost of a soft top should be in the $2000 range.

 

CR seats are about $2K each

 

Dude that is gay... sorry to hear about that.

 

The issue with the seats is also that from the dealer, they have to assemble them from 3847 parts. They don't come as a single unit, contributing in part to the past pricing for one unit costing in the range of $4-5k.

I don't think insurance companies are paying those kind of numbers anymore. Stand strong and don't let them do what they want to do, they'll always do what's best (and least costly) for them.

You're entitled to good coverage as agreed upon in your contract with them so fight a little (with tact) and you can actually come out on top. I've never lost money by having my car broken in to, I've always ended up with $500-2000 left in my pocket after the fact which helped ease my pain. Just argue for the highest value, then shop around like a thrifty fiend and replace with the cheapest good quality stuff you can.