by Alicia Butler

Created on: November 08, 2008   Last Updated: December 01, 2008

Picture it, you've just bought your first convertible. You've been dreaming of this car for ages. You're driving down the highway, the stereo is up, and the wind is blowing through your hair. You feel so great, you don't notice when someone abruptly changes lanes without signaling, and sideswipes your car. How safe are you, and how great do you feel now about your new purchase? It depend, you could feel safer than you did in your SUV, or you could feel more exposed and more likely that you wouldn't survive a high-speed crash. Luckily, if you're smart (and we know you are!) you did your homework, by reading this article, before you made your dream purchase and discovered the following information that lead you to buy your current, new, convertible car.

Most consumers will weigh the pros and cons before buying a convertible. What happens in the case of an accident? What happens if the car rolls over, and what is the likelihood the car will roll over at all? Buying a convertible is not dissimilar to buying any other car. Your best defense against an accident is researching the safety reports of the top models of each car in the industry, and comparing them to the cars that fit in your price-range, in addition to the style of convertible you are interested in. For example, CBS reported the Saab 9-3 and the Volvo C70 have the highest safety ratings and their cost is in the $40,000 range, while The Audi A4 and the BMW3 both rate lower in safety tests and are priced much higher. Similarly, Volkswagen and Saab both have cars that test high in safety ratings and cost much less than all of the above cars.

But what exactly makes one convertible safer than the other? The most-asked question consumers ask is, "what happens if the car rolls over?" The first peril is that some sort of debris or dangerous object could make its way into your car and damage the car or seriously hurt you or another passenger. If the top is up, you'll be safer than if it's down, but if your car has a cloth roof, debris may be the only danger it keeps out of the interior. Cloth roofs can tear easily and probably won't keep too much out. Your best defense if your car rolls over? A simple seatbelt will protect you from the majority of injuries- whether the car rolls or not. The probability of the car rolling is severely lower in a convertible than in any other car, however, because their center of gravity is closer to the ground, making the car more stable than say, an SUV or a truck.

Because the roof

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>