Current generation Sebring Convertibles

[RedBeard]

I own a Miata but I really need a larger car. (prefer a convertible)

I like the new styling of the current generation and given their depreciation, they seem like a pretty solid buy.

I see 08's with under 30k miles for less than 15k nicely equipped. I realize that they are not sporty cars but I think it is hard to argue the value there.

They seem to get pretty beat up on the reviews, but they aren't 25k+ when you are buying used.

Any opinions?

EDIT:
I ended up purchasing a brand new 2009 ford fusion.. Ha

 

[StageLeft]

Ugh. *shudder*. *stomach upheval*. This is the car that Michael drives on the Office, and there is actually a lot of wisdom in it, not just from a knee-jerk he's a loser don't buy it, but it says a lot about the car that they carefully chose it as the one he'd own.

Anyway, I cannot see myself spending $15k on a Chrysler with 30k miles. That seems like an awful prospect. Why are they beat up on the reviews? Are you asking about it here because you expect positive reviews and if so you can then ignore the negative, in which case why bother asking for reviews at all if you will still try to force a positive view on the car? Maybe I'm being presumptuous, though; It has happened in the past.

I guess that the second you get out of your miata and drive with gusto in the sebring you will pull over to the side of the road, get out of the car, and weep on the ground clutching your sides and asking aloud "Why, why oh why?"

EDIT: If you must have four seats and you must have convertible, why not a mustang V6 convertible? Mustang is surely a much better car than the sebring.

 

[desy]

The Sebring platform would have been perfectly fine in the 90's, it just doesn't measure up to all the other mids now, but how many of those others can you get in a convertable? hmm zero.
Its put together tight enough just isn't refined

 

[CRXican]

the previous generation was horrible

they drop like a rock in value for a reason

 

[Mursilis]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
If you must have four seats and you must have convertible, why not a mustang V6 convertible? Mustang is surely a much better car than the sebring.

Great suggestion. Additionally, the Mustang should hold its value a bit better, and is made by a company which probably will actually still exist this time next year.

Just curious - which Miata does the OP own?

 

[RedBeard]

Originally posted by: Mursilis
Just curious - which Miata does the OP own?

This one

 

[nakedfrog]

I own a previous rental/fleet 2004 (hardtop) that I bought a bit past the 30k mark, now it's at 80k, and it's been in the shop once--to replace a wheel bearing that was damaged when my wife backed into a retaining wall. As always, YMMV

 

[RedBeard]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Anyway, I cannot see myself spending $15k on a Chrysler with 30k miles. That seems like an awful prospect. Why are they beat up on the reviews? Are you asking about it here because you expect positive reviews and if so you can then ignore the negative, in which case why bother asking for reviews at all if you will still try to force a positive view on the car? Maybe I'm being presumptuous, though; It has happened in the past.

I guess that the second you get out of your miata and drive with gusto in the sebring you will pull over to the side of the road, get out of the car, and weep on the ground clutching your sides and asking aloud "Why, why oh why?"

EDIT: If you must have four seats and you must have convertible, why not a mustang V6 convertible? Mustang is surely a much better car than the sebring.

I am not trying to force a positive review out of the car. I think at MSRP you are crazy to buy nearly any domestic car let alone a Chrsyler. But I figured maybe given the used car prices of this model it might become more of a deal.

Maybe the V6 Mustang would be a better option overall. I would have to give up some of the niceties that the Sebring can offer at that price point. The Sebring is attractive because you can find one loaded with leather, heated seats, newer, less miles, for less.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: RedBeard

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Anyway, I cannot see myself spending $15k on a Chrysler with 30k miles. That seems like an awful prospect. Why are they beat up on the reviews? Are you asking about it here because you expect positive reviews and if so you can then ignore the negative, in which case why bother asking for reviews at all if you will still try to force a positive view on the car? Maybe I'm being presumptuous, though; It has happened in the past.

I guess that the second you get out of your miata and drive with gusto in the sebring you will pull over to the side of the road, get out of the car, and weep on the ground clutching your sides and asking aloud "Why, why oh why?"

EDIT: If you must have four seats and you must have convertible, why not a mustang V6 convertible? Mustang is surely a much better car than the sebring.

I am not trying to force a positive review out of the car. I think at MSRP you are crazy to buy nearly any domestic car let alone a Chrsyler. But I figured maybe given the used car prices of this model it might become more of a deal.

Maybe the V6 Mustang would be a better option overall. I would have to give up some of the niceties that the Sebring can offer at that price point. The Sebring is attractive because you can find one loaded with leather, heated seats, newer, less miles, for less.

Understandable.

Your miata looks fun. I do wish I had one, but it would have to be a third car. Like you, I need 4 seats

 

[theeedude]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/t...son/article4873574.ece

Looks like Clarkson didn't like it and gave it 0 stars.

 

[hanoverphist]

my mom went from a camry to the sebring, cant remember what year but its not too old now. same basic engine size in both, but she complained about it not being as fast as her camry. its not a bad car, she only has like 20k in 4 or so years of use, and the only thing that annoys her is the aftermarket sun roof and headliner the dealer put in. had to be redone like 3 times, replaced after that and it still seems to be a bit off.

is the sebring really the only choice for a mid size convertible? if so, i think i would find a cool looking car and make it a custom convertible.

