I'm thinking, and that's dangerous - 2015 Miata?

As if anyone on this board would tell me not to, but, thinking it's time to finally get a convertible. Always wanted one. Really always wanted an inline six 2-seat convertible sports car, thus my thoughts on the z3 a while back - but, I'm getting old and lazy, and since I never seem to find time to even get the ol' 320i running again, maybe better off just punting.

10-12 year old Miata's are fetching 8-large here in T town, and Phoenix isn't appreciably better as far as Miata prices. At that point, plus springs/wheels/exhaust (because those are the bare minimums anyway...), surely a miscellaneous repair here or there, and we're poking 9+ large in the eyeball. All of the sudden $24K for a new one doesn't seem awful (well, plus spring/wheels - but probably not exhaust (yet) - but I can sell a bunch of 320i parts and near pay for that...).

I've read here and there owning a convertible isn't all it's cracked up to be, but why? I drive with all 4-windows down on the Focus at every available opportunity, and whence the 320 was running, windows down and sun-roof open at all opportunities, and further whence, when I was dailying the e30, same deal, windows down and sunroof open at all available opportunities.

Thus, I'm thinking I'd love open air motoring - what are the down sides that come with owning a drop top? Other than a replacement top every few years (well, and that's coin...), anything else?

I'm not a convertible man, and I love my miata. I mainly got it for track duty, but my wife loveeess to go "Miata'ing." It's awesome to cruze through your favorite spots with that open top. We live near the redwoods, and running through them at night in my E36 M3ty little miata is fantastic.

Just like you I run windows/sunroof open any time that's feasible.

OldGray320i wrote: ... what are the down sides that come with owning a drop top?

When hanging out in the woods with friends, do not fetch pizza in your Miata, then park it for the night with the top up. You'll wake up to find that something has torn the roof and put a dent in your bodywork.

I live in an area that gets chilly so a miata as an only car wasn't a viable option. Otherwise, they're great cars. I put the top down at every opportunity, the car sounds better top down.

Sort of like motorcycling, being in a convertible connects you with the environment much more and makes traveling more about the journey than the destination.

Get it. You'll be glad you did.

I DD'd a 1990 year round in Ontario for many years. No hardtop, but I did opt for the glass rear window around year 6 when it needed a new top.

To be honest, it was a better year round car than the Frisbee is turning out to be. Both heat and AC were sized such that they were of actual use when driving with the top down. Miatas tend to hold up pretty well to winter corrosion. They will start going soft after 13 years or so, but still hang in. Mine is still being driven by its current owner.

The topless thing is a love it or hate it affair. I really miss having a convertible. The wife could really care less and in fact most women are way too concerned with their hair to be able to deal with the top down. Myself, I find the topless driving to be very therapeutic.

Where the Miata has all other convertibles beat is in the ease of top lowering. Most convertibles that I considered when I bought the FRS required a committee and project plan before you could put the top down. The Miata was easy to drop the top at a red light or stopsign and UP was a one arm overhead move and two snaps on the window.

You mention the need for new tops. They will all need new tops between 5-19 year mark. While Mazda Canada wants over 2k to replace one, it is a $500 diy project. I hope the 2015 does not screw that bit up. Cant imagine the cost or complexity to do a Mustang or Camaro.

Current plan calls for driving the Frisbee until it is 10 years old and then go looking for a 5 year old Miata. There is an alternate plan that calls for selling the MGB GT that I have had since 1978 but stopped driving and getting a classic Miata that I might actually drive.

Awesome second car. You won't regret it. Buy used, though, so you won't have second thoughts about taking it to a track day.

Borrow a Miata from a friend for a day. You'll see why. People who have never driven one day stupid stuff like "it's a chick car". People who ever driven one know better.

Do it. I think the '15 is going to be the best Miata yet. And AZ is a pretty nice place to have the top down (at night. I would die of skin cancer with top down during the day.)

Wait... Isn't the 2015 going to be the last year of the NC/3rd Generation Miata? I'm not sure I'd buy the last year of generation of any sports car, I feel like you'd see a steep couple of years of depreciation as people get used to the new Miata. That said, I love the way the 2016 looks, if you don't care for it then this is your last chance.

