Wear lots of sunscreen! On my recent trip to Colorado with a couple of very long days in the car my lips & nose really got it despite applying & reapplying the sun stuff.

And for the record, my '06 does not leak.

 

LOL Matt... personally now I can't wait to get all bundled up in the Oregon winter and drive around with you while the top is down on your Mini. Hahahaha!!!

 

38 AND heated seats? Now I know there's an Arctic Cabrio somewhere (hard core Topless Motorer!)... but we managed a documented 31 and NO HEATED SEATS! We actually got down to 29 but that's when the top went up and it was snowing quite a bit more than we were expecting.

This was part of our road trip to part of the Blue Ridge Parkway in late October last year. There was a FREAK snowstorm and we were not prepared.

 

WE'RE NOT WORTHY, WE'RE NOT WORTH.....(bow and scrape, bow and scrape)

 

Here's the one just before... at 32 degrees!



We've lived in Florida for about 10 years now... but I guess I must still have some of my Maine blood!

*One thing that's kinda' funny is that there was actually a hardtop MINI (old guy driving) and they had stopped at one of those view points. THEY DIDN'T EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE US! They just looked. Probably thought we were too crazy or something.

 

I have had my 2005 S Convertible since it was born. It now has 135,000 miles on it, insanely trouble free for the most part. Greatest car I've ever owned, and I am a 76-year-old gearhead and former SCCA racer. ONLY complaint I've had is cheap glass in windshield which in some dazzle sun conditions looks like it has sand in the glass. Windshield replaced after rock strike, but glass was same. Mini shrugs at this. The top up darkness and visibility problem was a bit alarming at first, but you very quickly get used to it by using your mirrors. Almost all my milage has been highway. I drive it 18 hours at a stretch to distant spots. I could not do that at my age in a car less fun to drive. My Mini is lovingly garaged, which may be a caveat for the top, but the top has NEVER leaked a drop of rain even in a monsoon in Louisiana where the car was floating. But one minor annoyance is that it started around 80,000 to exhibit some wind noise at 70mph or so--not from the windows but where top closes above windshield. Don't know how to solve this. Mechanic friend's solution: turn up the radio! Anyone with a more substantial solution, chime in.

 

Same issue on a recent huge road trip. Two separate days at 65-70 into the wind, a banshee howl. The windscreen had been replace a few weeks earlier. Upon return, the glass guy took one look at the situation and shot a fresh bead of silicon sealant under the top windshield gasket. Problem solved. Give it a try, couldn't hurt.

Oh yea, thoughts on MINI convertibles. Nothing else can compare for motoring enjoyment. My first two rides were British roadsters (SCCA tracked one of them too) back in the '60's. Things to keep in the door card: A jaunty driving cap, sun screen, dark glasses and driving gloves.

 

I have only owned my 2011 Convertible for about 5 months now, and it has been trouble free for the most part. I can't comment on how water tight. My comment on the con side is on the HUGE amount of bump steer. I jump across a 1/4 lane on the highway if I hit any decent imperfection in the road. Open to input and suggestions here.

 

Something is coming loose for that to happen. Get that in to your nearest good independent BMW/MINI shop for a thorough front end exam then get it to a top alignment shop. That kind of behavior just isn't normal under any conditions.