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Quote:

Originally Posted by dmcummins (Post 9647530)

Something like this
https://fortmyers.craigslist.org/lee/cto/6185408577.html

I know nothing of BMW reliability or the reliability of the M6 in particular but that is one dam sexy car!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Don Ro (Post 9648018)

Those who have memories of the old Fiats and their issues are not living in present time.
My 2013 Fiat 500 Abarth has almost 9k miles and is built like a pit bull.
Zero defects...not one rattle.
Corners like a snake down a rat hole, brakes that will suck your brains out through your forehead, amazing acceleration (in 'sport' mode), and loves to hum along at 90+ mph...solid as a rock while doing so. And 36 mpg at road speeds.
.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1499041809.jpg

I was very interested in one of these, my wife LOVES the new (and old) VW beetle so I thought I could sell her on one of these (as my driver) but she is not thrilled with the look :rolleyes:
It also seems to be a love/hate thing... I remember someone on this board bought one and had nothing but trouble with it?

The gent is "afterburn"...his issue seemed to be more disappointment with the dealership than the car. He may bless us with another diatribe...stand by.
.
Again, I couldn't be more pleased with the car that I have.
I removed the rear seats, laid down carpeting over some sound-proofing, and it is now a mini SUV.
BTW, a ton of the basic 500's here in the Phoenix Valley.
.
Edit: I believe the following year they came with a 6 spd. auto...I would prefer that because I'm so tired of shifting.

Check out the early 90's 500SLs. Excellent low mileage examples can be had for under thirty- saw a few on Hemmings this AM. They're very well made durable cars with a lot of lux and a good bit of performance too. I'm thinking of getting one for the wife.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Don Ro (Post 9649553)

[Sorry for the thread hijack] A quick search brought up a bunch of Abarth's under $20K... going to retire in a few years and looking for something fun to run around town in.

Now back to your regular scheduled talk of convertibles.

dmcummins, since you live in the South, you've experienced a severe thunderstorm many times.

If you get a soft top, just make sure you're aware that a soft top won't protect you from the 100 million to 1 billion volts in a lightning bolt.

Might wanna get one with a folding hardtop.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1499239341.jpg

I didn't think I was risking my life driving the Boxster. I guess I should speed the search up a bit.

I'm in SW Florida where we have afternoon thunderstorms daily.

You could buy two of these.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-cars-sale/959750-fs-1973-914-1-7-allentown-pa-north-philly.html
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads...97198462.1.jpg

Quote:

Asking $15,000 OBO. ..................SOLD

Or one of these..........................

For Sale: 1975 914/6 race car
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-cars-sale/949195-sale-1975-914-6-race-car.html
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1489355747.jpg

Quote:

Price reduction to $30,000 or offers. ........................SOLD

Quote:

CARS.COM — Toyota and its Lexus luxury division topped Consumer Reports' 2015 annual reliability study (subscription required), but Audi climbed to a best-ever third place among the 28 brands ranked. The German luxury brand, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, had its best showing ever in CR's annual study, which the magazine claims to draw from a subscriber base with more than 740,000 vehicles.

Related: Toyota, GM Top J.D. Power Dependability Study; Fiat Chrysler Rounds Out Bottom

Toyota's top marks come because it relies on proven technology.

"Major updates turn reliability down," said Jake Fisher, Consumer Reports' director of auto testing. Toyota and Lexus, by contrast, "very rarely launch everything new. You look at Corolla and Camry, you know. The last few redesigns have been almost freshenings: carryover powertrain, sometimes even the same wheelbase."

That could make the redesigns seem like snoozers, but "being slow and conservative has paid off in terms of reliability," Fisher said.

Audi has followed something of the same tact. CR points to the tiny Q3 SUV, which it calls the most reliable new car in this year's survey. But the Q3 isn't technically all new; it went on sale overseas years ago.

Audi has "a pretty mature product line, which helps them," Fisher said. "Even when they introduce vehicles, they're not exactly new."

Overhauled lineups can bedazzle consumers in the showroom, but lots of new technology can be a recipe for poor reliability.

"What we've seen in the last several years is [that cars are] not getting more or less reliable, but what goes on is changing," Fisher said. "We're seeing less major mechanical malfunctions. We're seeing less engine problems and fuel system problems and suspension problems. What we're seeing is more of the new technology having issues."

That means multimedia systems and — increasingly this year — transmission problems, he said. Dual-clutch automatics, nine-speed units and even continuously variable automatic transmissions are prone to bugaboos.

Honda offers all three types of transmissions and ratings for many of its cars fell this year. The redesigned Fit and refreshed CR-V — both former reliability studs — slipped, and consumers reported poor reliability for the RLX and TLX, two sedans from Honda's Acura luxury brand. CR says transmission problems dogged the TLX, while electronic issues affected both cars.

Here are the 28 brands, ranked from most to least reliable by Consumer Reports for 2015. Note that CR excluded Jaguar, Land Rover, Mitsubishi, Scion, Smart and Tesla because it didn't have enough data on at least two vehicles.

1. Lexus

2. Toyota

3. Audi

4. Mazda

5. Subaru

6. Kia

7. Buick

8. Honda

9. Hyundai

10. Mini

11. BMW

12. Volvo

13. Volkswagen

14. Porsche

15. Nissan

16. Lincoln

17. Ford

18. Acura

19. GMC

20. Chevrolet

21. Mercedes-Benz

22. Chrysler

23. Dodge

24. Infiniti

25. Cadillac

26. Ram

27. Jeep

28. Fiat

Three Fiat Chrysler Automobiles brands fell to the survey's bottom: Ram, Jeep and Fiat. FCA has long faltered in reliability studies from both Consumer Reports and J.D. Power and Associates, and this year appears no different.

