Second hand convertible-any information?

Floozie

In my mid 40's I am having a midlife "let's buy a convertible and feel the wind whistle through my hair" thought but my boring sensible brain is saying I am not being practical as we don't have a garage to house it in.
Does anybody have a soft top and if so what make and are they reliable or does the roof leak, which would be my practical brain thinking?
I have seen some convertibles between 4 years and 10 years old which would be in my price range but am not sure what to look for, Mazda MX-5, BMW Z4 and Honda S200 are some of the brands but I know there are other makes.
Can anyone help, either to advise or warn me off them?

RDG

If you want something reliable then dont look any further than an MX-5 any with a good service history should be a good bet. Check the owners club website as there will probably be some tidy example there.

My MIL has one and it has spent its life out doors. As long as you look after the roof you wont have a problem.

But best bet is go drive some, the three you have mentioned there are all different. There is nothing wrong with convertables in this country we use ours a suprising amount. We have a folding hardtop so dont discount these either as they probably fall in your price range as well.

EDIT: If I was looking for something special Id get a looked after V6 97-03 Alfa Spider, yes it will cost money to run but they look the dogs and the noise is awesome.

missile

We each have a favourite or two, my wife has an Audi TT roadster.

Had it a year and aside from depreciation, MOT, tax and insurance. Total outlay has been £21 for a puncture and £196 for a service.

The ragtop does not leak, but colder in winter and noisier than a tip top.

NBLondon

Floozie wrote: »

In my mid 40's I am having a midlife "let's buy a convertible and feel the wind whistle through my hair" thought but my boring sensible brain is saying I am not being practical as we don't have a garage to house it in.

M'wife bought an MGF for the same reason - thinking she might trade it for something sensible a couple of years later. Eight have now gone by...

Softop has never leaked, we clean it with Autoglym specialist stuff every other month and that's all. We have the hardtop on in winter and leave it in a friend's garage over summer. If you can find space for a hardtop; it's worth having because it does make a difference as missile said - warmth, noise and handling.

MGTF might well be in your price range and the advice there is exactly as RDG said - read the owners club websites 1 2 3 and test drive them. What's best for you depends on whether you want to drive it around windy back roads for fun, pose around town with designer shades on or actually race it. Is it a second (fun) car or will you need to commute daily in it well?

Hoof_Hearted

I had an MX5 and no problem with the soft top. Make sure the front clips work properly as they are pretty expensive. Remember they are a lot noisier than hard tops and don't think you will be able to listen to the radio at 70. They are very cheap to run compared with an S200, which is also a brilliant car. MX5 is great fun to drive and if I bought another I would look out for one with a detachable hardtop for the winter.

ian103

ran an mx 5 for nearly 4 years as an everyday car, parked outside, no leaks, personnally i wouldn't have the hard top as there is nothing better than driving with the roof down in middle of winter (heated seated and heater on full) other than routine servicing and new tyres no other costs in 35000 miles. i'd have another one tomorrow - brilliant to drive and good fun

Nearly_Old

Floozie wrote: »

I have seen some convertibles between 4 years and 10 years old which would be in my price range but am not sure what to look for, Mazda MX-5, BMW Z4 and Honda S200 are some of the brands but I know there are other makes.
Can anyone help, either to advise or warn me off them?

Beware that convertibles can become addictive

My wife bought a BMW Z3 in Jan 01 after saving for 10 years and used it as her daily commuting car for over 6 years before she traded it in against a BMW Z4. The Z4 is again her daily car but unlike the Z3 the Z4 lives outside all year - including over 2ft of snow on the car the other winter.

The Z4 got kicked out of the garage because we missed the Z3 so much that I was allowed to buy a Z3 in preparation for my retirement. Not sure how I got away with buying it almost 4 years before I actually retired

As for noise - most hoods are insulated and when you've got an in-line 6 cylinder engine on full song anything else is irrelevant. As for the hoods the one on the Z3 is approaching 13 years old, there are few wear marks but it is air and water tight. Having said that unless it's raining very heavily then the hood should be down anyway - light showers are not a problem provided that you can keep above 50/60 mph. We're still undecided as to whether hood down on a warm summers evening is better than hood down through the Welsh mountains sun out, snow on the hills and a temperature of -9degC.

Running costs have been very low and certainly cheaper than the other car - a Citroen C5. The only exception being the run-flat tyres on the Z4 as she bought the sports model with 18" wheels and lowered suspension and 20k miles later it was £560 for 2 new rear tyres. :eek: I've been a bit more careful with the new ones :rotfl:

The Honda is good fun if you want something a bit raw whilst the Z4 is quite refined especially in the SE version with normal tyres.

fivetide

and if you do look at an MGF then check it for signs of the head gasket going. Someone at work had two of them, both ended up with failed head gaskets. Could be a pretty common on the engine that is in them.

5t.

NBLondon

fivetide wrote: »

and if you do look at an MGF then check it for signs of the head gasket going. Someone at work had two of them, both ended up with failed head gaskets. Could be a pretty common on the engine that is in them.

5t.

Yep - cooling problems have led to a lot of those. All Rover K-series are at risk but the F/TF more so because its mid-engined.

Hence search the owner's clubs for one that has already been fitted with an upgraded MLS (multi layer steel) gasket. Or there are aftermarket alarm systems that will detect the problems before they do any damage.

You could even consider a Chinese-built TF from 09 onwards. These have the N-series engine which was designed to avoid this.

s_b

do not buy a rover

message ends...........................................

NBLondon

s_b wrote: »

do not buy a rover

message ends...........................................

I think the OP is aiming a bit higher than a 216 cabriolet - that has neither pose value nor driver appeal;)