The starting price of cars that have a convertible option is already quite high, so each additional expense forces buyers to think carefully when choosing the type of car.
Convertible: base price plus 7 percent
This is not an additional VAT or excise duty, on average 7 percent of the car’s value costs a vehicle with a retractable roof.
As Katarzyna Siwek, a motor market expert, reports, only 761 new convertible cars have been registered this year. Poles are not very enthusiastic about this body version, but it must also be admitted that the market offer of cars with a folding roof is quite modest.
According to Carsmile estimates, a convertible costs an average of 7 percent more. Cars of this type are the domain of premium brands, but the cheapest new convertible available on the market costs PLN 70,000.
Convertibles in Poland: the most popular, each one takes a long time to arrive
– Climate change, hot summers and increasingly longer periods of high temperatures combined with the growing wealth of Polish society will result in an increase in interest in convertible cars in the coming years, but despite this, this segment will remain a market niche – says Michał Knitter, co-founder of the Carsmile platform.
This year, up to the end of May, only 574 new convertible cars were registered in Poland, and taking into account the latest data (from June), a total of 761 were purchased.
Convertible registrations / Press materials
Throughout last year, there were 1,203 such registrations – according to data from IBRM Samar.
The popularity of convertible cars increases significantly in the spring and summer months. Last year, the record was broken in May, when 180 new convertibles were registered, and this year in June (183 registrations).
The result could have been better if it were not for the temporary unavailability of the market leader – the MINI Cooper Cabrio.
– The MINI Cooper Cabrio is currently unavailable and cannot be ordered. The new model is due to appear at the end of the year, and the last units of the old one have just been sold – informs Sylwester Łagowski, head of Carsmile’s order department.
The car in the John Cooper Works sport-out version had a list price of PLN 209,000 gross.
The cheapest convertible currently available on the market is the Fiat 500 C, whose list price starts at PLN 70,000 gross, which gives an estimated 5-year lease payment of around PLN 1,000 net minus the negotiated discount.
For comparison, the standard version of the Fiat 500 costs from PLN 61,000 gross upwards.
Convertibles for a fortune, except for the Fiat 500
The market offer of convertibles is quite modest and with few exceptions limited to premium brands. Despite climate change and the increasingly longer periods when it is possible to enjoy convertible driving, manufacturers are not seeking this body type to increase its market share.
– Interestingly, in the United States, which popularized cars with foldable roofs, this type of vehicle is also almost invisible on the streets of the largest cities, and in California, where there are definitely more of them, they also give way to much more popular pick-up trucks – comments Michał Knitter.
The second example of a convertible representing the mass segment is the Mazda MX5, although it should be emphasized that it is also the most popular “roofless” car in the world. The list price of the 2.0 Exclusive Line i-ELOOP version is PLN 166,000 gross.
As Katarzyna Siwek calculates, the car is available, among others, in long-term rental, and the cost of the subscription in the case of a three-year contract (with insurance, servicing and tires) is PLN 2,829 net.
In Poland, the Mazda MX5 is third on the list of most frequently purchased convertibles this year, losing only to the MINI Cooper Cabrio and the Porsche 718, although the differences between the number of registrations of these models are cosmetic.
Unfortunately, the Mazda MX5 cannot be compared with the standard body because this car is only available in a convertible version.
However, Carsmile analysts have identified a group of cars for which it is possible to estimate how much you have to pay extra for the lack of a roof, which in this case indicates the vehicle’s prestige. The list was dominated by premium cars, such as: Porsche 718 and 911, Mercedes AMG, BMW 8 Series and 4 Series, Ford Mustang and Mercedes CLE.
The list is completed by the already mentioned Fiat 500.
Convertible more expensive: on average by 7 percent, but it is PLN 32 thousand
The cost of buying and leasing a convertible was compared with the coupe version, which seems to be the closest alternative, or with the standard version. The list price of the open body turned out to be almost PLN 32,000 gross higher on average (plus 7 percent).
However, it must be remembered that in most cases we are dealing with expensive cars. The estimated five-year lease payment for the adopted assumptions – the payment calculated for the list price, i.e. without taking into account the discount; minimum contribution and buyout of almost PLN 6,700 net – turned out to be higher by PLN 580 net.
Convertible additional charge / Press materials
This is how much you have to pay extra for the lack of a roof.
The only exception to the norm is the Porsche 718, for which the official price lists – both for the Spyder RS and Cayman GT4 RS versions – start from the same, not insignificant amount of PLN 823,000 gross.