The professor believes that most people have a "convertible plot" in their hearts, because we know from an early age that the convertible is synonymous with romance, and the sports car is a symbol of success.
Therefore, many people want to be able to own a roadster and enjoy a romantic life.
How easy is it to own a roadster?
Looking at the entry-level model alone, Porsche's 718 Boxster series is priced at 565,000-98.60 million, which is not counting the various options.
BMW 4 Series Convertible Edition, 46.88-54.78 million, there may be a price increase, but also have to consider whether it can accept the large nostril in the net.
Buy a Z4, which is BMW's classic convertible, but its price range is 48.88-62.98 million, even more expensive than the 4 Series.
Even if it is the MINI COOPER convertible version equipped with a three-cylinder engine, it will cost 297,800 yuan, and it is impossible to get off the ground without 300,000.
Can't afford a new car, so everyone has set their sights on some old cars that are old.
Over time, the roadsters that once sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars may also become very "grounded".
If you have more than 100,000, which is equivalent to a RAV4 fuel version of the car purchase budget, then you may be able to buy a Lexus SC430 at the same price and enjoy the top romantic life of luxury brand + V8 engine + convertible.
This was a million-dollar convertible GT sports car in that year, and the grade was even comparable to the Mercedes-Benz SL Class.
But if your car budget is even smaller than that, you might as well keep your eyes down.
Look at the MG TF launched in 2007, which should be the only mid-mounted rear-drive roadster produced by domestic manufacturers.
It is equipped with a 1.8-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine and a 5-speed manual or CVT stepless gearbox, and was priced at 249,600-26.58 million yuan that year.
Nowadays, the price of this small sports car in the second-hand market is generally around 40,000 to 60,000 yuan depending on the condition of the car, and it is not even as expensive as a new Fit.
As for the BMW Z4 mentioned above, if you want to buy a new car, you need to prepare five or six hundred thousand yuan of funds; but if you can accept a 20-year-old original Z4, then your car purchase cost can be reduced to 80,000-100,000 yuan.
What's more, the Mercedes-Benz entry-level sports car that cost 500,000 or 600,000 yuan that year was also one of the world's earliest folding hard-top roadsters: the original SLK, and now the price in the second-hand market is only 40,000-60,000 yuan.
At such a low price, you can have a luxurious Mercedes-Benz logo, a mechanical hydraulic folding hard top and a 2.0L supercharged engine.
What do you think? Doesn't it look appealing?
Although 50,000 or 60,000 yuan is not a small amount, for hard-working young people, as long as they buy fewer limited shoes and plastic villains, they can still save for two or three years.
But don't really jump into this pit on impulse.
Because as old cars that are often more than ten years old or even more than twenty years old, they always have various problems.
For example, a friend of the professor's who earlier bought the Mercedes-Benz SLK for a BYD F3.
As a luxury brand of two-seater convertible sports car, driving the SLK is really very windy, always attracting the attention of a large number of passers-by and other drivers.
But behind the scenery, there are many troubles hidden.
First of all, due to the lack of roof support at the body structure level, the frame rigidity of the convertible is inherently weaker than that of ordinary hard-top models.
After more than 20 years of use, the body has undergone a certain degree of deformation, and various parts of the interior have naturally squeezed and collided with each other, emitting a large number of crunching noises during driving.
Of course, the abnormal sound is a small problem that can be subjectively endured, or solve the problem in this way: as long as it does not rain, open the canopy, so that the sound of the wind and the noise of other vehicles on the road will help you cover the abnormal sound of the interior.
It can cost thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars to renovate the interior, and the effect may not last.
Because it is possible that in less than half a year, the restored interior will once again have a strange noise due to the deformation of the frame
Mechanically, the 2.0L supercharged engine may still maintain a good power output, but the crankshaft front oil seal and sensor seal rings and other parts have been aging oil seepage, and similar failures will continue to increase over time.
Then there are the various covering parts on the outside of the body, especially the front and rear bumpers, which are easy to be damaged during driving, once damaged due to accidents, it is also difficult to find accessories.
Just like its antenna, it has not been repaired since it was broken, and now it can only insert a small yellow duck to the position of the antenna to "hide the shame", only because the accessories are really difficult to find.
Or this wound on the front bumper, generally speaking, need to replace the anti-scab strip directly; it is also because there is really no accessory, and now it can only be considered to repair it simply and rudely by smearing putty
Don't ask why you don't see this scar in the previous photo, because it was the result of the professor's careful PS...
