Poll: C6 manual top or automatic
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 96
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From: Plano Texas
Poll: C6 manual top or automatic
Hi all! I'm looking for a C6 just as a garage queen/weekend/nice weather car to drive about 5-7k miles per year. I have a company car that I use for most of my driving. I live in Dallas and weather is good for converts. I found a '09 1LT, M6 for $29.9 with 37k miles and very clean. I don't need navigation, HUD and all the bells just for occasional cruising. Main thing was I wanted is the M6. Only thing is it has a manual top. I figure most of the time the top will be down if weathers good enough to drive. Other factor is resale later on might be challenging? Opinions??
Thanks!
Rob
Thanks!
Rob
Last edited by Roblutts; Dec 18, 2016 at 02:53 PM.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 21,502
Likes: 465
From: Southern Utah
Given a real choice, I would have gone for the manual top. In '07 though, it became part of 3LT and other things like heated seats etc made me want the 3LT, so I took the power top. If I had been filling out an order form with all the options on the table individually, I would have gone manual top. I believe that the power top was the majority of Verts though so you likely will not have that many choices. The actual top is the same either way...it's just a question of whether it goes up and down at the push of a button. One thing that I do like about the power top is the ability to raise and lower it in 18 seconds in very slow traffic or at a red signal. I have had many times that having the top down on a freeway is nice but if traffic slows down alot or comes to a stop, I can put it up and turn on the A/C without stopping or pulling off the freeway. When traffic starts moving again, I can do the reverse. By itself, the power top added $2,000 to the price over the manual top.
Last edited by cclive; Dec 18, 2016 at 11:17 PM.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 20,352
Likes: 568
From: Ventura County, Calif
Nothing wrong with a manual top.
Purists from earlier generations, when Corvettes had ONLY manual tops, feel they are the best. They're simple and almost 100% trouble free. Can't say the same about the power tops. They have generally been good but they do have their idiosyncrasies.
The power top was a stand-alone option until 2007 when GM made it a mandatory component of the 3LT package convertible.
Purists from earlier generations, when Corvettes had ONLY manual tops, feel they are the best. They're simple and almost 100% trouble free. Can't say the same about the power tops. They have generally been good but they do have their idiosyncrasies.
The power top was a stand-alone option until 2007 when GM made it a mandatory component of the 3LT package convertible.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 781
Likes: 84
From: Dayton OH
It takes all of about ten seconds to drop a manual top. That's getting out and back in. You can do it at a light with ease. I would buy a manual top again without hesitation.
Last edited by MH663; Dec 18, 2016 at 10:38 PM.
Racer
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 320
Likes: 31
From: Cave Creek AZ
i have a power top. it broke once, and the part was $300.
i would buy manual, since in the c6, you have to be at a stop with the parking brake on to raise/lower. Not much benefit to pressing a button if you have to be completely stopped to do it.
if i bought a c7, i would buy a power top - as the top can raise/lower at up to 30 mph.
i would buy manual, since in the c6, you have to be at a stop with the parking brake on to raise/lower. Not much benefit to pressing a button if you have to be completely stopped to do it.
if i bought a c7, i would buy a power top - as the top can raise/lower at up to 30 mph.
Last edited by Cauhauna; Dec 18, 2016 at 10:43 PM.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 781
Likes: 84
From: Dayton OH
i have a power top. it broke once, and the part was $300.
i would buy manual, since in the c6, you have to be at a stop with the parking brake on to raise/lower. Not much benefit to pressing a button if you have to be completely stopped to do it.
if i bought a c7, i would buy a power top - as the top can raise/lower at up to 30 mph.
i would buy manual, since in the c6, you have to be at a stop with the parking brake on to raise/lower. Not much benefit to pressing a button if you have to be completely stopped to do it.
if i bought a c7, i would buy a power top - as the top can raise/lower at up to 30 mph.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 21,502
Likes: 465
From: Southern Utah
Just a side note...you have to stop to drop a manual top as well, lol. Also, you can pull up on the e brake one click and drop the auto top while moving. Under 30 mph as well but I typically wait until I hit a light. If light changes in process just grab e brake and take off a little slower than normal. I never had an issue using this method.
And it is very convenient when traffic is crawling and I want to put it up or down. It always gets noticed when doing it in slow traffic. It certainly wouldn't work at 30mph though, like the C7.
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Race Director
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 15,768
Likes: 3,283
From: Phoenix area, AZ
Hi all! I'm looking for a C6 just as a garage queen/weekend/nice weather car to drive about 5-7k miles per year. I have a company car that I use for most of my driving. I live in Dallas and weather is good for converts. I found a '09 1LT, M6 for $29.9 with 37k miles and very clean. I don't need navigation, HUD and all the bells just for occasional cruising. Main thing was I wanted is the M6. Only thing is it has a manual top. I figure most of the time the top will be down if weathers good enough to drive. Other factor is resale later on might be challenging? Opinions??
Thanks!
Rob
Thanks!
