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not a fan of convertibles for a variety of reasons, the ones you listed along with they are much more vulnerable to being broken into by those of a less that legal bent, causing $2000 damage everytime they do.
I had my wheels stolen on my hardtop vehicle once. I had wheel locks but they smashed my window to get the lug.
Those of a less legal bent can smash a window just as easily as cutting a top. Its not like windows are off limits or anything.
Cutting a top doesn't really let you into the car any easier. A modern top is reinforced by a bunch of metal bows and scissor links. It's way easier to just smash in the window.
On that note, I never lock a car. I'd rather leave the doors wide open so somebody can see for themselves there's nothing but an owners manual to steal rather than have the smash it in just to see that I was just protecting my owners manual. If they want to steal my radio, I'd rather they just steal the radio and not smash my window and steal the radio. That way my car stays dry if it rains before my insurance company gets around to paying for the damage.
Is it high noon 24/7 in South Florida? They don't have sunrises, sunsets, and nighttime there?
You do know the roof goes up and down right? It's like the engineers knew that it wasn't always optimal weather or something.
I do not notice whether or not someone is driving a convertible at night so my observations are strictly by day. And yes, I particularly notice the blistering heat of the summer and a convertible.
I've had several convertibles, ranging from an Mitsubishi Eclipse GST Spyder, Jaguar XK8, Mercedes SL600, Porsche Carrera Cabrio, and a Porsche Boxster S.
I've driven a lot of others, Corvettes, VW Golf Cabrios, Miatas, Mustangs, etc.
Bottom line, not all convertibles are created equal. Some are just as quiet (some even more so!) as a typical car with the top up, and some are designed so well that you are not buffeted by winds or anything with the top down, which is a major source of sound intrusion for your ears when driving.
A good convertible is a lot of fun. A bad convertible can make you wish you just had a regular car. It helps if you live in an area with lots of nice sunny days. I live in TX, and one of the best reasons to have a convertible? When you get back to your car after parking outside for several hours on a hot sunny day, the inside of a car is sweltering. With a regular car, best you can do is lower the windows, turn on the AC and just wait awhile for the car to cool down. With a convertible, you drop the top and all that built up hot air is instantly gone. Put the top back up, turn on the AC, and you'll get cooled down much faster.
I've had a lot of convertibles, as I said, on both coasts, and never had one broken into on either coast in any decade. That being said, that's what insurance is for.
Or do you just drive beaters and get the minimum liability insurance on them?
i dont know if you would call an 05 grand marquis a beater, but i tend to drive cars that are, shall we say, nondescript. cars like all four of my fairmonts, my three grand marquis, my old plymouth fury lll, my pontiac catalina, etc. all nice cars in their own right, but cars that people leave alone.
as for the crack, "that is what insurance is for", if you dont mind constantly paying higher rates after making numerous claims on your policy, or changing insurance companies from time to time shopping around for lower rates, then fine by me.
the problem though is that you help raise rates for EVERYONE, not just you.
i dont know if you would call an 05 grand marquis a beater, but i tend to drive cars that are, shall we say, nondescript. cars like all four of my fairmonts, my three grand marquis, my old plymouth fury lll, my pontiac catalina, etc. all nice cars in their own right, but cars that people leave alone.
as for the crack, "that is what insurance is for", if you dont mind constantly paying higher rates after making numerous claims on your policy, or changing insurance companies from time to time shopping around for lower rates, then fine by me.
the problem though is that you help raise rates for EVERYONE, not just you.
Do you know how many motorcycles get broken into each year? None.
Just leave the doors unlocked. Are you leaving your life savings in your car or something?
By that note, you should be driving a convertible since apparently your rates go up because somebody else is doing it anyways.
I'd hate nothing more than to drive an old Grand Marquis and pay high insurance because somebody else gets to rock a convertible 911. I want to be the one making everybody else's rates go up, not the other way around. Take advantage of the situation, don't let the situation take advantage of you.
as for the crack, "that is what insurance is for", if you dont mind constantly paying higher rates after making numerous claims on your policy, or changing insurance companies from time to time shopping around for lower rates, then fine by me.
Bolded part is pure speculation. Have you been broken into numerous times in your regular cars? I've never had a convertible broken into, including my daily driver versions. So no, my insurance doesn't go up for owning them.
I'm with the guys that love them. I've had a LOT of convertibles over the years, on both coasts, in rural and urban settings, on fun backroads and interstates and city streets. I've commuted in them and my wife's current daily driver is a convertible that the top is down on most of the time.
The current convertible:
Nice ride, I've got the 09' 335i in white with the Baseball Glove Brown interior.
I've always managed to have a convertible in the garage most of the time. My first was an MG-MGA in high school (believe me, I wasn't a trust fund kid. It didn't cost much at the time because the thing was about 40% Bondo and road time was every other weekend - one weekend repairing, one weekend driving )
Had a Miata for a number of years and I still maintain dollar for dollar-pound for pound they are the most fun car on the planet. I sold it to get the BMW, which is a great car but I still miss tossing the Miata around. I will admit the retractable hardtop is pretty sweet and removes a lot of hassles but if/when it seizes up the checkbook will take a hard hit. If I were buying a new car today I'd give the new Miata convertible hardtops a serious look.
Boils down to either your a 'vert person or you're not. Different horses for different courses. Wouldn't have it any other way.
Convertibles have their place. A highway at high noon when it's 98 degrees or bumper to bumper traffic isn't one of those times you should have the top down.
At sunrise and sunset, driving 55 mph on a two lane winding road, sure.
Rule of thumb, if you hate the idea of a convertible, the place you live is most likely lame and you want to be insulated from it as much as possible.
I don't "hate" convertibles. I just don't want nor need one. No roads near me to make driving one daily worth the cost of ownership and maintenance.
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