Going rate for 986 Hardtop - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Hey y'all I am in the market for a 986 hardtop. Prices seem all over the place so I wanted to poll the forum for the sake of national pricing. I think posts like this help create realistic expectations of people who are both buying and selling. If you own a hardtop would you post: What did you pay for it? When? Color and condition? Local or Shipped?

All three that I have had came with a car, but I do watch the market. In general, I see actual selling prices ranging from $800 to $1,500. There are outliers beyond that and condition can vary widely; $500 for one with bad paint, $1,800 like new with a cover and all accessories. Buying an $800 one, then tracking down the spin-locks, missing plastic pieces, and repainting it could cost more in time and money than buying a $1,200 one. The only way I would ship one would be as palletized freight. Probably best to buy one that you can drive to and install on your car if you don't have a truck or trailer.

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My purchase was affected by some special circumstances. The seller never used the top and was selling it before he moved. His daughter listed it on eBay in July when most people are not looking for hard tops. He would not ship and the buyer had to pick up the top on or about the 4th of July weekend. I must have been the only person who could satisfy the seller’s conditions because I was the only bidder. The price I paid was the opening bid. I had to factor in the cost of my trip, but I think I got a good deal. The top matched my car and I didn’t have any additional expenses except spin locks and the plastic cover for the windshield header latch. My top is from a 98 Boxster so it has covers (often called “ears”) that conceal mounting points for the roof transport system. This is slightly less desirable than the tops without ears. Good luck with your search.

Thanks for the replies. KevinH1990 what did it run you?

I purchased mine about 7 months ago. In California. I had to drive about 50 miles to pick it up. Seller was asking $2500! I offered $900.00. We settled on $1100.00. Top is in as new condition. I still had to purchase spin locks and plastics. My car is Basault Black. The top is one of the metallic blue colors. I want to say Lapis. Where I live a lot of the hardtops are purchased for the boxster spec racing series. I live close to two pretty popular race tracks. That proximity kind of drives the prices up a wee bit.

1. $1,000.00 2. 1 1/2 years ago 3. Arctic silver in perfect condition , it also included the roof lift system to install/remove by yourself . 4. Local less than an hour away

I have a total of six for my eight cars. Two came w/ the car (both factory aerokit cars), one is a fiberglass top for my Spec Boxster project, one I bought for $800, another I bought for $1,000. The last I received in trade on a drug deal w/ 78F350 when he stole a 2000 Boxster. He stole the car, I delivered it. No, none of them are for sale. I'm still looking for two more.

You'll have a hard time finding anyone to ship one as it's a major pia to. The cost to ship would be a few hundred and they would have to build a crate for it. Surfing CL and marketplace seem the best way to find them. The cheaper they are the faster you have to move. I got one for $300 once but missed out on another for the same price. Generally, anything under $1000 is good and anything over $1500 is too high. I personally didn't like having the hard top. It's too bulky to safely put on/off by yourself and somewhat defeats the purpose of having a convertible.

posted my on craig's list for $1700. sold for $1500 about 2yrs ago.

sold mine about 2 years ago for 950 with all hardware, local pickup. It had a cosmetic ding that was obvious. I don't understand the desire for it, about 20 people contacted me when I advertised it all saying they wanted it, I was offered more money and this could have easily turned into a bidding war. I'm glad to see it go and glad I didn't charge too much. It went to a good home with a cool guy up the street from me. So, what woody says holds true for me.

Arctic Silver matched my car perfectly $1000. I live in RI drove to NJ to purchase my car then drove it further in NJ got the top and drove the car home. 6 years ago top was in perfect condition. I had purchased the spinlocks and seller of top helped me install them.

What did you pay for it? $1200 with hardtop wall mount and OEM cover. Bought the spinlocks separately. When? 2016 Color and condition? Arctic Silver / Great Condition / No Ears Local or Shipped? Local pickup For me it's a $1200 wall decoration in the garage. Barely used perhaps because it's not color matching with my car. I have no idea why I bought it. I will consider matching the color one day if I ever put it to use. The problem with that is it won't be an exact match versus the 20 year old age paint on my car. I agree with Woody that it defeats the purpose of a convertible and the price range he said to be looking at. You can find great deals for hardtops with patience. The biggest factor other than price is where is the seller and the pickup location as shipping is usually not the best option. That's usually the deal breaker. I do like that the hardtop makes the car a more quieter ride and it gives your Boxster another look to it (top down, top up, hardtop up).

Hardtop use/disuse For the most part I prefer my Boxsters as convertibles. I do have use for and enjoy having a hardtop available though. My daughter's 1999 has a plastic rear window and has been used as a daily driver. During the winter you can easily crack the window plastic on a soft top. On her car, I kept the hardtop on from November through March. I have been to track days where the top was required to be up. For that, I prefer the hardtop. I have multiple convertibles, so I can keep a top on a car and still choose to go topless. Of my cars, I prefer the hardtop on the red one to convertible. If I want the top off, it's less than five minutes and I do have a method to remove it by myself.

Hardtops seems to be $800-1400 these days, although some people try to get more, which can be worth it if it's the right color and local. I think I paid $750 for mine 12+ years ago with a storage cart and a some minor scratches on the roof. I drove 700 miles to pick it up, but Ocean Blue hardtops are very hard to find. I purchased and installed the spinlocks separately, I think they cost about $60. It's been on my 986 90% of the time since then, I really prefer the hardtop, but I'm definitely an outlier.

I think I paid 1800 $CDN for mine (1300 $US) It was local and in excellent condition. Black when I bought it, now Meridian Metallic.

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A few years ago someone offered a genuine Porsche hardtop shipping crate for sale. They wouldn't ship it.

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Is that a Steven Wright joke?

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I'm curious why you didn't then, or don't now, buy a cayman instead? Back in my miata days, the hardtop was really nice in the winter months! And surprisingly quiet.

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Overtime I've come to really enjoy driving with the top down in the summer. But I didn't always have a garage to store the hardtop so it stayed on year round, and up until a year ago my 986 was a daily driver so I preferred the quieter hardtop. I also deal with snow half the year. I'm really happy with my 986, and it is now more of a weekend car now. I actually had a brand new Cayman rental for a month after my 986 was rear ended several years ago and the shop dragged their feet with the repairs. I wasn't complaining, the insurance paid $150/day for the rental, and it was a fun car. But honestly, I never saw any appeal to buying a Cayman, it doesn't add anything over the Boxster, just less flexibility in terms of driving with the top down. I'm discounting the rigidity because I don't track my cars regularly, and I don't actually think a Cayman looks better than a Boxster with a hardtop. Just my opinion.

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$615 You may have overlooked that in my original response.