What if there never is a top fix?

[Fightinfire921]

I really feel for you gals and guys with the problems. :(

I would have gone postal by now...

My wife wants a convertible some day.

A 1969 pace car.......

[95birdible]

Gramps I had a 69 SS Vert. Great car but the new one is so much better. Get in and go. No adjusting lifters, carbs, unsticking brakes, tranny clatter. Hands down the best muscle car I have ever owned. With the exception of all the problems.

[Fightinfire921]

Originally Posted by 95birdible

Gramps I had a 69 SS Vert. Great car but the new one is so much better. Get in and go. No adjusting lifters, carbs, unsticking brakes, tranny clatter. Hands down the best muscle car I have ever owned. With the exception of all the problems.

I understand that...floats stick on my 69 after it sits a while.

Do you think the problems will be cured on the $60,000+ ZL1 vert?

[95birdible]

Nope. If they keep doing what they are it's the same car. I am hoping the fix will be in before the model run is done. Especially if I get my car then. I was going to wait to get a 2013 but why spend more money when I can get out of mine for no cost to me.

[OrangeVert]

Bird, so true especially with the book depreciation. Nice they are going to replace the car.

And I think Jeff Morris is still here. Anyway, at least I hope so!

No problems with my top especially since the car is in the garage. Fun at least today to open the garage door while I was shoveling our driveway. The orange really stands out! But at 15.4F tonight, it's not going anywhere for a few more weeks.

[cactuseater]

Originally Posted by cam62

Hey there..
You know my story. I took delivery of my 2012 last week. The top problems I had with my 2011 got out of control, poor experience with service dept, car met all lemon law requirements, and gm bought my 2011 back.

I got to keep my 2011 while waiting for my 2012 to be built and delivered.

My .02 - I love the car. I don't want a coupe. I get to start over at 0 with 3/36 warranty. I found a dealer that is sensitive to this issue and has experienced corvette convertible techs on staff. GM stood behind their product and will continue to do so (I believe).

I'm extremely pleased I went this route instead of full refund or going for a different car altogether.

Congrats Bird!

p.s.pay no attention to the yellow poser

So far I've been lucky at just over 11K on the ODO. No issues, I see the rub marks, and there's a small hole on the outside layer of the top on the passenger side. Really reluctant to have the dealer replace the top, they offered, I don't want anyone doing this that has no experience doing it. My dad had a super reputable trim shop on the East Coast for decades, and folks would literally trailer their cars to him from as far away as the Western and Southern States. It's was unreal, he really got a name for himself, and he taught me as a kid. We did the entire restore interior for the "Tucker" seen in the movie. I got the rumble seat as my part of the project. Saw a lot of antiques roll through there in my day, and somehow he'd find the original replacement materials for them, many sewn by hand. And he got his money for them too I might add, but nobody really knew how to do it like he did...it is a craft that turned into art on many cars....

My first convertible install was a 1971 Caddy Eldorado "Scissors" top.....well known to be an epic fail to install....hard as hell to get it right. I was not allowed to touch a Vert for almost 10 years until I got the "feel" for doing all things "trim" on multitudes of other cars. You get a feel for this stuff after a while, hard to explain. Anyhow, I NAILED it the first time, took me all damn day, but I got it perfect - my first one. Two days of prep work on the frame alone. After that, dad gave me most of the Vert's that came in, I took forever to do them, but they went out right the first time and never came back for warranty work. And 90% of the Vert's I got to do I removed the frame and also and cases, the hydraulics as well for rebuild or replacement. New bolts, new tack strips, everything. The 'ole man taught me right. I was proud as hell for that one, the guys working there were freaked out, and those two guys were good at this stuff having been there forever....it was pretty cool. Guess ya gotta start somewhere, but man the first time a winner was impressive. Thanks Dad!!

That's what I'd expect from a multi-billion dollar company such as GM....either that or they can do as you did, buy the car back and give me a new one. My patience will be very short when they start screwing with mine. Maybe I'll talk them into letting me do it so it gets done right....who knows. I've been in there sneaking around at the thing and it's definitely a nightmare. Someone with no experience replacing tops the right way and.... this is going to be fun to watch that's for sure. AND I LOVE THIS CAR even though my wife's the primary driver. It's a cool ride!

[cactuseater]

Something of note....

A.S.C. and General Motors made a lot of changes to the Camaro Vert tops and frames 1987-1993. Some tops have elastic straps at the rear quarters, and others do not. The rear bow position was changed several times (Sound Familiar?), and no records are available as to when these changes were made. Top frame design problems can cause premature wear, cuts and holes in the rear quarters; and the lower rail can cut the topstitch at rear quarters. A.S.C. and General Motors also modified the 1994-2002 Top and Glass Window to eliminate damage to tops and broken glass windows caused by problems in the top frame design.

Seems that they still have an ongoing issue here.....

[Tally Ho]

I currently own a 2006 Corvette convertible with a manual top. Chevy's top issues aren't exclusive to the Camaro. I had to have a headliner replaced under warranty due to it getting pinched by the bow and ripping a hole in it. My local Chevy dealer farms out upholstery work. The shop that replaced my headliner did an awesome job and there have been no recurring issues.

My top is black so the rub marks on the outside aren't noticeable and are minimized by the use of a product called RaggTop. There are 2012 Corvette convertibles still having headliner rips. The C6 convertible has been out since 2005 and still no permanent fix.

Despite this, I'm still going to order a 2013 ZL1 convertible and hope for the best.

[OrangeVert]

No top issues so far (build date: 5/10/2011), so you might be ok. But I've only put 1,976 miles on the car.

[Blitz]

Originally Posted by Tally Ho

Despite this, I'm still going to order a 2013 ZL1 convertible and hope for the best.

... this is the problem, as Prez Bush once said, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, uh, I won't get fooled again."


I too was seriously considering a ZL1 vert but after this experience, I just don't know that I would do it.

I could end up in jail for how I may react if I order a ZL1 vert, go to trade in the SS and the dealer looks at me and says something like "Well, we knocked down your trade in value because of the condition of your top."

['11 cyber grey vert]

Blitz,
you have got it bang on.
We are all going to feel the pinch when and if we trade our verts in, and get lower $$$ than we should because of the tops.
so we get a double whammy.Paid a premium for the convertible over the coupe.And we will probably take a hit on value when we trade it in.

[vanlieremead]

Man, I hope that is not the case. We will get these fixed. They are just too nice looking.

[Bonanza7]

Originally Posted by vanlieremead

Man, I hope that is not the case. We will get these fixed. They are just too nice looking.

You can always hope...but don't be the family farm on a fix that works. might have to....Mustang? Heaven forbid, but their tops work right.

[Lee123]

Originally Posted by Bonanza7

You can always hope...but don't be the family farm on a fix that works. might have to....Mustang? Heaven forbid, but their tops work right.

But their clutches/transmissions don't, at least not if you want a manual.