Eight summer drop-top convertibles for £10k or less

Winter blues be gone! As the days get longer and the nights shorten, the chance of decent weather grows by the hour – and there’s plenty of open-top motoring to be had, even on a modest budget.
For those seeking miles of headroom, our cheapest cars hail from the mid-Nineties and early Noughties at £2500 and wind back the decades just before breaching £10,000.

The sooner you can buy, the better; as temperatures rise, so does the market, as sellers (from private owners to the auction room and dealership) sense demand and tempt their profit margins.

There’s plenty of shows to visit in the sunshine, but make sure your new steed is up to the task; if you bought your drop top earlier in the year to save money, we prepared an earlier guide for how to bring it back to life.

Making sure your new car is fit to drive further afield could also extend to the Continent; club experts advised us how best to tackle this and Lancaster Insurance Services can also offer breakdown cover for the UK and beyond.

Fair weather cars are as a fair game as daily drivers for the purposes of this feature: if top-down blasts rule supreme, overall condition is less important, may well drive the price down, or leave more money in the kitty for maintenance.

Not every iteration of our chosen cars can be bought within our price points, so we’ve narrowed models and years down between headings and copy to avoid unrealistic expectations.

Of course, British roadsters, convertibles and cabrios rule the roost in this feature, bar one exception: one of our great exports, they left a legacy that even the cost-conscious convertible buyer can’t easily ignore as the summer edges closer. Backed by enthusiastic clubs, their enthusiasm, knowledge and parts access shames many a foreign rival.

UP TO £2500

MGF (1995-2002)

The all-British response to Mazda’s seminal MX-5 revived a much-loved marque in 1995, bringing mid-engined K-Series power and Hydragas to the roadster market. In truth, tested MGFs can still be had for under £1k – but our £2500 budget buys a good all-rounder with no issues to speak of, provided you can get on with the driving position.

You probably won’t be buying a Trophy 160 (2001-2002) for this sort of money, but almost every other model is within reach, provided you’re not fussy about mileage. MGFs tend to be more rust resistant than MX-5s, but corrosion can still nibble at the edges of the wings, the outer sills and the join between the two around the air intake.

Most critical to any MGF’s condition long term is the health of the engine and the suspension. Long coolant lines run from the nose-mounted radiator to the 1.6 or 1.8-litre K Series mounted behind the driver; head gasket and inlet gasket problems can still rear their heads too, but most cars have been sorted by now.

If any car feels unruly or stiff on the test drive, the suspension displacers need recharging, a job achieved with specialist equipment at home, the MG Owners’ Club workshop, or specialists like Hydragas or Hydrolastic Limited. Tyre selection is also key: sizes fore and aft differ on many models and cheaper/non-matching items cross axle will detract from the driving experience.

Honourable Mention: Toyota MR2 Mk3 (‘W30’ – 1999-2007)

Toyota’s MR2 Mk3 (sometimes called the ‘W30’ in enthusiast circles) was arguably a sharper and more engaging drive than the MGF, and bests it in terms of mechanical durability, but is smaller, tighter inside and less practical than the British car. Get in touch with the MR2 Drivers’ Club for more help.

UP TO £5000

Triumph TR7 Cabriolet(1980-1981)

There’s nothing quite like a TR7 in terms of styling; nearly five decades since its launch, Harris Mann’s pop-up light everyman wedge never lost its ability to shock. Introduced late in the model’s UK career (1980), the Cabriolet retained the same rugged running gear as its fixed head stablemate and was the only production TR drop-top to do so without a separate chassis.

£5000 is well within the market for a good but not perfect 2.0-litre car; prices are steadily rising, but a project TR7 V8 (a four-pot car converted with a Rover V8 engine in the vein of the rare TR8) can also be put on your drive within this budget. Make sure the slant-four has had regular coolant and oil changes (to avoid a warped cylinder head) and timing chain intervals have been observed.

