[JohnR]

Thinking about getting a new car... What do folks think of convertibles? Never owned one myself. Hardtop like the VW EOS seems like a fun easy-to-get-along-with car.

[ooheadsoo]

I've taken many rides and driven a few times a Honda S2000 (two friends each own one.)  If you can live with the cargo capacity, it is a killer car at a killer price.  Very comfortable with the top down, weather permitting.  It's definitely advisable to have a second car available for cargo, unless you never do more than shop for groceries and other grocery bag sized items.

[Russell Dawkins]

If you live in a mostly warm climate in a scenic area, I think there's nothing quite as pleasant as a convertible. I might even like them more than motorcycles since helmets spoil the experience.

At lowish speeds on a beautiful country road, there's not much that can beat it - plus you get a nice dose of UV for your good health!

Oh, the acoustics are better, too - even with the top up.

I think a very practical combination would be a pick up truck and a convertible. One of my three favorite cars (and I've had a lot) was an 1959 MGA, but these days I could be almost as happy in a Miata.
For the record a couple of my other faves were a 1967 Rover 2000TC and a 60-something Austin Mini sedan delivery.

[JohnR]

Hey Russell, we got plenty of UV here Down Undah! I'm not a speed demon, which is good because we have pretty tough measures here for "speeding." And I'm feeling at this point in my life that -- apart from being too damn fat to get into my leathers (nah, just kidding... I think...) -- my photography hobby is also pushing me towards this choice. It's just too much hassle on a bike.

Oh, the acoustics are better, too - even with the top up.

Well, and there is that too

[Bob in St. Louis]

If you plan to keeping it past it's warranty period get a service contract that covers all aspects of the top. I'd recommend a contract for modern card anyway, but for cars "that do tricks", I'd VERY highly recommend one.

> HERE < is a video of the VW Eos.
That's a lot going on there.

But then again, I work with Saabs and Volvos. With the Volvo hardtop there's even more going on.
> HERE < is the volvo.

and

> HERE < is the Saab

Bob

[Bob in St. Louis]

Or if you can wait for production, you could get > THIS < Convertible Saab.  aa

[JohnR]

Is that the one where the speedo starts at 100? Crikey!

But seriously, the longevity of the roof is my main worry. OTOH, I'm a bit bored of being "safe" with cars...

[TomS]

Bob, I expected the video to show a VW EOS stranded in the dealer's shop, like my friend's has been every other week    VW's, love to drive 'em, hate to own them.  Even with a service contract...

How about a nice Miata? 

[Bob in St. Louis]

HA HA Very true Tom. Very true indeed.
VW's are crap.
But then again, so are Volvos.
Oh yea, Saabs are junk too.
And those Honda, yip, you guessed it. Crappity crap crap.

Anybody that wants to argue should walk into the service department of the brand they hold in the highest regards and see what's being worked on. Four out of five bays will have brand spanking new cars broke down. Fact of life boys and girls.

Moral of the story is, buy the car that makes your nipples the hardest during the test drive. Sell it before it's out of warranty, or get a policy that extends it.
But read the section: "Items not covered", and understand it.

The preceding has been a public service announcement from your buddy in the biz. 

Bob

[Crimson]

Me, I'm not a fan. At my wife's insistence, we had two in the 90's: a Miata and a TT. Noisy, rattly, leaky, and unless the weather was perfect (around 70 degrees) the top never went down.

[bunnyma357]

I've got a 2006 Miata as my only car, my wife has an Audi A4. The main thing I regret is not getting it sooner, makes commuting enjoyable not just tolerable. I'd second having another car available, so if you're married make the wife have the practical car - if you're single the used market for SUV's is totally a buyers market and you can probably find something very nice & cheap.

Only real drawbacks are limited cargo space when you have 2 people in the car, and not a great snow car - but with decent snow tires it is not too bad, clearance height becomes the main issue, especially if the car is lowered, like mine.

I was looking for cheap and fun, so the three I was looking at were the Miata, Solstice & Mini Cooper. If you want bigger or faster there are lots of other options. The Miata won out for several reasons:

- Balance - great power/weight distribution, it is a blast to drive, decent power, great handling.
- Best top I've ever seen (I prefer a soft top) - glass window, top goes up or down in 3 seconds with one hand while sitting in the driver's seat.
- Good after market modding community
- Great airflow, less wind with the top down, then my old A4 had with just a window open. I'm at the extreme end of keeping the top down, but a good heater combined with aerodynamics over 30 mph that keep rain and snow flowing over the car not into it, mean that I get maybe 10 days a year that the top isn't down here in Denver. (For taller people this might not work as well, if your head extends into the air flow.) Also the great top allows you to pull up the top at slow speed while driving if a torrential downpour pops up.
- Reliable, it just works very bulletproof. Designed by people with many years experience making convertible sports cars.

Good luck deciding. I really do wish I had decided not to be practical and gotten a Miata many years ago.