There is also this cool open-top mechanism, which is still working properly, but everyone is worried that one day it will suddenly strike, or there will be aging sealing tape, heavy rain outside the car, and light rain in the car
Coupled with the old engine and transmission technology, the fuel consumption is significantly higher than that of today's similar models, and the fuel consumption of 100 kilometers in urban conditions is the norm.
Then there are requirements such as more than 15 years old cars that require two trials a year, and the cost of this SLK in the use process is much higher than that of the general new car.
If you say that maintenance is expensive and difficult to repair just because the SLK is a pure import model, you are wrong.
Because the professor also has a friend (the professor does not know why so many friends around him would buy such an unpopular model...) ）
He purchased a MG TF, the only domestically built mid-mounted rear-drive convertible.
Although it is a domestically produced car, the interior is completely designed from the United Kingdom, and it also uses the K series engine of the Rover period.
Authentic British car that mechanical reliability is also very much in line with expectations.
Although the price of accessories will not be as high as that of luxury brands, due to the scarcity of production of such models, coupled with the impact of the year, accessories are not casually found.
In a sports car with such a small body, the structure of the center rear drive + soft top open top is used to watch the wind, but it also leads to many maintenance projects that need to remove the engine as a whole before it can be carried out, which is time-consuming and expensive (the cost of man-hours is more expensive).
In addition, this car sold less that year, and even the maintenance master of the 4S shop may not have been in contact with it, and he had to learn while repairing
Seeing this, I believe everyone will also agree with this point of view: the second-hand old convertible car is very close to the people when it is bought, but it is not grounded at all.
Isn't there a convertible that ordinary young people can afford in the vast Chinese market?
Not really now, but soon, and everyone should be able to guess what it is.
That's right, it's the convertible version of Wuling Hongguang MINIEV!
In 2020, Wuling Hongguang MINIEV has spread all over the country in a short period of time.
As a pure electric mini car with an extremely affordable price, a very compact body, a full sense of design toys and can be directly on the new energy license plate, Wuling Hongguang MINIEV quickly became one of the best-selling models in the domestic market.
The success of Wuling Hongguang MINIEV reflects the most basic demand for cars from a large number of ordinary consumers in China: urban commuting, reliable reputation, and low prices.
Wuling also decided to further develop this low-end consumer market with great potential, and launched the convertible version of the Hongguang MINIEV concept car, which once again caused heated discussion on the whole network.
Driven by the market heat, the Hongguang MINIEV convertible version confirmed that it will be put into mass production, and the relevant MINISTRY of Industry and Information Technology certification pictures have been circulated not long ago, and it is believed that it can be purchased within this year.
But after all, this is a model based on the Hongguang MINIEV, and we can't always ask it to meet too high technical standards.
It is known that the new car will be equipped with a drive motor with a power increase of 30 kilowatts (about 40 horsepower) to match its "sports car identity"; but the power output of this 30 kilowatts is not enough to meet the edge of "sports"
Moreover, considering that it is only modified and designed on the basis of ordinary macro light MINIEV, it is difficult to arrange a large-capacity power battery under the current technical conditions.
However, it is known that the upcoming new model will be able to increase the cruising range to more than 200 kilometers, and the practicality has been significantly improved compared with the current model, at least the daily commuting in the city is basically stress-free.
Moreover, due to the addition of the soft-top convertible design, driving the Hongguang MINIEV Convertible Edition can enjoy the same experience as the Porsche 718 Boxster (of course, excluding the power, control, comfort, and entertainment parts).
However, although it is based on Hongguang MINIEV, considering the addition of a convertible mechanism and the interior will be more stylish and refined, the price will naturally not be too low.
The professor expects that the starting price of the Hongguang MINIEV convertible version will be around 60,000 to 70,000 yuan, which is much more expensive than the ordinary version, but it is still in a very affordable price range.
Compared with those old guys who are more than ten or twenty years old, this car is at least a brand new product, and there is no need to worry about the card, annual inspection, maintenance and other worries.
As for the problem of battery life, everyone will not want to drive it for a long-distance self-driving trip, right? As a windmill within the city limits, the endurance of about 200 kilometers is enough.
Yes, if you look at the Wuling Hongguang MINIEV Convertible edition by the standard of a "roadster", then it is really useless.
But if you think of the convertible as a handsome piece of equipment that comes with this cheap urban car, do you suddenly feel that it is cost-effective?
Isn't it a great thing to get the pleasure of a convertible at the price of a mini-car, without the various annoyances of an old convertible car?