I decided to do a little shuffling in the car collection. I sold a few cars, basically consolidating 3 cars into 1:
- I sold my Porsche Speedster replica because I’d had some great adventures with it for 3 years and I wasn’t driving it as much anymore. Yves’ hair is really long now, and she doesn’t like going out in a convertible that doesn’t have side windows or a wind deflector. We tended to use the 911 Targa instead. For short solo errands in a convertible, I have my Honda Beat, which I adore.
- I sold my Cadillac Brougham because I just didn’t have the space for it, and I can always get another one of those relatively easily. We’ve been looking for a house with more garage space, and it’s just been damn near impossible to find anything in our price range in Vegas with 5+ garage spots without going way, way out into the sticks.
- I sold the Land Rover Defender. It had been our favorite road trip car because it was big, comfortable, modern, and reliable. We’d put about 11k miles on it in a year and a half – despite owning a handful of other cars! I loved the Defender very much, and if we weren’t getting this next car, I absolutely would have kept the Defender, but Yves had always wanted one of these…
Yves had always wanted a Rolls-Royce convertible, so we’ve kept an eye on used Dawn prices over time. They’ve been annoyingly stable. Rolls hasn’t made a convertible model for a few years, and their next one is supposed to be a convertible version of the electric Spectre coupe. It’ll probably come out in a couple/few years, but in the meantime, if you want a modern convertible Roller, your only choice is a used Dawn.
Picking a Used Dawn
Shopping for used Dawns is about finding one with the design choices you want. Rolls-Royces are usually custom ordered bespoke, with a dizzying array of exterior & interior color & material choices – and there are a lot of choices. We wanted to find one with:
- Two-tone exterior paint – I really, really love this, especially with a metal look on the center of the car. We didn’t really care what color was on the sides because that’s easy to wrap.
- A light or bright interior leather color – most of them are black, which is a shame in a convertible since black leather heats up quickly in the sun. Plus, black leather makes a car feel claustrophobic. We wanted anything other than black.
- Canadel wood paneling – by default, Rolls covers everything in leather, but they offer a beautiful book-matched wood panels in a matte, open pore finish. It’s like a $20k option when the car is new, but it’s so gorgeous and really makes a difference in the interior feel. We wanted that.
- Wood paneling on the convertible top cover – an option, and we wanted that too.
We searched for quite a while and almost pulled the trigger on a light dusty yellow one with yellow & white leather interior, but it didn’t pass a pre-purchase inspection and the seller acted shady about it. We were heartbroken when that one didn’t work out, but shortly thereafter, this one popped up at Carrio Motorcars in Fort Lauderdale, which usually has a nice selection of Rolls convertibles:
Like a lot of Rolls-Royce colors, this one is really tricky: it looks black in most photos, but in daylight, it’s a very dark, rich combination of brown and red. It’s a beautiful color, but we wrapped the dark part in pink with a metallic overlay.
The Rolls Driving Experience
Car reviewers all say the same cliche phrases: Rolls cars waft and glide over the road. They’re silent, peaceful, and you arrive at your destination feeling more relaxed.
The reviews are correct.
If you wanna find out if that kind of waft-y car experience is your bag, go buy a used Cadillac Brougham. Seriously. You get maybe 60% of the experience (or more) at 10% of the price (or less). Granted, a 30 year old Caddy is going to accelerate slower, ride worse, be noisier, and break down more often, but… not that much worse. Yves’ first reaction upon riding in a Dawn for the first time was, “Oh, this is like a modern Caddy.” In some other universe timeline, one where Cadillac actually brought the Sollei concept car to market, I can see how we’d have bought that rather than a Dawn.
The Dawn replaced our road-trip Defender, the cushy Caddy, and the convertible Speedster replica by kinda being all 3 of those cars in one. Interestingly, the Dawn does so many things well that it makes me more likely to buy crazy, oddball, uncomfortable sports cars! If I’m walking into the garage and I want an easy, comfy experience, the Dawn is a no-brainer – much more so than the 2024 911 Targa. I find myself driving the Targa less, and the Dawn more. It’s just easy and cushy. Then, when I want to drive something challenging or stimulating, I’m more likely to take the Honda Beat or 356 SC.