Is it worth buying a Convertible?

MR DAZ

Quick question....

What's the story with buying a convertible...

advantages/disadvantages

I'm thinking about buying one next year ...say '96 /97/98 BMW

What do people advise?

thanks in advance

Darren

ssh

I'm on my second convertible if that tells you anything. My experiences with the first one didn't put me off.

Driving with the roof down is great, especially if the engine sounds good, which most BMW engines do. Even in Ireland, I'd get a nice bit of use out of it. Just turn the heating up full blast and set it to blow at your feet and you'll be nice and warm, even in autumn or the warmer bits of winter. It's a genuinely liberating experience.

The downsides
* with a soft top convertible, your visibility with the roof up kind of sucks. I've got a huge blindspot on mine which can make pulling out onto motorways and the like a bit tricky. With a hardtop, depending on the make, vis tends to be fine.
* I've heard of people having their rooves slashed and their seats stolen (!).
* With a soft top, you'll want proper aircon for really chilly days.

It didn't cost more to get it insured.

Though if you're going for a BMW (and I assume you mean 3-series?), anyone sitting in the backseat ends up looking like Hitler.

MR DAZ

Yeah ssh .. I'm talking 3 - series

The one in the for sale section polly 74 is selling ...looks the job - A real class looking motor

Borzoi

ssh wrote:

Even in Ireland, I'd get a nice bit of use out of it. Just turn the heating up full blast and set it to blow at your feet and you'll be nice and warm, even in autumn or the warmer bits of winter. It's a genuinely liberating experience..

Ditto. 5 years of driving a Saab 900 convertible. In Ireland the heater are more than enough for any winter day chill - once the sun is shining

ssh wrote:

The downsides
1 with a soft top convertible, your visibility with the roof up kind of sucks. I've got a huge blindspot on mine which can make pulling out onto motorways and the like a bit tricky. With a hardtop, depending on the make, vis tends to be fine.
2 I've heard of people having their rooves slashed and their seats stolen (!).
3 With a soft top, you'll want proper aircon for really chilly days.
4 It didn't cost more to get it insured.
.

1 - I've a small blinbspot - due to not having a full size rear passenger side windows. Really only noticeable on small angle junctions, certainly not a problem for lane merging

2 - Heard of it - never happened to me, but I don't park on the street in town, and I don't leave things in it.

3 - Don't folow you

4 - Insurance is more, less Ins Cos cover them, considered higher risk. Not as bad as it used to be.


Go for it and good luck!

ambro25

An emphatic and resounding yes.

First exposed to a convert when I toured New England a few years back (got a Chevy Cavalier Z24), then the bug bit and the race was on... now on fifth year with the MX-5, paid up in full and now classed as 'family' (read as: "for for indefinite keeps 'til it gets to be a classic"). Baby did not force sale, put it that way - pennies were saved and a second more practical car was bought

Nothing else comes close to driving open top, aside maybe from biking of course. No, not even driving a supercar or somesuch...

The MX-5 has (had and still) the best heater in the class, you're never cold even on a -5 deg.C clear winter day, on the M'way.

Roofs do get slashed (I'm touching cubic kilometers of wood typing this, mine hasn't) by vandals/scrotes/jealous people/opportunists. In a convert' more than in a car, don't leave valuables lying about - it's easier and quieter to slash a roof to grab something than break a window/bend a door, y'see...

Not been posted in this thread yet, but prepare to get grief by jealous motortits on the road in proportion to good looks by the laydeeez - win some, lose some, as they say Such occurences as: never let out of junctions, cut up when you least expect it and for no apparent reason, tailgating (and not necessarilyby kids in souped-up Micras either), etc, etc.

Maintenance/Tax/NCT etc. comparable to a "normal" car, insurance extortionate (in Ireland - my premium more than doubled when I registered it in Ireland, compared to the UK) but hey - it's worth it, all of it and then some, trust me

AlanD

I'd definitely go for one.

