What car--noneagenarian convertible edition

My grandpa just lost his wife and best friend of 65 years in June. He's doing pretty good, but is lonely and is looking to have some fun. At the same time, this man who has been driving Pontaic Chieftains, Corvairs, Eldorado's, MKVii's, etc. through his whole life (and absolutely loving to buy his kids Opel's, MG's, Mustangs, Firebirds, XKE's, etc) is now in a Toyota Avalon. While the Avalon is probably nicer in every way than his last Cadillac Deville (more luxurious, a better driver in every sense, better mpg, etc), he is still lamenting the fact that after years of seriously cool (if not grassroots) cars, his last one is a Toyota.

He wants a convertible. This is in his mind one of the few remaining things he can do at his age that is still a whole lot of fun.

The first choice would be a Sebring, and he will probably look at one. But he is coming from years of Caddy's and Lincolns, and would probably want something better than a Chrysler. Also would consider a Toyota Solara, but they last made that in 08 which might be older than he wants. I'm also going to tell him to look for a Pontiac G6, and a retro T-Bird.

So, braintrust, what convertible would you recommend to an 88 (nearly 89) year old man? Requirements are easy ingress/egress, automatic, American is a plus, automatic top, and he would like a real convertible top--he's put the fake convertible tops on sedans, why would he want a hard top convertible that doesn't look like one?

Mustang V6 convertible

Is this the reason someone actually buys the Nissan Murano convertible? For the egress?

JohnRW1621 wrote: Is this the reason someone actually buys the Nissan Murano convertible? For the egress?

You know, the Murano convertible would be perfect if it didn't look like a baboons backside.

The mini.

For a nonagenarian used to Caddys and Lincolns, even a hip one like your grandpa, a Chrysler Sebring convertible might seem downright sporty. Easy enough to arrange a test drive in one to see how he likes it.

Sorry for his loss

amg_rx7 wrote: Mustang V6 convertible

This is the right answer.

Jerry From LA wrote: For a nonagenarian used to Caddys and Lincolns, even a hip one like your grandpa, a Chrysler Sebring convertible might seem downright sporty. Easy enough to arange a test drive in one to see how he likes it.

Isn't it a 200 convertible now?

Jerry From LA wrote: For a nonagenarian used to Caddys and Lincolns, even a hip one like your grandpa, a Chrysler Sebring convertible might seem downright sporty. Easy enough to arange a test drive in one to see how he likes it.

Easier than that, his son down the street owns one. The issue might be that it isn't luxurious enough for him. It will likely end up being a Sebring (if it happens), but I'm just doing a feeler to see if there is anything else out there that I'm not thinking of.

tuna55 wrote:

Jerry From LA wrote: For a nonagenarian used to Caddys and Lincolns, even a hip one like your grandpa, a Chrysler Sebring convertible might seem downright sporty. Easy enough to arange a test drive in one to see how he likes it.

Isn't it a 200 convertible now?

Sebring, 200, same car. Whatever.

tuna55 wrote: Isn't it a 200 convertible now?

Very likely. I'm not really up on my current Chrysler nomenclature. For what it's worth, I like the V-6 Mustang idea as well.

Solara or 3-series or post-SN95 Mustang.

Toyota Camry Solara Convertible

I can't believe these words are coming off my keyboard and I'm feeling a bit queasy for even saying it...but this may be the one and only appropriate use for the Nissan Murano. Easy ingress/eagress, larger convertible. I'm not sure, but they may be built in their Tennessee plant??

Ugh, I feel so...I don't even know.

Klayfish wrote: I can't believe these words are coming off my keyboard and I'm feeling a bit queasy for even saying it...but this may be the one and only appropriate use for the Nissan Murano. Easy ingress/eagress, larger convertible. I'm not sure, but they may be built in their Tennessee plant?? Ugh, I feel so...I don't even know.

Nope. This is a man who bought a Jaguar in the 1960's at the Chicago Auto Show because it was so damn good looking. He can do bland now, but he will not do ugly.

You only live once .....

http://springfieldil.craigslist.org/cto/4135888392.html

914Driver wrote: You only live once ..... http://springfieldil.craigslist.org/cto/4135888392.html

OK, A Mustang convert, or that.

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!

If he can find one at a good price, a used Cadillac XLR would be awesome. My 65 year old father-in-law used to have Corvettes, and a Mercedes 500SL after that. He has the XLR now, and seems to enjoy it quite a bit.

If the XLR is out because of price, there have been so many SL Mercedes models over the last several decades that he could problably find a nice one for a reasonable price. That or a Jaguar XK8. I've been looking at them and it seems as though you can get a mid 2000s with about 60k-80k miles for somewhere between $11,000 and $16,000 depending on condition.

What about a Jaguar XK8?

Ah, i see BAMF beat me too it.. They seem like an awesome deal, according to the Depreciation Station that a favorite Classic Motorsports magazine wrote about..

+1 on the Jaaaaag!

If you are in the XLR and XK8 neighborhood then you might as well toss in BMW, Mercedes and Audi too. I would hate to have an Avalon as (possibly) my last car also. Not that there is anything wrong with them.

What's his budget? Is a F car out of the range? I hear a 360 isn't that bad about maintenance, and he could get the flappy-paddles..

That's the kinda car I'd like to go out in :) But it might be hard to get out & in..

Budget is hard to say. He can probably get about 20k for his Avalon, and between SS, some sold assets, and other investments, he isn't hurting at all for money. Especially because I don't think he'll be around much longer without my grandma. The only problem will be getting him to actually part from it.

F car is definitely out, although maybe a RR or Bentley--but he is probably too conservative for that. Are there any reliable ones out there? (Reliable is somewhat relative, he isn't driving more than 15 miles at a time)

What about an Audi TT roadster?