I have a 2009 Aston Martin Vantage, and when I bought this car a year ago, the convertible top worked just fine. I tried to work on the seat belt a couple of months back, and I stopped the top halfway through its cycle to get to the seat belt. When I tried to restart the top to close, it got out of sync and bent a couple of arms.

Now it doesn't close right at all, does not move automatically, and you can't really close these by hand. The AM manual says you can. I've talked to a few people, and it's going to cost $6,000 to fix. I just put $8,300 into the transmission pump and solenoids. I don't want to spend any more money on this car.

Years ago, when I had hair and a little more money, I was buying new Corvettes. I had a 1986 and a 1989 convertible Corvette.

Those convertible tops were lowered and raised completely by hand. I'm going to try to investigate and see how I can make my Vantage top movable by hand only. I will take off all the hydraulics. I know it's going to be a little cumbersome to lock the top down but it sure will be a lot better than spending $6,000 out of my retirement fund.

Does anyone have any ideas on this thought?

 

Sorry to hear about your convertible top. I have a 2008 Roadster. I would recommend searching for a replacement frame far and wide and if your lucky enough to find one then have it replaced. Was the 6k quote from the dealer or a specialty convertible shop?

 

A couple thoughts. First, that repair quote seems a bit rich even if you were having the bent arms fabricated. A completely new top is up there in price however. As for a manual conversion, I personally like the idea (given the uncertain future of convertible roof module availability etc. etc.) but imagine you could run into non-mechanical issues with sensors and related systems (like the rollover propulsion set-up). But I would definitely look for better pricing even if it involves towing.

 

My Euro Mechanic shop said it would cost 6K. They won't even touch it.

 

I would search a convertible shop in your area. Most dealers will outsource this work.

 

AM has a kit to replace the 2 arms that bend if you don't manually fold it correctly.
For someone that knows what they're doing and has the tools it can be done in a day. So even @8 hours of labor. $6k is absurd. Call your local AM dealer and ask for the cost of the repair kit.
Convertible Roof Sliding Bar Kit.