I would love to hear from long-time owners with cloth interior. I am not concerned with dirt but with the cloth wearing. I bought my '05 used with leather but I prefer cloth. I have a chance to switch my leather interior for cloth interior (only 8K miles) but I would like to know if it is going to hold up. Thanks in advance for you help.

 

I have cloth on my '03 Cooper. It's held up great...no issues whatsoever. Liked it so much I got it on my '07, too!!

 

I ordered my '02 with cloth and still don't regret it 6 years and 64K miles later. I can't spot any discernible wear or fade and love the better friction (keeps my butt from sliding back and forth when I'm throwing it around).

 

There was someone in here that said he was disappointed with his MINI cloth interior because it stained easy. He posted a pic of the stain.

It looked like some type of beverage stain that would damage any cloth interior. Abuse the interior and any car will suffer permanent damage. For example, I rented a MINI with cloth interior, car only had about 2000 miles on it. Smack in the middle of the drivers seat was a cigarette burn / hole.

Put a fabric protectant on the cloth and take care of it and you should not have any problems. Pics I have seen of the older MINIs with cloth have looked great. No signs of wear and tear. But stains [easy staining?] may be an issue?

But as to wear, I have seen many a pic of older MINIs with cloth interior that have appeared to hold up. No tears, no holes, no wear spots. And they also appear to have held their shape.

 

My fabric seats stain easily, like with water, but also clean up easily with no visible stain left. I had vinyl seats previously, and they were just too hot!

On the other hand, my wife's MCC has cloth seats, and in the convertible, aren't doing all that well. Not terrible, but they require regular cleaning.

Ken

 

i also have had problems with stains on the seat. i have the red cloth inlay with black leather on the outside and after a year and a half, the seats have spots just from water. i keep my car pretty detailed and have used everything at AutoZone and other car shops to take out the stains, but no luck. i talked to my MINI advisor and he had someone with the same problem and they did the complete interior detail there at the dealership and still the stains did not come out. Anyone else have this same problem with the red cloth interior? Any suggestions on taking these type of stains out?

 

I have about 68000 miles on my '04 with original black and grey cloth. Three problems I had with the cloth:
> I've worn holes from getting in and out on the driver's side, but I do make a lot of short trips. There are 2 small but very noticeable spots, one on the left front of the driver seat back and the other on the left top of the seat, both at the "highest" points on the formed cushions. In fairness, I have done this to all of my other cars in exactly the same locations. Next seat covering, I want to see if I can get an upholsterer to install a set of panels in these areas like "double knees" that used to come in jeans for kids.
> water stained the passenger seat on the grey center panel, which does come off, but keeps coming back!! (almost like a cola stain on light colored carpet does) That was the result of carrying a floral arrangement that had too much fluid in the vase, and spilled out onto the seat while I was driving. It has never been the same since. If I'd had "Scotchgard" on them, that likely wouldn't have been a problem(?) Anyone done that? How'd it work?
> with no arm rest in the center, I have a habit of resting my right hand on the left edge of the passenger's seat, which, over time, leaves oil on the edge of the seat, but that cleans up easily and does not come back if I remember not to rest my hand there. Again, regular cleaning takes care of that.

If you've tried the Scotchgard (or similar treatment,) do you think it has reduced the staining problems?

I still think cloth is still the most comfortable material. I'd order it again.

 

If I had it to do over again, I wouldn't carry flowers in the passenger's seat, would have installed a center armrest to keep myself from resting my right hand on the edge of the seat, and seen if an upholsterer could put some sort of patches on the driver's side to take the punishment. Now I'm considering either Wet Okole's or reupholstering, or Cobra Daytonas.

 

+1 on the wet okoles!

I have them in my truck and love them.

My coworker also has them and he is very satisfied with the performance.

 

I wonder if it's the fabric that MINI is using. My GF has a 2002 Sentra with cloth interior and it has held up very well. She has had spills, clean right up.

No signs of wear either.

Her car's upholstery has a velvet feel to it, for lack of a better description. It's tan colored so stains would show. It's a synthetic, obviously.

Maybe the MINI is some type of cotton/nylon blend? Natural fibers tend to stain while synthetics tend to resist staining.

 

I've had no wear problems at all on my '03 MCS (121,000+ miles) cloth seats. No rips, tears, or parted seams.

I did have to clean up some regurgitated pizza from the back seat (courtesy of my 7-year-old son) and some burger grease from the front passenger seat, but neither mishap left any permanent stains.

 

All of the seams in my seats are fine. There is no question about the workmanship. The holes are just from my fat butt rubbing the same spots the same way every time. Something had to give!!

About Wet Okole covers... What do the backs of the front seats look like? I have only seen photos taken from the front. Anybody?

Thanks.

 

82K no issues at all.

 

05 MCS with grey/ charcoal cloth,
really prefer it over leather or pleather,
cool in summer, not freezing in winter
and no cleaning issues,
watch out for snags though
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