ragtop = epitome of cool

[jhanna]

I have to admit that I have loved the series one since they first appeared. I become a BMW fan after my son bought a 1982 318I coupe. I thought that was the best handling car I ever drove in the Adelaide hills.

After that, I had my eye on the series one coupes in particular……I never thought I would end up owning one, but late last year, the opportunity to start searching for one come up and initially, it was the coupe I was after. Then by chance, I noticed the rag top convertibles were the same price.

I was always a staunch believer that if I had a convertible, it would be a metal top and NOT a ragtop. The 3 series has the metal top only. I am a series ONE fan and a rag top it was going to be.

So…..a lifetime of ‘special care’, was on my list for the car I bought. In the last month of so, I have noticed one thing, all the MERC, BMW and any other brand that have a rag top, are instantly recognised as a convertible, and all the ones with a metal roof……are not, unless you know cars real well.

So what I am trying to say, is that when a ragtop driver runs around with the roof up, there is an element of cool that is inherent with a Rag Top. There is no mistaking that this is a convertible. Its like being part of a special club.

Am I conveniently biased? You bet your ass I am. Would I swap my series one ragtop, for a metal top 3 series? Not on your life now!!!

[olds350]

LOL, I like where your heads at. I like my convertible as well...

[JimVonBaden]

I'm with the OP. I love ragtops.

In order of ownership:

VW buggy, 1981:


1964 Buick LeSabre (1983):


1988 BMW 318i (2005)


2008 Saturn Sky Redline (2010):


2005 Mercedes CLK500


2011 BMW 128i (2018)


The 128i is a great car, lots of fun, top up or down!

[JimD]

My e88 is just my second rag top but I rode motorcycles for years before getting my first one. Part of the justification is I do not heal up as easily these days and while I was never in a serious accident on a motorcycle I did have a number of close calls due to car/truck drivers.

I did not want a hard top convertible because the top takes up almost the entire trunk so you can't put it down if you have anything significant in the trunk. I also agree it looks better.

[bobdavisnpf]

The ragtop is a favorite feature on my old E30 for my wife as much as for me... When I came home in a 335i hardtop vert she did not like the look one bit. With top down she said it looked somewhat better, but her mind's eye still painted in that hard top and spoiled the view. With the 135i she loved it at first sight, almost as much as me.

E30 top up...


E88 top down!

[Happy Jose]

I've had two ragtops in my automotive ownership, and both of them were vandalized. Replacing convertible fabric roofs is expensive. Also check your insurance about coverage, it may not completely cover repairs.

I have a 2010 MB SLK, and I like the security a metal roof gives, and I can put it down in 20 seconds in warm weather.

There are also other consideration that make a coupe a better deal:

A new convertible is about $4K more than a coupe.

The visibility is usually better in a coupe. The 135i rag top has terrible rearward visibility.

A coupe has a more rigid body structure and provides protection in a roll over.

Insurance is generally cheaper with a coupe.

Vandalism is a concern depending upon where you park.

A coupe weights less than a convertible.

The mechanism to raise and lower the roof is prone to hydraulic and mechanical problems.

[swunder]

IMO they usually look terrible and ruin the lines of whatever car they are on. They also remind me of the cloth top Grand Marquis driven by the 70+ crowd.

I like convertibles for the 1 week a year the weather is good for them in Jersey, but it would have to be a retractable hard top.

[bobdavisnpf]

Originally Posted by Happy Jose

...I have a 2010 MB SLK, and I like the security a metal roof gives, and I can put it down in 20 seconds in warm weather.

When you put down your metal roof, your trunk has room for a shirt or a jacket but not both... when I put down my rag top, I still have room for a shirt, jacket, boots, hat, backpack, tent, stove, cooler, 2 chairs and a couple of cots

[bagekko]

I dont mind soft top and glad BMW stopped using plastic for the rear window. Wouldnt complain about a hard top in a F82 M4 either though.

I am very surprised that they are going back to soft top in the next gen 4 series.

[Happy Jose]

Originally Posted by bobdavisnpf

When you put down your metal roof, your trunk has room for a shirt or a jacket but not both... when I put down my rag top, I still have room for a shirt, jacket, boots, hat, backpack, tent, stove, cooler, 2 chairs and a couple of cots

The trunk on my SLK has lots of room, but to access it, you have to load it up before you put the top down. Also there is a plastic cover that must be put down before putting the top down. Thus it is easy to see exactly how much stuff can be put in the trunk.