Rob
As far as power vs. manual, I wouldn't have bought a vert without a power top.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 1,196
Likes: 107
From: Fairview, TX
Your situation is exactly like mine, purely a toy when you don't have to drive the co. car.
I have had both, currently a manual top. It really hasn't been a big deal except the first time I got caught in a light rain and had to pull over to put it up. But now that I am more familiar with it I have gotten much quicker at putting it up.
I have had both, currently a manual top. It really hasn't been a big deal except the first time I got caught in a light rain and had to pull over to put it up. But now that I am more familiar with it I have gotten much quicker at putting it up.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 8,055
Likes: 2,694
From: New Mexico
2018 C6 of Year Finalist
I think the 1LT seats look cheap and iirc don't have power lumbar or the same bolstering.
No power top bothers me but isn't a deal breaker for everyone, obviously.
Overall though I think a 1LT would be a lot harder to sell if you get tired of it. If you love it and keep it forever, who cares?
I agree with the other poster, $29.9k sounds high, especially for a 1LT.
No power top bothers me but isn't a deal breaker for everyone, obviously.
Overall though I think a 1LT would be a lot harder to sell if you get tired of it. If you love it and keep it forever, who cares?
I agree with the other poster, $29.9k sounds high, especially for a 1LT.
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 96
Likes: 33
From: Plano Texas
Yeah, I figured it was a little high. It's at one of those dealers that sells only corvettes - Corvette World Dallas. I checked the car fax and its been there since July, so definitely not a hot deal or it would've been picked up by now. I guess I'm getting impatient!
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 96
Likes: 33
From: Plano Texas
I think the 1LT seats look cheap and iirc don't have power lumbar or the same bolstering.
No power top bothers me but isn't a deal breaker for everyone, obviously.
Overall though I think a 1LT would be a lot harder to sell if you get tired of it. If you love it and keep it forever, who cares?
I agree with the other poster, $29.9k sounds high, especially for a 1LT.
No power top bothers me but isn't a deal breaker for everyone, obviously.
Overall though I think a 1LT would be a lot harder to sell if you get tired of it. If you love it and keep it forever, who cares?
I agree with the other poster, $29.9k sounds high, especially for a 1LT.
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 4,959
Likes: 526
As with all things techno and mechanical. A power top is great....when they work correctly, and work correctly for quite a few years. There are several power top woes with these C-6's that are well known and are just another reflection on the basic over-all poor quality that these cars bring to the table. A search on this forum will bring to bear some of these issues. So whats the bottom line. If you don't mind rolling the dice and hoping that you get a functional unit that is trouble free, then go power. If you don't want to worry about your top failing at the most in-opportune moment....get a manual. Heres a hint. If you have an auto and while at a red light you decide to put up/down your top, the car must be put in park....if you have an "issue" with the top at that time and it doesn't work right, then you are sitting in the middle of an intersection trying to get it up, or down....just a little FYI......
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,037
Likes: 31
From: Richmond Texas
Having had a manual top c5 and auto c6, I'd take the manual any day just for simplicity sakes. Now that my top is older some of the elasticity has gone out and I have to hold the back glass when it's folding itself and then I have to help close the cover because the motor is getting weak and can't latch itself any more. Never had those issues in the c5.
Team Owner
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 26,257
Likes: 4,363
From: Chirper Island
The tops open differently. The tonneau on the C7 slides back, but does not tip up like the C6 and act like a sail, and the folding sequence of the top itself is different, so it can be operated at much higher speeds than the C6.
I've operated the top on the C6 while creeping along in traffic, but I would not operate it at speeds higher than 10 mph.
Last edited by owc6; Dec 19, 2016 at 12:05 PM.
Instructor
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 245
Likes: 41
From: Crystal River Florida
Don't know about the manual top, but I like the alarms on my motorized one that tell you the top is not locked in when you put it up. Drove my wife's Miata a few years ago and didn't get the top latched evidently and was on a highway going 70 when it blew back, luckily folding right down in place as it should if I intended to put it down with no damage. Not something I wanted to try again! Serves as a reminder to lock it down on the Vette!
Last edited by HammerheadTed; Dec 19, 2016 at 12:59 PM.
Safety Car
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 3,732
Likes: 710
From: Shelton, Connecticut
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
My 2005 C6 had the manual top. My 2013 GS has the power top. I found the manual top was no problem at all to raise and lower. For the $2k it added to the 3LT package, I would really question it, but, I wanted the heated seats and memory.
As for the C7, I had one this year for 7 months. The top, if it fails, is a two man job to lift the tonneau and put the top up/down. The C6 can release the tonneau with the pressure release of the pump with the allen wrench and operate the top manually.
As for the C7, I had one this year for 7 months. The top, if it fails, is a two man job to lift the tonneau and put the top up/down. The C6 can release the tonneau with the pressure release of the pump with the allen wrench and operate the top manually.
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 11,003
Likes: 64
From: Why I oughtta....
St. Jude Donor '17-'18
Anyway, I have the manual top and prefer it. No trouble at all to put up or down and one less, possibly expensive repair issue.