A couple weeks ago I had my Mini in for warranty work, and among other things, they replaced the sunroof cassette because of broken clips. When I got my car back, the front sun shade was retracted, but the rear one was extended over the rear glass panel, which is the usual way I keep them. Also, my service invoice said nothing about replacing any glass panels in the sunroof, only the weather seal and the cassette. I didn't think anything of it until last night when I was wiping down the glass, retracted the rear shade and found that the glass was missing its tint. It was pretty obvious, especially in my garage, with the front panel a lot darker than the rear.

So, my question is...should the dealer be responsible for replacing the tint that is now missing?

 

is it an aftermarket tint?

 

I don't think that warranty replacement of defective parts includes replacing aftermarket modifications done to the part, but if the dealer installed the tint you might be able to get them to replace it as a goodwill gesture.

It's an interesting question, and I can't think of too many examples where it would come up. The only other instance I can think of offhand would be if the factory bonnet stripes started fading/cracking early enough to be replaced under warranty, but you've already had a clear bra applied to the front end over part of the stripes. Is the dealer obligated to re-do the clear bra on the bonnet after replacing the stripes? I wouldn't think so.

 

if i were you i would ask them if they changed the glass b4 telling them that u know, u are missing some tint....if they say yes we did ask them to redo them for you.... if they say no then say wtf happen to my tint then!?

 

I've been a bit on the fence about the whole issue. It is an aftermarket tint not done by the dealer. I think I will go the route of asking them if the glass was changed, see if they tell me the truth this time (I question potential attempts to cover up & not fix a few other problems that have come up with my car since it spent a week at the dealer for work that should not have taken more than two days tops).

I would be surprised if they will offer to cover it as a 'good will gesture.' I fullty expect for them to just tell me to suck it...in their usual condescendingly nice way. My car goes back in on Monday to fix my 'new' issues, & I'll keep updated on their response.

 

A couple of years ago when I had mine replaced at EastBay MINI under warranty, they replaced the entire unit (cassette) including the glass. I was told that it was quicker/easier that way, so off to my favorite tint shop to get it re-done with 5%....had 20% before and it still let in more heat than I wanted. Odd that they would only replace the back glass.

 

same thing happened to me. dealer doesn't cover aftermarket tint BTW

my sunroof clicked quite loudly and the dealer decided to replace the entire assembly.

yeah, it's a pain that you'll have to pay $ for new tint, but think about how much money you've saved (my sunroof replacement would have cost me $3000 out of pocket) so spending $ on new tint was a bargain.

 

if what you want is less heat you have to buy a special type of tint thats not black its very light but i doesn't let heat pass i recently installed that one it costed about 2000pesos thats like 133 dollars, but it will cost you about 200 if you live in US :s my aunt also did it and it was 200 dollars on US

 

I got my car back earlier today, and just as was suspected, they politely 'declined' my request to replace the tint to the rear glass. They would only cover it if the car was tinted through the dealership as an 'option.' A double standard in my opinion, but who's arguing...I did get a mostly new sunroof. It was rattling and creaking so bad it was driving me nuts...especially when the weather got below 50 degrees. It is worlds quieter now.

Personally, I have the limo tint (5%) and I find it totally adequate in keeping the sun/heat reasonably tolerable.

 

Yeah, my dealership tends to be more 'on the cheap,' but I am glad I only have to have one panel of glass replaced, and not more. My SA told me that the rear glass is actually a part of the cassette, thus the replacement.

 

Oh yeah, the dealership also told me not to keep the sunroof in the tilt position over excessively rough/bumpy roads. They told me that the tabs that are used in the tilt position (not sure what exactly they called them) tend to break over time on rough/bumpy roads, as they are made of plastic...Great, now I have to be mindful of when to even use my sunroof!

 

agreed.. best for the roof!