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I have a 07 Cabrio and I have no regrets about getting a cabrio.
As a matter of fact I often wonder why anyone would get anything other
than a cabrio.
But keep in mind that I live in Florida and I don't have to deal with winter
weather so that could be a major factor.
If I lived somewhere that snowed 9 months out of the year then I guess
I would have opted for a hardtop.
Just make sure that the top is in good condition and take good care of it.
I never put my top down while it is wet and I vacuum that backside quite
often to remove any dirt or sand that may have gotten into the weave..
I also reapply a coat of water repellant every six months.
Love the cabrio. Like CabrioPilot, I live in SoCal, so not many bad weather days here. In the long run a cabrio will probably cost more to maintain than a hard top, but for me it is worth every penny.
Maintain the top and you will have less issue with the fabric. As for mechanical/electrical things, well they can fail. But I'm a gambling man.
__________________
To finish first, you must first finish.
Drive fast, take chances.
I have an 05 cab, have issues with the electrical side, fix is three grand, figure that in the deal as a worst case and if you are still in a good position jump in. Cars with tops are for transportation, cabs are for driving!!
Not related to the top so much, but my one BIG regret about getting a convertible is the limitation on participating in track events... Although Phil Wicks allows convertibles with factory roll-protection to participate at his events, many others, such as BMWCCA, do not. When I purchased Murray, I assumed that open-top cars with factory roll-protection would be the preferred track-day vehicle.
And I'm also surprised that by now, there aren't any aftermarket solutions for track-friendly roll-protection for our convertible MINIs that allow for normal operation of the top.
Other than that, the only regrets about getting a convertible are:
1) for some reason, there's a prevalent attitude that I can't be serious about driving or performance because of the soft-top (Maybe related to the exclusion from many track events, or maybe the less-rigid frame, or additional weight of the top mechanism...);
and,
2) Because of an additional structural brace under the car, fitting an aftermarket performance exhaust system requires either crimping the exhaust pipe between the cat and muffler, or modifying the structural part(!)... Come on.
Otherwise, having the CHOICE to drive with the top down is incredibly liberating, and the experience of a late summer evening, winding along a twisty coastal road with the top down is pure bliss!
Also, with the top down, there's a lot less turbulence (even without the wind deflector deployed) than I've experienced in coupes with the windows and/or sunroof open.
The extra weight of the top mechanism is a concern, as is the less rigid structure of the car, but unlike a sunroof-equipped coupe, most of the weight is located low in the car, so not such a big deal, and there are aftermarket frame braces and so forth to improve the structural rigidity.
Visibility with the top up or down is ridiculously poor, but I knew that coming in...