But whatever you do, don't become one of these convertible drivers you see ona scorching day with the roof up. What is it with these people? Some have spent a fortune on their topless joys and then they leave the roof up most of the time.

I had a 2.0 litre 206 CC (the more masculine version without doubt) and loved every second I had it. I used to drop the roof any chance I got. In Winter, as a previous poster suggested, I'd put the heating on to the floor and you'd be nice and warm for those sunny chilly Winter mornings.

Don't mind the begrudgers who give you a hard time on the road because of it, I used to just ignore it all and eventually wouldn't even notice it. Topless driving is brilliant. I can't wait to get back in to one again.

dahamsta

AlanD wrote:

But whatever you do, don't become one of these convertible drivers you see ona scorching day with the roof up.

That's drives me absolutely mental. If you ever see a guy in an old 5 series shaking his head and fist - and just about everything else - when a roof-up convertible goes past, that'll be me.

adam

unkel

Yeah don't understand those people either. Even on the best days of the year, the majority seem to have the roof up

MR DAZ wrote:

What's the story with buying a convertible...

advantages/disadvantages

A few more that spring to mind:

1. They are rarer, so it is more interesting / exclusive to own one

2. Get a permatan for free during your daily commute

3. The rigidity of the structure is always compromised. If you are a keen driver, take the car for a long test drive to check if you can live with this

4. It doesn't get very hot or very cold in Ireland, so you can easily use it in the winter with the heat on and in summer you don't need aircon on full, like I needed on my rented American wobbly in Florida. The noise nearly deafened me and petrol consumption was unreal

5. Now is a great time to buy one (especially if you can wait another few weeks). Prices are high in spring and low when the winter's approaching

6. Unfortunately, only a few of them have a metal roof. The only older one with a metal roof is the Mercedes SLK MK 1

If I'd ever buy one, I'd say the roof would be down about 80% of the time

dahamsta

unkel wrote:

1. They are rarer, so it is more interesting / exclusive to own one

Conversely, I'm pretty sure that new ones lose their value even faster than tintops. A lot faster.

adam

MR DAZ

Lots of good info there.......thanks lads


Unfortunatley I have to wait till next year - I have a company car @ the moment, so i wont be looking for a car untill april time frame....but i'd like to have goood look around before then so that hopefully I can get what I'm looking for..

Darren

S2000

I would definitely go for one.... but get a hard top if you can. I have a hardtop for mine that I use from November to March or so....kinda makes it feel like you have 2 different cars then.

And a great heater makes it fun on colder days!

MR DAZ

Where is a good place to buy a car in the uk?

Is there anywhere closer to home, where ya might come across one .......or is it just potluck

ssh

There's a good sticky at the top of the forum.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk is the place to go. I was looking for a 111s Elise or an S2000. I spent €600 on AA and RAC checks before finally finding an as close to perfect as you can find S2000 in Ireland.

I'll reiterate what the sticky says - The AA vehicle checks are vital! The two checks I got done turned the cars up to be worth a few thousand euro less than was being asked for. In one case, the car had been a Cat D writeoff.

Hagar

ambro25 wrote:

jealous motortits

Great turn of phrase or just a Freudian typo?

guano_jim

could be selling this one next spring....

www.iol.ie/~home/93bmw.png
www.iol.ie/~home/bmw-diagonal-matted.png

all the usual top class BMW stuff... leather, electric glass, CD player, alloys, toolkit etc etc etc. 80k miles. includes a black Wisemann hard-top. (not shown)

MR DAZ

Sure maybe we'll talk then so...

Does it come in a red

ambro25

Hagar wrote:

Great turn of phrase or just a Freudian typo?

Option (A), Sir - Yes, the misspelling is intentional

EDIT-PS: I like Hagar lots [called Hagar Dunor (or Dunord?) in France, I used to religiously catch the cartoon int he Sunday Paper for years ]

guano_jim

This now sold, thanks.

Mickiemcfist

guano_jim wrote: »

This now sold, thanks.

Jesus that was quick

biko

Eeh, thanks for the update I guess..