Jim C

(Didn't post the first time I tried - hopefully, this won't be a duplicate).

[Scott F.]

(said with a Russian accent)
I vant decadent Amedican automobile, vith tail fins. 


a 59 Caddi would be the absolute bomb. I'd actually go so far as to write into my will that when I die, I get buried in it. Of course I'd leave a space for my lovely wife to sit right next to me on that monster bench seat 


this 65 Bonneville would be pretty cool too, twin flag 421, tri-power, factory 8 lug wheels, pretty awesome sled




I wouldn't turn my nose up at this 63 either



Lots of other cool convertibles out there. The old school ones just happen to trip my trigger. 

[mcgsxr]

Now Bob, I know you are in the biz, and I am sure you know cars better than me, but I would also suggest that the reason a car dealer would have 4/5 new cars is because anyone driving an older car is far more likely to go to a mech not the dealer.

I drive a 12 year old Accord, my 5th, and am happy with the boring, reliability as our 2nd car.  My wife drives an '07 Entourage, so that the little ones have a very safe, new vehicle to get around in.  The sole provider gets the beater in my family!

Now, as for the original question about convertibles.  I spent many years riding motorcycles, and miss it sometimes.  I have driven in convertibles, but at the time vastly preferred the bike experience, helmet and all.  Now that I no longer ride, I would consider a drop top, but only as a 2nd or 3rd car.  I HATE the heat with a passion, so I could really only drive with the top down at night, or especially in the Fall.  With that twisted perspective, a convertible just does not do it for me.

[Captain Humble]

JohnR,
I’ve had two convertibles, both rag-tops and they were my primary source of transportation.

When I was in college, 1968 - 1971, I drove a used 1963 Valiant convertible.
My dad and I changed the top on that one twice in a period of three years.

When my dad bought it there were some scratches in the plastic rear window.
Over time the scratches got worse and it became difficult to see out.
The second issue was that the New Orleans sun caused the plastic to become discolored and very brittle.  One day a basketball took a bad bounce and when right through it.

Another time my roommate’s girl friend left her makeup mirror in the back seat.
The magnifying side of the mirror managed to reflect and focus the incoming sunlight to a spot on one of the rag-top’s pads and the damn thing caught on fire.  I never saw any actual flames so I guess the term smolder might be better.  This resulted in a hole about the size of an old 45 rpm record.
 
When I met my wife she was driving an MGB.  We never had a problem with that rag-top but the streets around New Orleans were so bad that we couldn’t keep the damn thing in tune so she didn’t keep it very long.

The Miata was introduced in the States in 1990 and we bought one.
I traded it in in 1997 with 53,000 miles on it.  There was absolutely no problem with the plastic rear window on the Miata. In fact there was no problem with the Miata at all.  I loved that car.  Note, it was always garaged both at work and at home and I never ran it through a commercial car wash.

John, I wouldn’t think twice about buying another convertible but I like the look and convenience of rag-tops.  My Valiant was motor driven while the Miata rag-top was manual.  Both worked very well but the manual top was much quicker.  I could raise the top on the Miata in a few seconds without getting out of the driver’s seat.  This comes in very handy on overcast days that can quickly turn into rainy days.

My buddy had a Vet hardtop convertible and it was a major production getting it on and off and storing it.  It gets hot in Texas so overcast days are great with the top down, but Rocky kept his top on when it was overcast because it took so to put it back up. 

Best of luck with your decision.
Zoom, Zoom…

Jeff

[bunnyma357]

Anybody that wants to argue should walk into the service department of the brand they hold in the highest regards and see what's being worked on. Four out of five bays will have brand spanking new cars broke down. Fact of life boys and girls.

Convertibles and service bays always remind me of this Lotus Elise story.

http://auto.commongate.com/post/lotus_elise_falls_off_car_lift_at_tire_store/photos/25710

Jim C

[Bob in St. Louis]

Now Bob, I know you are in the biz, and I am sure you know cars better than me, but I would also suggest that the reason a car dealer would have 4/5 new cars is because anyone driving an older car is far more likely to go to a mech not the dealer.

Yea but.....
- We still get 20 year old cars in on a fairly regular basis. The reason being is since we're talking about Saabs and Volvos here, that severely limits the amount of shops that will work on them. Most independent shop employees hold their two index fingers high in the air in the shape of a Cross when one of these come on the parking lot. There's not many in STL that will touch one (for service other than brakes, tires, etc...). For the most part, the older the car is, the more reliable it is. There's just a LOT less "stuff" going on with those old dawgs.
But the fact of the matter remains, if you look in the service department of a new car dealer, the shop is full of new cars that are broken. 

Sorry for the OT John. 

Bob

[Marbles]

I've had 3 convertibles, in high school I had a 70 Pontiac Catalina (400 ci engine), after college I bought a 69 Camaro (350 with a Hurst 4 spd manual) and now I have a 70' Pontiac LeMans (Olds 455 ci engine).




