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How Long Will a Convertible Top Last?

On average, a convertible car top will last roughly seven years. However, this timescale will differ depending on various factors, including the type of material the top is made from, where you park the car and how often you use it.

Naturally, through regular care and maintenance or storing your car in a garage, you can extend your folding roof's lifespan.

For soft-top convertible car's, two of the most common materials they are made from are vinyl and canvas, which are both hardwearing. However, they will still need regular care to keep them in good shape. 

What Are The Benefits Of Soft Top Cars?

A wide range of products on the market can help you extend the life of your convertible roof's material and help keep it in perfect condition, alongside the steps already mentioned, allowing you to push the seven-year lifespan up to around ten years.

However, nothing lasts forever, and after a certain amount of time, the material will naturally degrade to the point where it will need to be replaced. 

Convertible Roof Types

There are primarily two types of convertible tops: hardtops and soft-tops. Both types come with their own unique advantages and disadvantages regarding ownership and longevity. Here we will go through some of these differences and what they mean for convertible car owners.

Hardtops will look more harmonious, with similar materials running seamlessly into one another than the dramatic contrast between soft-top fabrics and the metal car body.

Soft-top convertibles also allow more wind noise on the open road for you and your passengers than their hardtop counterparts when driving, providing another advantage to choosing the hardtop version.

Regarding the disadvantages, metal hardtop convertible roofs will cost you more money than fabric ones, given how they are constructed. The features and systems that operate the convertible motion of the roof are also more robust and therefore expensive. If these systems break down for whatever reason, they will also be more expensive to repair.

The weight of the heavier material will also affect your car's fuel economy and efficiency, given that the heavier weight will put more strain on the engine.

The weight also means it will handle differently than a lighter vehicle, being less agile with heavier handling than a soft-top car. Hardtop roofs are also bulkier than soft-top versions, meaning they need more space to store them. 

With the hardtop roof in the retracted position, more often than not, it will go into the car's boot. This is because there is a limited amount of space in a convertible car where the roof can be stored.

Therefore, the roof retracting into the vehicle's boot can limit the storage space available more than in other cars. This may be something you need to consider if you need your boot space often for shopping or carrying luggage. 

In terms of disadvantages, soft-tops are more easily damaged given the fabrics they are made from. This also means weaker security protection.

While the fabrics used to create soft-top convertibles are durable, if some ill-intentioned bypasser has any type of sharp object, they could easily cut their way through a soft-top to gain access to any valuables left inside the vehicle.

As previously mentioned, soft-top roofs are also known to allow more wind and road noise into the car when driving than hardtop convertibles, given the amount of air that can make its way through the gaps in the seals, which can also make them more uncomfortable given the reduced protection from the cold.

The visibility in soft-top convertible cars is also a thing to consider. While they are easy enough to drive when the roof is down, it's a completely different story when you raise the roof.

Are Convertibles Hard to Maintain?

On the whole, convertibles are not that difficult to maintain compared to non-convertible vehicles. Given that fabric roofs present certain risks, such as leaks, moisture damage, and fading, they may require special treatment. They also allow more of the elements inside the car than closed off non-convertibles, meaning more interior cleaning may be needed. 

The difference in convertible roof material also needs to be considered, as hardtop metals can be cleaned normally, while fabric convertible roofs will require special care. Harsh chemicals can cause significant damage to fabrics, meaning they are not the best for soft-top convertibles. Driving with the roof down can also mean more dirt and dust from the road getting into your car, meaning even more interior cleaning, particularly in the rear seating area.

While none of this additional cleaning is overly taxing or difficult, convertible cars do generally require more maintenance and cleaning than non-convertible cars. Therefore, if you do not feel like you are up for the challenge of maintaining a convertible, you may want to consider another type of car. 

Cleaning & Maintenance Tips

Here we've provided you with a few tips on keeping a properly maintained convertible top that is well cared for if you decide to go with this option rather than a standard car roof. These tips are a general guide to keeping your roof in great condition, but for more information on looking after your new roof fully, checking the manufacturer's suggestions is the best option.

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