 

[Mursilis]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Your miata looks fun. I do wish I had one, but it would have to be a third car. Like you, I need 4 seats

They're a hoot. I just picked up an '04 Mazdaspeed Miata, and it's quite the smile-mobile. Sure, it's lacking in seats, but that's what the Odyssey is for!

 

[BigSmooth]

Originally posted by: hanoverphist
is the sebring really the only choice for a mid size convertible? if so, i think i would find a cool looking car and make it a custom convertible.

No, in addition to the Mustang there's the Pontiac G6. Also if you spend more there are a number of European offerings like the Volvo C70, Saab 9-3, BMW 3-Series, Audi A4 etc.

I'm not a fan of the current Sebring. It's really ugly. I rented the previous gen a few times and it was fine although it was very "floaty" and cheap inside. I haven't driven the new one but most reviews say it's not much of an improvement.

 

[SN4p]

Volvo C70 might be something to look into.

 

[JDub02]

what about the camry convertible (solara, i think)?

 

[vi edit]

I'd rather take my chances on a Saab 9-3 'vert and get some luxury and fun for the money than a lame duck sebring.

linky

 

[AdamK47]

It's not everyday we see female members starting threads in the garage section.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

there are SOSO many other 4 seating convertibles on the market. dont buy chrysler, theres a reason they're dead. its because they made shitty cars

 

[RedBeard]

Originally posted by: AdamK47
It's not everyday we see female members starting threads in the garage section.

It's not everyday I see assholes in my threads. This coming from the loser who brags about the number of games he has installed. Seriously?

 

[RedBeard]

Originally posted by: vi edit
I'd rather take my chances on a Saab 9-3 'vert and get some luxury and fun for the money than a lame duck sebring.

linky

That is such a nice car. I looked at Saabs but I had to go back a few years to fit my budget.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Did some major 'vert shopping the past 6-years. I've owned 3.

'92 240SX
'95 Cutlass
'08 Saab 9-3 Aero

Current gen Sebring is fantastic - 2008+ models. The ones you are looking at are most likely rental fleet cars. Don't buy a former rental car.

We need room, a decent trunk and comfortable back seat for 2 tweens. If you need a trunk than remove all hard top convertibles from your criteria. With the trunk down they suck up all but about 4cu-ft of space.

The Sebring can be had in either soft-top or retractable hard top. With the soft top down, the trunk is still pretty damn big!

if you can afford it, swing up to a Sebring Limited - 3.5L V6 250HP and 6spd Automatic. The 2.7L V6 with 190HP is OK, but 4spd Auto.

The rear seat room is pretty nice - only better leg room is the Toyota Solara.

The downside to the Solara is it is a hack job 'vert and was not designed as a convertible. The factory builds a coupe and then send it to another facotry where they cut the roof off and mount a convertible top along with welding in plenty of support. Strucutural integirty is compromised and you end up with a wet noodle of suspension and torsional rigidity with plenty of cowl shake. Solara soft-top also does not stow away under a hard cover so its not as sleek or pretty to look at with the top down

The upside to the Solara is big trunk and lots of rear leg room plus a gorgeous interior. In 2008 they made some big improvements by adding HID's and an optional sport kit. The Solara coupe was killed off in 2009 and only Solara verts are made now.

EOS - tiny back-seat
CLK - tiny back seat
G6 - no trunk but decent rear seat. Same platform as Saab 9-3
BMW 3 - tiny rear seat (we only looked athe previous gen as we were not interested in hard top verts)
PT Crusier - tiny trunk and funky styling - Positive - turbo power in GT
Mustang - leg-room is pretty poor but decent trunk and cheap. The 4.0L V6 is plenty of power
Saab 9-3 - Turbo power, decent fule economy, luxury features everywhere, excellent warrnaty, free service for 3yrs, I own a '06 Sedan so am familair with them
C70 - boulevard cruiser, not very sporting
A4 - really liked these but resale was high

Came down to 4-cars for us. A4, 9-3, Solara, Sebring

We liked the Sebring a lot but the Saab won out because of the deal we got. A4 was great but resale value was high and finding one with the 3.2L engine was not the easiest.

Caranddriver.com reviews the Sebring, V6 Mustang, and Pontiac G6
They tested the 190HP V6

Chrysler has done a few cars right (Caravan) and the Sebring 'vert has been a very good seller for them. They made a very good, useful, convertible which some of us want.

The driving dynamics were important to us but we also needed functionality.

Our Saab 9-3 Aero Convertible

 

[KentState]

Is the convertible anything like the sedan? All I know is that I have a rental sedan right now and it's the worse car that I've ever driven. Thing takes for ever to get up to speed and the interior is 90s Chevy Monte Carlo.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Originally posted by: KentState
Is the convertible anything like the sedan? All I know is that I have a rental sedan right now and it's the worse car that I've ever driven. Thing takes for ever to get up to speed and the interior is 90s Chevy Monte Carlo.

You are most likely driving the 4cyl 173HP car. It's a pretty horrile motor that is due for replacment in the Chrysler line-up - of course that may not happen if Chrysler goes under.

You are driving a rental fleet car that is base spec - the interior in the vert is improved but yes, lots of hard plastic. Ergonomics are very good though.

 

[TehMac]

Why don't you look for cars that have already been modded? Mods cheapen the car and make its performance better and the car more fun at the same time!

 

[ballmode]

E46 vert

I have a miata and I want more space... but the S2000 beckons me