I just replaced the door panels on my 04' Cooper S w/ dark gray 05' panels (I wanted the oval red painted plastic trim inserts & the new style arm rest & this was the best way to get them.)
-The L & R panels don't match:
-Left side is a "true" gray colored plastic surface that matches the dash & the rest of the interior trim while the right side seems to be dark navy blue!
-Is this simply an odd dye lot (in the production process the colors could vary from batch to batch?) or
-Is there actually a navy color produced by MINI (Blue convertable roof I am aware of but plastic trim?) My dealer installed the panels and left the car on the lot for a late pick-up this weekend so I was not able to discuss this w/ anyone.
-Although the mismatched colors are obvious to me (I am an artist & so is my wife) it's even more visable in direct sunlight: not subtle. I was not aware that Mini made navy trim.
-Any thoughts/advice?
Thanks
PS. I am trying to do some minor tweeking on the interior of an MC40 (no decals & many other mods) and desire to add additional CR bits for contrast. The 05' arm rest is a very nice design & add's a lot to the general comfort.

 

The Cool Blue Cabrio S that my wife and I test drove recently had dark blue door panels. I don't know right off the top of my head if it's only on the Cool Blue or if it can be put with only certain leathers or what. It didn't notice it right away, but it definitely was blue.

 

Last time I was at the dealer and test-drove a cabrio, there was a new interior option with orange stitching on the seats and a navy blue door panel. That's probably what you got by accident.

 

Thanks for the replies: This is what I thought. They sent me one of the new navy interior parts by mistake. The only problem is the wait: it took over 2 months to get the interior trim parts (from Germany the dealer said.)
-Patience is a virtue (but waiting can be a pain.)
Thanks again

 

Would you mind sharing the cost of the panels? I have been considering replacing my door panels with a darker color, as I have the light silver/grey and really hate how it shows dirt...

 

Om, if you swap out your door panels, hold on to the light grey ones (magnesium) as they're no longer making them. They stopped offering that color in the '04 MY.

I've got them too, and I don't have much of a problem with the light color; it wipes clean fairly easily most of the time. When I need a little more cleaning power I just use some vinyl cleaner and a tiny bit of elbow grease.

 

I was thinking of swapping out the armrests in my 04 for the larger curved armerest from the 05. Did you find that it was easier to dhange the entire door panel? The actual armrest looks like it is just held in by 3 torx screws. I'm also curious about the cost. Cheers,
Pete F.

 

What's the difference between the '04 and '05 door panels? Can you actually rest your arm on the '05 armrest while driving? This is a minor problem I have w/ my '04, seems the arm rest doesn't stick out enough to rest my arm on it while driving.

Is this a direct bolt-on swap? Can anyone chime in?

 

Yes, with the '05 and '06, the arm rest has more of a curve to it and sticks out further. I had an '04 and the arm rest was worthless, on my '06 I can actucally use it for something other than to pull the door closed. I can easily rest my arm on it when needed.