When to park w/ top down?
Joined: Dec 2001
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From: Boston
Originally Posted by Shinigami,Mar 16 2005, 04:02 AM
I leave the top down if I park it in the garage, or if I'll be away for only a few minutes (or within vicinity).
Occasionally I leave it open all day while it sits in someplace (but depends on the 'place'). Interiors can get horribly hot in the sun, plus the UV's don't do all that good for that leather.
Luckily, most places in Switzerland are relatively crime free, so not much harm in leaving an open cabriolet sitting around in the streets.
Occasionally I leave it open all day while it sits in someplace (but depends on the 'place'). Interiors can get horribly hot in the sun, plus the UV's don't do all that good for that leather.
Luckily, most places in Switzerland are relatively crime free, so not much harm in leaving an open cabriolet sitting around in the streets.
Use your judgement. I don't keep anything in the car and am more worried about birds than theft/vandals. I'd hate to have the top down when the rains comes out of nowhere though. The interior can get mighty hot with the top down.
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From: Queen City, NC
Grocery store, small errands around town, dining and eating outside where I can see the S, at a friends house - top down...
Target, the mall, work, dining inside a restaurant, at a friend's apartment - top up. Usually I'll just flip the top up and not latch it if i know I'm going to drop it when I get back.
Oh, and I always carry a medium towel in the trunk in case something drops into the cabin - rain, bird crap, a milkshake, you name it.
Target, the mall, work, dining inside a restaurant, at a friend's apartment - top up. Usually I'll just flip the top up and not latch it if i know I'm going to drop it when I get back.
Oh, and I always carry a medium towel in the trunk in case something drops into the cabin - rain, bird crap, a milkshake, you name it.
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This weekend it was 74 degrees, beautiful. Sunny. I stopped in to get a smoothie. Barely a cloud in the sky... I come out 10 minutes later, it's POURING! I had to literally sit in puddles in my seats because I left the top down.
I feel safer leaving my top down now because I don't have as much valuable stuff in there as I will in a month. When I get my stereo put in and such, I'm going to put the top up when I go into places I will more than 30 minutes and don't have an occasional view of my car. Sure, if they really wanted in they could cut the top, but A) I'm not parking in any vacant parking lots, so B) If someone is cutting the cloth top of a car while a car alarm is going off, I'm willing to bet people will think something fishy is going on.
It's a slight piece of mind that my top is some sort of a small deterrent. Now leave me be in my dream world!
I feel safer leaving my top down now because I don't have as much valuable stuff in there as I will in a month. When I get my stereo put in and such, I'm going to put the top up when I go into places I will more than 30 minutes and don't have an occasional view of my car. Sure, if they really wanted in they could cut the top, but A) I'm not parking in any vacant parking lots, so B) If someone is cutting the cloth top of a car while a car alarm is going off, I'm willing to bet people will think something fishy is going on.
It's a slight piece of mind that my top is some sort of a small deterrent. Now leave me be in my dream world!
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From: Smalltown
Originally Posted by fourcylthrill,Mar 16 2005, 02:50 AM
The one time I did leave my top down, at my friends house, a bird's digestive tract reached max capacity and hit my secret console. Good thing it didn't hit the leather
We were in FL with a rental convertible. We went out to dinner near the ocean and decided to put the top up, even though we saw another rental type of convertible with the top down in the lot.
Good thing we did. We came out from dinner and the other car was hit by bird with the same problem you mentioned. It really was mess.
Our top is almost always put up if the car is out of sight.
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From: NVA
Originally Posted by BocaS2000,Mar 16 2005, 01:22 AM
If I am out of sight of the car, top up always (even for short runs into the store). An ounce of prevention never hurt...
btw, just becuse I think your signature can look nicer, that girl next to your white S2k looks like shes pooping on it in the first pic, and pissing in the last pic...? Next time, tell her to close her legs when posing!
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From: Los Angeles
I usually leave the top down when I park, I always leave the windows down incase some morron decides to lean on them and just maybe, CRACK! Just lock the glove and your fine...
I made the mistake parking top down when I thought the rains were over (ended 2 hours ago) and I came out from the restaurant and I had to sit in a SPOOL2000, not fun trust me. Just watch out for the weather.
I made the mistake parking top down when I thought the rains were over (ended 2 hours ago) and I came out from the restaurant and I had to sit in a SPOOL2000, not fun trust me. Just watch out for the weather.
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From: Tucson, AZ
Originally Posted by fourcylthrill,Mar 16 2005, 12:50 AM
Another time, we were at the lake siting on the beach riding jetskis, not really paying attention to the cars. The family next to us had two kids about 5 or 6 that thought it would be neat to make my friends miata a sandcastle. We look over and they're heavin sand a bucket at a time in it. Two years later he still finds sand in it when he vacuums. It's in the seat rails, doors, EVERYWHERE. I don't know how he stayed cool through it. I thought it was quite funny... either because the kids were so innocent looking or it was a miata 
How can you keep your cool about that?!
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From: Jax Florida
Originally Posted by BocaS2000,Mar 15 2005, 10:22 PM
If I am out of sight of the car, top up always (even for short runs into the store). An ounce of prevention never hurt...