Best place to get a replacement hardtop?

[Coldjensens]

Our carriage house burned down and the Gladiator Hardtop was near it and melted/burned.

Luckily and unluckily it is covered by our homeowners, so we do not have to pay a second deductible and have our car insurance rates go up. Unlucky because the car insurance puts a new hard top on your jeep. Homeowners says tell us how much it will cost and we will write a check. Where do I get one? All I can find is a new primered one for $3000, then I have to get it painted, I am guessing about another $1000 for paint. Is that a reasonable guess? Will that be as good as the original? Will the paint chip and scratch more easily? I think MFG paint is baked on, not sure.

I found a used black one, but it has bedliner on it, Cant just paint over it.

Does anyone know where I might get an original Snazzberry top or the best paces to look. All my regular searches found none anywhere near me. Anyone know much about getting a primered one and then getting it painted? Are the special requirements for painting I should use (special type of paint, baked on, etc.), or can just any paint shop do it?

Also the whole Jeep was ceramic coated when it was new. Should I get the new top coated? The original buyer paid $3000 for the ceramic coating. That is a lot. Worthwhile? I found mixed reviews of ceramic coating online.

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[XraytecH]

I'd imagine salvage would be the best cost effective option then get it paint matched. It's a fiberglass hardtop so any reputable paint shop will know what to do.

Ceramic coating is worth it if you have a source of distilled or de ionized water, pressure washer, and foam canon. Also coating just the hard top will be significantly cheaper than coating the entire jeep.

 

[D_JT]

If insurance is paying. Do not buy used. Here is one for textured black. https://www.quadratec.com/p/mopar/h...ztNIzcm5Lyvy7YQDGLW_pswLl67aMefgaAhbPEALw_wcB

 

[Main Line Willys]

Have a local reputable body shop locate and paint it for you

 

[ross neill]

Mopar.com puts them on sale sometimes are there a after market top at camper king USA it a one piece top

 

[Hootbro]

Snazzberry, that is going to be a unicorn to find in the wild used and also paint to match.

 

[Trollboogie]

If it was me...I would go for a Mopar textured black top and be done with it.

 

[Xx~007~xX]

I have one for sale here in Vegas, I went to soft top......just prefer it. PM me for details

 

[Supazuk]

you should just need a quote correct?? go to a body shop ask them for a quote for a new top painted snazzleberry let them do the leg work

 

[Coldjensens]

Learned some things:

A used top of the wrong color and a new primered top cost the same amount.
A body shop paint job will not be as good as a factory paint shop paint job. The factory paint shops use super high tech techniques and bake the paint on too. (I knew that since the company I work for builds factory paint shops, but I did not put it together until someone else pointed this out).
The black textured tops are pretty common on the used market (I guess no one wants them), but they are not practical to paint over. There are some black white and grey painted tops but snazzberry appears to be impossible to find. Several places that i talked to said they have never seen one. I did however encounter a few other people who are looking for a Snazzberry Hardtop.

The Mopar hard tops do not come with everything you need. There are some oddball lose pieces that you have to order separately.

Body shops are not really interested in this job. Several turned it down. Some said it was too much of a hassle to get the top, one said that I would not be happy with the paint results.

 

[Hootbro]

I think post #7 sums it up well.

 

[Jaxmax]

Learned some things:

A used top of the wrong color and a new primered top cost the same amount.
A body shop paint job will not be as good as a factory paint shop paint job. The factory paint shops use super high tech techniques and bake the paint on too. (I knew that since the company I work for builds factory paint shops, but I did not put it together until someone else pointed this out).
The black textured tops are pretty common on the used market (I guess no one wants them), but they are not practical to paint over. There are some black white and grey painted tops but snazzberry appears to be impossible to find. Several places that i talked to said they have never seen one. I did however encounter a few other people who are looking for a Snazzberry Hardtop.

The Mopar hard tops do not come with everything you need. There are some oddball lose pieces that you have to order separately.

Body shops are not really interested in this job. Several turned it down. Some said it was too much of a hassle to get the top, one said that I would not be happy with the paint results.

Barry , I have said this before to others think outside the box a Snazz with a grey top might really look sharp, it would stand out. My wife’s 2010 sky blue wrangler came with a soft top we worked with dealer to get a hardtop , and when picking the color I was like black, not my Pat , back then Sahara’s came with a grey top option, we went for that and it was a one of a kind , got a lot of compliments on it , and we still see it around with the third owners now.
Just a thought, white , silver might look cool, but orange, blue, gobi, green not so much, just saying….Jack

 

[Volt0]

If insurance is covering, why are you looking/asking? Aren’t they supposed to pay someone to do this legwork?

Thinking this out, I would suspect you would need to go the route of acquiring then repaint. The body shop would just need to charge for the materials and labor; it is what it is.

 

[Freems]

Here you go…on the cheap, some body work, freight cost to MI and shoot on the snazzle berry…$150.00 rear panel and both freedom tops.

 

[berb]

Our carriage house burned down and the Gladiator Hardtop was near it and melted/burned.

Luckily and unluckily it is covered by our homeowners, so we do not have to pay a second deductible and have our car insurance rates go up. Unlucky because the car insurance puts a new hard top on your jeep. Homeowners says tell us how much it will cost and we will write a check. Where do I get one? All I can find is a new primered one for $3000, then I have to get it painted, I am guessing about another $1000 for paint. Is that a reasonable guess? Will that be as good as the original? Will the paint chip and scratch more easily? I think MFG paint is baked on, not sure.

I found a used black one, but it has bedliner on it, Cant just paint over it.

Does anyone know where I might get an original Snazzberry top or the best paces to look. All my regular searches found none anywhere near me. Anyone know much about getting a primered one and then getting it painted? Are the special requirements for painting I should use (special type of paint, baked on, etc.), or can just any paint shop do it?

Also the whole Jeep was ceramic coated when it was new. Should I get the new top coated? The original buyer paid $3000 for the ceramic coating. That is a lot. Worthwhile? I found mixed reviews of ceramic coating online.

If insurance is writing a check, I would order a brand new one from your local dealership.

Make sure it has the glass. Depending on the damage, insurance companies will order a hard top without the glass and then take the glass from the old hardtop and put it on the new hard top.
That's what happened when a tree fell on my jeep and the hard top had to be replaced.

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