My poor little Mitsubishi Spyder convertible is on it’s last legs. It’s lived a good life - 90k miles in 10 years, sleeps inside at night, occasional trip to Disney, etc.
The poor thing is at that phase when things break as fast as I fix them, and they’re all expensive. I’ve been letting stuff collect to see if there’s an end in site, and there doesn’t seem to be. Current issues include:
need new transmission mounts
leather is ripped on driver’s seat
A/C drain is clogged
coolant system (or overflow) has a leak
spoiler and driver’s side door need to be repainted
To top it off, I was in a minor accident the other day. (I’m fine…thanks for asking!)
So now I have body damage on the passenger side, rear. At least a new quarter panel, and probably paint for another part.
So…I’ve been thinking about my next car. I want to stay with a convertible. I kind of want a hardtop convertible, if I can justify the price. I know I lose some trunk space, but I don’t exactly have much right now. I’d like to be able to put my dive bag and two tanks in there, or my golf clubs. But that may not be a show-stopper.
I was initially looking at the Volkswagon Eos. Then I found out I may have a connection at my local BMW dealership - a good friend of mine is good friends with the GM, and said GM apparently wants to hook me up. I don’t know what that really means, but it’s something I’ll look into.
Does anyone have any advice? Anyone have a hardtop convertible and have a terrible/great experience?
The redesigned Chrysler 200 hardtop Convertible is the roomiest convertible (hard or soft top) on the market and otherwise meets all your requirements for the least amount of money, it’s also terrifyingly fast with the new 3.6l V6.
You know, I hadn’t even looked at the Chrysler. Now..it seems like a real option.
I could get into the top end of that for less than many of the other options I’m seeing..and my mechanic didn’t have much good to say for a lot of those.
I’ll see what he thinks about this..but I superficially interested.
The BMW 328 convertible is great fun, and can be had in the high $20k / low $30k range used.
Budget 25% more for maintenance. They are actually quite reliable, but even ordinary/preventive maintenance will be more money (oil, brakes, tires, etc.)
I have a Porsche Boxster convertable, with a removable hard top. See pictures here, here, and here. I’ve had it for nine years. I don’t drive it much; I have a little over 30,000 miles on it, but it is still a blast when I take it for a spin. After all this time, it still has the new car smell, and feels new every time I get behind the wheel.
The great thing about a removable hard top is it doesn’t take up any trunk space when you’re not using it, and if it rains when I have the top off, I still have the soft top that comes up and locks at the touch of a switch in the dash.
That sounds like SO much fun..but it also sounds *slightly *out of my price range.
I’ve always felt the Miata is too small..but I’ve grown up over the years, and no longer reject something because of my pre-conceived notions. It’s on the list for research!
ETA: My mechanic was warning me about any BMW that’s not in the M-series..claims that M’s are the only ones really built well. But he admits that if I get a good enough deal on one of the others through my friend, it may still be worth it.
Probably not. Used Boxsters aren’t that expensive. The engines have a tendency to randomly lose seals and puke oil, killing itself. Google " Porsche IMS shaft seal failure". Porsches don’t really become reliable until you step up to the 911 GT3. It’s a car that a lot of owners actually take on to race tracks so shit sort of gets real.
If a Miata can carry all you need it to carry then buy it. You can never go wrong with a Miata. The PRHT on the new ones go up and down in like 5 seconds. They are great.
He doesn’t own an E39 M5 then.
Seriously, the M3 with a manual transmission has always been the most reliable car across the BMW range, the latest version still is according the Consumer Reports. The outgoing M3 actually has less technology in the engine than say a 335, it doesn’t have direct injection, turbos or Valvetronic, all the money goes purely into “make the engine and internals as strong as possible and spin it to the moon”.
Ina similarly counterintuitive vein, the Mercedes SLK is actually a pretty good buy on the used market because they are one of the most reliable Mercedes models out there. You wouldn’t think so as MB usually aren’t very reliable as a rule, and adding a Micheal Bay roof shouldn’t help, but the entry level SLK is a fairly basic car without a huge number of complex gizmos to break, the power of the engine is modest and doesn’t tax the rest of the drivetrain very much.
Ever think about a Wrangler? A blast to drive, decent trunk space if you only have one passenger, inexpensive and easy to maintain (I can practically change my oil by getting down on one knee). They do have a few notable downfalls, but you can generally dismiss them with the phrase “Well yeah, it’s a Jeep!:)”
Probably not the sports car you have in mind, but I figured I’d at least mention it. Actually, I’d argue that a Wrangler is just about as “sporty” as you can get, just rock climbing/surfing/cross-country skiing sporty instead of track and field/bicycling/downhill skiing sporty.
I forgot to mention the Wrangler. If I had to pick one vehicle for the rest of my life, that would probably be it. I prefer the soft top, but the new hard top comes apart in pieces, like a mix between a targa top and t-tops. The best part about riding in a Jeep removing the doors. I’ve got a 1998 soft top.
I drove the old soft top C70 for several years. Very reliable – until it hit about seven years old. It was the most comfortable car I’ve ever sat in, and even the back seat was reasonable for passengers. No way could dive equipment fit in the trunk, but I think that’s going to be hard to find in any convertible.
I drive a '98 soft top as well, a 4-banger. The optimal speed for riding in a Jeep is between 25 and 45 mph IMO, so I rarely miss the two missing cylinders
I have an MX-5 hardtop, and I love it. For a two-seat convertible, the luggage space is pretty good (suitcase, computer backpack and camera bag), and it’s fantastic to drive. Solid as a rock, mechanically.