If you end up going "Retro" be aware a  restored car is pretty pricey, and an unrestored car will need lots of TLC.

I find a narrow temperature range, from about 65* F to about 85* F, that I like to have the top down.

I really enjoy having a high performance car and beating the piss out of it.

If I wasn't married with children, I would have bought something much smaller this last time.

[TheChairGuy]

Ah John - a subject near and dear to my heart - and one that probably won't lead to politics 

My wife has owned one of three convertibles for 20 years now.  Started with a VW Cabriolet (Mk. I body), moved to a VW Cabrio, now a 2004 BMW 325ci.  If you buy smartly, you can actually  get a fair amount of convenience with a purchase of a convertible.  With the top down, we've been able to fit irregular objects in our convertibles that wouldn't fit in in my more proper/4 door cars over the years (open that top and it's like a pickup truck).

The BMW was bought last year - low mileage and still on warranty and we bought it for cash - $27K.  It was the right blue color at the right price and the used car salesperson was about the best we found.  So, she's really pleased with the purchase 18 months later.

Among convertibles test driven:

SAAB 9-3 (2007) = The best overall value we thought out there.  This car simply doesn't get the kudos from the reviewers it should and I think the (many happy) consumers understand it better.  Maybe the best seats in the biz (not to be underserved as Australia a large country and journey's can be long - like in the US), excellent roominess, headroom, trunk, safety figures and very balanced handling vs. comfort equation.  The top is heavy, well padded and keeps undue noise out (as good as any convertible).  At US$35K, a really good choice we thought (marred only by pedestian tranny choices we thought)

VW Eos (2007) = We like our VW's, but didn't like this one.  It rode hard, it's small inside, the seats were so-so and despite the trick top, wasn't any quieter than the SAAB.  At $30K, it's a value relative to others, but we wouldn't consider it.  Amazing 6speed DSG tranny, tho (forget manuals after using that one)

VW Beetle (2007) = This sucker was barely 23K all tricked out with a 5 cylinder motor.  The handling is yawning, the looks enigmatic, the boot very small....but the color schemes and costing very keen here.  I found the (cloth) top to be every bit as quiet as the Eos' and you can buy a 6 speed DSG for the money.  It is a chick's car, tho - but I thought it was really decent value.

BMW 325ci (2000) = This mighta' been the last year of the E36 chassis, too, as the used car dealer had it for only $14K.  It drove more poorly than I thought a BMW ever would and the seats blew.  The E46 chassis really it tauter and nicer.

Mini Cooper (2007) = Oh, this was fun.  At 22K, everything just worked as it should I thought.  Slot car handling, nice seats, great 6sp DSG tranny, a willing motor with great mileage.  Size considered, it didn't feel small inside for us and there was room for my daughters child seat a-plenty.  This was just wicked fun - small trunk tho, but remarkable packaging in this thing (awesome moon roof feature for a convertible, too).  Just a tad too small for our family needs...but I still lust for it 

I have to forewarn you that the abundant sunshine you have down under is a deterrent to a lot of convertible use we find.  The sun, as here in California, is so strong it just pounds your head and body top down.  We end up using the convertible open far less here in CA than we did in cooler and more diffuse sun areas of Washington DC and New York we lived.

We didn't consider any 2 seat convertibles as we have a kid, and we even test drove a Porsche 911 convertible (used) and it does have nominal back seats, but it rode too hard, the seats were not kind and I was kinda' amazed I wasn't wow'ed by it all in all (the interior is truly dark, too).  The cost was well in our price range, tho, so we considered it.

We drove lightly used Jag and Lexus, too, both utterly forgettable experiences not worth mentioning (the Jag, especially).  I couldn't persuade my wife to try at least one American convertible, but tried 

Enjoy your choice - John

[Bob in St. Louis]

Ah John - a subject near and dear to my heart - and one that probably won't lead to politics 

What about the R.O.P. safety devices equipped only on convertibles, not doubt mandated by congress?   

Regarding the pedestrian trans choices on the Saab.... Available 6 speed manual with optional all wheel drive mated to a turbo charged six cylinder is "pedestrian" 

Bob - Stirrin' the pot. 

[TheChairGuy]

Bob - my wife only drives auto's...and the auto choices for the SAAB was quite pedestrian.

Based on our test drives, I realized a manual is a worthless pain now and my next car will be DSG (from someone).  Also, my wife has kindly asked that my next vehicle be auto so she can have a backup car if her's breaks down...DSG is the answer to my sporting needs and my wife's sensible ones. 

I find 4 wheel drive to be needless here in sunny CA.....a lot of weight, cost and worse mileage for it.  I drove the SAAB-uru 9-2x a few years ago and while appealing on certain levels, it was a bit of a load (for it's small size) I thought around corners.

SAAB, at least 18 months ago, didn't have it.

Ciao, John