So, a trip to the dealer for the scheduled oil change for the '07 (once every 15,000 miles whether you need it or not, I 'm glad I do the "tweener oil change" myself) and the service rep agrees that the wear spots on the convertible top are a problem. He has set up a "consultation" with the mini area rep but is pretty certain the top will need to be replaced.
I am hoping that with the new roof and some adjustment that the problem will go away. A new roof at 31K is pretty bad. Most of the convertible roofs I have seen last at least 10 years and sometime much more than that (OG Saab 900 roofs, for example).

 

What do the wear spots look like? I've noticed some shiny spot on my roof. Do they need to be worse than just shiny spots? is it covered under warranty, and if so, which one (3 year maint. or 4 year all else?)

 

There were shiny spots as well as a small fabric break. It should be part of the warranty but even outside of the warranty there have problems that were covered by a SIL so don't let the dealer off. I will report more after the repair.

 

could you podt picture and work order from dealership??

 

Search through the Cabrio 1st Gen forum, I know there's a couple of threads with pics. Most people will see the wear spots just above the rear (side) windows. this is where the roof folds over when down. I had the spots, but I also had wear on the rear (just off of lower corner of window, both sides) and it actually wore through the canvas to the liner. Roof was replaced under warranty (not 3-yr maintenance agreement). there were a couple of additional adjustments/hardware made to fix the problem. I was told I had to have my appointment to replace before the warranty ran out (took it in with 10 days to spare ). they should just change it without much of a discussion...

 

Took it to Momentum Mini in Houston today, the rep said no the top will not be cover....I cant find area rep contact infomation. Did not get yearly oil change also, rep said not time????this is the worst services I had in years...booklet said yearly oil change

 

I can't say anything about the top without seeing the wear damage, but the oil change should be pretty cut-and-dried. Has it been longer than one year since your last oil change? Are you still inside the 3/36k service agreement period? If the answer to both questions is 'yes', then they owe you an oil change, regardless of how many miles it's been.

 

I had the top on my 07 MCc replaced 3 times, the last the whole top including the metal support was replaced, it has been 6 months since and there is no wear at all on my top. My Mini only has 24K on it and there is never any questions from the dealer when it arrives for service, anything covered by the service agreement is done, and I always get a loaner from the dealer. Keep on the dealer about the top, as for the oil change if the mileage is under but more than a year the oil change should be done.

 

So, I dropped the car off for the regional rep assessment of my roof wear. I was cautiously optimistic that they would either make the adjustments so the roof would not wear further and/or replace the roof. Obviously, I was way too optimistic. The regional rep said "normal wear and tear" and put a towel down to protect it from further wear. I was flabbergasted.
I took it up with the service manager and he indicated understood my concern but could do nothing about the problem without approval from the regional rep's. He also showed me two other cars of similar age and miles with similar wear.
So, I have 2.5 year old car with 31,000 miles whose roof is wearing like it was 10 years old and had 120,000 miles. And I am supposed to lay a towel down. They didn't say where but you can leave it up your imagination where I would like it go. I am fuming right now and have not yet charted my next steps but after my complaints to miniusa I will probably be talking to lawyer. Looking at the number of threads on this site regarding expensive and premature convertible roof failures, I am thinking "class action"...

 

Sorry to hear they didn't fix what is obviously a problem on these convertibles. Although it doesn't happen on all units, it's an issue that warranted tweaking for the release of '09+ MY. Use a towel... what a slap in face!!!

I think Mini (as a BMW division) is slamming the brakes on a lot of warranty repairs to keep the company from falling into red ink. Hard to believe but the only German auto manufacturer turning a profit right now is the VW Group. OTOH, Mercedes is in red and BMW is barely cutting even. Unfortunately for Mini owners, Mini USA will replace those items which are "obviously and unquestionably" broken (i.e. $hitty motor mounts, leaky thermostat flange, poorly designed PS pump and superchargers). For the items that are in the gray region of opinions, BMW/Mini's directive is "Screw the customer". Dealers are making less money now so they're less inclined to repair on their dime (as a courtesy to the customer).

Personally, I still like this car but I will keep my $ away from BMW/Mini dealerships by not having my car serviced by them and buying only non-Mini branded parts.

Sometimes, the only way to make a corporation to own up is when a federal court shoves a judgment down its throat.

Keep us posted.

 

My car have 21k miles on the clock and my top look tired....from the look of thing MINI does'nt want to do any top replacement, they said it is normal wear and tear??? The dealer even want to delay the oil change that came with the purchase of our Mini. booklet said yearly............

 

Please find enclosed pictures of my convertible roof wear and the receipt recommending "placing a towel..."

 

I'm not a lawyer, but it seems to me if the factory rep advises using a towel to reduce normal wear, he admitted something's wrong with the convertible top. Never shopped for a MINI convertible, but I'm going to bet the manual doesn't list using a towel when lowering the top, or convertibles aren't delivered with an OEM towel. Not really sure about normal wear for tops, but when you were given a written statement advising the use of a towel, I think MINI sealed it's fate. I'd bet with a bit of pesting, you'd get a new top under warranty. I also think the factory rep would be repremanded for advising you in writing to use a towel. Good luck and I hope everything works out for you.

