Why do owners of cabriolets do this ?

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Petrol Pete

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During the recent sunny weekend I was ordered to go to the local big supermarket to buy stuff we didn't really need (SWMBO say's I don't need a 5.4 V8 car as my daily drive so sending me to buy stuff we don't really need and me trying to argue with her is a moot point...but I digress)

On my walk from car to supermarket front door I spotted 4 cars with their roofs down and their owners (presumably) shopping in the windowless hangar that is the super store.

Why would you do this ? All of the cars were modern (electric roof activation) and all worth more than £20K +.

That is the equivalent of us tin top types winding down all of the windows and opening the sunroof before going into the same store. And as you would suspect not one of the hundreds of tin tops parked there were left in that state.

So why do cabriolet owners do this ? I am not thinking about the theft aspect, but more of a change in the weather, a seagull taking an almighty dump or a Vandal throwing something unsavory into the car.

What do insurers think of this I wonder ? As it happened an acquaintance of mine who drives an SL350 was in the pub later that evening and I asked him this question and he says he never leaves the roof down when parked...ever.

Own up, who are you and WHY ??
 
We sometimes leave the roof down if just poping in the shops yes, have done for years with the SLK and now the E class, never a problem, designed to lock the glove box etc in the SLK when locked, not sure the e class does that.
Yes its vulnerable but so is the cloth roof.
 
I rarely leave the roof down on the Mazda (or SLK before that) when parked for the reasons you describe. But, cars that can have the roof down generally look better when it's down than when it's up. So I guess it's kind of 'willie-waving', 'look at me I've got a cabriolet'..
 
I totally agree with you, I saw the same yesterday and made exactly the same comment to the wife, made more sense in the 60s and 70s when fold away roofs were a pain to use but now it only takes 20 seconds to put the roof up!

I was picking up my Mother for Sunday lunch (left roof down as I rang the door bell, she asked me to pop in and quickly help her fix a net pole, so 3 presses on the key fob and roof up nice and secure.

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We sometimes leave the roof down if just poping in the shops yes, have done for years with the SLK and now the E class, never a problem, designed to lock the glove box etc in the SLK when locked, not sure the e class does that.
Yes its vulnerable but so is the cloth roof.
Bird poop and litter throwers are the main concern, if willy waving is the reason remote controlling as you walk away a lot more impressive...

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Those power hoods only have so many thousands of up and downs before they throw the towel in. If it was me I'd probably keep a little note of how many times I'd used it. In my Stag days I used to keep an "open toppage" log! (and often left it roof down and, luckily, never had any probs.)
 
Because we are free spirits not the downtrodden who are ordered to do things.
Lol free to have the interior of your car wrecked, contents stolen or even car stolen all without insurance cover.

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Those power hoods only have so many thousands of up and downs before they throw the towel in. If it was me I'd probably keep a little note of how many times I'd used it. In my Stag days I used to keep an "open toppage" log! (and often left it roof down and, luckily, never had any probs.)
If you make sure you don't own a car more than 100 years old you will be ok with the British weather [emoji38]

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I've not been without a convertible since I was 10 years old and have never had a bird shit in one of them.
Cleaned 5x off my roof when visiting Bath in 1 day!

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Check you're insurance wording. Mine expressly forbids the roof being open when the vehicle is unattended. I suspect most insurance companies are the same and I doubt it's a well known fact.

I always put my roof up because of that.
 
In the reverse I was surprised to see so many convertibles with their roof up yesterday and assuming the owners bought a convertible for a reason it did make me wonder how many are broken...

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They’re probably never been victims of theft, burglary, vandalism etc

Plus the sun makes us crazy

Plus vanity and ego

??

:D
 
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I always put the roof up when parking my SLK, too many seagulls here!
 
In the reverse I was surprised to see so many convertibles with their roof up yesterday and assuming the owners bought a convertible for a reason it did make me wonder how many are broken...

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As I'm sure you know it can sometimes be too hot and sunny to have the roof down. I forgot this and both myself and my wife got slight sun burn last Saturday.

I never park my car with the roof down.
 
As I'm sure you know it can sometimes be too hot and sunny to have the roof down.
Wasn't yesterday in the UK?

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