FCA had several of the worst scores in CR's predicted reliability, which it bases on overall scores from up to three model years of survey data. The Chrysler 300 (99 percent worse than average), Ram 2500 (153 percent worse), Jeep Cherokee (250 percent worse) and Fiat 500L (276 percent worse) all ranked at the bottom of their respective segments.

It's "more of the same from Chrysler," Fisher said. "Look at the [Jeep] Cherokee and compare its rivals. Most small SUVs, they don't have lane-keeping assist. They don't have nine-speed automatics. They don't have the technology and the flashy styling that we see in the Cherokee. They also have much better reliability."

Our own experience with a long-term Cherokee suggests as much.

Matt Liddane, vice president of quality at FCA's U.S. arm, responded in a statement that the automaker is "significantly accelerating our pace of improvement for our entire product lineup. We compete with many other global players in an industry that's always evolving and is certainly not standing still; so, we need to continue to push harder."

What are some of the bright spots? The Toyota Prius c (85 percent better than average), Audi Q5 (94 percent better than average) and BMW 2 Series (85 percent better than average) all had strong reported reliability.

The debate rages on in today's quality surveys as to whether owners are reporting things that break versus things they simply don't like. A slow multimedia system might seem like a problem, after all, even if it works as designed.

CR defends that its survey measures problems, not dislikes.

"We draw a pretty strict line between the two," Fisher said. "We're talking about, 'You had to bring it back to the dealer to get it fixed.' It's not about, 'I don't like the way this thing works,' or 'it does this thing that's really annoying.' "

https://www.cars.com/articles/consumer-reports-reliability-study-toyota-thrives-fiat-fails-1420682551916/

Quote:

2017 FIAT 500 Reliability

Our reliability score is based on the J.D. Power and Associates Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) rating or, if unavailable, the J.D. Power Predicted Reliability rating.

Predicted Reliability Score
2

Key:
5
Among The Best
4
Better Than Most
3
About Average
2
The Rest

https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/fiat/500/reliability

Quote:

Originally Posted by sammyg2 (Post 9650566)

https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/fiat/500/reliability

[again, sorry for the hijack]
When I retire and ready to get another fun car in a few years I have set my budget at $20K, that puts me right in 996 territory (and maybe even Cayman) so I think I know which way I'm going to go with that. ;)

I think if you want to buy a new car. it should be thought through carefully adjusting to your budget and your daily needs. Looking for a car at a cheap price is a good choice. Cheap but high quality.

From my point of view, if you choose Honda, it is also good as a reference, you might be able to open a website like carusrelease.com. If you think honda is also suitable for everyday needs but back to your taste. don't make the wrong choice.

Congratulations on having a new car dude! :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by cairns (Post 9649793)

Once upon a time several years ago, I happened to stop by and visit my friend the Indy mechanic that operates a shop repairing BMW's, Porsche, Mini's and Mercedes. I gave him a hand removing and replacing the hydraulic cylinders (there were either 6 or 8 of them) in an early 90's 500SL that operate the convertible top.

Just the hydraulic cylinders, and being remanufactured parts at that, came at a cost approaching 10k. Yes. That's right. 10 Thousand US dollars. You couldn't give me one of those cars.

BMW makes (or made?) a nice hard-top convertible - a friend has one & loves it

I love my Boxster S but how about an Audi TT ?

This is a two year old thread someone with 1 post revived to likely get someone to click on a link :confused::eek:

Yep, old thread. I ended up buying a Jeep. I’ve had the top off probably 3 times. Here it is parked behind the plane.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1565141843.jpg

The grandkids moved down so I needed a little more utility .

Well, since you mentioned the marque...........

Believe it or not, I have a 1994 Jaguar XJS 2+2 convertible that has been a remarkably trouble free car! It is the 4.0 6 cylinder version w/automatic (ZF 4-speed). Gas mileage is not bad (about 17 in town and 22-23 on the road). While I doubt you would want anything as old as my Jag, you should be able to pick up a fairly new Jag drop top for well under $30K!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1565141889.jpg

Well, what Heel n Toe said is not something I'd ever considered and realized about lightning and soft tops. I've been thinking convertible thoughts my self with a 2008XKR Portfolio somewhere in the coming years after more garage space.
Kinda timely for a thread containing such a post to get struck while I'm wanting a convertible.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sammyg2 (Post 9648417)

If you buy a jag you need to get two so you can have something to drive while the other is in the shop.
If you buy a fiat you need three.

Make good sound logical decisions is more impressive than driving a flashy POS.

I'm at 75,000 miles on my Jaguar.

All it has needed is regular consumables, fluids/filters/tires/batteries.
Yes there are years and models with problems.
A 2009 XK isn't one of them.
I drive it hard, I get about 12,000 miles on the rear tires.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1565141907.jpg

I like that old Jag, straight six was a better motor than the V-12, pity it is a two pedal car

Mine is also a 1994 AJ6. I have a completely new full leather interior and everything else was near mint already. The only thing I don't like is I have chrome XK8 wheels on it.

https://i.ibb.co/C2H0NxL/IMG-0323.jpg