However, this isn't a problem for me, since my only baggage is a jar of Gray Poupon!

[JimD]

Visibility is poor from the e88, I added a rear camera to help with that. I've taken my e88 on 1 week cruises twice. Two of us had enough space, and could access it with the top down. Mine is 10 years old in June, the mechanism works great and will raise or lower the top in under 20 seconds. No vandalism so far in it or my previous soft top. BMW gave me two new tops early but the fourth one is doing fine. Appearance is a personal preference but I like my soft top better than the hardtops I've seen. Roll over protection is provided by the reinforced windshield frame and pop up bars that come up behind the rear seats. I feel adequately protected. Weather obvioiusly varies by location but I put my top down at least once every month of the year. Often it goes down multiple times a week. I last had it down yesterday.

[ejm3]

This is not my main car so I only want a convertible.
In my next car too.

I love the Tesla but no convertible so that will probably not replace my 135i.

Honestly I prefer the way the soft top looks than the hard tops, at least on BMW's.

I think car companies like BMW are moving back to the soft tops again simply because of cost, weight and complexity.

[xQx]

Originally Posted by Happy Jose

The 135i rag top has terrible rearward visibility.

You sound like my wife.

The 135i rag top has excellent rearward visibility. If you're struggling to see behind you, you either forgot to turn your head, forgot you had mirrors, or forgot to put the roof down.
(Edit: Yes, I'm being facetious; the car has terrible visibility with the roof on, but if you've got the roof on, you're missing the entire point of having a convertible.)

Sure, soft tops are more expensive to own than coupes, but a BMW is more expensive to own than a Toyota.

Also, I can deal with the extra weight in a 135i ragtop - that extra weight (100kg) brings the car up to the same weight as a 335i coupe - but the good thing is that weight is exactly where you want it - nice and low on the chases and behind the back seat (giving the car an almost perfect 50:50 weight split front to rear).

The advantage you get with a cabrio is the ability to access the rear seats by taking the roof off. Personally, I couldn't deal with a fixed-roof 2-door car.

The e93 M3 adds almost 200kg to the already heavy e92. I'd love a hardtop for the extra cabin comfort in winter, but I don't know how much I'd enjoy a 1800kg sports car....

[duder13]

Other things are cool about ragtops, but, no, I don’t think they look cool with the top up.

[Happy Jose]

Originally Posted by duder13

Other things are cool about ragtops, but, no, I don’t think they look cool with the top up.

Coupes alway look cool!

[JimD]

I picked up a trolling motor, 54 inch shaft, box nearly 6 feet long, last night at UPS. I had to put the top down but it fit, barely, into the passengers footwell but extended too far to put the top up. No problem, it wasn't raining so I just drove home with the top down. Heated air out the vents kept me comfortable. Try that in a coupe...

[Happy Jose]

I recently bought 6 6' X 1' pine boards to support the mattress on my Zinus king-sized platform bed.

To transport them in my coupe, I put the pax rear seat down and move the front seat up. They fit just fine. Your trolling motor also would fit just fine.

[JimD]

I am not at home or I would measure but the box is about 2'x1'x6'. If your back seat goes all the way down or the pass through is big enough, I agree it will fit. The pass through I remember seeing seemed like it was for skis and it would not have come close to working. There isn't a pass through in my e88.

[iminhell1]

Now that I know they made Marrakesh Brown E88's, I think the rag top could grow on me?
(but it's only because I want the color)

[Soterios]

Originally Posted by JimD

I picked up a trolling motor, 54 inch shaft, box nearly 6 feet long, last night at UPS. I had to put the top down but it fit, barely, into the passengers footwell but extended too far to put the top up. No problem, it wasn't raining so I just drove home with the top down. Heated air out the vents kept me comfortable. Try that in a coupe...

I don't want to jam crap into my sports car.

That's why I bought a truck

[varoadking]

I had a new 1969 Pontiac GTO convertible that I bought when I was 16 in 1968. I also had a new 1971 MG-B, and a new 1986 Dodge 600 turbo convertible.

I guess I'm a slow learner...but I eventually cured myself of whatever affinity I had for rag tops...

Rag-Top-Free since 1986!

[JimVonBaden]

Amazing to me how some feel the need to bash other people's choices.