Get used to the deep dashboard and a TR7 convertible will surprise you with its decent pace, predictable handling and solid economy (owing to that five-speed gearbox).

Watch for corrosion on the inner chassis legs and on the edges of panels, particularly on the seam along the top of the rear wings. Rust can also creep in between the sills and floors, and along the seam surround; the rear bulkhead can also hide rot. While some body parts aren’t available new, certain new panels have been remanufactured; Club Triumph can help with the rest.

Honourable Mention: Triumph Spitfire Mark IV/1500 (1970-1980)

Canley’s smallest roadster can also be on your drive for our £5000 ceiling; sadly, earlier cars remain out of reach. With more predictable handling than its forebears, the later Spitfires were slightly slower but produced in greater numbers, with its flip-top bonnet offering unmatched accessibility for maintenance. Watch for rusty panels, missing trim, and corroded chassis members.

UP TO £7000

Austin-Healey Sprite/MG Midget (aka Spridget, 1961-1971, 1961-1980)

Small, light, and nimble, the so-called ‘Spridget’, comprising both the Austin-Healey Sprite and MG Midget models (from 1961) were the mainstay of the cheap sports car market. £7000 brings every Midget and almost every A-H Sprite (bar the 1958-61 ‘Frogeye’) within budget, though you may bag a replica built with suitable nose and tail panels (made from fibreglass).

Some purists think the Mk1 Midget (1961-1964) with its quarter-elliptic sprung back end is the best drive, though in truth, all models bar the far softer 1974-on 1500 make the most of twisty roads (even then, the later rubber bumper cars can be lowered after purchase). Their tiny size also means they’re cramped, and a strict two-seater, hood up or down.

Alas, rust is the biggest killer of these cars; however, you’re going some to take an A-Series out of commission (though the Triumph-derived 1500cc engine in the last Midgets are less tolerant of poor maintenance). The MG Owners’ Club will be happy to assist.

Check bodywork (and especially the floors) carefully – they’re likely to have been soaked more than once. Front panels can take a battering (lots of Spridgets have visited hedges in their lives), and the shape of the front arch can tell of accident damage if distorted. Front wing corners and A pillars are rust traps, along with rear wings, rear inner wings, rear spring mounts, and sills.

Honourable Mention: Triumph Herald Convertible (1961-1971)

A four-seater, the Herald Convertible is fine choice for summer. We’ve omitted the earliest Herald S models from the timeline owing to prices beyond our budget. 13/60 cars are within range; you may even get a rougher Vitesse 6 (or converted saloon) for less than £7k. Make sure the chassis outriggers aren’t rotten and that the panels fit as they should. Again, Club Triumph is the place to go.

UP TO £10,000

Sunbeam Alpine (1959-1968)

Look at the Sunbeam Alpine as a less obvious British sports car (or a cut piece Bond getaway car from Dr No) and it begins to make a lot of sense. The earlier tail-finned models (Series I-III) will be ambitious for £10k, but haggling may bring them into reach; Series IV, IVA and V cars of which the latter were fitted with larger 1725cc engines from 1965 – would be affordable.

The Alpine’s monocoque shell can rust badly, and replacement panels aren’t as easily available as they might be in comparison to a similarly aged MG or Triumph. Jacking points, valances (front and rear) and scuttles below the windscreen can all hide rot; many earlier cars have been fitted with larger 1725cc (Series V) engines in their lifetimes, for which more spares are available.

The Sunbeam Alpine Owners’ Club can help with any issues you might have – though they’d probably advise against antics as portrayed in Get Carter or Get Smart!

Honourable Mention: MGB (1965-1980)

Odd though it may seem to render the MGB an also-ran, it’s the most obvious choice for a circa £10k classic drop-top; parts (up to and including a new body shell from British Motor Heritage) and support from the MG Owners’ Club remain top tier. You’re not getting an early ‘pull-handle’ door roadster (1963-1964) for £10k, but good running examples of later cars are fair game.