Hello all.

I've got my gp2 in at the dealer for some warranty work.

One of my concerns is how badly the roof stripes and red hood scoop decal are fading.

Is anyone else experiencing this?

The service writer there has suggested I've sprayed something on them that has caused the fading. Which is, of course, a load of horse puckey.

Thanks for your input on this.

Gp2 #501 (it's a long story)

 

I removed the roof stripes, so can't comment on those. Bonnet scoop surround still looks new (10k miles, hand washed only).

You live in AZ, so the environment is a factor. Hope your dealership steps up and replaced them under warranty, these are definitely covered items.

 

I'm from AZ as well and If you haven't already, I would suggest waxing them. Most people don't know you are suppose to wax vinyl, it keeps it from fading and drying out/cracking. I have always waxed mine, even on my 07' and they looked brand new like day 1. In order to fix the fading first... you could always ask the dealer to see if detail could possibly fix it Or have the dealer replace it?

 

Went by and picked up the car this afternoon. Mini has approved the replacement of the decals under warranty. Which is cool. It'll be a couple weeks to get them out of Germany.

I was worried I was just going to have to remove them permanently as I've seen a few others do. I like the way it looks without them, but, I feel that this car should stay more original.

As a side benefit, Kyle, the parts guy at Mini N. Scottsdale was able to determine that my GP is U.S. #0068. That's something several calls and emails to Mini customer service could not answer. Maybe I'll finally be able to get ahold of the roof number for my car.

Thank you guys for the input.

 

Don't let mini tell you otherwise but their vinyl stripes are junk, I've has the stripes on my coupe fade and the ring around the scoop on my gp..junk, and wax, lmao, those cars get more wax than a candle factory, and still faded

 

For starters, I'm not one of the many (like my wife) that think the GPs should stay as original as possible. Much to my wife's dismay, I peeled off most of the stickers as soon as I got it home.

My main reason for removing them is that I didn't like the way they looked. Wife didn't agree.

My second reason was that I've seen how poorly MINI vinyl graphics hold up over time. At some point (probably past warranty) they would crap out and I would have to replace them ($1,500? plus labor) or peel them off. In my minds eye, I could see the paint fade differential between formerly striped areas and the rest of the car. I pointed this out to my wife and she agreed. She felt much better about the vinylectomy. Me? I'm glad that she's happy.

 

My hood scoop decal faded, replaced by dealer, no charge. So far all others are OK.

 

i love how the dealer is like oh we've never seen that before..on my coupe, so i walked around while waiting for the loaner and guess what was in back?


lolz, yaaa riiiight!
and this was a used car F/S lolz

 

Well I don't no what you guys are using but my old car was a 2007 and I waxed the stripes occasionally and they never faded or cracked. Here's a pic of my 07' taken of February last year...

 

i use griots or meguires paste wax
Dealer gave me a spray bottle of some vinyl stuff free, i was like ya thanks!

 

Thanks for the info on the hood decal. I'm going to ask my dealer for a replacement, too. I've kept the roof stripes and number (0054). If I added much more wax it would replace the weight saved by limiting the sound-proofing. Dallas sun is unforgiving. Sorry to hear Mini skimped on quality here.

 

Brought my new-to-me GP into the dealer Saturday for replacement of "nose" and roof stickers. Covered under the warranty so it's all good.

 

I have always used a spray wax on my stickers to keep them looking good.

 

I'm not a GP owner and don't know all the fine points on them but wasn't the GP number on each car in decal form from the factory?
How was there a mix up determining what number car you had? Just curious..

 

Well it's been about 2 years on the replacement hood & roof decals which were replaced under warranty by the dealer. Update is the red "nose" decal on the hood scoop is positively sh*$#y, all white edges with cracking & fading. The passenger side roof decal is 80% faded and 20% like brand new- it's a straight line so I know it's not from applying the wax, it must be how their vendor "preps" them. The driver's side looks new. Not sure what'll cost to replace just these 2, all the others are fine.