Talk me out of a convertible!
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Anonymous
50 yo widow who’d like to celebrate her mid-life crisis by getting a convertible. I don’t need to haul kids and my dog hates riding in the car. So a two-seater is do-able. I don’t know how to drive a manual, though. I’ve been driving a 2004 Toyota and deserve a treat. 
Any advice or recommendations welcome... |
Anonymous
| In an event of a roll-over, you're done. If you buy a convertible, buy a roll bar. |
Anonymous
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There are like 5 days a year I see people in convertibles and envy them (once in the spring and the rest in the fall). Otherwise it's always too muggy/humid to be enjoyable or nice outside until a huge afternoon thunderstorm shows up.
Those 5 days do look nice, though. |
Anonymous
| Bell's Palsy. I mean I know hopefully you won't get it, but I know people that got it just by sitting next to an open window in the car or on the bus when it was chili. |
Anonymous
Interesting. Is that like the people who catch the flu by going outside in the winter with wet hair? Viruses and neurological conditions are tricky! |
Anonymous
This. OP, why not rent one for a week and get it out of your system? |
Anonymous
I don't really know. My sister's FIL had it. And a son of my mom's employee. Kid was definitely sitting in winter by an open window on the bus. Took months to get better. Sister's FIL, I think it was a combination of things, he is obese and it seems to be more common in obese people. It seems to happen after dealing with a viral infection. It is caused by some kind of trauma to some cranial nerve. I hate wind in my face or anywhere, so I don't even like windows open in the car, but plenty of people are fine with the wind and the cold. |
Anonymous
| Go for it. Get an automatic. You can always special order it. |
Anonymous
| How is this a treat? |
Anonymous
| Skin cancer. But just wear a hat. I want one too! |
Anonymous
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My neighbor is always b!tching about hers. Always something with the motor that controls the top. And apparently, at least with hers, it's an expensive part.
Honestly, they are something you think is fun until you have one to drive for more than a day or two. They're a fun treat to get when getting a rental car but I'd never own one again (had one that was a hand-me-down years ago). |
Anonymous
DP. I rent one a couple of times a year when I travel. I quickly remind myself that the trunk is too small, the back seat is practically unusable, the roof is too low, the blind spots are atrocious, the noise at highway speeds is unbearable, and the sun beats down mercilessly. But damn I look good! |
Anonymous
I had a Miata for a few years before getting married and LOVED it. I only got rid of it because DH has allergies (and then we had a kid so it wasn't practical) but I still plan to get one again someday. I wouldn't want one as my only car but as a second car? Absolutely! And the A/C and heat worked surprisingly well at least in that car, even with the top down - it sort of created a bubble of air when I was moving, I found. So I enjoyed the convertible-ness of it a lot, even here in swampy, sometimes chilly DC.  I say go for it, OP!
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Anonymous
| OP maybe consider a car with a panoramic sunroof? |
Anonymous
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Sunroof.
You will be driving the convertible with the top up most of the time here OP. Humid and hot in the summer, cold and clammy in the winter, full of pollen in the spring, full of fumes and bad air quality in the heat. Convertibles are most pleasant to drive in the northeast in the summer, and more pleasant t0 drive in the southeast in the Fall/early winter/later spring. On the plus side, you can probably get a good deal on a used convertible in the area because most people will ditch them once they move here. |