Personally, I'm waiting for the 1er ragtop.
That said, go for the 3301 vert.
1. Life's too short to wait another 18 months for the vert to show up (I have a Z4, so I ain't hurting:smile
.
2. You need a backseat (forget about 1er rear seat legroom).
3. the only way you'll get a $33K 128i ragtop is waiting til 2010 to get a 1 yr old preowned.