Hi, I have ordered a 2007 Mini Cooper Convertible from my dealer. After many weeks of waiting, it came in with the wrong color convertible top. My dealer is offering to swap the top with a different car. What do you think about this idea? Will it cause me problems down the road? Should I wait another two months for the right car to come in?
thanks,
Doug
bcmw22@yahoo.com

 

I can't imagine that swapping the top should cause any problems as long as the technicians are competent and know what they are doing. Does your dealer have a good service department? If they are known to be an unreliable bunch, wait for the real thing.

 

The MINI Cabrio top is fairly complex, and seems like it would be very easy to get it wrong during the swap. The cabrio tops have been seen to have all sorts of little fitment problems already. (Squeaks, rattles, wear spots, intermittent malfunctions, etc.) If you have the dealer swap the top, you may find yourself wondering if any little problems you encounter with it are due to the installation.

Caveat swaptor!

_Dave_

 

Hello Dougk

I would trust your dealer, they should be able to perform this operation succesfully.

Our local dealer has replaced many tops under warranty, all of these without any issue.

Victor

 

My top was replaced under warranty, and they did a pretty good job. It seems to rattle and squeek more that the original, but that might just be me listening more critically after the replacement. It shouldn't be an issue, I believe that they just replace the canvas, not the entire mechanism (others please correct me if I'm mistaken).

 

Have a '05. I and many others have had tops replaced by the dealer. I had no issues at all. And they do change just the canvas, the frame remains.

 

wait and get exactly what you want.

and if you order anther one right now its going to be an '08

 

Replacing the Cabrio roof is actually very easy,can be done in 1 hour,and is possible to do at home!!
torx bit,screwdriver,8mm ring spanner
It can only be fitted in one position and alignment is made easy by the position and quantity of fastening points.
It helps having done a few ,but even if it was your first one 2-3 hrs max
As always writing up a procedure would look far more complex than it actually is in real life,the roof does have to be in various positions for access,but you would be surprised at just how easy it is-
For those who always end up either hurting themselves,setting fire to the car,electrocuting themselves,snapping screws when fitting,or having screws/nuts/bolts always left over at the end,and struggle with self assembly furniture get someone else to do it

 

ummmmm....yeah...that would be me..... i like to leave this kind of thing to the experts!

 

Hi -

Do you happen to recall how much the replacement top costs? Did you get it from a dealer or is there anyone who supplies aftermarket tops?

Thanks

Dave

 

I had mine replaced under warranty. All they did was replace the fabric. It took one technician and entire day to do it. There are some rivets that have to be drilled out to remove the inside fabric pieces of the original top. Other than that it seems pretty straightforward and I haven't had any issues.

 

I had mine replaced under warranty (wear issues) and now I have wind noise (more like wind howl) that wasn't there before. I've had it back three times since then to have adjustments made to get rid of the wind noise, but to no avail. I'd say wait on the new build. These tops can be a bit ***** to fix.

 

are there problems to the tops? how do they go bad so soon in such a relatively new car?

 

Seems ok to do. Just get the history of the other car, if that helps. Then again you don't know how often the top was put up/down.

 

There was a problem with the early model convertibles (2005s, maybe some of the 2006s). There was not enough padding on some of the support brackets. So when you put the top up and down "X" number of times, the fabric started to show wear signs... discoloration at those spots where it was rubbing.

MINI issued a service bulletin and if you had wear marks that were beyond their acceptable level, MINI replaced the roof under their warranty program.

The problem is supposedly fixed on the newer model convertibles.

And to answer the original question: Many of us, myself included, have had tops replaced without problem. But if they're telling you they will take a top off another car and put on yours, I would be hesitant. Is it possible to do so without damaging the material in even the smallest way ? If not, don't let them do it.

 

I have an 07 that was bought in December 07 and there are wear marks on the top, the dealer said to keep an eye on the spots and if the top needed replacement they would cover it under the warranty. Changing the top on the car seems like it would be fairly straight forward "when mine needs to be changed I plan on letting the dealer do it). Let the dealer do it, you will be able to enjoy your car that much sooner.

 

are the tops a problem on Minis? i can't imagine how they would go bad on such a newer car? i've got original tops on my 350-530hp 97 Cobra & 98 Trans Am and they're still fine after 75k and 103k + cross country trips + 140+ MPH runs, etc.

 

There's a well documented issue with some cabrio tops wearing at a "rub point" above and behind the rear side windows when retracted. In some cases, this just makes a "shiny" spot where the fabric rubs against itself when the top is down. In other cars it has worn to the point of fraying, requiring replacement. Supposedly there are adjustments that can be made to limit this.