My wife and I looked at a new cabrio yesterday......salesman was demonstrating the top....It wouldn't raise back up. The trunk wouldn't open either.

As far as the top goes we got the predictable, "We never have this happen."

Do I need to be concerned about the convertible top, and either buy a coupe or buy something else altogether?

 

Don't worry about the top, worry about the idiot salesman that doesn't know how to work it. There are a few things you need to know to operate it and they are in the manual. Hopefully you will find a different salesperson that knows what to do.

 

Doesn't sound like a good omen, unless the salesman had never tried to open one before, which I find hard to believe.

 

I'd be more concerned about the insurance cost.

 

I looked into the extended warranties offered and found that some will cover the electrics for the top. None would cover the fabric. I decided against any warranty. I'm hoping that lessons were learned from the Gen-1 top problems and that the Gen-2 tops will be more reliable.

 

Is the rest of the car reliable? Or, is it typical BMW?

 

The R52 2005-2008 Convertibles are Gen-1 with the old drivetrain (Tritec engines). The R57 2009-2010 Convertibles are Gen-2 with the new drivetrain (Prince engines).

---> Is the rest of the car reliable? Or, is it typical BMW?

Depends on what your definition of "is" is. Certainly not Lexus/Infinity/Honda/Toyota/Acura reliable. Many Minis have no problems, a few have more than a few problems. The Mini is certainly more complex than Hondas and Toyotas, with many gadgets and features, lots of software, and countless number of configurations.

Upside: Most dealers have good service; warranty and resale are pretty good

Downside: If you want a super-reliable car and don't like returning to the dealer to fix a few warranty problems, Mini might not be for you

Upside: The Convertible is really lots of fun!!!

 

Why? Though I didn't ask, I doubt if the convertible costs any more than a coupe.

 

Convertibles will have higher insurance costs for two reasons.

1) Its super easy to slash a top to steal whatever is in the car

2) The body structure is nowhere near as rigid as a hardtop in a collision and thus will cause more damage to the frame/structure on impact.

I'd find a different salesman who knew what he was doing and deffinatly wouldnt buy that particular car. Other than that I've got 6500km on my 2009 with zero problems and love love love it.

 

1. No it's not. There are steel cables running through the cloth top, which aren't easy to cut through. Also, it's called a 'smash and grab' for a reason. A petty thief walking up and down the street looking for valuables left in cars won't be carrying a blunt object to smash a window AND a knife to cut a convertible top. If someone wants something out of your convertible they will break the glass.

2. To an extent, maybe. But the convertible also has extra structures to help it remain as rigid as possible. Costs to repair from a similar accident will be very close on the convertible as it would be on the hard top. The only time you'll start to see a major difference in price is when the rear quarter panel is struck hard, which would cause severe damage to the convertible top mechanics. Other then that, by the time there is a significant repair cost difference, you will be looking at totaling the car anyway.


My insurance went up 6.06% when I upgraded from a 2003 MINI Cooper to a 2009 MINI Cooper S Convertible. I can't imagine the 'convertible' part played nearly as much (if any) in the change of premium as did the car being 6 years newer and $25,000 more valuable did.

 

That may be true for the mini convertible top, but the insurance companies do not care. To them a convertible is a convertible. Its pricey to replace a top is it not? convertibles also have a higher purchase price than a hardtop..

Breaking glass will set off alarms.. a quick cut to the top may not. My hardtop was broken into.. they tried to pry/smash the pax. front window with no luck and had to go through the rear quarter window causing even more damage (interior panelling was trashed) Cutting a top is a hell of a lot easier than smashing glass and risking cutting your arm. The 'verts dont have that quarter window right...

I priced insurance today from the local office (canadian) and the quote for collision/comprehensive was $240 higher for my cooper S would it have been a convertible.

 

Check your stats, convertible tops are not cut for theft, they are cut for vandalism. Windows are smashed for theft. This has been discussed many times. If you don't believe me, speak with a local law enforcement officer.

 

The battery was probably weak/dead from sitting in the showroom. People opening the doors and playing with the top will drain the battery down because it's not driven.

 

I did lots of research before buying my 2009 S Cabrio. In my case I have been insured with GEICO for more than 25 years and the insurance cost was slightly higher for an S than just a cooper. but the cabrio vs the coupe was no difference at all.

Bottom line depends on your insurance company and your driving/claims record.

Just my two cents.

 

I compared 2007 Cooper S (my current car) to a 2009 Cooper S Convertible and my insurance would go up $10.. per 6 months... (which it probably would with a newer car anyway)

 

I would agree with most of the other posts and selecting the dealer can be as important, if not more so than the car.
As far as reliability, I think there were issues with early builds on the convertible, but the newer ones seem to have a "fix" and the dealer we dealt with has been OK, not great, but we have a new dealer closer to home that we will be trying out now.

The car is FUN, and the S is powerful, a bit more powerful than our Prius
And the Prius has this roof in the way of the sky!

 

I have had 3 BMW 3 Series convertibles and the MINI's convertible system is similar in many ways (check out how the windows drop when you open the door and then raise to provide a great seal - BMW has done this for years and I have never had a drop of water or a wind leak).

I have had over 6,000 flawless miles on my R57 and I don't worry about top reliability. I agree with the other post the problems at the dealer were likely due to low battery or a salesman that did not understand what conditions have to be met for the top to operate.

I see minimal difference in insurance and there are posts in NAM from law enforcement officers that debunked the perception of slashed tops being a common mode of entry.

I have had convertibles for 30 years and have no regrets. Nothing like it for stress relief. Top down and find some twisties!!!