I had the hardtop on my 996 and would put it on in Nov and off in Mar. Not a necessity. Likely not worth what Porsche wants for it. I do not have in in my 997 and really don't miss it. I say don't get it.

 

Thanks to everyone for your posts, hearing different experiences and rationales is very helpful. Given opinions on both side it is a close call.

Hadn't realized that the 996 cab came with the hardtop. That would explain all the 996 hardtops on eBay.

Since it's now a $3,490 option - I didn't want it to be a storage issue and dust collector. I know I could add the mounting hardware later as posted on Renntech by dphatch and then find a top and have it painted. However, if I will get good use out of it, just seemed worth it to put in the order now and have the factory set it up.

I've been looking at the hardtop hoists on the web. This makes it a one man job to take the hardtop on and off. It also stores the top out of the way (and harms way) as dphatch suggested.

So again thanks. I have a couple weeks until I have to finalize my order.