 

I love this entitlement attitude around here. Who are you to say how soon or even how the top wears? Cheeze loiuze folks! Where is it written that any car will always be perfect and the owner has no responsability in keeping it that way? If a towel placed between the folds wil make the top last longer and look better, why the heck wouldn't you do that?

Has anyone tried using a stiff bristle brush on the fabric to see if it's just crushed down? Maybe it will brush up and look fine?

C'mon folks, it's a car - not a life long legacy or heirloom.....

 

Mini is in the business of selling cars and their success depends on meeting the expectations of their customers. Expectations would include that parts (including the convertible top) would last at least as long as their competitor's tops and this is not the case. Many folks here (NAM) have identified the need to replace the tops in the first 15,000 miles/1st year. I guess I am lucky that issue has not emerged earlier. If the perspective of the Mini customer community is that this is okay, then we have no right to complain about any other issue with the car. We also shouldn't be trying to follow-up on other warranty issues.
More importantly, if there is an adjustment that does not require replacing the roof but will prevent further wear of the type on my roof, I would be happy with that.
BTW, there is no nap remaining at the wear spots to brush up.

 

BTW, there is no nap remaining at the wear spots to brush up.

That's what I wanted to know....

It's one thing when the engine blows or a transmission fails, but we've had people on this forum ready to call the media, park a lemon covered car in front of the dealership and start hiring lawyers because the dealer didn't fix a squeak or something. I'm merely asking for perspective......

 

I understand your perspective on perspective.
I certainly don't expect that everything in my car needs to be perfect or last for 150,000 miles. However, my expectation is that a potential major issue like the wear pattern of the convertible roof which can cost more than an engine or transmission to replace is identified, MiniUSA would address it forthwithly (and proactively) and see what was causing the problem. More importantly, it seems based on similar wear patterns on other convertible tops that the mechanism that controls the roof may be the problem. It could be that an adjustment needs to be made and the problem goes away. If the transmission or engine were making noises or had other signs that pointed toward premature failure, I think they would address those.
The roof cost me approximately $4500 more that a comparable mini without. I don't want to pay for it twice.
An sidebar, I asked about the clock running fast. They looked into it and decided that the instrument cluster needed replacing. I don't think that was cheap fix and I certainly wouldn't push for it. But they did it regardless.

 

I looked at your photos and can't believe they actually put in writing...

"...and factory Rep recommends placing a towel down when folding the top down to minimize normal wear and tear."

that's poetry right there, man.

Your wear spots look worse than mine ('06 / 33k miles). Not sure if it's the contrast setting on the camera but it also looks faded. Do you park outside? Do you use strong detergent to wash the fabric?

 

That what my 2008 Sidewalk look like with 22k on the clock. Still love the MINI, but this may be my last one, the service is the worst I ever have with any brand. Maybe Audi S5 convertible next... NOT.............

 

I tried to search for this answer with no luck...what do you mean, place a towel on it? Before you convert it down so that the towel is sandwiched into the top? Are you supossed to drive around with a towel in there? Wouldnt that affect how the top would lay when it is down? I just cant understand this, can anyone explain it to me?

 

You got it smurfette. That's what it said on the receipt given to sunolmike by Mini.

 

After talking to MiniUSA in NJ and sending them the same information that I provided to you-all (pictures and direction on the towel), Mini USA's first position was to offer to pay for a new roof (parts only) at 50,000 miles.
Not the deal I was expecting and since a replacement roof can be purchased for around $700 and the labor for installation costs more than that (especially through the dealer), I turned them down.
The next offer was to pay the full cost of replacement at 50,000 miles. I assume if the roof wears through earlier, they will replace it but I will need to verify it. They are making like this will be a one time deal and sticking by the normal wear and tear story. Whatever....
Based on some discussions at Mini of Pleasanton, I think that the issue is that in "down" position, the roof is overstressed and in areas where its in contact with other parts, it mechanically wears. I would think that some adjust to roof frame could fix this but it does not seem that Mini does this in these cases. I have heard from at least one post that when Mini replaced the whole roof mechanism (the frame and the top), all wear issues went away. I am going to run a poll on roof issues to see how many people have had roof issues and what kind they were.

 

Just make certain that you are given A MINI towel

 

I would wrap with dog poop and send it to MiniUSA for warranty repair.

 

I am thinking of purchasing a 2008 MCSc, but after reading the problems with the tops on this forum, I am a little concerned. I always loved the MCSc and have wanted one for a few years now, but I keep reading on these forums about a) the infamous cable issue and b) premature wear on the roof. Most of the posts seem to be for 2005 to 2007 convertibles, but I have seen one or two from members that have a 2008 that are suffering from excessive wear. I am posting this to see what issues were resolved by the 2008 model year if any. Seems the 2008's top still suffers from excessive and premature wear, but I didn't see any of the cable issues for 2008 that previous models had. Any feedback is helpful. Thanks!