If you have no need to carry kids or three or more people then there is no reason not to get one IMO.

Do it!

I hate convertibles, but I love my miata. I think I've put the top down like 3 or 4 times total, and most of those were in the first 2 weeks of ownership. I just don't enjoy it. Most of it has to do with the damn sun shining in my eyes. When the sun is overhead sunglasses don't do crap, and I sit there feeling like someone has a high power flashlight dangling right above my head. I can't take it. Then at stops you feel the heat of the sun burning down on you, I always feel like my forehead is getting a sunburn, and if I try to wear a hat to stop any of this stuff (The glare, the sunburned forehead factor) the wind rips it right off. I thought the idea of a convertible would be cool, and I love the miata, but I'll keep it hardtop and windows down.

Never had a problem wearing hat and sunglasses to ward off the sun, but YMMV if you are really tall. Also, convertibles are not really fun when it is super hot and sunny out. I was born and lived in Hawaii for most of my life. You knew the person driving was a tourist if they had a convertible with the top down during the day. The sun out there was too intense.

In reply to toconn:

All of this. I berkeleying hate convertibles and it took buying a really expensive Miata to figure it out.

I will never have a Miata without a hardtop again.

Here's my take on the "convertibleness" of a Miata. Pluses: A very enjoyable way to drive IF the conditions are right. For me that's obscured sun, 60 to 70 degrees, basically jeans and t-shirt weather, and going to a "jeans and t-shirt" destination. Minuses: HOT on a full sun day. Seats/wheel/shifter become blazing hot if left out with the top open. Not really feasible unless you are going somewhere you can arrive looking like you just got out of bed. Inviting to thieves, who can create major hassle and expense trying to steal a few bucks in change, and are often too stupid to try the doors before they cut the top. The chassis flexes around the passenger compartment, a situation which can be improved, but not eliminated. The chassis will never be as rigid as a tin top. Resetting the top whenever you leave and arrive is a hassle (not a big one, but a hassle). The disclaimer is this is a first gen Miata with no AC: some of the complaints might be less of an issue with functioning AC.

All that said, I wouldn't discourage you from buying one. Even with these issues, mine is still my favorite of every vehicle I've ever owned, and by a large margin. I love the balance and handling of the Miata chassis. There are days I even love that its a convertible. If, however, it were sold as a hard top, I'd probably choose the tin top version.

Having also owned a convertible Camaro, it is overrated. Yes, it is AWESOME for the few times you use it, but if I wasn't going to the track, I'd have to add lots of hp to make a convertible worth having (ie: said camaro)

As noted above, one of the key areas that people don't realize about top down driving:

It's NOT the way to drive around on a hot day!!!!!!

Warm day yes, cool sunny days yes. (if you don't mind driving with a hat on) Hot days are only done in a convertible if you have zip out rear window and the top UP.

Warm or hot NIGHTS are what convertibles are for!!!!

'04 Miata here. 56k mi. No winters car in excellent unmolested driver condition with just enough flaws to be enjoyed. Paid $6k. Gonna molest it a bit this spring...

On the whole I love it - we get a goodly number of top down days in Michigan. When it's really hot, I miss the hard top - the AC is ok, but can't really keep up when it gets north of 85. When it's messy or cold, I park it and drive the Accordion. Great second car, fair weather funmobile. Less good as an all conditions DD, though many do. I've reached the point in life where I like a certain degree of comfort...

I haven't owned a Miata, but I owned and DD'd an S2000 for about 2 yrs. I was one of those "Top Always Down" guys, but I have to admit I actually kept the top up fairly frequently during the summer (mid-90s or higher and SE coastal humidity = awful). Top up kept the AC contained, and I'd usually cant the vents upwards to cool the cloth top! This kept the cabin more comfortable than aiming the vents at my torso b/c my head would get hot from the inside of the softtop!

But other than that, I had the top down basically whenever it wasn't blistering hot or raining.

