I just posted this in the other thread, this company has a good rep from what I’ve heard, but you still gotta pay for labor afterwards or DIY.
Soft Top for 1999-2006 Volvo C70 Factory Original Material: German A5 Factory Original Colors: Black, Gray, Marine Blue Top with Heated Glass Heated Glass Window Deck seams double stitched and PFAFF sealed. Original style plastic retainers. Hand Made in the USA
robbinsautotop.com
Old thread, but the more C70 top experiences posted on the internet for others the better, right?
I bought a top from Robbins about two years ago. Paid for the upgraded material, and installed it myself. Took about two 6-8 hours days to carefully remove the old top and install the new. Fortunately, I did not have to have the sensors/computer recalibrated after I installed the new top.
I’m in the hot southern US, and don’t garage the car all the time (perhaps 50%). When I took the old top off, I was very surprised how well the OEM fabric had held up – much of it looked and felt essentially new (as in flexible, black without signs of fading, and still waterproof). The inner, thin film plastic “liner” (assume helps with waterproofing) had entirely degraded and become small pieces and particles, however.
The new top has been on for about two years now, and I have no complaints. It fit well from the beginning, and has had probably 50 top up/down cycles on it without issue. It does not appear to be wearing or fading significantly. I hope I don’t jinx myself by writing this…but I have not had any issues with the rear window delaminating, either. I would not hesitate to buy another top from Robbins. If a person is not handy and relatively confident with DIY projects, professional installation would probably be best. Robbins sends relatively good instructions, and since you’re taking an old top off, you can see how the new one will go on as you’re doing it. I would NOT take the old top off and then wait several weeks to put the new one on, as you’ll forget exactly what-went-where (which you need to have some working knowledge of even with the instructions).
Also of note, the top has an external component (what you think of as the top which you see from outside), and an internal headliner that more or less zips in. The inside liner is SOLD SEPERATELY, and although it is “just” barely thicker than gauze, and stretchy fabric, it is another $600 or so. It’s not functional, just aesthetic. (too thin to have any sound deadening qualities in my opinion). Be careful when removing the old liner if you want to reuse it with the new top.