Im looking for a spyder 03 for my gf but not sure if i should. It being a convertable easier to break into and im concerned about the top, does it leak easily? Does it stay on tight? How often might i need to change the top and whats its going to set me back? anyways for anyone who owens a spyder please comment I dont want to get a car when i really cant afford it. found ones for around 6k, high miles but she needs a car..

 

Hey, there, I replied to your post in a message and wanted to add that I recently had to replace my top due to vandalism and the cost of the total replacement came to $3200. Luckily, my insurance pickup up all but my deductible and vandalism didnt increase my rates. Some idiot with a blade saved me 2700 dollars.

 

thanks for the post. im sorry to see someone would do such a thing. you should try to keep a camera on your spyder in case it happens again. sadly i would think the chances of it happening again are good. at least try to catch him thus violating him something awefull if u know who he is.. but still i cant afford for that to happen to me. im seriously goign to consider getting another car or maybe a hard top -_-

 

I have owned 2 Spyders. Bother were GTs with the premium package (leather disc changer ect)

One was a 01 with Auto SPortronic Transmission and the other was an 02 with 5 speed transmission.

The 01 I had from about 60k miles to 100k miles the top worked fine but the weather stripping was getting old and the top would leak. You can change the weather stripping without replacing the entire top. My cars top was in good shape even after 8 years or so and 100k miles.

The 02 I had from 30k to 45k miles. This car was 100% flawless and I didn't own it long enough to have any issues.

Personally I would not worry about the top as much as some of the other things that suck on these cars such as stock motor mounts, Center Speaker, Dash cracking, heater cores getting clogged and draining water into the carpet...

These are some common issues that all 2000-2005 Eclipses suffer from. I have owned a total a 4 Eclipses from 2000-2002 model years all of which had some of these issues. I only had the heater core issue on one of them. I had the center speaks blow on all of them, and had cracked dashes on 2 of the 4. I have had only one break a motor mount.

 

Edmonz, looks like you had your fair issues with the spyder.. Im not sure if your saying i should get one or not.. with so many problems and the theft im thinking about not getting this car im 75% sure i wont. I live in florida. The one i was looking at was a 2003 about 80k miles selling for about 6.5k. the miles are high granted but i can only get what i can afford.. hmm are there any other cars you or anyone could think of i can get. I think the spyder was the best looking and speediest car for the price + the wind blowing in my hair ohhh what a feeling! well i never had a convertable never even been in one. only problem id probably have is the sun singling me out or so it seems it does when i walk outside like its only purpose of existance is to burn me i can truly sympathise with vampires.. blah blah.. sorry bout the book please reply =)

 

Drive the car. See how it feels. 6.5k is not a bad deal esspecially if it is a GT or GTS version. IMO for 6.5k and only 80k miles you are getting a decent deal. I paid $14,500 for my first Eclipse which was a 2000 GS 5 speed (bad deal but the car was a year old at the time so they were expensive still) My second I paid $15k for and it was an 02 Spyder GT 5 speed with low miles. After that my other spyder cost me $9k and it was an 01 GT with 60k on it and this was only a year or two ago. So in other words $6k is a good deal.

If the car drive nice and smooth then you can't really go wrong. You will know if the top leaks or the heater core is an issue because your interior will smell really bad. Other wise the motor mounts are minor issues the speaker is a very minor issue (all I did was remove the center dash panel and unplugg them in all of my Eclipses). The cracked dash you may not even notice since it happens up by the windshield again not to major.

 

I want to point out that there was nothing stolen and my car is a bit "themed" where as a Michigan Wolverine fan would not like it very much. My car had sat in Florida for six years in the sun so the top was faded a bit and was going to need to be replaced within the next few years anyway. I had the center speaker blow on my first Eclipse but was able to replace it with non factory before it was lost to "the accident".

I went and drove many other convertibles that were similarly priced but kept coming back to the Eclipse because it was extremely reliable and soom much fun to drive. The only think I would caution is buying black leather interior as that will be hot. However, the fans in the AC/Heater are so strong that they can cool off the car in no time.

We just got 9-10 inches of snow up here and the car drives awesome in the bad weather. the top has never leaked other than in hurricane force water sprays from a touchless carwash and has many fewer issues than other cars in the category.

My brother in law went and bought a Saturn Sky Redline and has had nothing but issues with it. Same can be said for the Saab 93 convertible and I have heard the Solara drives like crap. You wont be drag racing in the car as it is way to heavy but the handling is fantastic.

I think the days of people slashing tops to steal stereos are a little out-dated (at least around here). Just remember what I said about insurance. You will want to know how much of a bite a convertible is going to take over a coupe and whether or not it is worth it. When I have the top down, I feel that every penny is well spent. I would recommend the car to anyone over the competition which is why I responded in the first place.

Now, the Eclipse or a Supra as Emonz57 has, I think I would opt for a Supra. Nice car. Nice look, but that insurance has to be outrageous. I cant afford to insure my Dad's 86 supra so it still sits in his garage waiting for it's day on Pinks.

 

My insurance is dirt cheap belive it or not. I am going on 26 years old and I have a accident free record and 1 ticket when I was 16. I pay about $500 a year for the supra that is it. It is fully covered as well since I do have a loan on the car.

I can say when I had my first spyder I was 18-19 years old and in Tampa FL it was costing me and arm and a leg to insure. I traded it for an Evo which was also the same until I moved to Ma where for some reason my insurance dropped to about $1500 a year for the Evo. Once I hit 25 it dropped another $500 or so. The supra was costing my about $1000 a year untill recently, Gieco is only $488 a year instead which I just found that out this week , lol

 

u got a good deal on ur hands. i paid 6.2k for mine and its a hardtop 03 gs with 100k miles.. the cars drive well i suggest u get it