01 GT Convertible Top Replacement

Just went thru this. Buy it yourself, and get no guarantee. Car Tops Online is where I got mine. Did it myself for $250.00 total. Estimate for close to what you want was $2,200. inc. top. I dont think so.

Sadly just a few years after paying $1400 to Stitches in Houston to put a new top on my 1999 V6 (dark green, parchment interior & top), I am now having to put one on again. Was going to have a shop in San Antonio do the whole thing for me, but owner told me one price, then increased on the two follow up calls - first by $400 and then the next time another $300, so a total for $700 more than the first time we talked.

Needless to say, that made me wary about using him, but now I am stuck.

I live in a very small town in Texas. A guy who lives in my town (my sister told me about him because he is related to one of her friends and supposedly has done quite a bit of headliner/top/ulphostery work) says he will put one on for $800 if I make sure to "buy a good top." Now I have several questions/concerns because I can't even consider doing the install myself (permanent loss of movement due to brachial plexus injury/motorcycle accident):

1. Is $800 reasonable for a guy who doesn't have his own shop (so likely won't have a warranty or any recourse on his installation)?

2. Just what is a "good top?" I was going to buy the OPR brand from American Muscle ($330 for just the top, still have to buy the cables, tack strip, etc) because at first I thought it was canvas, but it is simply the Sailcloth Vinyl as was original to the car. AND very importantly they offer absolutely NO WARRANTY on their tops.

3. Which manufacturer/brand (Robbins, EZ On, Xtreme, Electron, M&T (CTG)) offers the best fitting and looking tops so I can hopefully not have to do this again for a long while?

4. Is Stayfast canvas/cloth worth the extra 52% in price (at one place Twillfast is $726, Stayfast $593, Sailcloth vinyl either $360, $415 or $422, depending on brand)

5. If I go with canvas, it doesn’t come in parchment, so will the tan color it comes in be close enough to my car’s OEM parts?

I appreciate any advice/guidance because I love this car, but it gets expensive to replace an item like the top repeatedly and want to get it right this time, though I, unfortunately, do not have unlimited funds or ability to DIY.

Its your choice on materials , but anybody that does tops could do one of these in six hours. I did it for the first time in ten. If I had to do it again I could do it in eight. I would do it in hartz vinyl . Thats what they come with. They all seem very much the same when I researched . I would think if you have to pay top money buy the complete kit from American Muscle and get ripped. $800+top $1200 not the end of the world