Can you believe convertibles made up less than one percent of auto sales last year in the US? If you want to spot a drop-top in 2026, you might as well wait for the nearest classic car show, because you don't see many on the highway these days. It's a niche that's getting narrower every day, especially since 2020, when issues like supply chain hangups saw automakers looking to trim the fat and drop their slowest-selling models.In the mid-00s, it was a different story. Well, not a totally different story, as convertibles only made up 2% of the market back then. But hey, that's more than twice as many convertibles as you can buy in the US in 2026. One drop-top from this era that we think deserves a place in the cult-classic hall of fame would be the Toyota Camry Solara, a Toyota Camry-based convertible that had a one-decade run from 1998 to 2008. The Camry Solara Only Ran For Two Generations Toyota The Camry Solara was made available across two generations. The car was first introduced in 1998 for the 1999 model year, based on the XV10 widebody Camry coupe, with the convertible model hitting the market in 2000. The first generation ran until the 2003 model year, while the second-gen Solara – based on the 2002 Camry sedan platform – ran from the 2004 to 2008 model years. Both generations were available as both coupes and convertibles.In addition to the entry-level 2.2-liter four-pot, first-gen Solaras were also available with a 3.0-liter V6, delivering 200 horsepower and 214 lb-ft of torque. The second-gen models were only sold with a 3.3-liter V6 under the hood.By 2008, the Solara convertible was clearing 60 mph in just over seven seconds, which meant it was far from the sportiest thing on the road. Reviewers at the time were largely left underwhelmed by the Solara's middling performance. In hindsight, we think these reviewers were looking at the Solara all wrong.This car looked sporty, but what it was really trying to deliver was a topless cruiser with Toyota reliability, so that you could enjoy a road trip without a care in the world, and that includes weird ticking noises coming from under the hood. The Solara delivered on that promise in spades, and it's still kicking 20 years later, while many of its contemporaries have been resigned to the scrap pile.And if that's not enough for you, we've got some good news. There Was A Supercharged Version, Too ToyotaThe first-gen Solara was available with a TRD Performance package, taking the 3.0-liter engine and supercharging the horsepower up to 262 hp, which would knock the 0-60 takeoff down to just 5.6 seconds. With the TRD Performance package, the Camry Solara was a topless two-door that drove like a hot hatch.Supercharged Solaras weren't incredibly common back in the 2000s, and the few surviving models are mostly coupes, not convertibles. If you can find one, cool, but don't hold your breath waiting for a TRD Solara to hit the market. Last we checked, we couldn't find a single supercharged Solara (coupe or convertible) in our own marketplace. First-Gen Solaras Were More Reliable CarComplaintsIf we take a look at the timeline on CarComplaints, we find a steep drop-off in reliability with the launch of the second generation for the 2004 model year. Well, steep might be too harsh a word. The most troubled model of the bunch – the 2004 Solara – only has 42 complaints on file, and the vast majority of these are for cracking dashboards, not engine or transmission issues. Still, the first-gen models produced just 16 complaints across five model years.The least-troubled second-gen model, the 2005 Solara, has just nine complaints on file. Seven of these complaints are for cracking, melting dashboards, and zero are for engine or transmission troubles. These are Toyotas, after all.We could only find three complaints for a defective convertible top, all for the 2008 model year, with an average mileage of 67,750 miles, and a typical repair cost of $2,450, with drivers replacing the top entirely. Solaras Are Cheap To Keep Toyota According to RepairPal, you should expect to spend around $397 a year to maintain a Solara, with the following accounting for the most expensive common fixes: AC evaporator replacement $1,096–$1,522 Water pump replacement $641–$839 Brake master cylinder reservoir replacement $370–$433 Windshield wiper motor replacement $316–$357 Wheel alignment $290–$426 Parking brake shoe replacement $222–$283 General diagnosis $122–$179 Engine leak inspection $122–$179 OBDII drive cycle test $61–$90 Transmission leak inspection $61–$90 You'll notice that convertible tops don't make the list of most expensive common fixes.When Toyota first added the convertible to the lineup, the company actually sent roofless coupes to a facility owned and operated by American Sunroof Company (the same company that handled conversions for Nissan), where ASC would attach the convertible tops and send the cars back to Toyota for final assembly. ASC clearly did fine work, as these roofs seem to have held up well after more than two decades of service. Used Solaras Are Very Affordable Toyota Our trending prices tool currently puts a used 2008 Solara convertible at about a third of its initial MSRP for an SE model with an automatic transmission.If we take a look at our marketplace, we find the following listings posted at the moment. A 164,398-mile 2006 SLE is selling for $6,500 in California. A 135,737-mile 2006 SE is selling for $7,500 in Virginia. A 93,124-mile 2007 SLE is selling for $6,999 in Connecticut. A 67,787-mile 2008 SE is selling for $9,995 in Virginia. A 64,920-mile 2008 SLE is selling for $8,999 in Virginia. Note that these listings are only provided to give you an example of what's out there. There's no telling what will be posted for sale when you're ready to buy.Based on these numbers, we would advise budgeting around $10,000 for the purchase, and then looking for the lowest mileage you can get at that price. There are dealers out there selling quarter-million-milers at around $5,000, but, even if we're talking Toyota, 250,000 miles on the odometer means someone else has already had all the fun with this car.At 60,000 to 80,000 miles, a used Solara convertible still has hundreds of thousands of miles left to go before you have to start worrying about the engine and transmission. We'd say that's a bargain if you're spending less than $10,000 on the car. A Used Solara Is Easy To Recommend Toyota Convertible tops, like manual transmissions, have become less and less common in mainstream vehicles lately. You can still find a topless luxury car with a stick shift, no problem, but we're down to just two convertibles selling for less than $40,000 brand-new, leaving drop-top fans shopping the used market for a deal.We like the convertible Solara because it's basically just a Camry that happens to have a convertible top. The Camry is notoriously reliable, and, being the most popular car in America, it's not hard to find parts for it should something happen to break. If you've got a tax refund burning a hole in your pocket and you're looking for something to ride out the summer in style, you could do a heck of a lot worse than a used Toyota Camry Solara.