Schreck

I just moved out to raleigh after living in the bay area CA for the past few years...during which time I always wanted an s2000. Well, now I can actually afford one (thanks in great part to the much more reasonable cost of living out here!) but the question is, what's convertible life like out here? Bear in mind that I'm new to the area so I'm not that familiar with the weather....I realize it won't be exactly bay area weather, but can you keep the top down for most of the year? Is it reasonable to have an s2000 as your only car?

I'm trying to not extrapolate from the past couple weeks of rain... ;-)

thanks.

FormulaR-S2K

Weather around here is like women, you never know what your gonna get. Sometimes we will have rather warm winters, and some years it could be cold. We do get snow sometimes, but you usually have a pretty good period of time where you could drive around with the top down. Alot of people have motorcycles around here too, along with convertibles. And with rain, right now we are in a drought. Eventhough lately it has been raining alot, which we need. If you get a S2000 I would probably want to have something to put it under, like a garage or carport. Well I hope this helped you out some.

Chris Nudi

My guess is that the great majority of people with convertibles own only one car and are happy that way. Just look at all the Miatas, Z3s and other convertibles around town.

baritone

Welcome to NC! I used to have a little roadster many years ago when I lived in L.A. I'd put the top down in April and put it back up again in November. Of course, the average rainfall in July in L.A. is zero.

Here, it's different. You'll be putting it up and down a lot, especially if you can't see outside from where you work. The sky can be cloudless when you drive to work, and we can get an inch of rain before you come out for lunch.

But the good part is......we've got miles and miles and miles of some of the prettiest two lane, gentle curve, rolling hills highways you'd ever want. Drive the Blue Ridge Parkway, then next trip go cruise the outer banks. It ain't Big Sur, but it's pretty darn nice!

There's one thing we have here that you didn't on the left coast -- warm summer nights. There's nothing quite like a top-down ride when it's about 75 degrees at midnight.

Yeah, yeah....we get occasional ice or snow (you'll come to learn that they're not the same), but that will only affect you a few days, if at all, each winter. The standard method of dealing with that here seems to be to stay home until it melts.

You won't have the top down much in Dec - Feb, but that just makes it sweeter the first time you drop it in March. Spring and Fall are glorious -- and they last a couple of months each, as opposed to a weekend or two in some other parts of the country.

Enjoy!

--Steve

Timber

This is a great place for an S. Of course you can always drive it wherever you want.

Welcome.

Tigger

I've had my S2000 since May. I'd say over 90% of my driving is with the top down. The only time I put the top up is for rain and for the few days in the summer where I just couldn't stand the heat and humidity while sitting in traffic. It was in the in the high 50s or low 60s this morning when I drove to work, and I had the top down with the heater on -- quite delightful. I suspect that I won't be so tough when the temps are in the 30s and 40s during Dec-Feb.

Schreck

Thanks for the advice, guys, looks like I'll be able to enjoy an S after all. I'm not militant about keeping it down at all times, just enough of the time to justify a roadster. Looks like that won't be a problem at all.

And, I totally agree with the remark that slightly poor weather makes you appreciate great weather that much more: northern california's homogeneous weather makes you miss having real seasons.

airgate

Welcome to NC!

The S2000 is my only car, with the exception of my wife's Pilot but the S is my daily driver and I would'nt want it any other way.

In fact, my original S2000 was supposed to be a weekend car and I was going to continue driving my Accord Coupe. The Accord Coupe was very nice but it just was'nt an S!

Since turning in my Accord Coupe at the end of it's lease, I figured I could save a good $400+ a month and just keep my S as the daily driver. It's worked well for me and the extra money has helped with my many, many trips and a few mods here and there.

Welcome again and I look forward to meeting you during one of our Carolina Meets!

urpow

Yep weather is unpredictable here. Never know what will happen... driving one day on a highway w/ top down, and it starts raining doh! For me riding in a convertible was not fun, especially in the summer. It was quite hot. But when I did have the tops down, it was a blast. I do miss it though.

baritone

Yeah, if I'm driving in the middle of the afternoon in July or August, I'll usually leave the top up just for the shade! After all, I wouldn't stay outside in the sun any longer than I had to at those times anyway.

Unfortunately, I have to work for a living, so cruising around at 2:00 in the afternoon isn't usually on the agenda.

But in the morning and evening, (and Sping and Fall) it's delightful.

--Steve