The hot days angle is probably the only potential downside then, and I normally enjoy the weather up until about 95 or so (it's a dry heat).

Having said that, I am reminded of a time long ago in a galaxy far far away, when I was driving with my sister's bf somewhere with the top down - and at stop lights, it was a bit toasty, such that top up was better.

The other part of this equation is that in Tucson, top down weather is pretty much mid-October through mid to late May. And I could see top down night driving in the summer as more than feasible (Tucson gets cooler at night than Phoenix; not quite as much as it used to 20 years ago, but I digress...).

In the hot summers, as long as AC is "passable" with the top up (i.e. I don't have to freeze out; heck, the wife's L300 will have you wearing sweaters on the drive to lunch in mid June!) I can get by with that.

This is giving me a lot more impetus to do this. Oh, and last gen NC doesn't bother me, and maybe an excuse to wait until late next year as maybe prices drop to move 'em out for the '16's. I like the lightness aspect and other specs of the new car, and the '16's look good, but there's something about them that I can't get behind. It's not quite as appealing to me as NC (which I've always liked, actually - for me, NA not by much over NC, by a fair amount over NB).

I worked as a lot porter for mazda for 3 years and did many trips in NC miatas. I'd recommend the power hard top model. I never felt that any discomfort came from the car being a convertible. Honestly I'm surprised no one has said anything about highway wind noise being a drawback. In my 1990 it's quite loud. In the newer cars its not silent but still improved a bunch ( never really had a passenger to talk to in newer cars at work but have to raise my voice a bit in my 90 ) all in all, if you want a 15 go for it. The new ones are very refined and very livable day to day.

Im also a top down almost always guy. Usually what ruins the top down experience for me is other people's squeaky brakes and crappy music on the drive home from work.

I used to be top down all the time. Now I have permanent hardtops on all of my Miatas. Heck, only one even has a soft top. But there are still times when it's fun to get the roof off.

The PRHT is the best thing about the NC. Great for dual use, about all you miss out on over a coupe is the inability to mount a roof rack.

OldGray320i wrote: Oh, and last gen NC doesn't bother me, and maybe an excuse to wait until late next year as maybe prices drop to move 'em out for the '16's.

I think you will be able to score a pretty sweet deal on the 15s next year. I know that when I was buying my 2 last year, I priced out a leftover Miata on Truecar and got a price of $19,xxx with the rebate on them, plus mazda's $500 loyalty discount, plus $500 off for finishing grad school. I nearly pulled the trigger on that deal even though I already have a Miata. I'm waiting for the ND myself, but I think the current NCs are awesome.

aircooled wrote: As noted above, one of the key areas that people don't realize about top down driving: It's NOT the way to drive around on a hot day!!!!!! Warm day yes, cool sunny days yes. (if you don't mind driving with a hat on) Hot days are only done in a convertible if you have zip out rear window and the top UP. Warm or hot NIGHTS are what convertibles are for!!!!

Amen. On a sunny 90+ degree day, it's not a lot of fun to have the top down. The only time I ever do is if I'm sure I'll be cruising at 35+ most of the way, as the breeze is usually enough to help keep me cool. But like aircooled said, make sure you have a zip down rear window and run with the rear window unzipped and both side windows. I did that quite often.

Other than that, the only other negatives are the inevitable bit of cowl shake and the extra noise. If you're a/c works as it should, you'll be fine with the top up. The view out the rear isn't as good as it is in a hatch or something, but the Miata is so small that as long as your mirrors are positioned right, blind spots are not an issue.

Bald guy here......I wear a hat and sunglasses.....the hat stays on my head, just tighten the headband.....when it's too hot like driving where there's stoplights, I put on the AC with the top down. It helps.....It's a Miata, it's supposed to have the top down. If you have to run a hardtop you're one of the stereotypical "secretaries". Man up!

OldGray320i wrote: What are the down sides that come with owning a drop top? Other than a replacement top every few years (well, and that's coin...), anything else?

My '99 is still on its original top, and it's in great shape. Other than that, keep in mind that many track-day groups won't let convertibles in their events without aftermarket rollover protection.